Meriden City Center Initiative

Public Involvement Process
Commercial Center Market Assessment
Environmental Impact Analysis
Harbor Brook Realignment

	Realignment Summary
Preliminary Design of Transportation Improvements
Conceptual Land Use
Design Guidelines
Fiscal and Economic Impact Assessment
Appendix A: Property Acquisition Plan
Appendix B: Residential Relocation Strategy
Appendix C: Preliminary Opinion of Cost Summary

Realignment Summary

The most critical piece of the City Center Initiative is integrating an effective solution to the problem of flood damage in downtown Meriden in the vicinity of Harbor Brook. Several studies and plans that looked at the Harbor Brook flooding problem have been prepared, some dating back to the late 1800’s. One plan, an April 2000 comprehensive report and plans entitled: “Harbor Brook Flood Control and Restoration Project” by Milone and MacBroom, Inc. has been used as a roadmap by the Meriden Flood Control Implementation Agency regarding what to address, the method to address, and sequence for implementing flood control measures.

BL Companies, with input from the City of Meriden’s Flood Control Implementation Agency and review of the above-mentioned reports assessing alternative flood control measures along Harbor Brook, recognizes the following key components, consistent with the April 2000 report:

The continued replacement and removal of hydraulically inadequate bridges along the reach of Harbor Brook from Center Street to Hanover Pond.

The lowering and widening of the channel bottom elevations in the aforementioned reach to improve the overall hydraulic capacity of the brook.

Construction of detention/retention impoundments on the east side of the City and upstream of Baldwin’s Pond.

The elimination of the closed conduit systems carrying Harbor Brook under the HUB, the Mills and Castle Bank properties.

Currently the bridges from Cook Avenue to Hanover Pond are being addressed with a combination of Federal and local funding under the Connecticut Department of Transportation’s State and Local Bridge Programs. State participation has included $2 million earmarked for the demolition of the Hub building. The progression of work will then move upstream of Cook Avenue to include the removal and relocation of the Cooper Street crossing, replacement of the South Butler Street bridge, modification of the Harbor Towers bridge, the removal and abandonment of several small pedestrian and utility bridges, and the replacement of the AMTRAK bridge with a hydraulically adequate structure. These removals/replacements are all necessary and should all take place. For the opening of the Harbor Brook conduit to take place the replacement of the AMTRAK bridge with a hydraulically adequate structure is critical. The final bridge replacement that is critical to the opening of the conduit should take place at Center Street, with a hydraulically adequate structure.

An integral part of the bridge replacements and removals is the lowering of the Harbor Brook channel elevation, from Hanover Pond up to the conduit’s outlet at Church & Morse along South Colony Street. The channel bottom elevation changes should be coupled with widening of the brook and the construction of floodplain areas where feasible to convey low- flow storm events as well as to provide a secondary channel bank area to contain the 100-year design discharge.

The most critical phase of work that must be undertaken for the City Center Initiative “vision” of the HUB to become a reality is to implement the purchasing and subsequent construction/modification of storage areas upstream of Baldwin’s Pond. BL Companies independent review of the April 2000 Harbor Brook Flood Control and Restoration Project Report concurs with the findings relative to flood storage in the Harbor Brook Watershed. The April 2000 Report’s hydrologic study focused on areas within the watershed that would offset the increase in downstream peak flow rates that would be realized when all the bridge and channel improvements are completed. Several areas on the east side of the City were investigated; however two areas in particular may have the potential to account for enough storage to provide the required flow reduction. The areas that should be addressed first are: increasing the storage capacity at Dog’s Misery Swamp, and increasing the storage capacity in the wetland area east of Baldwin’s Pond and the Route 15 connector adjacent to Orchid Road. Further study of the storage capacity of these areas is warranted. There are other ancillary storage areas within the upper reaches of the watershed that provide additional flow reduction which could be acquired after the aforementioned primary areas.

BL Companies investigated other areas within the watershed, as did the April 2000 Report, i.e.; the Jordan and Clark Brook watersheds; Brookside Park; the area behind Westfield Manor and the HUB itself and came to the same conclusion that these areas are either non-existent, or will not provide significant enough storage to reduce peak flows. The HUB area itself as proposed in the April 2000 Report does have a pond located in the middle of the area; however this is an aesthetic pond that provides for a confluence of Jordan, Clark and Harbor Brook. The City Center Initiative proposal may or may not incorporate pools into the center; however any proposed pools would be for collection of Jordan and Clark Brooks or simply for aesthetics.

The final element to implement as part of the overall flood control measures will be to convert the conduit that conveys Harbor Brook under the HUB into an open channel. It is critical to understand that in order for the HUB property to be developed and the channel conveyed through the center, all bridge and channel improvements and all storage areas must be completed first.