As we prepare for another weekend of wild weather — rain, wind, and who knows what else — here are some helpful links.
Connecticut Department of Emergency Services & Public Protection: click here.
State Senator Tony Hwang — who provided this information — hosted a recent Extreme Weather & Coastal Resiliency Informational Forum. It highlighted
the importance of resiliency and preparation against growing risks of flooding, severe winds, coastal erosion and extreme weather. Click here to see.
From that forum, you can link to FEMA’s Severe Wind Protection Plan (click here; page 19) and Financial Preparedness and Homeowners’ Insurance Claims (page 15).
The Connecticut Insurance Department has also launched a resource to assist with preparedness. Click here to see.
Other helpful links include:
- Eversource Storm Preparedness
- Connecticut Department of Emergency Services & Public Protection emergency resources
- Federal severe weather resources (Ready.gov)
- Sign up for Westport and Connecticut emergency alerts
Will this weekend bring a repeat of 2 weekends ago? Be prepared!
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Meanwhile: Still cleaning up from the September 13 flood (while preparing for this weekend’s weather)?
Help may be near.
And it’s free.
The state Division of Emergency Management & Homeland Security and CT Volunteer Organizations Assisting in Disasters has engaged the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief organization to offer free help.
Assistance includes assessment, removal of damaged items and materials, cleanup and mold mitigation.
To request assistance, call 203-628-6978. Leave a message after the beep with your name, phone number, address, and a brief description of your needs.
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One cancellation already for tomorrow: The Fun Fest at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport.
A new date will be announced soon.
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Two important projects — one (hopefully relatively) short-term, the other longer — are on the agenda when the Board of Finance meets October 7 (7:30 p.m., Town Hall auditorium; livestream at www.westportct.gov).
The board will be asked to approve an appropriation of $172,5000, for the design cost and permitting of the Jesup Road bridge replacement.
The short, often unnoticed span was weakened during the September 13 flood. The road is closed, shutting off an important route from Imperial Avenue to the police station, Library and Levitt Pavilion.
The project has been estimated to take 12 to 18 months. Residents and town officials hope for an expedited process.
The second request is for $176,000, for the initial assessment and “new vs. renovation comparison study” for the future Coleytown Elementary School project.
This would be an initial step in a long-awaited process for the 1950s-era building.
The BOF will also consider a request for $1,119,000, for consultant services in support of the Safe Streets and Roads for All, Supplemental Planning and Demonstration Grant.
The now-closed Jesup Road bridge.
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The state Department of Transportation will mill and resurface Route 57 (Weston Road) from Easton Road (Route 136) to just south of the Weston town line, beginning Sunday.
The work is expected to be completed by October 9, weather permitting.
Although this section of Route 57 was resurfaced in June, the top layer of asphalt is to be replaced due to an issue with the paving material.
The tentative start date for the milling portion of the project is scheduled to begin Sunday night, and continue for approximately 3 nights.
The tentative start date for the paving portion is the night of Wednesday, September 30, 2026, and continue for approximately 3 nights.
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The Westport Prize for Literature goes to … “Good People.” The debut novel by Patmeena Sabit was selected by an independent jury from a field of finalists that also included “Transcription” by Ben Lerner and “The Children” by Melissa Albert.
Now in its 4th year, the $10,000 annual prize honors original works of literary fiction published in the US that are both relevant and timeless. The prize is administered by Westport resident volunteers.
Sabit will receive the prize at the Library on November 12 (7 p.m.), followed by a conversation with Meghan O’Rourke, editor of The Yale Review. Copies of Good People will be available for purchase at the event, and Sabit will sign books afterward. For more information about the event, click here.
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How often do you get a chance to hear a Grammy-nominated singer in Westport … for free?
(Besides the Levitt Pavilion, of course.)
Next Friday (October 2, 7 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport), baritone Sidney Outlaw and pianist Piotr Kozlowsk presenting the Connecticut premiere of “26 Ways of Looking at a Black Man,” with music by B.E. Boykin and poetry by Raymond Patterson.
The UU says, “This is an opportunity not simply to hear a world-class performer, but to gather around a deeply meaningful work that centers Black artistry, identity and lived experience.
Questions? Contact Micah Kracja: 203.227.7205, ext. 18; micah@uuwestport.org.
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The Ned Dimes Marina hasn’t gotten a lot of love lately.
Perhaps today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo will show it in a more serene light.
(Photo/Karen Como)
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And finally … on this date in 2001 — 20 years after his death — the voice of Bob Marley ushered satellite radio onto the air. It promised listeners greater variety — for a price — with the launch of XM Satellite Radio. It was the first worldwide broadcast of a satellite radio station
(We’re getting ready for another weekend. As always, “06880” will be here with whatever news you need. And as always, we’re grateful for any readers who click here to support our work. Thank you!)
I wonder about the priority and urgency the Town has placed on the of the Jessup Road bridge. Witness the delay for a “discussion” of an appropriation of $172,000 for a Design and Permitting of the project until October 7th. Why a time lag of two weeks. Surely the financing bodies can do better than this.
The reconstruction of this old bridge is obviously an urgent priority. The design and permitting process should be already in progress and an expedited process timeline already done and published so that all the relevant parties know their schedule objectives. Design and permitting are processes that can be truncated while quality is maintained. The financing and approval processes can absolutely be tasked to eliminate all unnecessary wasted meeting scheduling time and bureaucracy.
Quality need not and should not be sacrificed, but the process will not be shortened unless there is a real timing plan in place and communicated.
This bridge project is key to the Town’s ability demonstrate it can respond to an important adverse event.
Timely decisions are essential. Let’s see THE PLAN so that all contributing parties know their precise expectations and be held accountable.
One year to complete is not acceptable and any barriers to faster progress need to be exposed.
It’s time to put energy behind this. The completion time cannot be over a year, how about a target of 6 months . . .
This is a n imminent challenge which can be embraced by all the Town’s administration and governing bodies.
It’s hard to believe Westport might have to go through another flood. I call Westport ( The Town that Will Never Surrender) because they’ll find an answer! Also, in October 1976, I was invited to go to Bob Marley’s home for a huge party. I didn’t go, although 200 people attended.
Wow. Which home Jack?
To be clear, Bob Marley had no idea who I was, but I had a friend in Montego Bay named Cleveland, and he got an invite and invited me because he said I’d probably be the only American there. I didn’t go because Marley lived in Kingston and back then, driving to Kingston from Montego Bay was absolutely dangerous! Also, I really didn’t realize how famous he was.
I agree with Mr. Stern here. As someone who lives off Imperial Avenue, I never appreciated how important that bridge is until it is now gone. It really plays an important role in alleviating bottlenecks over the Saugatuck and completing a replacement as soon as feasible should be a priority.
And one small thing while the bridge is closed. Can we take down the stop signs at the intersection? They’re totally unnecessary if the bridge is closed to traffic.
In the next few to several months, there will be more noticeable damage from the 9/13 storm. That amount of concentrated rain inundated infrastructure in such little time, the scouring that has occurred with all drainage basins, piping, bridges and roadways will start popping up through sinkholes, heaves and depressions.
All stonecrop foundation bridges need to be looked at, especially over by Center Street and Hillandale.
Deadman’s Brook has filled in over the last couple of decades with yard waste, runoff from storms, sand from past snow treatment practices and debris. The bureaucracy and red tape to enter these tributaries and remove the waste will only do more harm.
Cross Highway and Roseville was cleared out two years ago, the drainage and flow improved ten fold with little to no flooding at all now, returning it to its original base.
State of Connecticut just completed clearing out Greens Farms drainage ditch next to I-95 and made a major difference to relieving the flood. Pussywillow Brook was approved for 1,470 feet of it to be cleared…we are waiting.
With the rainfall we’re expecting plus abnormal lunar high tides on top, get everything in low lying areas out near waterways and expect further issues.
That little bridge on Jesup handles way more traffic than most people realize. This repair or replacement has to be done quickly.