Waterford selectmen OK building contract for Mago Point fishing pier
Waterford — A Farmington-based company successfully has bid to build a walkway and fishing pier along the Niantic River on Mago Point using money from a state grant aimed at revitalizing the waterside neighborhood.
Two companies submitted bids for the design of the walkway, and the Board of Selectmen approved Dichello Construction’s bid for $234,000 at its Sept. 13 meeting.
The pier will be cantilevered, or anchored on one end, and will stretch out over the Niantic River so pedestrians can fish or walk on it. The pier and walkway will follow a similar design to the walkway visible from Mago Point across the Niantic River in East Lyme, Waterford Planning Director Abby Piersall said.
“It’s really trying to create a public focal point,” Piersall said.
The project is the next step in a town effort to invest in Mago Point and encourage business and recreation to flourish in a part of town that has languished in recent years.
The town also has hired consultants using the $500,000 Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) to develop more flexible zoning rules and modernized regulations to make a more welcoming environment for businesses and events like festivals or food markets.
Mago Point residents and business owners have called for changes to help the neighborhood take advantage of its location and more closely resemble other historic waterfront neighborhoods that draw customers to waterfront shopping and restaurants.
The walkway will sit under the site of a bridge that once crossed the Niantic River into East Lyme, so the builders will have to assess the soil for remnants of that structure before they start construction in late September or early October, Piersall said.
The bridge was replaced in 1991 with the much larger Route 156 Niantic River bridge, which some say turned Mago Point into a "flyover" area and discourages people from visiting.
Many of the dozen businesses that have stayed on the point only remain open in the summer, catering to recreational fishermen.
The former Rope Ferry Road site of Unk's on the Bay and Lisa's Landing, both closed seafood restaurants housed in one of Mago Point's most prominent commercial buildings, has changed hands a couple of times in the past few years, though construction has started on a 4,500-square-foot barbecue restaurant on the site.
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