Blasting Mishap Covers Section Of State Road In Ellington In Rubble

ELLINGTON, CT — A section of state Route 140 in Ellington Friday was covered in rubble and a toppled utility pole because of a blasting mishap, town officials said.

The incident occurred just before 10 a.m., according to the Connecticut Department of Transportation.

An excavator remained on a hillside on Route 140 after the mishap, but boulders came crashing down onto the road. The pole came after and was positioned across the road.

Route 140 was still closed into the mid-afternoon period Between Hopkins and Teaberry Ridge roads while crews worked to install a new pole and relocate wires. The DOT lifted its road closure advisory at about 3:45 p.m.

Eversource Energy was reporting no prolonged power outages.

The construction site is part of a DOT project designed to increase the radii of the horizontal curve west of the Pinnacle Road intersection and three horizontal curves east of Hopkins Road, as well as realigning the intersections of Pinnacle Road and Hopkins Road, according to the DOT.

Additionally, improvements will be made to existing drainage and roadside safety systems, along with the reconstruction of the deteriorated headwall and end wall of a 48-inch reinforced concrete pipe culvert that brings Kimball’s Brook under Route 140, according to the DOT.

The work will also include the replacement of an existing 24-inch RCP carrying an unnamed watercourse below Route 140 with a 36-inch RCP, as well as the installation of outlet protection.

The work, officially CTDOT Project No. 0047-0122, was awarded to Baltazar Contractors, Inc. at a cost of $8,295,210.25 on Feb. 13. and is scheduled to be completed Nov. 30, 2027.

That section of Route 140 is used extensively by motorists from Ellington, Vernon, Tolland and Stafford.