CT Construction Digest April 30, 2015

UConn has $155M plan for Hartford campus

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — UConn's Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved a $115 million development plan to relocate its satellite campus in West Hartford to downtown Hartford.

The plan calls for renovating the old Hartford Times building on Prospect Street, including renovations to its historic front and building a five-story addition, an atrium, and a two-story connection that loops around from Prospect to Arch Street.

That part of the project will cost about $100 million, said Laura Cruickshank, UConn's master planner and chief architect.

The school also plans to spend up to $4 million the purchase another building a block away on Prospect that would house additional offices and classrooms. The rest of the money would be used for "soft costs" such as furniture, equipment and architecture fees, she said.

UConn also plans to have retail shops at street level on the campus.

The school is planning to share some space and resources with the nearby Hartford Public Library. It's also working with the Wadsworth Atheneum, Connecticut Science Center and Connecticut Convention Center to integrate the campus into the neighborhood. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

 

Eversource Energy president confident transmission line project will be approved

 

HARTFORD >> Eversource Energy is negotiating with New Hampshire officials, including Gov. Maggie Hassan, in a bid to make sure the Connecticut-based utility company gets its Northern Pass transmission project approved, company officials said Wednesday. Thomas May, president, chairman and chief executive officer, dismissed critics of the $1.4 billion project as “a vocal minority ... a small project of resistance.” May made his comments at the company’s annual shareholders meeting at Infinity Hall. “We’re working on building a broad-based coalition of supporters,” he told shareholders. The goal, May said, is to have the transmission line operational by mid-2018 or early 2019. “Once we get all the approvals, it doesn’t take that long to build,” he said, adding that construction will take about 18 months.  But before that happens, Eversource Energy needs both federal and state approvals. The first step toward that process is expected to occur in June when the federal Energy Department issues an impact study on what 187-mile transmission line will have on New Hampshire’s environment. “That’s a big deal for us,” Jeff Kotkin, a company spokesman, said after the meeting in reference to the federal impact study. “It’s going to be pretty detailed and we’re going to look at it very closely.” The transmission project would bring 1,200 megawatts of hydropower from Quebec into southern New Hampshire, where the line would be linked up with the regional power grid. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Eversource gas to return $1.5M to customers

Berlin natural gas utility Eversource Energy, previously known as Yankee Gas, will return $1.5 million to its 220,000 customers starting in December, after a regulatory investigation revealed the company over-earned its approved amount.
Eversource also agreed to not ask for a rate increase until 2017.
Regulators at the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority set how much profit a natural gas, electric, or water utility can earn off of customer rate. For all of 2014, PURA found Eversource overearned above its approved rate of 8.83 percent by between 1.11 percent and 1.62 percent per quarter.
"We are pleased with the decision by the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) to approve a settlement we reached with the Office of Consumer Counsel and the legal staff of PURA," Eversource spokesman Mitch Gross said. "It is important to note that we have not had a distribution rate increase in more than three years. The agreement approval comes at a time when so many of our customers have been feeling the pinch of high energy supply prices."
As a result of the overearnings, Eversource reached an agreement with the Office of Consumer Counsel to begin paying its customers back $1.5 million. Customers will receive the money back in the form of a rate reduction credit for three months starting in December. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

East Hartford, CT, Officials, Tribes meet about casino

EAST HARTFORD — Town officials met with representatives from the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes this week to discuss a proposal to turn the vacant Showcase Cinemas on Silver Lane, off I-84 near Rentschler Field, into a $138 million casino.

Mayor Marcia Leclerc confirmed Monday's meeting, which was attended by Anthony W. Ravosa Jr. of Glastonbury, who assembled the team of developers pitching the plan; along with Charles F. Bunnell, the Mohegan Tribe's chief of staff for external affairs; William Satti, public affairs director for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council; town council Chairman Richard Kehoe; town Development Director Eileen Buckheit; Leclerc's assistant John Choquette and Sen. Timothy D. Larson, D-East Hartford.

In the early 1990s, Ravosa was a member of the city council in Springfield, Mass., where MGM Resorts International is building an $800 million casino that is expected to draw customers away from Connecticut's Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort casinos. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Road construction, site work to begin for new Chesire outlet center


CHESHIRE >> The Massachusetts-based developer of an outlet center planned for the intersection of Route 10 and Interstate 691 has gotten the state approval it needs to begin construction of roads and other site improvements needed to reduce traffic congestion expected to be caused by the complex.
The Office of State Traffic Administration (OSTA) has given W/S Development of Chesnut Hill, Massachusetts, approval to begin $2.2 million worth of infrastructure improvements to the intersection and on the 104-acre property where the complex will be built. OSTA a division of the Connecticut Department of Transportation, granted the approval April 15, according to documents provided to the Register. Kevin Nursick, a spokesman for the state DOT, said the infrastructure improvements must be implemented and approved by OSTA before the town can issue any certificates of occupancy for any of the businesses in the 470,000-square-foot retail center.
“This process is standard for any development of a certain size that it is determined will have an impact on a state road,” Nursick said. “It’s designed to make sure that these projects are developed in an orderly fashion and doesn’t result in increased traffic congestion.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Residents ask Malloy to stop bridge project

KENT — A group of residents on Carter Road are urging Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to cancel a planned bridge project on a town road using both federal and town funds. No state funds are involved.
The four couples emailed a letter to Malloy on Tuesday saying it is unnecessary spending on the project that would replace a culvert under the road. The town has told the residents that the road would be closed for six to nine months while the construction is underway.
"We applaud your efforts to reduce unnecessary spending by the state of Connecticut," the letter states. "Here is an idea that can help you to modify an overly expensive planned DOT project and thereby save taxpayers between $1.5 or $2.5 million (the numbers we are given for this project keeps shifting)."
The signers are Allan and Jackie Priaulx, John and Patricia Noneman, Karen and Lewis Altfest, and Linda and Dan Palmer.
The town has budgeted $290,000 in its capital fund for the bridge repair and it is eligible for 80 percent matching federal funding. First Selectman Bruce K. Adams and Road Foreman Rick Osborne said the four-year project is expected to start in the spring of 2016. It has not gone out to bid yet so the final figures are not known.
"It will go out to bid two months before the project is to start," Osborne said Wednesday.
Adams said he was surprised to hear Wednesday that the residents are appealing to Malloy. There are no state funds involved because the project is funded through town and federal money.
Allan Priaulx said Wednesday he thinks it will be discussed at the town budget hearing Friday evening.
A HEARING WAS HELD on the project in November 2014 and the cost estimate was $2.3 million at that time. It also was revealed that residents along the road will have to endure an 11-mile detour that will take them through Warren along Route 341 to Route 7 or Cornwall via Route 45 during the construction period.
The culvert is 58 years old and originally was constructed by Kent's town crew. The residents in their letter suggest that a similar design could replace the aging structure and it would cost much less.
Adams said to be eligible for federal funds, the town must abide by all of the federal guidelines.
"We could do it for less money, but it would be way more than the $290,000 that we've set aside for it," Adams said. The brook that goes under the road is connected to Kent Falls and the fish living there would have to be protected through installing a "fish ladder," which involves the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. "The Carter Road culvert is about a mile above Kent Falls and fish cannot get there naturally in the first place," the residents' letter states. "There are some brown trout in the brook now, apparently there because of hatchery stocking. If we need to benefit a few fishermen with more trout, why not just dump a few barrels of fish from a nearby hatchery rather than build an expensive ladder?"
Adams said he wasn't contacted by the governor's office regarding the letter. However, he has been in regular contact with Priaulx. "We request that you as governor intercede and insist that DOT, DEEP-Fisheries, WMC Consulting Engineers and the Town of Kent rethink this needlessly expensive approach," the residents wrote. "It makes much more sense to instead replace the current culvert with one similar to the existing structure, which has lasted more than 50 years."

CT Construction Digest April 29, 2015

Design of new walk bridge in Norwalk progressing

Governor Dannel P. Malloy said Tuesday design of a new Walk Railroad Bridge in Norwalk is progressing and remains on schedule.

“I’ve promised to replace this bridge, and we’re on track to doing just that,” Malloy said.
“The design of a replacement is progressing as fast as possible and the Department of Transportation is coordinating with all the project stakeholders – an enormous effort for a project as complicated as this one,” Malloy said.
The bridge, built in 1896, opens and closes to allow marine traffic to travel underneath. The bridge recently failed several times, backing up Metro-North trains and delaying commuters. Construction on an entirely new bridge is expected to begin in 2016 and be completed in 2020.
“For decades, there was no action on this bridge,” Malloy said during a press conference at the bridge.
The new Walk Bridge will be “state-of-the-art” and feature twin bascule bridges which will enhance the safety and reliability of commuter and intercity passenger rail service as well as the reliability for many waterway users.

Transportation finance panel talks of tolls

HARTFORD -- A state panel charged with finding ways to fund Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's $100 billion transportation improvement plan is already discussing new taxes and highway tolls.
Ben Barnes, secretary of the state Office of Policy and Management, told the Governor's Transportation Finance Panel during its first meeting Tuesday that revenue sources available to fund road, bridge and rail upgrades include tolls, raising taxes, selling bonds, user fees and liquidating state assets.
"No question: They have the potential to raise hundreds of millions of dollars," Barnes said of electronic tolls.
Finance panel Chairman Cameron Staples, president of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and a former state legislator, said he plans to schedule a meeting devoted to highway tolls and to invite lawmakers and others to offer opinions.
Tolls have already generated considerable opposition among Fairfield County lawmakers, especially in Danbury and other border communities.
Another option, Barnes said, is automated traffic enforcement, a high-tech system in which electronic devices take pictures of motor vehicle violations and mail tickets to the registered owner.
"Connecticut does not seem to like it, but it's out there," he said.  CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Route 196/66 safety meeting slated in East Hampton
 
 EAST HAMPTON >> State Rep. Melissa Ziobron will provide an update for residents Thursday on the Route 196/66 reconstruction program. The informational forum will be held in the community room of the East Hampton Library beginning at 7 p.m. The state Department of Transportation is revising the intersection in an effort to reduce traffic congestion and increase traffic flow and thus safety. Preliminary work on the project began last year  Ziobron said she worked with the DOT to establish the forum as part of “an effort to keep the community informed regarding construction plans and schedules.” “I truly appreciate (DOT’s) willingness to provide information to out residents” about the road project, Ziobron said. The $2.296 million project involves reconstructing the roadway at the intersection as well as installing new drainage structures. The project also involves elimination of the traffic island at the intersection of the two roads and the installation of a new traffic signal, according to information on the town’s website at http://bit.ly/1DIyvMN. Ziobron was previously involved with a bridge replacement project in East Haddam that has helped guide her thinking about Thursday evening’s forum. “I think what I learned in East Haddam is when people don’t know what’s going on, that’s bad public policy,” she said Monday night. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Southington Council approves new $9.2M senior center

SOUTHINGTON — A new senior center, with an estimated $9.2 million cost, will probably be considered at fall referendum.
A new senior center is planned for town land near the current Calendar House facility, which opened in 1969 in a 1913 farmhouse. It's been expanded over the years, but is no longer adequate for the large number of residents who want to take part in the center's activities.
The $9.2 million proposal is the least expensive of four options prepared by a Hartford consulting firm. More expensive options were prepared that were as expensive as $14 million. The proposals ranged from a larger new facility on the Calendar House property, a renovation and expansion of the current facility and construction of a new center elsewhere.
The $9.2 million proposal for a new facility at the existing site won unanimous approval Monday from the town council. The plans will now be reviewed by the planning commission and finance board.  CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

CT Construction Digest April 28, 2015

Plan in works to dredge Bridgeport harbor

BRIDGEPORT — Federal, state and city officials are working on a plan to dredge Bridgeport Harbor, but the actual work wouldn’t take place until 2017 at the earliest.
“We’re working right now on a draft Materials Management Plan, which looks at what is in the dredged material and where it should go,” Tim Dugan spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Monday morning.
“The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the Department of Transportation are working with us, and the city has input too,” Dugan said. “We hope to have the plan ready by fall.”
But the cost of the dredging itself, and the transportation of the “spoils,” as the material is called, is not in the 2016 federal budget that begins Oct. 1.
“Congress would have to appropriate the money before the dredging could start,” Dugan said.
The silt and muck from the bottom of the harbor is not exactly beach-quality sand, and so piling it onto beaches is not an option, Dugan said.
Some of the material might be deposited in a deep trench in the middle of Long Island Sound, called the Central Disposal Site, if that option is chosen and then approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The Army Corps has completed work to improve the breakwaters protecting the harbor and city beaches in time for the Memorial Day weekend opening.

Hearing on Malloy's $100B transportation plan

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's short-term transportation vision came into sharper focus Monday as lawmakers in Hartford considered spending $2.8 billion over the next five years to plan and design rail, bus and highway improvements.
The money would be divided among 31 projects, including new train stations in Orange and Bridgeport, widening portions of Interstate 95 between Stamford and Bridgeport and building a rapid bus corridor between Norwalk and Stamford.
The five-year "ramp up" plan does not include electrifying Metro-North's Danbury Branch, which now uses diesel trains, or expanding the branch past Danbury, two ideas supported by area lawmakers and residents.
"This allows us to gear up," Malloy said during a morning news conference prior to a public hearing before the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee on the first installment of the governor's overall $100 billion, 30-year transportation plan.
"Metro-North ridership is up 1.6 percent over last year, to 3.9 million trips," Malloy said. "That's exciting news and tells us as we build up, the public will react positively to the investments."
The public hearing focused on a bill authorizing the state Bond Commission to sell $2.8 billion in bonds over five years to cover design and engineering costs for various projects, including improvements to state walking and hiking trails and building new bike lanes and pedestrian paths in urban areas.
State officials said further approvals would be necessary as each project progressed. But without the design money, the governor's vision cannot be implemented, the committee was told. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Downtown Norwich sewer project uncovers engineering history

Norwich – Norwich Public Utilities and sewer construction contractors got a close-up look Monday at how their predecessors more than 100 years ago ran sewage and storm water collection lines beneath the downtown  streets.
A five-man crew Monday started what is expected to be a weeklong project to replace a section of a fieldstone box that runs along Bath Street and Broadway, serving as the main sewer and storm water conveyance system for the past 110 years. The fieldstone box – part mortared together and part dry-fitted, like a neat stonewall -- is topped with large, flat stones that cover the culvert.
The fieldstone culvert at the corner of Bath and Broadway had started to collapse, causing a sinkhole to form beneath a sidewalk patio to the right side of the United Congregational Church.
Bill Dewey, construction general foreman for NPU, said the $100,000 project calls for running a 30-inch diameter new plastic pipe inside the stone culvert, connecting it to a steel pipe that was installed along Bath Street in the 1980s.
The steel pipe abruptly ends near the intersection, where the stone framework has remained in use since then. Dewey said crews hope to leave much of the stonework in place, pulling off only the top stones to lay the new pipe. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

NPU begins spring work early

NORWICH - Norwich Public Utilities’ first major spring project of the year actually began six months ago, when a large sink hole formed at the intersection of Bath and Chestnut streets.
It was the result of a 110-year-old stone culvert failing to divert sewer flow and runoff, prompting NPU to put its modernization at the top of its seasonal to-do list. Workers quickly patched up the site to keep it stable until the weather warmed, but addressing a long-term fix was a top priority. On Monday, crews began the week-long effort to pull out an old plastic pipe from the 1980s and replace it with 100 feet of new material that is much more durable. “There’s a stone culvert like that all the way to the other manhole,” NPU foreman Bill Dewey said. “And it’s started to cave in in spots.” The work is similar to a December project that replaced 90 feet of sewer line between 120 and 177 Broadway that had also fallen into disrepair. Unlike many other locations in the city, sewer and water systems in areas around Broadway and in Greeneville are linked. Officials said the construction not only upgrades city infrastructure, but retires the culvert before it has a chance to deteriorate any further. The site is located just in front of the Frontier Communications facility. “The biggest challenge is that you have so much infrastructure in the ground, with your main phone building being right here,” Dewey said. “This isn’t just sewer, this is drainage so if we get a good rain storm, they’re not going to be able to work. It’s too much water for them.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

CT Construction Digest April 27, 2015

Stevenson Dam repairs require road closure

MONROE -- A repair project on the Stevenson Dam will soon throw a wrench into the commute along Route 34.
The state road crosses the dam, linking Monroe and Oxford, and connecting the lower Naugatuck Valley towns of Derby and Seymour to points north, including Newtown and Danbury, will be shut down in both directions from May 2 to 5.
The roadway, which is owned by the state Department of Transportation, is being closed so that maintenance work can be done on the dam itself, according to FirstLight Hydro Generating Co., the dam's owner.
"In an effort to minimize the impact to the public, most of the work will be done throughout the weekend," FirstLight officials said in a written statement.
The road over the dam has been patched and repaved countless times since the 1920s, and a 1979 widening project closed it to traffic for about six months. But the biggest problem with the road over the dam is the geometry of its approaches, said Kevin Nursick of the state DOT. Nothing can be done about that except to build a free-standing bridge across the Housatonic, he said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

New chapter to New Fairfield's library

NEW FAIRFIELD -- After 15 years of planning and several false starts, construction began last week on the town library's first renovations since 1984.
Over the next several months, the building will be made accessible to the handicapped, energy efficient and more technologically advanced.
"They'll have a building that's totally accessible to everybody," said library Director Linda Fox, adding energy efficiencies will save money on utility bills.
The library will stay open during its normal hours during the project, but programs are canceled until the downstairs is completed in June, just in time for the summer reading program.
Parking will be limited and only the front entrance will be open for the first two months. Fox recommends patrons visit in the evening or on weekends when Town Hall is closed and more parking is available.
Highlights of the project include installing an elevator and automatic doors; widening hallways and bathrooms; improving the wiring for the computers and phones; and renovating the children's library and program room in the basement. New doors, windows, lighting, heating and cooling will be installed to make the building more energy efficient.  CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Darien selectman OK $60M in bonds

With an eye to making the most of the town's bond rating, the Darien Board of Selectmen voted recently to approve up to $60 million in bonding to pay off the town's debt at lower interest rates if the opportunity arises in the coming year.
The financial maneuver has saved the town millions of dollars since 2008, when the town began preapproving an upper limit for refinancing bonds, officials said.
"It enables the Board of Finance to refinance any sort of debt and it has saved us millions of dollars in recent years," Selectman Gerald Nielsen Jr. said.
While the town has no specific designs on issuing the bonds right now, Town Finance Director Kate Clark Buch and First Selectman Jayme Stevenson said approving the upper limit in advance allows the town to move quickly when it spots an opportunity to refinance debt.
They said refinancing bonds in recent years has saved taxpayers millions in interest costs and is part of a strategy to keep the town on a stable financial footing.
The practice began in 2008, when a proposal to issue refinancing bonds couldn't get the necessary town approvals in time to take advantage of the lower interest rate, Buch said.
"It allows us to take advantage of the market and react quickly, should a refunding opportunity come up," Buch said. "If we waited until an opportunity came up to pass the authorization, we run the risk of the market turning and losing that opportunity before we can get through the whole process of getting a refunding authorized."
The town most recently took advantage of the markets when it issued $33.6 million in bonds to refund $35.2 million in bonds before their maturity, resulting in $4.58 million in reduced interest payments. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Waterbury riders will transfer at temporary station

MILFORD -- Metro-North Railroad's temporary Devon station, which will be in use from May 4 into early October, is exactly that: temporary.
The open-air platform sits at the Y-shaped junction of tracks where the Waterbury Branch meets the main New Haven Line. There's no canopy, no restrooms, no ticket machines and no parking.
The state's Rail Transportation Plan, covering 2012-16, mentions a permanent Metro-North station in Devon, but this is not it.
But the two, four-car-length platforms -- one on the branch and one on Track 3 with a walkway connecting them -- are a key piece of a major upgrade to the Waterbury Branch.
Interim repairs to the 110-year-old, four-track Devon bridge spanning the Housatonic River include improvements to Track 3, the inbound local track, taking it out of service and requiring the temporary transfer point.
There are no restrooms because there are restrooms on all trains, Metro-North spokeswoman Marjorie Anders said. "No ticket machines because everyone who will be making a transfer already has a ticket. There is no parking because there is no access to the station from anywhere but a train," she said.
Although Waterbury Branch passengers normally switch trains in Bridgeport, the Devon transfer allows passengers to board their connecting trains before the bridge, bypassing the closed track. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Public hearing on widening I-95/84 today

The General Assembly's Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee on Monday will hold a public hearing on legislation authorizing $2.8 billion in bonding to design and plan a variety of highway and rail improvements.
The bill is one of the first steps in Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's $100 billion, 30-year vision to improve Connecticut's roads, bridges, highways and rail systems. The money would be spent from 2016 to 2019.
Projects that would receive the money include widening Interstate 95 between Stamford and Bridgeport, widening Interstate 84 between Exits 3 and 8 in Danbury, reconfiguring the Route 7 and Route 15 interchange in Norwalk, repairing the Wilbur Cross Parkway's West Rock Tunnel, designing a new dock yard for Metro-North's Danbury Branch and designing a pedestrian bridge in Stamford on Metro-North's New Haven Line.
Also on the agenda is a bill that would establish registration fees for sellers and makers of electronic cigarettes. The public hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. in Room 2E of the Legislative Office Building. The committee deadline for action this year is May 1. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Norwich Free Academy plans summer construction projects

Norwich – There won’t be any scaffolding decorating Norwich Free Academy this summer, but the campus will be busy with about $600,000 worth of capital projects that might include adding air conditioning to Alumni Gym.
Harry Hansen, director of facilities at NFA, presented several proposed projects to the Board of Trustees last week, highlighted by roof replacement and ventilation work planned for the Tirrell Building cafeteria roof and Alumni gym.
Head of School David Klein said NFA officials tried to keep the summer projects to under $600,000, and Hansen’s initial list totaled $575,750. But when trustee Chairman Theodore Phillips asked if the roof replacement and ventilation work on the Alumni Gym included air conditioning, and found out it did not, he asked the board to add up to $40,000 to the budget, for a total of $615,000. The board agreed.
Hansen said air conditioning could cost $30,000 to $40,000 and agreed to obtain prices for the work and to contact Norwich Public Utilities for possible rebates on energy efficient systems. Without the air conditioning, replacing the gym roof was estimated to cost $165,000 and the new air handling system for heating and fresh air circulation was estimated at $80,000.  CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Projects are bustling in Montville

Several projects related to business growth are in the works in Montville, Mayor Ronald K. McDaniel said. Among them is an 80,000-square-foot indoor sports complex under construction in the Lombardi Business Park off Route 85. "They're in full swing, the steel's all up," McDaniel said. "Hopefully they can still meet their target to open, probably in late fall." Montville Auto on Route 32 recently opened, and McDaniel said the town is looking for economic activity in two nearby vacant spots - the site of a former Cumberland Farms and a Bank of America branch that closed. In addition, the town has approved two mixed-use projects on Route 32 near Dime Bank. "They're going to consist of two commercial units and 26 rental apartments," he said. Construction is scheduled to start in the summer, he said. Along Route 85, phase two of The Past Antiques Market & Museum at Nature's Art Village is under construction. It will be part of the existing 14,000 square-foot antique store and attached Gateway Museum. "That's going to have antique machinery and tools part of the facility," McDaniel said. "It's a really unrecognized gem in Montville." Montville and the surrounding area also stand to benefit from large-scale construction activity by the Mohegan Tribe in the next year. The tribe announced early this year that it plans to build and open a new 400-room hotel tower. The $120 million project is expected to be complete by fall 2016. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

CT Construction Digest April 24, 2015

New England governors discuss ways to chop energy prices

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — New England's governors agreed Thursday to a mix of regional and state actions to cut persistently high energy costs.

Five of the region's six governors said they will work across the region while each state pursues individual projects. New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan did not attend the Hartford meeting.

"Obviously it involves a little bit of everything," Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said.

Solutions will include renewable energy such as solar and wind power and natural gas, he said.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker also said the governors are considering a range of energy choices to help reduce costs.

"I prefer to think of it as sort of an all-options approach," he said. "But if you're going to pursue an all-options approach on something like this, you need to do it on a collaborative basis, working with those who also rely on the same grid we rely on in Massachusetts."

In one joint effort, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island are seeking power purchase agreements for hydropower or other types of renewable energy.

New Hampshire regulators are looking at new energy efficiency standards.

Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo has proposed an infrastructure bank to centralize financing for environmentally friendly public works.

Vermont regulators are considering an application for a transmission line that would bring hydropower to transmission points linking power to other areas in New England.

High energy costs in the region are due in part to natural gas pipeline bottlenecks. The region has limited natural gas pipeline systems, which are reaching maximum capacity, said Gordon van Welie, president and chief executive of the region's power grid operator, ISO- CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

 

Stamford picks architects for $6.4M in design work

 

The city has made its picks for architects for its two major capital projects. Altogether, the design work will likely cost more than $6 million.
The Board of Finance will consider hiring Berlin-based Jacunski Humes Architects for $3.4 million to design a new police headquarters at a special meeting on April 29.
The board will also decide whether to approve a $2,986,120 agreement with local firm Perkins Eastman to design a K-5 Magnet School at 200 Strawberry Hill Ave.
The Board of Finance meets at 6:30 p.m. on April 29 on the fourth floor of Government Center, 888 Washington Blvd.
If they approve the agreements, the Board of Representatives will still need to give the final go-ahead. They are scheduled to take up the matter May 6.

 

UConn to spemd $10M on Gampel Pavilion roof

 

STORRS >> The University of Connecticut is planning to spend $10 million to fix the roof and peeling ceiling of its 25-year-old Gampel Pavilion basketball arena.
The project will be presented to the school’s Board of Trustees on Wednesday for approval.
Fabric wrapping the triangular ceiling tiles and a sealant in the roof are starting to degrade, causing problems including peeling and water leaks, according to the request for the funding from Scott Jordan, the school’s chief financial officer and Mun Choi, UConn’s provost.
“As a 25-year-old building, Gampel experiences many of the same age-related maintenance issues over time as you’d see occurring in similar structures,” school spokeswoman Stephanie Reitz said.
Engineers have recommended removing the fabric and insulation from the damaged ceiling panels, re-wrapping them in fabric and replacing each on a piece-by-piece basis. They also recommend resealing the roof after installing changes that will allow better access to workers.
The school is already spending $546,000 to replace the lighting system in the 10,000-seat arena with an energy-efficient LED system. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Utility work to begin on Monday in Meriden

MERIDEN — Downtown residents can expect a temporary disruption of natural gas service this spring or summer as crews replace gas mains.

Mitch Gross, spokesman for Eversource Energy, said work to replace roughly 8,000 feet of mains should begin next week and continue through summer.

Downtown residents may have noticed an influx of painted lines and markers on the streets. New plastic pipes will replace aging cast iron pipes, Gross said, and should “improve reliability of the gas system.”

“A lot of construction these days is going plastic,” he said.

An announcement on the city’s website details a timeline for the work, which is expected to start in some places on Monday. The announcement mentions work beginning in some places on April 20, but Gross said that city permits were being finalized this week, so those start dates have been pushed back a week.

Crews will work Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.. The affected streets will remain open during the process, but excavation may limit traffic to one lane temporarily.

Gross said residents will be contacted by Eversource when work will disrupt natural gas service, which is expected to last a few hours. Electricity will not be interrupted. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

 

Hilton Mystic launches renovation project

 

The Hilton Mystic hotel has begun the first phase of a complete makeover of the property, the hotel's owner, Distinctive Hospitality Group, announced.

DHG acquired the 182-room hotel in the spring of 2014 and immediately began planning renovations of the rooms, public areas, the bar and restaurant, bathrooms and the pool and fitness areas as well as upgrades of the exterior landscaping and lighting. CBT Architects of Boston is in charge of the redesign, while the C.E. Floyd Co., a Connecticut-based general contractor, is spearheading construction.
“The design concept is heavily influenced by the architectural underpinnings of (Mystic) Seaport,” Lou Carrier, president of DHG, said in a statement.. “You can’t be in the heart of true Mystic and not give credence to the history, culture, and soul of the Seaport area. … We’re committed to presenting a fresh, first-class hotel with contemporary flair and genuine nod to our historic and vibrant neighborhood.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

First steps of Ledyard's school renovation project now in motion

Ledyard — The Town Council on Wednesday night set in motion the first of many steps in the school renovation project, which was approved by voters in January.
By a vote of 8-0, with Councilor John Marshall absent, the council voted to issue $2.5 million in bond anticipation notes — or short-term, up-front funds that will be reimbursed later — to help the Permanent Municipal Building Committee select a construction architect, prepare construction documents and perform necessary tests at the sites.
"We're so thrilled the Town Council's agreed to front this money so that once the (state) legislature releases the funds, we can start building right away," said Board of Education and committee member Rebecca Graebner at the board's Wednesday night meeting.
The $65.8 million project, which will renovate as new Gallup Hill Elementary School and Ledyard Middle School as well as demolish Ledyard Center School, will be funded largely by the state. Only about $24 million will fall directly to taxpayers. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Bradley International seen as possible casino site

Why not put a casino at Bradley International Airport?
That suggestion has fresh currency among legislators grappling with the bill that would allow the casino-owning Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes to operate up to three “satellite” facilities in strategic locations around the state, chiefly along the Interstate 91 corridor north of Hartford.
“I think it would be a great site,” Sen. Tim Larson, the East Hartford Democrat who co-chairs the legislature’s Public Safety and Security Committee, said Thursday. “As much as we’re looking for international business out at Bradley — they’re doing some remodeling there … they have an isolated area that’s a natural traffic-generator — it would be suitable … Of course, it would be up to the people who run the airport and the people of Windsor Locks (where Bradley’s located).”
An airport casino would target a resort under construction in Springfield, Mass., the first of several out-of-state competitors expected to imperil jobs and revenues at the Connecticut gaming facilities.
Larson noted that the Mohegans, who own Mohegan Sun, announced this week that they’re pursuing a plan to develop a resort casino at Incheon International Airport in South Korea. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Casino development eyed for vacant East Hartford movie theatre

An East Hartford development team has a plan for a $138 million casino at the vacant Showcase Cinemas along I-84 near Rentschler Field that it is pitching to the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes.
The proposed casino would include 1,000 to 2,000 seats at slots or table games; two restaurants that the Mohegan tribe has franchise rights to, Smashburger and Arooga's Grille House and Sports Bar; fast-food restaurants; a German beer hall and Bavarian beer garden; two bars; a dance club; and 950 parking spaces for customers. The plan does not include retail shops. The developers were assembled by Anthony W. Ravosa Jr. of Glastonbury, who, in the early 1990s, was a member of the Springfield City Council, where MGM Resorts International is building an $800 million casino that is expected to draw customers away from Connecticut's Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino.  CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Ansonia gets $400k grant to extend Riverwalk Park

