Ice on the Connecticut River
Ice clogs the Connecticut River north of the East Haddam Swing Bridge on Tuesday.
The Bollard, a 65-foot icebreaking tug, worked Tuesday to break up ice in the Connecticut River, according to Coast Guard Petty Officer Cynthia Oldham. The Hawser, another 65-foot Coast Guard cutter, was en route Tuesday evening from New York to assist with the ice-breaking efforts on Wednesday.
The Bollard, based in New Haven, was helping this past week break ice around Nantucket to keep the ferry lines open during the cold spell, and is now breaking up ice in its own home state, according to Oldham.
The ice was so thick that the Coast Guard cutter Bollard stopped Tuesday afternoon approximately a mile and a half north of Essex, roughly between Deep River and Selden Neck State Park, said Petty Officer Frank Iannazzo-Simmons.
The Coast Guard decided it would pose a problem to have only one cutter try to break such thick ice, so it decided to hold off until an extra vessel could arrive, he said. The plan is to have both Hawser and Bollard break ice on Wednesday, but is subject to change depending on the weather, he said.
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