After weeks of work removing thousands of pounds of branches and other tree debris as part of the town's curbside pickup program in the aftermath of the historic October storm, officials said the effort has wound to a close.
"We are returning to approximately 20 locations that were missed or delayed in the pickup schedule," First Selectman Pat Llodra said in a statement she and Director Fred Hurley issued late Wednesday. "We are also going back to specific locations to pick-up big wood left behind that requires heavy equipment for removal."
While the town will no longer perform curbside pickup, homeowners may continue to cart storm debris to the transfer station between 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday free of charge for the rest of this year, officials said. The fee schedule, which applies to limbs larger than 3-inches in diameter, resumes when the transfer station re-opens Jan. 3, officials said.
"With nearly 265 miles of road and more than 9,000 residences the debris program placed considerable demands on our public works staff and contract services," Llodra and Hurley said in the statement. "We are glad to be done with this work ahead of any winter weather and hope to not have this same need again in the near future!"
Public works staff and Connecticut Light & Power will continue to address tree limbs that are precariously hangly over roadways and other areas through the winter season, officials said.
"We're going to be at that for awhile," Hurley said in an interview.
Meanwhile, for the state roadways, Department of Transportation spokesman Kevin Nursick said recently that workers are making good progress in the pickup program on state highways in Newtown but that the work is likely to take until January to be completed.
The agency had targetted mid-December as a goal for a first-sweep along state highways in town, with the goal of a second-sweep shortly afterward, Nursick had said.
