The Heavy Infrastructure Construction industry is large and multifaceted. About 32.5% of annual revenue is derived from work on transport infrastructure projects (including marine transport, mass transit and railroad and highway infrastructure). Other important areas of industry activity include conservation and development projects (e.g. land reclamation and soil detoxification) and work on recreational infrastructure projects. “As with most construction industries, heavy infrastructure contractors suffered losses during the Great Recession,” according to IBISWorld Industry Analyst Deonta Smith. Over the five years to 2013, industry revenue is expected to drop an average of 1.4% annually to $43.7 billion. This includes the anticipated decline of 0.9% in 2013, as private spending levels wane due to rising interest rates. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
Developer cahllanges order stalling plan to bring Bridgewater Associates from Westport to Stamford
Building and Land Technology is expected to defend the 2011 demolition of a Stamford boatyard as it tries this week to overturn a cease-and-desist order from land-use officials -- an action that has blocked progress on the developer's application to build an 850,000-square-foot headquarters for Westport hedge fund Bridgewater Associates in Stamford's South End. The logjam occurred in July 2012 when the cease-and-desist order issued by the city prevented BLT from proceeding with construction activity at a 14-acre site near Dyke Lane and Bateman Way, except for an approved environmental remediation of the land that costs $35 million. Zoning Board Chairman Thomas Mills said until BLT brings forward a well-considered plan to replace the destroyed boatyard, a review of the proposed Bridgewater headquarters plan is premature. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
Work begins at downtown Meriden HUB
MERIDEN — Trees on the downtown Meriden Hub site were reduced to wood chips Monday morning, among the first steps toward redevelopment of the city’s best-known vacant parcel.
Work at the Hub has been anticipated since the former Meriden Mall was demolished in 2006. Though it has been home to the circus and other events in recent years, the site is needed for flood storage during significant rain storms. The project is expected to take about 18 months and includes the excavation of Harbor Brook, which runs north to south along the State Street side of the property. Uncovering the brook and excavation will allow for significant flood storage. The Hub site will double as a park with a pedestrian bridge connecting State and Pratt streets, an amphitheater and walking paths. A total of 279 trees and 1,407 shrubs will be planted. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
At more than 60 years old, the elementary school is the district's oldest, and has long been plagued with costly maintenance issues. As a way to save money and consolidate the district's elementary schools amid declining enrollment, its closure was part of the original plan to renovate Ledyard Middle School. But that $45 million plan was scrapped last spring, putting all options back on the table. Even leading up to the day the Town Council voted to pull the proposal from ballot, several councilors expressed concern over the closure's potential economic consequences. As a major traffic draw, the school has long served as a way to bring patrons to the handful of local businesses located in the town center. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
Sun, unions strike Mass. deal
Agreement means proposed casino's permanent workforce to include organized labor
Mohegan Sun has reached agreements that ensure that the $1.3 billion resort casino it's proposing in Revere, Mass., would be built by union workers. In a statement released Sunday, Mohegan Sun also said it has taken steps to facilitate the unionization of the casino's permanent workforce. It said is entering into a memorandum of understanding to create "neutrality agreements" with such unions as the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Teamsters, the United Auto Workers and Laborers' Local. In neutrality agreements, employers agree to support union attempts to organize workers. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission, which will issue casino licenses, has required that applicants forge such agreements to ensure "labor harmony," said Chuck Bunnell, the Mohegan Tribe's chief of staff. Wynn Resorts, Mohegan Sun's competition for the sole Greater Boston casino license to be awarded this spring, has reached similar labor deals in connection with Wynn's Everett project, Bunnell said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
Planning underway to close greenway gaps in Planiville
PLAINVILLE — Design work will start soon to fill a 9-mile gap in town in the Farmington Canal Heritage Greenway, which will eventually run from New Haven to Northampton, Mass.
Town Manager Robert Lee told the town council Monday that the design work, paid through a state grant, will chart the best path to extend the biking and hiking trail from Southington through Plainville to the trail section that resumes just north in Farmington.
A group of officials and others interested in spanning the gap met recently and decided that the town will lead the project, Lee said. It is not clear when the work will be completed, or when actual construction might begin. When the trail is complete, it will be about 80 miles long and is projected to attract about 200,000 riders and walkers a year. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
Work on Stratford's old Army Engine plant site to start within the year
Stratford >> Construction of a mixed-use development on the site of the former Army Engine plant on Main Street is expected to start within a year, Mayor John Harkins said Monday.
Harkins, U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3, and representatives of the development team held a press conference on the site of the old plant to provide an update on the project. Their visit to the plant, which closed in 1995, comes a little more than two months after the development team Point Stratford Renewal announced it has reached an agreement with the U.S. Army to buy the vacant 77-acre site at the mouth of the Housatonic River. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
Torrington planning to discontinue section of Clark Street as it prepares for new courthouse
TORRINGTON >> The city is hoping to discontinue a portion of Clark Street, located next to the site of a forthcoming state courthouse. The Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to hear a proposal Wednesday for the discontinuance of Clark Street between Clinton and Field streets.
The section is located in the area where the stateplans to build the Litchfield County courthouse complex. The lot north of the section is a parking lot, while the lot to its south contains a building scheduled for demolition as part of the courthouse plans. In a memo sent to City Planner Martin Connor on Dec. 13, City Engineer Ed Fabbri requested the commission make a referral for the plans. Once the commission gives a favorable recommendation, the referral is sent to the City Council, which can approve a decision to discontinue the street. “The proposed section of road to be discontinued will become part of the proposed courthouse site,” Fabbri said in the memo. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
Planning underway to close greenway gaps in Planiville
PLAINVILLE — Design work will start soon to fill a 9-mile gap in town in the Farmington Canal Heritage Greenway, which will eventually run from New Haven to Northampton, Mass.
Town Manager Robert Lee told the town council Monday that the design work, paid through a state grant, will chart the best path to extend the biking and hiking trail from Southington through Plainville to the trail section that resumes just north in Farmington.
A group of officials and others interested in spanning the gap met recently and decided that the town will lead the project, Lee said. It is not clear when the work will be completed, or when actual construction might begin. When the trail is complete, it will be about 80 miles long and is projected to attract about 200,000 riders and walkers a year. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
Work on Stratford's old Army Engine plant site to start within the year
Stratford >> Construction of a mixed-use development on the site of the former Army Engine plant on Main Street is expected to start within a year, Mayor John Harkins said Monday.
Harkins, U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3, and representatives of the development team held a press conference on the site of the old plant to provide an update on the project. Their visit to the plant, which closed in 1995, comes a little more than two months after the development team Point Stratford Renewal announced it has reached an agreement with the U.S. Army to buy the vacant 77-acre site at the mouth of the Housatonic River. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
Torrington planning to discontinue section of Clark Street as it prepares for new courthouse
TORRINGTON >> The city is hoping to discontinue a portion of Clark Street, located next to the site of a forthcoming state courthouse. The Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to hear a proposal Wednesday for the discontinuance of Clark Street between Clinton and Field streets.
The section is located in the area where the stateplans to build the Litchfield County courthouse complex. The lot north of the section is a parking lot, while the lot to its south contains a building scheduled for demolition as part of the courthouse plans. In a memo sent to City Planner Martin Connor on Dec. 13, City Engineer Ed Fabbri requested the commission make a referral for the plans. Once the commission gives a favorable recommendation, the referral is sent to the City Council, which can approve a decision to discontinue the street. “The proposed section of road to be discontinued will become part of the proposed courthouse site,” Fabbri said in the memo. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING