STRATFORD -- When Interstate 95 was completed through Stratford in the late 1950s, a pair of ramps were purposefully left out -- the southbound exit 33 off-ramp and its corresponding on-ramp on the northbound side. This was to done to make it unwieldy for drivers to snake around the Stratford toll plaza on local streets. That toll plaza is long gone, pulled out after a spectacular crash on Jan. 19, 1983, in which a tractor-trailer with its driver asleep at the wheel slammed into a line of cars waiting to pay. Four women and two children were killed that afternoon; so horrific was the scene that state troopers could only figure out the number of casualties by counting the heads of the dead. A third child died the next day. The tolls on all highways in the state were gone two years later.
Now, progress is being made on construction of these two "missing" ramps, the northbound on-ramp that would extend from Ferry Boulevard to I-95, and a southbound off-ramp that would terminate near the intersection of Barnum Avenue Cutoff and Veterans Boulevard.
Both ramps would tie into the expressway just west of the new Moses Wheeler I-95 Bridge over the Housatonic River. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Brookfield parks revitalization about to get underway
Cadigan Park and town beach in Brookfield are about to get a major overhaul.
The community last year agreed to a $5 million bond to upgrade these facilities that date back to the mid 1960s. Bids for the park portion, including an artificial field system, were last week awarded to Land Tech of Amityville, N.Y. Work is expected to begin in the next couple weeks with the park then closed for the summer. The hope is the fields will be ready for football in mid to late-August.
The town beach will remain open in the summer, but come September the second phase of the process will be awarded so that portion of the project, which includes construction of a new beach house, relandscaped picnic area and rebuilt sea wall, will then begin.
More on this story in The News-Times print edition.
Bridge nears completion as festival approaches
MERIDEN — The new bridge at the exit of Hubbard Park is nearing completion and expected to be ready for the start of the Daffodil Festival, which has preliminary activities beginning this weekend.
The bridge at the West Main Street exit of Hubbard Park was closed in early January due to concerns that it had been failing in recent years. The bridge had noticeably sunken and a long-term fix was needed, said Parks and Recreation Director Mark Zebora. LaRosa Construction Co. has been working for close to a month to build a new bridge along Notch Road. Also included in the project are site work, drainage improvements and the installation of a culvert. Part of the contract stipulated that the project had to be completed by the start of the festival. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Kansas City-based Burns & McDonnell, which opened a Wallingford office in 2006 and recently landed several high-profile contracts, has 325 employees in the state and plans to hire at least 50 more people this year. Middletown environmental engineering firm Wright-Pierce hired 30 new people last year, and has added eight new staffers so far in 2014. Brett Williams, who heads up Burns & McDonnell's New England headquarters in Wallingford, said he wants to recruit workers from Connecticut, but a major challenge is finding local engineers that have the specialized skills his firm needs. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Company on major highway job fires, sues VP over alleged fraud
A high-ranking manager has been fired from a construction firm that's playing a key role in reconstructing service areas on Connecticut highways after he improperly obtained more than $50,000 worth of improvements to his home, the firm alleges in a lawsuit.
David J. Papandrea of Old Saybrook was fired March 3 by Centerplan Construction Co. LLC of Middletown – after the company discovered that he "utilized his control over and access to confidential information to implement a fraudulent scheme whereby he obtained free labor, materials, and construction services for his residence," Centerplan alleged in a suit filed April 8 in Middletown Superior Court. Papandrea, who was executive vice president at Centerplan, did not return calls from the Courant seeking comment last Thursday and on Monday. Papandrea also has established a public profile as a Democratic political operative at both the state and national levels. He served several years as a key staff aide for state Senate Democrats' majority caucus until several years ago, and was active in Democratic legislative campaigns. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Governor Malloy: Tuesday announces several major projects to upgrade CT's infrastructure
TUESDAY: GOV. MALLOY ANNOUNCES SEVERAL
MAJOR PROJECTS TO UPGRADE CONNECTICUT’S TRANSPORTATION
INFRASTRUCTURE
(HARTFORD, CT) – On Tuesday morning, Governor Dannel P. Malloy
will hold a news conference in Waterbury to announce state funding for several
major projects throughout the state to renovate and upgrade Connecticut’s
transportation infrastructure, including highways, bridges and rail. He will be
joined by U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy,
Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty, Mayor Neil O’Leary, state Department of
Transportation Commissioner James P. Redeker, state lawmakers, representatives
from the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA), and labor
groups.
WHAT: Governor Malloy holds news conference to announce several major projects to upgrade Connecticut’s transportation infrastructure
WHEN: Tuesday, April 15, 2014; 11:00 a.m.
WHERE: ConnDOT commuter lot off of I-84 (Exit 23) on Hamilton Avenue in Waterbury
**NOTE: News conference will be held inside of a tent at the commuter lot