Just a few days after the construction of the Old Town Road Bridge was finished, the water level of Mill Pond was down about a foot-and-a-half.
According to Town Manager Ed Roberge, water from the pond was leaking through the weir, a concrete box designed to check the flow of water from the pond into the culvert. “The fit isn’t quite perfect,” said Roberge of the weir. Because of that, “it would appear there is leakage past the structure into the culvert,” said Roberge. The weir is designed to be watertight.
Crews from J.H. Lynch & Sons, the contractor hired to complete the bridge reconstruction, came to the island on Wednesday, June 13, to work on repairing the breach. Water levels were higher at the Pond on Thursday, June 14.
A Lynch employee came to the island on Tuesday and placed sandbags at the base of the weir to stem the flow.
When asked if the town would have to foot the bill for the repairs, Roberge said, “No, this is part of the contractor’s responsibility to make sure that’s sealed.” He said that could be done with an epoxy grout or concrete.
Roberge, who is an engineer, said that this type of issue in a construction project is “not uncommon” but was “something we need to address.”