[UPDATED 1:30pm] Maple Street Bridge Gas Leak Repaired

Updated 1:30 p.m.

North High Street has been reopened after a gas pipe leak at the Maple Street Bridge work site temporarily closed a portion of the road this morning at about 9:45 a.m.

Deputy Chief Chuck Licata told Patch the gas leak was resolved about 90 minutes after it was first reported.

"It was rectified pretty quickly," Licata said.

He added that the gas company was on the scene to bring the situation under control and then repair the pipe, which had apparently been struck during construction work at the bridge site this morning.

"Everything is back to work now," Licata said.

And any area roads that had been closed as a precaution, including North High Street, have now been reopened.

Updated 11:15 a.m. on Monday

A gas leak at the Maple Street Bridge work site has led to the temporary closure of North High Street this morning, according to East Haven Patch reader and a report on The New Haven Register.

The leak reportedly occured when a conractor working at the site struck the line there at about 9:45 a.m.

East Haven Patch will provide updates as more information becomes available.

Original Story

East Haven Mayor April Capone was asked about a possible completion date for the at the 's special meeting tonight at the Senior Center.

Capone replied the bridge could be completed as soon as Nov. 15.

"There is very little left to do," Capone said.

But, she quickly added, that date —like so many before it — is anything but set in stone.

"I don't trust his answers any longer," Capone said of the contractor for the project, .

"We've been riding this rodeo for two years," she said.

The $2 million bridge replacement job was originally supposed to be finished before the end of 2010, but a series of delays made that impossible.

Some of the delays involved disputes between the project engineer and the contractor. The harsh, snowy winter also helped to put the project behind schedule.

The biggest problem, however, involved the relocation of a sewer trunk line linking North Branford with a sewer treatment plan in New Haven.

The sewer line was not included on the bridge plans and relocating it had to be added to the project.

Town officials and local residents were frustrated because the contractor reportedly shut down the entire project while the dispute over the sewer line was negotiated.

In May, and vowed to take legal action if the project missed that deadline, which it did.

But t and told the town that Old Colony was not responsible for the sewer pipe problem that lead to the lengthy delay.

At this evening's Town Council meeting, however, Capone told council members that the town has been "holding back payment" from the contractor to offset and fine the company for the extensive project delays.

"And I presume there will be a lawsuit at some point," the mayor told the council.

"This is what happens when an unscrupulous contractor knows how to work the system," Capone said.

The mayor added that she intends to work with state officials to improve and update Connecticut's process for capital improvement projects like the Maple Street Bridge, so similar situations do not happen again in East Haven or other municipalities.

Capone apologized to residents who have been inconvienced for an extended period of time due to the delayed project and the bridge's closure, and she also thanked them for their patience.

"This has been a terrible situation for two years, which is a year overdue," Capone said.