CT Construction Digest May 7, 2014

Plans for Ridgefield hotel under review

RIDGEFIELD -- The town's first hotel may have a walled garden in front, parking underneath and a small banquet hall. "We wouldn't be doing wedding receptions," developer Stephen Zemo told the Planning and Zoning Commission at its meeting Tuesday. "But we could do the rehearsal dinner."
Zemo wants to build the hotel -- along with three other buildings -- on a five-acre parcel he purchased from the town in 2013 for $1.25 million. The parcel was part of the 45-acre, Schlumberger-Doll Research Center campus. It's located on Old Quarry Road and is separate from the rest of the campus.
The project calls for a road to run straight through the property from Old Quarry Road, sloping downhill to the 48-room boutique hotel in the rear of the lot. It would also include a mixed-use building with offices and 11 apartments built over them; a smaller office building; and a 48,000-square-foot, multi-level, self-storage facility. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

City's final riverfront redevelopment report to be given tonight

MIDDLETOWN >> The Riverfront Redevelopment Commission is poised to recommend immediate refurbishment of Harbor Park, as well as a land purchase, a partnership with the Canoe Club, the construction of a new boathouse and the creation of a Riverfront Improvement Authority and Friends of the River group. The commission will review its final report at its regular meeting Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Common Council Chamber at City Hall. Based largely on recommendations from private consultants Projects for Public Spaces and a public survey of city residents, the commission has compiled a three-year action plan comprising 20 specific recommendations.
Based on the final report, “The pedestrian tunnel will remain a major gateway and access point to the riverfront for the foreseeable future,” but Harbor Park would also expand into an influx for boat drivers headed for downtown. In the short term the commission recommended lightweight additions – Adirondack chairs, picnic tables – and the city would keep what works and discard what does not. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Southington bridge replacement to happen in a weekend

SOUTHINGTON — Next to the existing bridge, construction crews are building a new structure to carry Interstate 84 over Marion Avenue with plans to wheel the new bridge into place next month.

The state Department of Transportation said the new bridge replacement method means fewer delays for drivers although that section of the highway will be entirely closed for a weekend in June while work is completed. For motorists, it’s a “quick yank of the Band-Aid,” according to DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick, rather than the usual lengthy bridge replacement project. Keeping a few lanes open slows down traffic but also means the work takes even longer. Simply closing the bridge for a weekend reduces the inconvenience. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

 

Coast Guard Museum clears some regulatory hurdles

 

I know some people are still skeptical about the location of the National Coast Guard Museum, in part because of worries about the permits required to build something so big on such a small lot, so close to the water. Maybe that's why Adm. Robert J. Papp Jr., Coast Guard commandant, looked so gleeful last week at a land-transfer ceremony when he held up the freshly signed deed to the small plot adjacent to New London's City Pier. "I have the deed. Can you believe it? I think I'm going to sleep with this tonight." Putting the deed in the name of the U.S. government not only represented a significant milestone in planning for the proposed museum, it also means a lot of regulatory hurdles have been cleared. The New London City Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission each signed off on the land transfer. And now that it is federal land, it is not subject to city planning and land-use rules, according to Mayor Daryl Finizio. The project also may get close to a free pass at the state regulatory level.   CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

New Haven rail line opens all tracks in Southport

 

The Connecticut Department of Transportation has completed 80 percent of the overhead power line work on the New Haven commuter rail line, enabling Metro-North to open all four tracks on the seven-mile stretch between Southport and Bridgeport for the first time since 2010.
The replacement of the current catenary wires along the 107-year-old rail line has caused two of the four tracks to be shut down throughout the four-year construction process. One of the lines opened April 26, and the other is expected to open at the end of this month.The catenary work is part of a $386.5 million project designed to replace the original system first erected in 1907 that is subject to sagging and contraction due to changes in temperature.Once all the catenary work is completed on the entire New Haven line by 2017, DOT will begin work rehabilitating the bridges along the track.

Senate, House Approve Bond Package

HARTFORD — The state Senate and House both voted Tuesday night to approve a bond package that spends more than $1 billion on various projects, including $105 million over 10 years as the state tries to reach universal pre-kindergarten access for young students. The Senate voted 30-6, with all six negative votes from Republicans, including minority leader John McKinney of Fairfield. The other eight members of the Republican caucus voted in favor shortly after 8:30 p.m. during another marathon day at the Capitol as legislators rushed toward adjournment at midnight Wednesday.
About three hours later, the House voted 136-8, with 8 Republicans voting against the package, including Rep. Penny Bacchiochi, a candidate for lieutenant governor. The initial Senate debate of 17 minutes Tuesday on the main amendment to the annual bond package was far shorter than more than five hours that the Senate spent debating fracking waste on Monday during a Republican filibuster.  CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE