Eversource Tower Project Along the Trails

Partly dismantled old towers and the new monopole replacements
along the Paugussett Trail

Eversource's "Stevenson to Pootatuck Rebuild Project" is in full swing throughout Shelton Lakes and French's Hill, with new towers being installed and the old ones taken down. Additionally, there are plenty of newly constructed or enlarged gravel access roads and pads impacting the trails.

Gravel access road and timber matt pad as seen from Nells Rock Trail

The work stages seem to leapfrog up and down the powerline corridor, so the outsider has no way to predict what's coming next, except that the work is generally going from south to north (work at French's Hill only just recently commenced). New monopoles have popped up seemingly far in advance, surrounded by the old towers.

Timber matt and new monopoles ready to be installed.
This is a new pole location on the Paugussett Trail near 
Independence Drive

Close up of the new monopole foundation

One of the old towers

For any given location, the first step involves crews preparing an accessway and construction pads. These pads may be made of gravel or temporary timber mats (mats are used in sensitive areas such as wetlands). The accessway and pad need to be large enough to accommodate the cranes and drilling equipment that will be used. Additional space is required on the pad for staging materials. In some areas, extensive grading and chipping away of ledge had been necessary. Subsequently, another crew arrives to drill foundations for the new monopoles. In cases where the rock is particularly hard, the drilling process can take a considerable amount of time. Once the foundation is complete, yet another crew installs the new monopole. The wires are then transferred from the old tower to the new monopole, and the top half of the old tower is sawed off and left nearby in a crumpled state.

Rec Path near Great Ledge (Oak Valley/Wesley Drive)

The Eversource crews, who are actually subcontractors, have placed "trail closed" signs wherever our hiking trails intersect or follow the powerline corridor. They have also erected construction fencing across the trail, which we suggested they do because our experience shows that some trail users disregard signs and pass through the Trails Committee's active work zones, even under leaning trees that are in the process of being cut down with a chainsaw. We've encountered people without basic survival skills sneaking up behind someone using a gas-powered brush cutter with blades that can easily cut through small trees. Therefore, we warned the Eversource staff to expect that some trail users would ignore the signs.

Construction fence blocking trail was down early
(Nells Rock Trail)

And indeed, that's exactly what has happened. The construction fencing across the trail has collapsed in some spots, and clear walk-around paths have been created. Eversource crews have reported incidents of mountain bikers and hikers passing through active work zones. In one instance, someone was even using one of their survey stakes as a walking stick (note: NEVER tamper with a survey marker, as it is against state law and can result in fines amounting to thousands of dollars).

One of the later signs
along the Paugussett Trail

To be fair, most of the closed trail sections are not under active construction at any given time. And many of the 'trail closed' signs had no explanation, especially the earlier signs. People may believe that the trail closures are merely a liability precaution, similar to a warning about hot coffee, and consequently choose to ignore the signs. We have received comments from trail users expressing frustration over trail sections being closed when no actual work is being conducted there. Some people have a particular route they walk or run every day, and have been doing so for years. 

Explore our other trails!

We encourage people to explore alternatives to Shelton Lakes and French's Hill and try out some of our other excellent trails. Boehm Pond offers a couple of nice loops that are relatively easy, as does Nicholdale Farm/Willis Woods. There's also the new Woodsend Trail, along with the hilly trail systems at Birchbank, Indian Well, and Tahmore Preserve. You can find maps for all these trails on the Conservation Commission's website. Additionally, there is a custom Google Map featuring all the trails and parking areas, which can help you locate yourself along the trails or provide driving directions.