Norwich bulletin., 1917-12-13
NOTCH ROAD
 CROSSING NOW ELIMINATED
Menace to Travel Has Been Source
 of Trouble For Years Past.

is Q thing of the past and will in years
 to come be recalled by certain auto-
 nobilists as the spot where they all
 hut met their Waterloo and final
 count. Within few days the state
 highway commission will have be-
 slowed the last fond touches and the elimination of this risky location VIII be complete. Passage over this crossing which is cn the main route east. has always been regarded by passengers and com inercfa1 car drivers as 8 bit hazard GUS. They looked forward to the time when there would be no crossing. That time has come. State Highway Com missioner Bennett has desired ths eli mination of the Bolton Notch cross ing ever since he assumed charge or l this department The railroad com pany wanted it out of the way. This recalls a bit of sentiment. so to speak Commissioner Bennett refers to the Boston Notch location as the miss ing link because this was the last piece of unimproved roadway between Hartford and the Rhode Island line. He feels sentimental about it, too. In 1908 the highway commissioner was New York, New Haven, x Hartford Railroad Co., which wanted to get rid of the crossing at the earliest possible moment. MT. Bennett laid out plans for this big piece of work and the
 completion of it nearly ten years later was practically under the original lines calling for the erection of a
 bridge and a new piece or nearly straight road. Now that the work is
 finished the missing link has been re- stored to the chain.
 All those who have driven through
 Bolton Notch section Know that IL IS
 very rocky in formation. To build G.
 900 feet of new road necessitated con- siderable blasting and drilling. Nat
 urally there was the big advantage
 of a solid rock foundation. in fact
 portion of the new road adjacent to
 the railroad crossing was cut through
 rock.
 Approaching from either direction
 the passenger or commercial vehicle
 used now has an easy grade. From the
 direction of Hartford the slope through
 the rock cut is gradual and is to the
 right of the railroad tracks and the
 old road. One may now leisurely view
 the scenery which is we'll worth while
 in contradistinctien to the former at.
 sake. Incidentally. the view enhanced by the new road.
 An interesting feature of the work is a concrete bridge crossing the notch
 ,diagonaily) high above the railroad
 tracks. The span is 94 feet long and allows for a straight course to the top of the grade. At the top the road
 has two forks, one leading to Coven- rractically joining the other in Wind ham county. This new skew concrete bridge is of enduring construction and should last long after the pr esent gen eration is forgotten: The highway department is partial to concrete, be- cause of it's long life in which re- srect they pay homage to the old Ro- mans.
 The original Bolton Notch road was rendered dangerous not only by the crossing in the valley. but also by two wooden bridges, built in the days when automobiles were hardly thought of. At any rate automobiles were not considered when the bridges were placed, as many motorists in this vi cinfty assumed when they turned cor ners too sharply and to their cost. These quaint stru uctures are discarded in the plan of elimination. though, of course, they will probably remain for the benefit of those whose houses and property would be affected. No more shall this location be 'hugbear to those who motor for the week to sorts. because travelling over the new road will be a keen delight. The Notch and immediate surroundings may be viewed in perfect safety.
 | Automobile drivers will recall the 1 road to the summit of the Notch there is. a. new road 600 feet long, fenced on both sides Beyond the new concrete bridge this road curves somewhat and parallels the railroad
 
 i they are. are very wide, with walls of rock on either side. At this point one may view the trains laboring over the summit.
 ! Cutting through this portion neces- sitated considerable drilling and blast ing. During the earth's' formative period the lava must have wearied on his journey. tarried and decided to remain at Bolton, thus providing this community with scenic grandeur quite | it's own. Some idea of the tremendous pressure during the formative period l is had from inspection of the curved ! strata through which the summit slope To do away with the old road and build the new a. 16-foot fill was neces- sary. Incidentally the highway de- partment had to move a dwelling and
 three barns; Comparison with that of the railroad in the early sos is in- teresting The company cut through solid rock seeking a level road bed 1 and grade reduction utilizing hand highway contractor used compressed air and dynamite. Some day the rail- Iroad will tunnel under Bolton Notch I and lay double tracks. but that is an ! completed reduces the grade to 8 3-4 per cent so that all cars may easily make it on high gear.
 The total cost of the Bolton Notch tconStructlon was $4S,OOo and or this amount the railroad company con ! tributed $1s,50o or approximately 34 1-2 per cent. The commissioner ear
 nestly desired it out of the way and
 the fact that plans had been drawn up
 a decade ago was helpful in arriving at a solution. Showing it's good faith by contributing a. third of the cost | the road was freed of it's mil1stone and l everyone was satisfied Obviously i this cooperation made it possible to finish the work this season.
 | From the beginning to the end of l the work about 400 men were employ ! cd on the road. Division Engineer R.