Decorative lighting to be part of bridge upgrades

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NAUGATUCK — The Prospect Street Bridge along Route 68 will be receiving some upgrades.

The Board of Mayor and Burgesses voted last week in favor of taking ownership of and paying the electric costs for decorative lighting along the bridge.

Public Works Director Jim Stewart said he met with the Department of Transportation a few weeks ago to request certain architectural items, including decorative lighting and a stone design on the side of the bridge.

The original plan for the lighting along the bridge was eight 35-foot aluminum poles with 100-watt LED bulbs that are along most state roads, Stewart said.

With the decorative lights it changed to 24 poles with 75-watt LED bulbs.

The DOT will supply the borough the decorative lights poles, but the borough would have to assume all the electrical and the maintenance costs, Stewart said. The cost to light the bridge would be approximately $130 a month, he said.

The DOT would do the stone design at no cost to the borough, Stewart said.

Stewart said the installation is still a couple years away, but the DOT isn’t able to do the lighting design without knowing which types of lighting they will be using.

Mayor Robert Mezzo voiced his support for the upgrades to the bridge.

“This is a gateway to Union City. This is a gateway on the other side to one of our largest taxpayers in terms of the commercial shopping plaza on the other side,” Mezzo said. “I think the value we are getting in terms of the infrastructure pales in comparison to the operating cost.”