BRIDGEPORT -- As hoped, city officials have gained initial control of designing a second Metro-North train station from the state. A spokesman for the state Department of Transportation said the $2.75 million that Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced last summer to plan the $48 million Barnum Avenue station is being transferred to Bridgeport. That money, announced with great fanfare, only covers an estimated 30 percent of the design, said DOT spokesman Judd Everhart. "Once the 30 percent threshold has been reached, the city, the DOT and the Malloy administration will decide on `next steps'," Everhart said. David Kooris, Bridgeport's economic development chief, said, "We're going to take it (the money) as far as we can." Asked why the city wanted to manage the design process, Kooris said, "Expediency." "It's a high priority for the city, so we will ensure it gets done in a timely manner," Kooris said. "The state has many priorities, so there's always the risk that with the state working on billions of dollars of capital projects, this one may not get the attention we would pay to it locally." As previously reported, there is a lack of enthusiasm within the DOT for the Barnum Avenue station, which would be located a mile from Bridgeport's downtown train station. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
East Hampton councilors reject postpone ment of high school construction
EAST HAMPTON >> By the narrowest of margins, the town council on Tuesday turned back a proposal that would have halted work on the high school renovation for at least six weeks.The council voted 4-3 to reject the proposed interruption of the renovation of the school. The issue attracted so many people that the council meeting had to be moved from its regular venue in the meeting room in town hall to the more spacious auditorium of the high school.
The project was approved at a town-wide referendum in June 2013.Passions were raised on both sides of the argument Tuesday, with one resident repeatedly denouncing council Chairwoman Barbara Moore as “a liar.” Opponents of the moratorium, meanwhile, dismissed the idea as “ridiculous” and “disgusting.” Adding to the drama: the motion to halt the project, which began in earnest last week, was introduced at the very start of the council meeting. The three Republican members of the council, Patience Anderson, Ted Hintz Jr., and Mark Philhower, have argued the town cannot afford the $51 million school renovation and still be able to fund a list of other urgently needed projects. The state has agreed to reimburse the town for 52 percent of the project’s construction costs. Led by Hintz, the trio has called upon the town to halt the school renovation project, re-examine it, and scale it back. Doing so, the three councilors argued, would free up much-needed money for other key projects that were recommended by a Facilities Assessment Committee which issue a report last month on the dire state of town facilities. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Meriden's Columbus Ave. bridge expected to be closed this winter
MERIDEN — The Columbus Avenue bridge is expected to be closed until spring while work to prevent flooding continues. An overflow culvert is being installed along the side of the bridge to help Harbor Brook flow under it during heavy rain. Work will continue this winter as long as the weather allows. When the bridge closed in May, the city estimated it would reopen in mid-December.
“The contractor is going to try to work as much as possible in the winter,” Public Works Director Robert Bass said. “It depends what this winter brings us, whether it is a lot of snow or just cold air.”
The project involves “quite a bit of excavation as part of the overflow channel,” he added. The city is using $1.1 million in state funds. Although small, the bridge causes significant flooding between Columbus and Cook avenues. The city began correcting flooding issues along Harbor Brook in the mid-1990s. Bridges along Bradley, Coe and Cook avenues, all of which run over Harbor Brook, have been replaced in recent years. The overflow culvert is an alternative to replacing the Columbus Avenue bridge. During significant rain and when Harbor Brook rises, water will flow through the culvert. Otherwise, the culvert will be dry. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
MERIDEN — Traveling on Westfield Road near Falcon Field, a large clearing to the east of Milton Drive can be spotted. While it looks like the area is being primed for development, crews are actually working to create a flood retention basin for Harbor Brook, which flows through the area from Baldwin Pond. The project is related to an ongoing citywide effort to control the flow of Harbor Brook, which on multiple occasions, has flooded the downtown area. Xenelis Construction Co., of Middlefield, was contracted by the city for just under $1 million to dig the basin, according to Public Works Director Robert Bass. Previously wooded, the seven-acre site was excavated about eight feet in the last year to store water in case of flooding. Work should be complete by the end of the year, Bass said. In the spring, vegetation will be planted “to create a new environment for different birds, fish and wildlife in the area,” he said. Bass said the site was suggested by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection because it contained upland soil, as opposed to wetland soil. Dwight Needels, chairman of the Flood Control Implementation Agency, said three other sites under consideration for the basin were “vibrant wetland areas.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
“The railings are due in January,” he said, “depending on the weather. We’re hoping it will be open by early- to mid-February at the latest.” Zinn, who has been in his job only since September, said that apparently when the deck was put back on, “The dimensions moved slightly. They had to adjust the design of the railings so that if all fit perfectly. There’s a long lead time with the railing manufacturer.” Zinn added, “Issues come up in construction, especially in rehabilitation.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Feds look at big expansion to CT rail routes
The current Northeast Corridor stretches 457 miles and carries more than 2,000 trains between Amtrak and eight commuter railroads including Metro-North. The Northeast Corridor Future planning process comes as Congress and federal officials are also grappling with funding just improvements to maintain current service levels, a task Amtrak estimates would cost $10 billion.
"We definitely believe all the options are worth considering and are looking to the public and stakeholders to really define what the role of rail should be and how much we are willing to support that," Reyes-Alicea said. The FRA's proposed plan includes range of options from mega-projects to establish high-speed rail down to less comprehensive changes that would maintain current service but not accommodate expected growth from region to region. Under the most expensive plan, a brand new Amtrak system would run through a hub in Nassau in Long Island before tunneling under Long Island Sound to Stamford to connect north to Danbury and Waterbury, and even on to Hartford and Boston. A second option calls for a tunnel linking Ronkonkoma to New Haven en route to Boston. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE