The State Bond Commission approved $53.7 million to cover the state's the first chunk of funding to design a replacement span for the often malfunctioning 118-year-old Norwalk River swing bridge on the New Haven Line. The money is the state's share to be eligible for $161 million in federal storm resiliency grant funding to replace the 562-foot span known as the WALK bridge, which has had trouble closing when it rotates to let boats pass for years. The bridge broke twice in May disrupting commutes when the gears that move the bridge failed to return the bridge to the closed position, bringing rail traffic through Connecticut to a halt. The state Department of Transportation has begun receiving proposals from both the designer and eventual contractor to build the bridge by a scheduled 2020 deadline, DOT Commissioner Jim Redeker said Wednesday. By hiring a firm to build the bridge at the outset of the design phase, Redeker said the builder can consult on the design to iron out potential delay-causing snags in advance of construction to keep the project on schedule. Work is scheduled to begin in 2017. "It's a more productive approach for a project that is frankly very, very, very difficult to build and will hopefully allow the project to be done faster than normal," Redeker said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Downtown plan receives extension
BRISTOL — After a 50-minute closed-door executive session, board members for the nonprofit overseeing the revitalization of the former mall site unanimously agreed Wednesday to give Renaissance Downtowns until March 31 to finish the financing plan for its first building.
The seven-member panel extended the deadline from Jan. 31 — the date it set last month — to match the timing that city councilors called for last week. The BDDC also agreed to let its chairwoman, Jennifer Arasimowicz, and its vice chairman, John Lodovico, negotiate further details with Renaissance and the city to refine changes to the 2010 preferred developer that gave Renaissance the exclusive right to build on the 15-acre mall site in the city center. It is not clear what details remain to be negotiated, but several officials have said they are unlikely to pose any serious problems that delay final passage of the required amendment to the legal agreement. If the terms are finished and approved as expected, Renaissance will have about four months to figure out how to finance a five-story building facing Main Street that would include rental housing and about 20,000 square feet of retail space on the first floor. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
$4.9M OK'd for city projects
The State Bond Commission approved more than $6 million in funding Wednesday morning for a variety of projects in New Britain and Bristol. In New Britain, the commission OK’d $1.05 million for a roof replacement at the Superior Court building; $850,000 for road improvements along Route 71 and at the Route 9 northbound off-ramp to Route 71; $840,031 for facility upgrades at E.C. Goodwin Technical High School; $545,272 for renovations to the Farrell Treatment Center; $500,000 each for Slade and Pulaski schools for facility and equipment upgrades; $449,400 for modifications to the New Britain High School Satellite Academy and for computer technology at the school; and $190,000 to DiLoreto for facility and equipment upgrades.
In Bristol, the commission approved bonding $1.3 million for bridge improvements on Memorial Boulevard over the Pequabuck River; $360,000 to replace outdated equipment and upgrade machines at Bristol Technical High School; and $70,000 for new lights at Bristol Eastern High School’s athletic fields. The infusion of funds for Goodwin Tech and Bristol Technical High School was part of a $5 million statewide bond package — strongly supported by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy — for manufacturing programs at Connecticut’s technical high schools. The money is also paying for new extended-hours programs at those schools. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Ancient technology will be used on Meriden hydro-electric project
MERIDEN — Technology attributed to the ancient Greek scientist Archimedes may allow water spilling over the city-owned Hanover Pond dam to produce up to 900,000 kilowatts of electricity annually, saving nearly $20,000 a year in power costs and property taxes over 20 years.
The project is the first of its kind in the state, and one of the first in the country, said Christian Conover, chief marketing officer for Massachusetts-based New England Hydropower Co. A similar project is being planned in West Warwick, R.I. During a meeting at the dam Wednesday afternoon, Sarah Faldetta, senior project manager for New England Hydropower, said the company plans to use Archimedes’ “screw generator technology, ” which is used in Europe. The company proposes to install a large screw underground next to Hanover dam. Water is diverted into the screw at the top of the dam and forces the screw to slowly spin, creating electricity. The project’s electricity would be fed into the Connecticut Light & Power grid. The city would then buy the electricity back with vouchers expected to save $298,000 over 20 years. Over the same 20 years, the property taxes are expected to total $110,000 CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Holabird Avenue and Whiting Street will need to be closed for the entirety of construction—roughly 360 days—and will detour traffic to both the north and south. Pedestrian traffic, which mostly comes from students of nearby Northwestern Connecticut Community College, would also need to be rerouted. A fair amount of utility work will also need to be done in the area. This road closure is still a long time out, however. Ninety percent of the design is done and submitted and Wednesday night, following the presentation, the Inland Wetlands Commission unanimously accepted WMC’s application. Costello said that they hope to have all the permits accepted and ready to go by August 2015 and could begin construction in early 2016. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE