According to the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) National Bridge Inventory, 147,870 of the 607,751 bridges in the country are deficient. This includes 63,522 structurally deficient and 84,348 functionally obsolete bridges. Structurally deficient bridges are bridges with critical load-carrying elements that are in poor condition due to damage or deterioration. Functionally obsolete bridges are bridges that no longer meet current standards for bridge construction such as load capacity or lane width. With nearly a quarter of all bridges in the country labelled deficient, some state DOTs have turned to accelerated bridge construction (ABC) programs to reduce the number of structurally deficient and functionally obsolete bridges they maintain. Accelerated bridge construction involves using innovative engineering, materials and construction methods to deliver cost-effective solutions to improve project delivery times and work zone safety while at the same time reducing onsite construction time and traffic impacts. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
State officials consider big changes for Route 9 in Middletown
MIDDLETOWN >> State transportation officials pitched a new Route 9 interchange, which would include an acceleration lane from Route 17 and no more access from Harbor Drive, to city residents Tuesday. Engineers for the Department of Transportation laid out the design concept for the Common Council and about 30 members of the public at a City Hall workshop. The purpose of the redesign is to eliminate the stop sign that halts northbound traffic merging onto Route 9 from Route 17, as that intersection has an unusually high rate of accidents. DOT predicts the cost for the project would fall between $20 million and $25 milllion. Rough estimates put construction for the project about four years out. In order to transform the interchange’s current layout into an acceleration lane for traffic coming off Route 17, DOT would widen the Route 9 bridge over Union Street. To do that it would also need to move the intersection of Union, Harbor and River Road further towards the Connecticut River. Project Engineer Erik Jarboe said it would be a good opportunity to turn that intersection into a T, rather than the current, slightly confusing configuration. Jarboe said the Harbor Drive on-ramp only put about 500 cars per day onto the highway during peak hours – a low number for that sort of access point – so the traffic impact should be minimal. Motorists heading north could instead access Route 9 from Main Street Extension or go north to Hartford Avenue. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
UCONN to spend $1M for new roof on building to be demolished
STORRS >> The University of Connecticut’s Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved spending more than $1 million to put a new roof on a science building that is scheduled to be demolished. Laura Cruickshank, the school’s master planner, says it will be another five years before the construction under the Next Generation UConn initiative can replace all the classrooms and labs inside the Torrey Life Science Building on the Storrs campus. She says the building, which dates to 1961, has major structural issues, which have led to serious leaking when it rains and created problems for researchers and students. The school budgeted more than $130 million to renovate the building and bring it up to current research standards, but the problems were deemed too extensive to fix so the money was re-allocated.
Plainfield hopes to add water lines at Lathrop Rd business park
As sure as trees need sun and humans need air, so do businesses require water. To meet that need, Plainfield officials are applying for a $300,000 state grant to construct new water pipes to reach the town's alternate industrial park on Lathrop Road Extension. "The biggest problem in that area is the lack of water," First Selectman Paul Sweet said. "The businesses there now, and the ones coming in, require great volumes of water for everything from fire suppression, to drinking, to meeting their specific manufacturing needs." The Small Town Economic Assistance Program grant proposal is due by Nov. 28. Officials propose building roughly a quarter-mile of 8-inch pipes under Lathrop Road Extension and hooking them into existing 12-inch municipal water pipes on the east side of Route 12. ARS Products LLC, soon to be located on nearby Community Avenue Extension, is scheduled to lay separate 8-inch pipes, which will eventually be hooked up to the Lathrop Road Extension lines. That ring of water pipes and hydrants would provide about 1,500 gallons per minute of water to the area, eliminating the need for the existing fire ponds, which currently serve as the business park's only source of water for fire suppression. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Newington choses firm to demolish National welding Complex
NEWINGTON — The town has chosen a contractor to tear down the National Welding complex, bringing the long derelict property a step closer to redevelopment. "With any luck at all, we anticipate the Newington 'butt ugly building' will disappear by February of next year," Economic Development Director Andy Brecher told the town council this week, referring to a former eyesore in Hartford that was torn down. The winning bidder is Standard Demolition of Trumbull, Brecher said. Its bid was below the estimated $2 million cost, he said.
"We got many competitive bids," Brecher said. "We are well within the $2 million."
Dismantling the buildings could begin as soon as next month and will last until early next year, Brecher said. Once one of the town's biggest employers and taxpayers, National Welding has been closed for 20 years. The town eventually took the property for unpaid taxes.
The parcel near the busy intersection of Fenn Road and Cedar Street sits next to a station for CTfastrak, the dedicated busway between New Britain and Hartford that will begin service next year. Town officials hope that the property's proximity to the busway will spur its redevelopment. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Take a tour of the XL Center's renovations
he XL Center has released another video showing progress on renovations to the Hartford arena.
In the video posted on YouTube Tuesday, Robert Saint, director of construction services for the Capital Region Development Authority, shows the work that was done ahead of a Sept. 13 Tom Petty concert at the XL Center. The $35 million renovation project began early this summer and will be finished by the first week of October, in time for the start of the 2014 Wolf Pack and UConn hockey seasons. When completed, the XL Center will have a new bar area inside the arena, luxury seating lower in the bowl and other upgrades to the concourse, locker rooms and mechanical systems. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
CT 4th District race: Traffic key issue
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Transportation emerged as a top campaign issue Wednesday in Connecticut's 4th Congressional District, where commuters face major traffic jams daily on Interstate 95 and the Merritt Parkway while they endure recurring problems on the Metro-North Railroad.
At a news conference, Republican challenger Dan Debicella criticized incumbent Jim Himes, a Democrat, for not doing enough to fix traffic woes in the wealthy district next to New York that includes Connecticut's Gold Coast. Debicella also laid out his plans to reduce traffic congestion and improve the commuter railroad. Himes later countered by saying he has helped secure nearly $1 billion for transportation projects in southwestern Connecticut during his three terms in the House of Representatives. "I tell voters, 'If you think your commute is getting better, vote for Jim Himes,'" said Debicella, a former state senator from Shelton who lost to Himes in 2010. "In 2007 and 2008, transportation was a big issue for candidate Himes, but then Congressman Himes forgot all about it."
Himes responded: "This is election year theatrics. We've grown used to getting this from Dan Debicella. While he's been working in a hedge fund, I've contributed to bringing in almost a billion dollars of investment in our infrastructure. ... He's just blowing a lot of hot air." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE