Rail study rules Bristol freight line repair necessary
BRISTOL — A $1.25 million rail study slated for completion by late spring has determined that the existing 29-mile freight line running through Bristol needs a major overhaul.
Consultant Stephen Gazillo, director of transportation planning for the Rocky Hill-based URS Corp., said Thursday that examining the condition of the Pan-Am Railroad tracks and infrastructure has been “the big focus” of the study. It turns out, he said, “a lot of the wood ties are in poor condition” or “just plain missing.” In addition, there are areas where sand and silt has built up beside the tracks, leaving the necessary drainage “all messed up.” A tunnel in Terryville also needs work, consultants said. By repairing the tracks, officials said Thursday during a meeting of the Central Connecticut Rail Study Advisory Committee, Pan-Am will be able to move its trains faster and perhaps get more business. “Manufacturing requires rail,” said Jim Albert, president of the Bristol-based Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce. “Freight is a critical piece.” A comprehensive study of the freight business is supposed to be done within weeks. It is not clear how much it would cost.
The study is looking into a variety of options for the little-used, privately-owned rail line, including the possibility of commuter rail or the use of self-propelled diesel railroad passenger cars that wouldn’t require a separate engine. The study is also looking into a possible extension of the CTfastrak system — the bus route slated to open next spring between New Britain and Hartford. Some branded buses and commuter bus stops tied to the new bus rapid transit system are also under consideration. Anna Bergeron, a transportation planner for the state Department of Transportation, said a ridership study is also underway. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Islam's 49-unit Hartford apartment plan emerges
Engineer-developer Abul Islam has gotten state and city funding commitments to proceed with opening a $17.7 million, six-story office-apartment tower in downtown Hartford's Constitution Plaza within two years, authorities say. Residences at Riverview will have 49 upscale apartments atop some 16,000 square feet of street-level office-retail space on No. 3 Constitution Plaza, said James Keach, associate vice president and project leader for Islam's AI Engineers in Middletown. The site once held the razed Broadcast House, previously home to WFSB Channel 3, now in Rocky Hill.
Boston architect Childs-Bertman-Tseckares is in final design stages for the building, Keach said via email this week. Construction is set to begin early next year, with occupancy scheduled for mid-2016.
Eight apartments will be earmarked as affordable, authorities said. AI Engineers, too, is slated to relocate its Middletown headquarters to downtown Hartford once the building opens.
As recently as 2012, Islam was pitching for the Broadcast House site he owns a 12-story tower, with 195 affordable and market-rate apartments and office-retail and a $53 million pricetag.
According to Michael Freimuth, CEO of the Capital Region Development Authority, the state and city have pledged funding for the project. CRDA is promoting conversion of outmoded older office spaces and buildings downtown into at least 1,100 units so far of apartments and condominiums that appeal to young professionals and older residents eager to shrink their living spaces and commutes.
The recent State Bond Commission granted a restructuring of CRDA's investment in the deal to provide a loan and equity totaling $4.2 million. In addition, he said, the city of Hartford is putting up $973,000; the state Housing Department is putting in $1.8 million. A loan from an unidentified lender accounts for $8 million, and the AI/Abul equity sum is $2.7 million.
New Hartford voters approve $5M in repairs
NEW HARTFORD >> Two major maintenance projects in town have received the green light after residents voted “yes” to both in a referendum Thursday night. The much needed renovation to the Ann Antolini School’s roof and the replacement of the Carpenter Road Bridge have each been slated to begin in 2015. Unofficially, 306 New Hartford residents voted “yes” to the roof repair, to 95 “no” votes. The bridge tally was much closer: including absentee ballots ,the vote passed 202 “yes” votes to “198” no votes. The vote does not qualify for a recount, First Selectman Dan Jerram said.
“We know that these were expensive issues to be put before the people in really still an uncertain economy,” Jerram said. “We’re happy that the voters chose to do appropriate maintenance for our town, especially our school.”
Earlier this year, the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance each unanimously approved both projects. The replacement of Ann Antolini School’s leaking 60,000 square foot roof, as well as windows and air handlers will cost a total of $3,500,000. The original cost was $4,571,000, Jerram said, but state grant money has reduced it by more than $1 million. A total of $250,000 will be spent on ADA code upgrades. The project is scheduled to be completed over the summer recess of 2015. The annual bond cost for the project will be roughly $288,000. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Could tolls end the I-95 traffic nightmare through CT
Highway tolls are again being discussed in Connecticut as part of an 18-month study conducted by the state Department of Transportation. It's got road planners asking an interesting question, can one type of toll actually reduce traffic? It's called congestion pricing. "The idea is that when it's very congested, when there's lots of demand, the price goes up in order to encourage some number of drivers to either postpone their trip, carpool, or figure out some way to not be on the lanes at that very expensive time," said Asha Weinstein Agrawal, a transportation scholar at San José State University.
Weinstein Agrawal said the idea hinges on giving drivers a choice. For example, travel on a highway for free during "off-peak" hours or pay a toll during rush hour to travel in a less-jammed-up "express" lane. "The way congestion builds up on the road, you don't actually have to get everybody off to remove the congestion. There's usually a fairly small tipping point," she said. That tipping point is hard to quantify, but it's pretty small. Some say around 5 percent of total traffic. And diverting that percentage of drivers could make a big difference in Connecticut. Take, for example, the I-95 corridor from New York to New Haven. According to the state Department of Transportation, congestion increased there by 19 percent between 2001 and 2011. "The problems on I-95 South are extremely severe," said Tom Maziarz, chief of policy and planning at the Connecticut DOT. "You're looking at conditions out there where the traffic backup, at its peak, can get over 20 miles in length. That's on a regular basis. That's not the exception. That's the rule." Maziarz said those backups don't last for the normal rush hour period, but for four hours both in the morning and in the afternoon, which costs money. About $670 million annually, stemming from things like delayed truck deliveries or late arrivals to work. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE