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The blue line shows the portion of Route 34 in Derby that is scheduled to be closed for a weekend.
DERBY — A portion of Route 34 in west Derby is scheduled to close starting 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16.
The closure is happening so that large concrete structures can be delivered and installed for a new WPCA pump station under construction on Roosevelt Drive across from Cemetery Avenue.
Route 34 will be closed from Olivia Street downtown to North Avenue, a half-mile stretch.
The road is scheduled to be closed until 5 a.m. Monday, Aug. 19, according to a notice from the city.
Local traffic will be permitted between North Avenue and Olivia.
Electronic signs warning motorists of the closure were set up at various spots in the area Saturday. Please note that Route 34 is also known locally as Roosevelt Drive in west Derby, and Main Street as the road passes through downtown.
A big-picture detour advises thru-traffic heading east to follow detour signs to use Route 111 south in Monroe to Route 110 east in Shelton and then to Bridge Street in Shelton to get back to Route 34 in Derby.
Motorists traveling west should turn off Route 34 at Bridge Street, then take Route 110 west to Route 111 north to reconnect with Route 34.
Surface streets, such as Hawthorne Avenue, are available for the average car and SUV as well. Don’t try to navigate a tractor-trailer on those roads, though, follow the posted detours.
The Derby Water Pollution Control Authority is supervising the replacement of an aging pump station on Roosevelt Drive as part of a $31.2 million referendum approved by voters in 2014.
The replacement of the Roosevelt Drive pump station, which gets waste to the main treatment facility downtown, is a major project and is badly needed. The 2014 cost estimate was nearly $8 million.
The old pump station, built in 1966, was a safety hazard to WPCA workers and was subject to OSHA violations, according to a public presentation in 2014. The station also overflowed, sending raw sewage directly into the Housatonic River. It had “daily operational issues,” according to public statements from consulting engineers.
The pump station is responsible for 40 to 50 percent of all “flow” in the City of Derby.
The notice, as posted on Facebook.
