CT Construction Digest April 16, 2014

Malloy touts transportation spending package

WATERBURY -- At a park and ride lot off exit 23 of Interstate 84 Tuesday morning, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and other Democratic politicians touted his five-year slate of highway and transit projects, including a project to widen and repave a 2.7 mile stretch of the interstate, passes through the city.
"This is for the workers 10 years from now or 20 years from now who are getting home from work on time to watch their children's soccer games," said U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-Conn. The plan first issued in January also includes a combined $130 million to repave and rehabilitate the Merritt Parkway in Stamford and add speed-change lanes at exits 14 and 15 in Norwalk on Interstate 95, which is one of the worst traffic bottlenecks in the state. "We are moving projects along," Malloy said.  The list of projects totals about $1.8 billion combined, $1.4 billion of it for highways and roads, and $345 million for bus and rail infrastructure. Malloy said the budget includes $57 million for paving pockmarked roads damaged this winter.  CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

State shops bonds for Bridgeport Bass Pro

Connecticut will offer $22 million in municipal bonds to help finance a new store for outdoor retailer Bass Pro Shops in Bridgeport. The sale of the general-obligation bonds through Connecticut Innovations Inc. is expected the week of May 5, according to Moody's Investors Service. The state's financing arm for companies would use the proceeds for a grant toward the construction of the 140,000-square-foot facility, Moody's said. Moody's grades the new securities Aa3, its fourth-highest investment-grade step, saying bond payments are required to be made without further action by the legislature. Bass Pro sells fishing, hunting and camping gear in 85 shops across the U.S. and Canada that are visited by more than 116 million people a year, according to the Springfield, Mo.-based retailer. The store in Bridgeport would "help revive the local economy," Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said in a July 2012 release on the development.

Permit granted for 31-unit development

 

SOUTHINGTON — The Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved a special permit use application for a proposed 31-unit residential development on Liberty Street. Three buildings would create the residential area totaling 1.28 acres. Stephen Giudice , owner of Harry E. Cole & Son, presented the application on behalf of AA Denorfia Building and Development. The properties are from 84 to 82 Liberty St. Originally when the applicant applied for a special permit use, it included two buildings and it was approved. Since that time an additional building was purchased to the north and will be included, Giudice said, and they had to reapply with the new modifications.

The properties are in the Central Business Zone area and close to the downtown. Twenty-five of the units would be age-restricted and six of them would be non-age constricted.  CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

 

Town, DOT moving forward on Main Street Bridge

 

CHESTER - With the goal of keeping the planning and construction of the Main Street bridge moving forward, the Board of Selectmen has approved a $4,080 appropriation for planner Brian Kent, on behalf of the town, to sit down with state Department of Transportation (DOT) representatives and engineers to discuss the details and coordination issues involved in the bridge design and that must still be resolved between the town and the state department. First Selectman Ed Meehan told the selectmen earlier this month that the DOT engineers expect the bridge design to be essentially complete by the end of May. At that point, the state would be prepared to select materials and the town and its Main Street Project Committee has developed a list of materials they wish to use not just for the bridge reconstruction, but for the long-term design for the downtown area. "DOT has its own standards for materials and those are not negotiable, but in other areas they can cooperate with us. This appropriation will cover the costs of the time Kent spends with DOT, their consultants, and our committee. He will be spending most of his time, I think, with the DOT consultant to show him the designs for Chester downtown. Our goal is to keep this bridge project moving forward," Meehan said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Politics and policy intersect on I-84 in Waterbury 

Waterbury – Gov. Dannel P. Malloy flexed the powers of incumbency Tuesday in a rain-swept commuter lot by I-84. Malloy couldn’t stop the rain, but he could command a supportive audience of political, union and business leaders. One after another, they stepped to a microphone to thank the first-term Democratic governor, a candidate for re-election this year, for planned investments in transportation infrastructure, even if the pace of those investments has been a source of frustration to some on his guest list, who see a growing backlog of overdue projects. The event was staged by one of the state’s most notorious commuter bottlenecks, a two-lane, 2.7-mile stretch of I-84 on the approach to Waterbury from the east. A third lane will be added in both directions at an estimated cost of $400 million to $450 million, with the project going to bid in June.
“Connecticut is moving again,” Malloy said.  CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

State to undertake highway projects to help frustrated commuters (VIDEO)

But in drive-time, it’s a twice daily nightmare of backups and delays.
“It’s backed up sometimes for hours and for miles,” said Bristol native Dean Gusty. “It goes all the way back into Southington actually, it makes the commute hard for a lot of people.”
That’s because the highway east of here was widened almost a decade ago, so one section becomes a bottleneck everyday. The plan to widen this part of the highway has been postponed for nearly ten years. “We’re putting our money where our mouth is,” said Gov. Dannel Malloy. “If you want infrastructure in Connecticut, you’re about to see it under construction.” The Governor announced Tuesday that the $400 million project will finally get underway this year with matching money from the federal government. “This project is the lifeblood of the continued improvement of economic development opportunities here in the city of Waterbury and quite frankly, quality of life issues,” said Waterbury mayor Neil O’Leary. “Recently, I was talking with one of the local business owners and he figures that his drivers spend and hour a day stuck, right out here,” said Representative Elizabeth Esty. The $3 billion in projects announced today included planning for the replacement of the elevated section of Interstate 84 through downtown Hartford. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE