Construction Vehicles from Chase Property in West Hartford Concern Avon Residents

Avon police have received complaints over the past few weeks about trucks  speeding on Deercliff Road, predominantly on the part of the road near the intersection with Sky View Drive.

“In response we have sent patrol and traffic units to Deercliff to evaluate the speed and take any enforcement action," Avon police Capt. Jeffrey Blatter said, including commercial vehicle enforcement. “There has been no enforcement action for speed however there have been two vehicles taken out of service due to mechanical issues.”

Police continue to monitor the area.

Avon's Planning and Zoning Office has also received calls from residents about trucks speeding and leaving mud behind on the road when hauling materials back and forth. Deercliff Road is off of Avon Mountain and passes into Farmington. Officials have referred callers complaining of the mud to the Department of Public Works, which handles public road maintenance.

While police and officials have not confirmed where the speeding trucks are coming from, some residents who called the planning office have inferred that the trucks could be coming from West Hartford resident Arnold Chase's property.

About 35 acres of his 123-acre property, including a pond, are in Avon and the rest is in West Hartford. There is a construction entrance on Deercliff Road in West Hartford about six feet from the Avon town line.

Avon planning officials contacted the West Hartford planning office to find out more information about the project at Chase's home. Deputy Corporation Counsel Pat Alair, town attorney for West Hartford, spoke with Chase Tuesday morning after West Hartford planning officials asked him to look into the matter.

"There's truck traffic bringing in material (top soil)," Alair said that Chase told him, "...and taking away some of the other stuff."

Alair said he wasn't aware of any complaints from West Hartford residents.

“We haven’t had any issues," Alair said. "I understand that Avon had received some complaints."

Chase, who said he is preparing to lay a lawn on an unfinished part of the land, said that there are more trucks on Deercliff Road than usual because of the project.

Chase said that construction on part of his property was never finished during the economic slump. A month ago, he found the right "fill," or dirt, needed to finish the grading on his property to prepare it for planting grass. Work on the property began agan about 10 days ago.

Residents have called the Avon planning office asking when the project at Chase's house will be completed. He said he estimates it will take another two weeks.

One of the construction workers doing work on the property received a complaint form an Avon resident about the trucks and notified Chase.

“I talked to the Avon police chief because I found out that someone had complained about trucks speeding," Chase said.

He said that police did an audit and said the trucks were adhering to the speed limit, marked there as 25 miles-per-hour. The Department of Transportation and police inspected the trucks and determined that they were carrying the right amount of load, Chase said.

“The trucks are operating legally and properly," Chase said.

Blatter said that the truck speeding was reported on the opposite part of Deercliff Road from the Chase property access point, but could not confirm whether the trucks in question were coming to or from the direction of Chase's home.