ANSONIA >> Mayor David Cassetti announced Thursday that the city has secured $400,000 in funding to extend the popular Ansonia Riverwalk on Division Street.
The money is coming from the Federal Highway Administration, which will provide 80 percent, or $320,000, of the grant funding, while the city kicks in a local share of 20 percent, or $80,000.
Cassetti said the project, dubbed Segment 8 of the Riverwalk, will include construction of an additional 500 feet of paved multi-use trail atop the western flood control dike. It will also include construction of a 130-foot pedestrian bridge over the Metro-North railroad.
Up to this point, the city did not have sufficient funds to complete this segment of the riverwalk. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

New England governors inch forward on energy

With the careful language of a State Department communiqué, New England’s governors renewed their commitment Thursday to “coordinated action to address our regional energy challenge.”
Exactly what that means will continue to evolve as the region's four Democratic and two Republican governors, two of whom are just three months into the job, work on finding common ground for themselves and their states.
Five of the region’s six governor’s met at the Connecticut Convention Center in downtown Hartford to talk about how to work together on increasing energy infrastructure in the most expensive region for purchasing electricity.
No concrete progress was made toward a goal of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy: Devising a way for state governments to prod the marketplace into increasing the capacity of natural gas pipelines into the region.
New England paid an estimated $7.5 billion over the past two winters in higher costs for natural gas, a mainstay fuel for the generation of electricity in the region, as well as home heating. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

 

CT Construction Digest April 23, 2015

Power Plant decision set for May 14

Plant ruling set for May 14
The Connecticut Siting Council is set to release a decision on a proposed 805-megawatt combined-cycle power plant in Oxford on May 14. The natural-gas-fired plant would be built next to the Algonquin pipeline, not far from Waterbury-Oxford Airport. A contingent of local residents has opposed construction of the plant, which would be less than a mile from a 55-and-over housing development in Oxford and just over the town line from homes in Middlebury. Competitive Power Ventures, which plans to build the facility, says it will help meet the region's energy needs in coming decades.

Public meeting on Post Road Bridge replacement to be held in May

A public meeting will be held May 28 at 7 p.m. to discuss replacement of a bridge on the Post Road over Greenwich Creek.

The existing bridge, which was built due to the expansion of Route 1, is close to Hillside Road and it will need to be replaced.
According to the town, the bridge is considered to be structurally deficient due to the poor condition of the existing superstructure and functionally obsolete because of the inadequate curb to curb width. Additionally, the bridge is considered hydraulically inadequate because of water flowing onto Route 1 from storm overrun.
The estimated 2013 Average Daily said there are 22,200 vehicles passing over this portion of Route 1.
The public meeting, which will outline the project and the impact construction will have, will take place in the Town Hall Meeting Room. It is being done by the state’s Department of Transportation and residents, business owners and commuters are being invited to attend.
The proposed bridge replacement consists of a single-span steel girder superstructure over an opening of approximately 38 feet. This superstructure will be supported by pile founded concrete abutments and wing walls. It will be elevated approximately two and half feet over where the existing superstructure is in order to create better flow from storms. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

L'Ambiance still echoes

As they have every year since the day it happened, April 23, 1987, organized labor in Connecticut has kept alive not only the memory of the L'Ambiance Plaza construction disaster and the 28 men who died there, but also the importance of the ongoing fight for safety in the workplace.
On that day, a twin-towered apartment building going up at the corner of Washington Avenue and Coleman Street in Bridgeport collapsed, the floors that had been erected in a now abandoned practice called lift-slab, pancaking down on the tradesmen working below.
Death, it was determined later, came with merciful swiftness.
Lift-slab is a method of construction in which concrete floors are poured at ground level and jacked upward into position.
As U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal noted afterward, while the L'Ambiance tragedy was labeled "an accident," it was, more accurately, a result of "human failure" and "greed."
Today, at 10:45 a.m., in Bridgeport City Hall, 45 Lyon Terrace, the Fairfield County Labor Council, the Fairfield Country Building Trades, the Connecticut State Building Trades and the Connecticut AFL-CIO, will once again raise the words of labor organizer Mother Jones, "Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Tanger Outlets project at Foxwoods kicks into high gear

LEDYARD >> With just a month to go before the opening of the sprawling 300,000-square-foot Tanger Outlets at Foxwoods, the retail center still is in a state of flux. Some parts of the three-story complex still are shells, steel and concrete floors exposed for all to see, while others are more polished, with construction workers putting the finishing touches on marble tiles.
“Michael Kors is already done,” David DelVecchio, the center’s general manager, said, referring to the women’s fashion accessories retailer, as he led reporters on a tour of the $120 million complex Tuesday. “They’re just waiting for product.”
But Tanger Outlet Centers, a North Carolina-based real estate investment trust with 45 upscale shopping centers in 24 states and Canada, and Standard Builders of Newington, the project’s general contractor, aren’t taking any chances.  CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Construction of fuel cell in Glastonbury progresses

GLASTONBURY — A state-of-the-art fuel cell facility being built along Chalker Hill Road is progressing quickly.
Ed Crowder, spokesman for UIL Holdings Corporation, said the fuel cell should be "up and ready to run" by the end of July. The cells, manufactured by Fuel Cell Energy of Danbury, use a chemical process that separates hydrogen to create electricity. The electricity is then sold to Eversource, the former Northeast Utilities.
The process is further enhanced - creating more electricity - when it is linked with a natural-gas gate station. The energy recovery generator recycles energy from the gas pressure letdown process and the heat from the fuel cell. The generator should be in place by January and operational in 2016.
A gate station takes high-pressure gas coming from the main line and reduces the pressure level so it can be distributed to businesses and consumers. The fuel cell is next to a Connecticut Natural Gas station near the junction of Chalker Hill Road and Hebron Avenue.

