December 16, 2013

CT Construction Digest December 16, 2013

CT fasttrack provides jobs for locals

Miles of concrete barriers, retaining walls and curbing were needed to line the New Britain to Hartford busway. Much of it was cast at United Concrete Products in Wallingford.
The Church Street concrete manufacturer was one of a half-dozen companies in the Meriden, Wallingford, Southington and Cheshire region that received contracts or supplied builders working on CTfastrack. Those contracts represented more than $13 million of the project’s total half-billion-dollar price tag. State Department of Transportation officials hope to have Fastrak, the busway that will shuttle riders between New Britain and Hartford, operational by February 2015. The 9.4-mile CTfastrak is a bus-only roadway built over an abandoned rail line.  United Concrete employs 175 people, 15 to 20 of which were hired as a result of the castings needed for the busway. Owner John Gavin said the concrete supplied totaled about $8 million and represented a major project for the company. “We’re sad to see it coming to an end,” he said. “I wish there were about 10 more of those jobs lined up.” Bridge pieces, retaining wall sections and pipes can be cast at the company’s Wallingford plants rather than poured on the jobsite. Pre-casting is faster, cheaper and produces better results according to Joe Richello, pre-cast division manager. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
 
 
Hartford — The Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments will receive $2.7 million from the state to fund local road improvements as part of the state's new Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program, which was passed during the 2013 legislative session. The other funding for southeastern Connecticut was for Essex, which will receive $140,107 in grants under the state's Local Bridge Program. The money is included in the $10 million in general obligation bonds and $834 million in revenue bonds approved by the State Bond Commission on Friday. Of the total $844 million, there was $45 million in grants for the state's Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program and $15 million for Connecticut's Local Bridge Program. COG will accept road improvement applications from municipalities and work with them to prioritize projects for the region. "I think it is very, very exciting for our region and for the entire state," said James S. Butler, executive director for COG. Under the new program, it will be the municipalities' responsibility to design the road improvement projects, such as reconstructing roads, building new roads or realigning intersections, as opposed to the state Department of Transportation. The hope is that the road improvement projects will move more swiftly if municipalities are in charge of the project design, Butler said. "We view the state as partners, but some of our towns have suggested that it takes too long to approve initial design and final design, and some of our towns always thought they could deliver more quickly," Butler said. "So the DOT responded in a positive way."  CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
 
 
Design work on $35 million in state-funded improvements to the aging XL Center arena can now get underway, after the State Bond Commission on Friday approved financing for the planning.
The improvements will include the construction of a new bar area inside the arena, luxury seating lower in the bowl, and other upgrades to the concourse, locker rooms and mechanical systems. Construction is expected to begin in March and be completed in October, in time for the start of the 2014 Wolf Pack and University of Connecticut hockey seasons. The Capital Region Development Authority said it was crucial to begin design work now so the bulk of the construction could be done during the slower summer months at the arena.Even as plans go forward for the improvements, city and state officials are thinking about the future of the arena beyond the next eight to 10 years that the improvements are intended to cover. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING