Developers show interest in city owned Meriden sites
MERIDEN — Representatives of development firms took a tour of downtown Meriden Tuesday to learn about infrastructure projects the city has been working on and specifically about the nine properties the city is looking to sell to private investors. The city-owned parcels are being advertised with the hope of finding CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Sewer bids come in over budget
DEEP RIVER - When the Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) opened bids last week for construction of the planned sewer extension project, it found all six bids exceeded the $4 million approved for the project. First Selectman Dick Smith told the Board of Selectmen the authority would meet with the project engineers "to take a look at possible savings." Smith said, "We were very surprised." The low bidder was Baltazar Contractors, Inc., of Ludlow, Massachusetts, with a base bid of $4,828,958. The bid climbed to $5,507,658 if all the options were added in. Smith said he and the authority would ask Cardinal Engineering to review all the engineering plans, consider possible savings options, and talk with the contractors. The firm would then make recommendations to the WPCA. "We will let them come back with options and ideas. The authority will come back to the Board of Selectmen with a recommendation, and we'll make a decision from there," Smith explained. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
$200M school bonding plan in New London
New London - The City Council on Monday night passed to its committees the proposal to bond more than $200 million to fund a school construction project that would complete the city's transition to an all-magnet school district. Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio rolled out the bonding ordinance - which, after state reimbursements, would cost the city roughly $34 million - at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast Friday and said the council will have to approve it by June 30 in order to "lock in" funding commitments from the state. The City Council's Finance Committee and its Education, Parks and Recreation Committee will review the plan during a joint meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, according to the committee chairmen. "My committee will be dealing with the financial bonding package, to take a look at the bonding and be able to hopefully pass it on to the full council," said Wade A. Hyslop, the council's president and chairman of the Finance Committee. "Hopefully all of it will be vetted and then any question that come up can be answered." Councilor Anthony Nolan, who is chairman of the Education, Parks and Recreation Committee, said he wants the issue to get a full public airing before the City Council takes a vote on it. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
I-84 Viaduct job will be a 5 -year job atleast
HARTFORD — Replacing the well-worn I-84 viaduct through Hartford won't be done anytime soon, but count on construction to be extensive – and very, very long – when it happens. "It would be a minimum of five years to construct," traffic engineer Mike Morehouse said at a forum Tuesday evening at the Hartford Public Library. Don't expect to see much activity for quite a while; there are still years worth of engineering studies, design work and environmental reviews ahead. But when the bulldozers and jackhammers finally show up, Greater Hartford motorists can settle in for many seasons of construction. "This is the largest public works project in the state, and it's going to be massively expensive," Morehouse told about 75 residents and workers from around the region. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Wethersfield council sets aside money to repair school parking lot
WETHERSFIELD — The town council appropriated $317,000 on Monday to repave the dilapidated parking lot at Highcrest Elementary School this summer, even as one member objected to the funding method. A storm drain recently collapsed in the lot, highlighting its deteriorating condition, Town Manager Jeff Bridges told council members. "The parking lot's trashed," Bridges said. "It's the worst one we have." In addition to the lot, contractor General Paving & Construction will repave play areas, pushing the project $17,000 over budget. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Bradley will start demo of terminal B in August
In the next year and a half, the second terminal at Bradley International Airport will be carefully disassembled, removing from sight the long-closed facility that many have called an eyesore on the gateway to New England. Kevin A. Dillon, executive director of the Connecticut Airport Authority, said his agency is sifting through contractor bids for the $20 million job that is expected to start in early August and take anywhere from 12 to 18 months to complete. "It has a pretty storied history," Dillon said. The terminal opened in 1952 and closed in 2010. "But unfortunately as many buildings find themselves it simply could not evolve with the changes of the airline and airport industry. It outlived its usefulness," Dillon said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
North Haven residents approve "like new" middle school project\
NORTH HAVEN >> The polls were busy Tuesday night as residents voted on renovations for a $69 million “like-new” middle school. The final votes came in with 2139 in favor of and 705 against a new school. Residents filed in to vote minutes before the polls closed. Committee Chairman Gary Johns was pleased with the results. “We’re very happy about the confidence the town has put in us to pass this. We’ll be working very hard to make it happen,” Johns said. Renovations will include construction of a new classroom wing while maintaining other school facilities. Changes to the school include a two-story academic wing, 450-seat auditorium, 350-seat gymnasium, cafeteria, library and parking lot. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
New campaign aims at getting transportation investment votes
A new website and social media campaign launched by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) provides members of Congress with plenty of sound bites to support their vote later this year to provide a sustainable, long-term revenue stream for future highway and transit investments through the Highway Trust Fund (HTF). TMAW.ORG, the website for the group's “Transportation Makes America Work!” (TMAW) advocacy communications program, features infographics that show the value of transportation infrastructure investment and its impact on health and safety, children, family budgets, American quality of life and the economy. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE