With pressure mounting to avert a transportation funding crisis this summer, the Obama administration Tuesday opened the door for states to collect tolls on interstate highways to raise revenue for roadway repairs. The proposal, contained in a four-year, $302 billion White House transportation bill, would reverse a long-standing federal prohibition on most interstate tolling. Though some older segments of the network — notably the Pennsylvania and New Jersey turnpikes and Interstate 95 in Maryland and Interstate 495 in Virginia — are toll roads, most of the 46,876-mile system has been toll-free. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Route 9 exit in Middletown to close for gas line project
MIDDLETOWN >> The northernmost Middletown exit on Route 9 will close down overnight beginning May 11. Exit 16 will close overnight through May 13 so that Yankee Gas can finish a project on an underground gas line. Kevin Nursick, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, said Yankee Gas and Byrnes Construction will be digging in the westbound lanes of Hartford Avenue between Route 9 and Main Street between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. on May 11, 12 and 13.
“Motorists will use Route 9 to Washington Street,” said Nursick. "It is a milling and paving project of an existing gas trench,” said Nursick. “They are replacing some damaged traffic signal loop detectors.” The detectors, which determine when vehicles are approaching and activate traffic signals, had been damaged as part of Yankee’s work in the city. Yankee Gas engineers announced in August that it would be expanding its pipeline in the northern section of downtown. The city has undertaken water main work in the same area to replace outdated pipes. In January, Keegan Richey, a Yankee engineer, met with the Public Works Commission to outline another gas main project on and around Saybrook Road to repair and replace existing gas lines. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Meriden Mayor wants to pull linear trail design funding from budget
MERIDEN — Construction to expand the city’s linear trail system could be slowed with Mayor Manny Santos asking that funding for two future phases of the trail be removed from the city budget.
Earlier this week Santos proposed eliminating $170,000 in engineering costs from the proposed city budget’s capital improvement project fund. The money would fund design work for the third and fourth phases of the linear trail, which would connect the second phase along Hanover Pond to the downtown area. “I’m not in favor at all of spending more borrowed money or any moneys on the linear trail in this economy. Not in this economy,” Santos said Wednesday. “When things are good, revenues are up, people are feeling good about themselves and where they stand financially, and their work situation with secured employment, then we can look at that. I’m not opposed to looking at it down the road, but not now.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
MERIDEN — A behind-the-scenes leader in state and local politics is being sued by his former employer for allegedly obtaining $50,000 in repairs and materials at his Old Saybrook home.
David Papandrea, who once served as vice chairman of the local Democratic Town Committee, worked as executive vice president of construction for Centerplan Construction Co. LLC of Middletown. Papandrea was fired in March after company officials say they discovered he had schemed to obtain free labor, materials and construction services at his home on Old Boston Post Road, according to the lawsuit. Robert Landino, chief executive officer of Centerplan, said Wednesday the loss was discovered internally and he hopes the matter can be settled in civil court. Landino was the founder of BL Companies in Meriden and a former state representative. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE