Board of Directors Favors Tunnel for Center Springs Park Connection

The Board of Directors reviewed three possible options to repair a culvert that runs under Edgerton Street that would also potentially link Center Springs Park to Broad Street and the redevelopment efforts that are going on there. 

The report, delivered by Director of Public Works Mark Carlino and an engineer from Fuss & O'Neill, an engineering firm the town has employed to designate he project, was a follow-up to town directors received in late June about the park expansion and culvert repairs that left them with many questions. 

Under the three scenarios unveiled to the board as part of its monthly meeting Tuesday, the culvert underneath Edgerton Street would be replaced, allowing the road which has been closed to vehicular traffic since August of 2009 to be reopened, while also maintaining the existing trail that runs along the old Cheney Railroad embankment. 

But the costs and the potential expansion ability of the park out to Broad Street differ under all three proposals. 

Under the first proposal, a new 60" steel culver would simply be "jacked" into the embankment where the failed culvert now sits. That phase of the project would cost $487,500 for construction and an additional $75,000 in design and permit fees, for a total of $562,500, but would potentially limit future access to the park from Broad Street. 

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Under the second proposal, an "open cut" culvert would be installed into the embankment, along with a 10 by 35 foot metal arch tunnel for pedestrian access through the embankment, which would preserve the potential for future pedestrian access to the park from Broad Street. This proposal would cost $417,000 for construction and an additional $100,000 in design and permit fees, for a total of $517,000.  

The third scenario would involve the same "open cut" culvert, but would also see the installation of a 90-foot pedestrian bridge across the embankment, which would preserve the possibility of both pedestrian and vehicular access from Broad Street. That option would cost $690,000 for construction and $125,000 in design and permitting fees. 

A PDF of all three proposals have been attached to this article. 

Tuesday's report also included an additional phase for the second and third options that would see the town acquire the former Fuji Buffet property that abuts Broad Street, landscape the area and construct a parking lot to link the park to Broad Street. That phase would cost an additional $661,000. 

Voters allocated $1.5 million in a November 2011 bond referendum for the culvert repairs and park connection. 

Directors seemed to favor the tunnel option, but passed a resolution to refer the matter back to the Manchester Redevelopment Agency, which has been tasked with redeveloping the Broad Street area of town, for its opinion before making a final decision. The redevelopment agency is expected to offer its opinion to the board by its first formal meeting in October. 

"The tunnel option keeps the park looking like a park," Lisa P. O'Neill, a Democratic member of the board of directors, said during discussion of the proposal Tuesday night.

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