A minor problem from early in March has become what could be a major problem for the City of Bridgeport. What started as a crack in the pavement on one of the main roads at the Bridgeport Cemetery has now become a major slip that has led to a closing of that section of the roadway.

 

“We noticed the crack in the pavement in March on the road leading from the cemetery office to the exit of the cemetery,” said Bridgeport Parks and Recreation Director Don Burton. “Shortly after that we had a few big snows come in and the process of freeze and that started and the next thing you how the hillside near the roadway where the crack formed is slipping.”

 

The minor slip recently became more of a major concern in recent weeks. One weekend, P&R Deputy Director Joe Shuttleworth was heading to the Bridgeport Recreation Complex and noticed water coming down the hillside on an otherwise clear day.

 

“The water was actually filling up the trench along (Route) 131 by the cemetery and Joe knew that what he was seeing wasn’t normal,” said Burton. “We’re not sure how long the water was flowing, but once he investigated he noticed the slip had gotten to the point where it took out the water line that feeds the office and the maintenance building.”

 

About the only good news was that the slip didn’t impact the fire hydrant in the area. Shuttleworth was able to get in contact with the Bridgeport Public Works Department as well as Burton and had the water shut off to the area. Although the line has since been fixed, it’s not being buried until the slip can be secured and fixed.

 

How to fix the slip is likely not a million dollar question. However, Bridgeport City Engineer Tom Brown said he hopes to find out the cost soon on the problem.

 

“I’m in the process now of trying to get a geo-tech company to come here to drill some bore holes to determine how to fix it. There are two or three companies working to get prices to me as well as availability on a short notice,” said Brown. “Just looking at it, there could be two to three potential fixes, but that’s really a guess. Until we know what the strata (layers of rock) are underneath and see what’s there, it’s really hard to make even an educated guess as to how bad it is and how much it is going to cost.

 

“What I do know is that at first I didn’t think it was that bad, but it’s gotten worse,” said Brown. “Just how bad is something that geotechnical companies will be able to determine.”

 

Brown said there is “minimal” risk to the surrounding properties. He said that if there was an issue with any surrounding properties it would be to Route 131.

 

“We have the area secured and have the section of road blocked off. There’s an alternative exit so it shouldn’t impact those visiting the cemetery,” said Burton. “The closure is primarily for safety purposes and we hope to have everything back in order as soon as possible.”

 

Brown said he hopes to have a company to do the evaluation and borings within the next two to three weeks. He said barring something unusual, he’d like to see everything fixed “a few months after that.”

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows area where the road is shut down at the Cemetery, while bottom photo shows the slip shortly after the water line break was discovered.