Now that Bethel residents have agreed to sell a 2,700 square foot strip of land to the state, the Department of Transportation can do necessary construction for a new Plumtrees Road Bridge. 

First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker says there's a technical reason it's advantageous for the state to own the land.  It has to do with maintaining the waterways under environmental protection law during construction.  He says this sale will allow the project to go out to bid, which will happen soon.

The Boards of Selectmen and Finance previously approved accepting $3,737 from the State.  The piece of land is located at the corners of Plumtrees Road, Whittlesey Drive and Walnut Hill Road.

The state will deed the land back to the town after construction is complete, so Knickerbocker says the sale is just a technical formality than anything else.  He called it an insignificant piece of land, part of a steep slope that leads down to the water.  There's nothing that the town could do with the parcel.