September 24, 2014

CT Construction Digest September 24, 2014

NU transmission line named best New England energy project

The $676 million Northeast Utilities transmission project designed to increase reliability and efficiency around northern Connecticut was named the Best Energy/Industrial Project in New England by a national engineering trade magazine. The Engineering News-Record honored the Greater Springfield Reliability Project for its innovation, safety, and teamwork. The project began in 2010 and finished in November. It laid 39 miles of new transmission lines between Bloomfield and Ludlow, Mass., installing more than 600 new transmission structures and building 13 substations.
The work came in $40 million under budget, despite major weather events during the construction period including Tropical Storm Irene, Superstorm Sandy, and blizzards in 2011 and 2013.
The GSRP is part of a larger NU effort to build transmission lines throughout the region, called the New England East-West Solutions program. The program also includes the $218 million Interstate Reliability Project in eastern Connecticut, which is expected to be completed next year, and the Central Connecticut Reliability Project, which is still being studied.

Killingly voters urged to pass sewer upgrade plans

Upgrades to the Killingly water treatment plant will be the subject of a public hearing and special town meeting on Sept. 30. It will be the second time in less than a month that voters will address the issue. Residents voted down a Sept. 9 referendum on the issue by a margin of just eight out of 450 votes. That low voter turnout and perceived public confusion on the issue prompted the Town Council to bring the issue back to the voters in a town meeting forum.
Water Pollution Control Authority Chair Gerard Cinque Mars believes that if voters don't pass the initiative, the town will be at risk. Should the equipment fail, pumps break down and untreated sewage be discharged into the Quinebaug River, the fines will be exorbitant. The Dept of Energy and Environmental Control could force the town to do the work immediately.
Director of Public Works David Capacchione agrees. "We need to meet the discharge limits," Capacchione said. "We need to comply with state regulations. This is not a frivolous project." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE