WATERURY — Municipal Stadium's grandstand is in shambles now, halfway through a $4-million renovation, but city officials say the real mess there lurks underground.
The grandstand's concrete slab foundation is cracked from decades of settling into the quicksand-like soil found under the stadium, officials say. The 3-inch gaps in the concrete suggest the former floodplain just can't support the slabs, much less the weight of additional footings for the new aluminum decking above.
"The soil conditions underneath the stadium are really terrible," said project manager Andrew Martelli. "We need a new slab design before we can proceed."
As a result, a geologist has advised the city to replace the unsuitable fills, sand and silts in the first 10 feet of soil with crushed stone that can bear more weight.
The city has forwarded the geologist's report to project architect BL Cos. and the contractor, Banton Construction, and is awaiting estimates on how much the additional work will cost.
The city hopes to complete the renovation next year. A push is being made to finish the work in time for Waterbury baseball teams to return to the stadium in 2014.
Kevin DelGobbo, the director of the city's development arm, Waterbury Development Corp., said he is trying to find funds to cover the extra costs.
"There is a delta, no doubt, and it is disappointing, but better to have fixed this now than watch the slabs fail in five years," said DelGobbo. "Then all of this is for nothing."
Alderman Anthony T. Piccochi, a member of the WDC board, expressed his frustration with the amount of time the stadium has been essentially off-limits to the public.
Demolition has resumed at the stadium after a period of dormancy that began after the city asked an architect to settle a dispute between the architect and contractor.
The architect originally proposed using soil results taken from samples dug up at other areas of the site, such as where light poles were installed, but eventually relented.
The original plan did not call for pulling up the slabs in the floor entirely, but to remove small sections instead. That is when city officials discovered the huge gaps. Now the city is removing all of the concrete slabs.
Interior walls are also cracked from the strain of settling, leaving sections of the slabs wildly uneven, Martelli said. The new foundation should allow for settling.
The city now also plans to solicit a separate bid to fix the stadium parking lot, fencing and sidewalk along Watertown Avenue, he said.
The Board of Aldermen had originally pushed to have these removed from the project, which was threatening to go over budget. Now DelGobbo wants them back.
"There's no point in fixing the stadium up real nice if it is overshadowed by a parking lot, fencing and sidewalks that are in great disrepair," DelGobbo said.
The project budget appeared to be in such bad shape that the city exhausted its contingency fund before starting the demolition, officials say.
The grandstand renovation is the third and final phase of a seven-year, $6.7-million renovation. The city's share of total costs is $2.5 million. The rest is from the state.
The first phase of the project included the installation of a new synthetic turf field at the football stadium. In 2009, the state agreed to fund a new light system.
The final phase includes a new scoreboard, dugouts, backstop, sound system, spectator bathrooms, a locker and training room and a lobby.
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Construction to start on two magnet schools
The CREC Academy of Aerospace and Engineering is located at 1101 Kennedy Road in Windsor and will accommodate 735 students in grades six through 12.
The CREC Discovery Academy, which bills itself as a state-of-the-art STEM elementary school, is at 176 Cumberland Ave. in Wethersfield. It will serve 480 students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.
DOT Task Force To Drivers: Don't Endanger Our Lives
To motorists passing a Connecticut highway construction site, the long column of safety warnings might seem over the top: Orange signs, orange cones, flashing lights, sand barrels and even orange dump trucks. But despite all those caution signals, every year at least a few confused, drunk or distracted drivers veer into work zones. Those mistakes can suddenly turn the most routine assignment into a life or death emergency for the work crews.
Parts of Flatbush Ave to close
WEST HARTFORD — State Department of Transportation construction projects will lead to road closures in the Flatbush Avenue area in October. Crews will be moving into stage three of the Flatbush Avenue bridge project, which is part of the CTfastrak busway, the DOT said.