Bottoming problem at intersection surfaces with driver's complaint.

Byline: Jim Esslinger

THOMPSON - For as long as anyone can remember - 40 years is a conservative estimate - drivers have been scraping the undercarriages of their cars as they made a right turn from Reardon Road onto Main Street in North Grosvenordale. And no one really complained, at least not to town officials, as far as anyone knows.

But all that changed in the past few weeks when First Selectman Lawrence Groh received a letter from a motorist saying his car was damaged as a result of two to three years of bottoming out while negotiating the turn. The unnamed complainant wanted to recoup the cost of repairs.

So, selectmen will be seeking the help of residents in coming up with a way to ameliorate the decades-old problem of the right turn. No one is quite sure what causes vehicles to bottom out at the intersection. One thing is for certain: The town can ill-afford to be liable for damage to vehicles, Mr. Groh said.

What's more, drivers aware of the problem have resorted to making their right turns from the left lane of Reardon Road, creating another problem: drivers traveling on Main Street who wish to turn left onto Reardon run the risk of meeting another vehicle head-on. So far, no accidents have been reported at the intersection, according to selectmen.

"Another problem is cars pull out into (Main Street) to look for oncoming traffic," said one resident, Joseph Garceau, which in turn creates another hazard.

Last night, selectmen and spectators offered a number of solutions, including posting a No Right Turn sign at the intersection and building a berm and posting a Speed Bump sign. Mr. Groh said he is having Highway Department Foreman Leo Adams study the situation and come up with solutions and maybe an answer for why it is happening.

Selectman Sally White said she has experienced the problem firsthand and estimated the problem has existed since the 1960s.

While acknowledging the problem, she said, tongue-in-cheek, "We could say it's part of the character of the town."

Selectmen will air the problem during their Aug. 5 meeting at Town Hall, with the hope that residents will come forward with ideas on how to correct a 40-year-old problem.

As for the driver who complained, Connecticut law offers relief to motorists if they can prove damage to their vehicle is the result of town or state neglect of a road - but only if the town was made aware of the problem and did nothing to fix it, according to Tonya Levesque, who serves as the town's risk management officer. It's not clear how this will affect the driver's case.

NAME: THOMPSON SELECTMEN