Paugussett Bridge Blowout

The Shelton side of the bridge was pushed off its footing

The beautiful bridge over Round Hill Brook on the Shelton/Monroe border was shoved a few feet downriver on the Shelton side. The Monroe side was cabled securely to a tree and stayed in place. We just found out about it, although it happened during the August deluge that flooded much of the region. This was an Eagle Scout project in 2020 by Korey Barber and Troop 27. 

Alex at CFPA had taken a look at the bridge earlier and deemed it to be passable until next season when new footings can be constructed. Although it's twisted and doesn't feel very stable, it doesn't appear to be in any danger of collapsing. CFPA lost many bridges throughout the region during the flood. At Webb Mountain, a new Paugussett Bridge was swept away and another bridge sustained damage but was repaired. Bridges that were firmly secured were more likely to have survived the floods. Both of the Scout bridges at Birchbank were overtopped but survived. 

We didn't know about this problem for three months, in part because we had been told the bridge was still there and thought that meant it was OK. At the time, we were focused on cleaning up from the big microburst at Shelton Lakes and Boehm Pond. Remember, if you see something, say something! We don't live out on the trails, nor do we routinely walk every section of the 32-mile system. We've had multiple cases this year of massive blowdowns completely blocking a trail for weeks or even months and not one single person told us. Help future trail users by contacting us when there's a serious problem like that. Don't assume we know about it. It's not being a complainer, it's being a trail hero!