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09/19/2023 02:31 PMA critical section of coastal marshland along Route 146 in Leete’s Island is set for restoration as part of a state program. The project area is between Route 146 and Shell Beach Road, which has become a stagnant swamp due to trapped tidal waters caught behind an aging culvert.
According to town officials, the state is paying roughly $1 million for the project. The project, part of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), has been batted around between state and town officials for close to two decades.
Though Shell Beach Road floods often due to the low lie of the marsh, several residential homes will be impacted during construction. According to town engineer Janice Plaziak, the ultimate aim is to ensure proper tidal flushing via a larger and improved drainage system under Shell Beach Road.
“There is currently a 42-inch pipe that connects Leete’s Island marsh out to the cove by Shell Beach, so across or underneath Shell Beach Road, and then goes through private property owned by the Leetes, and then out to the Sound,” said Plaziak. “The town does own the road, but the area being worked on restored is private property. The marsh is not getting tidal flushing, and it is not draining properly because the diameter of the pipe is relatively small. It is failed and probably clogged, so there really is no tidal flow in and no stormwater flow out, so it has just kind of stagnated. It is not functioning as it should.”
This exact project was originally suggested by the town to be completed to fulfill a state-mandated restoration program it imposed on the town for work done to several areas of marshland affected by road elevation projects undertaken by Guilford in the mid-2010s. The state nixed the idea as far back as 2012, according to Plaziak, but recently brought new life into the project as part of the state’s ongoing marsh restoration efforts.
“This was originally discussed as one of the mitigation projects by the town of Guilford for those roads projects, but it was rejected by the Army Corp of Engineers as a mitigation project because it involved an existing tide gate...so we moved away from that as a mitigation project. But obviously, something needed to be done with regard to fixing this pipe and making sure this marsh can function properly into the future,” said Plaziak. “Basically, it is flooded all the time, so Connecticut DEEP took on the project themselves and were able to get it designed and funded for construction in an effort with the Leete family, who own the property, to try and salvage this marsh.”
“The project has been designed. The state has received grants headed by DEEP to build the project, but they ran into some problems being able to execute the construction, so they’ve asked the town to construct the project for them,” Plaziak added. “My department will be taking the lead in getting the project out to bid and constructed.”
Plaziak said it is not unusual for the state to become involved in projects on private property in regard to marshland.
“When it comes to important marsh area, that they’ve been made aware of having some problems, they try and step in. I’m sure they do things like this around the state when there is the need,” Plaziak said. “They are also looking at some other projects in town as well.”
The design will incorporate a large “box” system under Shell Beach Road, rather than the current pipe, Plaziak said. The construction will place a four-foot by six-foot box culvert and create a larger opening for flow during the tide flow and also be placed lower to establish proper drainage.
The project will be going out to bid in the next few months, according to Plaziak. It is unknown when it will begin, but Plaziak estimated sooner rather than later.
“It’s been a little bit slow to get going...but we are hoping to move that process along,” said Plaziak. “We are sending it out to bid as soon as we can get started on that.”
State grants will fund the project, according to Plaziak. The town itself will not be responsible for costs associated with the restoration, and the state will also be monitoring the project once it’s done to ensure the restoration is sufficient.
“Right now, this is really more of an infrastructure project, with the ultimate end goal of being able to rehabilitate the marsh,” Plaziak said.