PORTLAND — Construction will soon begin on a road and small parking area through a portion of the Tilcon Connecticut property on Airline Avenue South that will further open up the town’s access to the Connecticut River.
The project, which will include a boat launch, received $300,000 in funding from the State Bond Commission in 2022, will provide the first public ingress to the river in some 100 years, according to First Selectman Michael Pelton.
The first phase has had a lot of “fits and starts,” he acknowledged.
The road, which will be mostly unpaved, will be created off Airline Avenue South, near the old Tomasso ballfield and Meriden Motor Boat Club, and border the construction company’s land decommissioned some time ago, he added.
The town has been working with the state Department of Energy & Environmental Protection to make sure there’s no construction runoff into the wetland area, Pelton said. “We’ve got to be very careful because we’re near the wetlands, but not in it.”
A parking area will be built for between eight and 10 vehicles, he added, where visitors will be able to unload their canoes or kayaks. There will also be some parking on Airline Avenue South.
A lot of trees and brush will need to be removed before the road goes in.
Most of the property is flat, Pelton said, but as it approaches the river, there is a 25- to-30-foot drop to the water.
“That’s our prime real estate area for the river,” Peloton said.
As part of the Plan of Conservation and Development, town officials will be looking at further improving the area over next year or so, he added, including the Brownstone Exploration Park.
A short distance away, Riverfront Park, on Brownstone Avenue, which has been cleaned up to provide more riverfront access, is now landscaped with large slabs of the reddish sandstone, plants, more seating, a pavilion, band shell, gazebo, volleyball court and labyrinth on site.
The town is looking at ways to potentially connect the properties with a walking trail, the first selectman said.
Atlas Residential won their $20,000 bid to construct fencing to be installed along the pathway to the road and Tilcon property, according to Riverfront Access Committee minutes. The next step is excavation.
Bids can be submitted through mid-August.
Tilcon granted the town an easement over its Portland Asphalt and Concrete Plant property in 2022. The company granted the town permission to build a baseball field on their land in 1974, which, Tilcon said, was used by Portland little league teams for over 40 years.
It is no longer in use, Pelton said.
Former selectmen Louis Pear and current Selectman Rick Sharr, along with members of the community, have been working on this “passion project” for at least 12 years, Pelton noted.
Being able to break ground soon “feels fantastic,” the first selectman explained.