Travelers Plaza construction forces road closure

HARTFORD — The redevelopment of the plaza next to the Travelers tower downtown just got underway — and for anyone who uses Atheneum Square North to get between Main and Prospect streets, there's more to see than the demolition.
A construction fence has closed off the street, which runs between the plaza, known as "Tower Square," and the Wadsworth Atheneum.
Initially, the plan was to keep half the street open while work was done, first on the plaza side and then on the Atheneum side.
But a city official said Wednesday that a subsequent review concluded the area was just too tight to accommodate both the construction and traffic safely.
"It was too risky," City Engineer Constantin Banciulescu said. "I didn't want to approve an unsafe situation."
Travelers didn't have a comment Wednesday.
Travelers has embarked on a two-year, $25 million redevelopment that will open up the nearly two-acre plaza on Main Street and lower the walls that surround it. A three-story, copper-domed rotunda will be replaced with a more modest entrance. Massive granite planters will be removed, making way for landscaped lawn areas. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

$60M apartment complex proposed for Unionville Site

FARMINGTON — In an effort to further develop the town's Unionville section, officials are considering a proposal to build a $60 million luxury apartment complex at the historic Charles House factory.
CenterPlan Development Co. has proposed a 298-unit complex on the 19-acre property at 19 Perry St. adjacent to Union School, said Town Planner William Warner.  
"It's going to add vitality," Warner said, citing the proximity to downtown stores. "It will create a cool environment to live in. Literally, you could live there and not even need a car."
Economic Development Director Rose Ponte said the property was a felt factory before closing in the 1980s. In 2007, the town approved a plan to build 97 apartments on the property and demolished the factory building, but the project never moved forward because of financial constraints, Warner said.
"That property has continued, right smack in middle of Unionville, to remain vacant," Ponte said. "We would love to see it developed." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

CT Constructin Digest April 21, 2015

Return of Urban Transitway Construction
 
STAMFORD -- It is a cruel paradox of every redeveloping city. Spring marks the arrival of chirping birds ' and the jackhammering of construction crews.
And so it was with little fanfare this month that the city resumed work on the Urban Transitway, a federally-funded, road-widening initiative that is designed to alleviate traffic around the downtown train station by providing an alternate route through the city's East Side.
The latest construction, which follows a winter hiatus, marks a continuation of the project's $52-million second phase that began in 2013. By its completion, there will be a four-lane roadway on Myrtle Avenue between Elm and East Main streets, a three-quarter-mile stretch.
While city officials are planning to minimize traffic disruption, they are also expecting the work along East Main and Myrtle Avenue to be more logistically challenging for contractors.
"It's harder because it's a more congested area," said Ann Brown, a project manager. "There are more businesses and homeowners, and a lot of driveways."
The city has prohibited parking on East Main Street between Myrtle Avenue and Lincoln and Lockwood avenues during the latest construction phase.
Eventually, there will be no parking along the Transitway, a controversial decision but one that was reached following several public meetings on the design. "We do not have room for parking," Brown said, adding that many business owners rejected the idea of recessed parking because it would require them to give up more property.  CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

$2M made in repairs o Pleasure Beach

BRIDGEPORT -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers provided $2 million to repair the breakwaters off of Pleasure Beach, city officials said Monday.
The repairs to the structures along the beach will protect the 71-acre barrier island from erosion and storm damage. The work has been completed ahead of this year's beach season.
"Last year, we reopened Pleasure Beach to the public after decades of closure and neglect," Finch said. . "Now, we're seeing further investment that will help safeguard the barrier island and the thousands of visitors who enjoy this newly reopened gem in our city."
U.S. Rep Jim Himes and U.S. senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy worked to secure the federal grant for the city, said Brett Broesder, spokesman for Mayor Bill Finch.
An amusement park had operated at Pleasure Beach from the 1890s until 1966; the only bridge providing visitor access burned 30 years later.
Access was restored last summer via free water taxis, and Finch said more than 25,000 people visited the restored and rebuilt facilities.
"Last year, we reopened Pleasure Beach to the public after decades of closure and neglect.
"Now, we're seeing further investment that will help safeguard the barrier island and the thousands of visitors who enjoy this newly reopened gem in our city," the mayor said.
Damage from Tropical Storm Sandy in 2012 affected about 4,500 lineal feet of the breakwater, and the repairs were funded from the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013, according to a statement from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

State wants to increase stop work order fines

State regulators are looking to get tougher on employers that skirt Connecticut's labor laws.
The legislature's Labor and Public Employees Committee recently approved a bill that increases fines on employers who violate stop-work orders to $2,500 per day from $1,000 per day.
Stop-work orders are issued by the state Department of Labor to employers who knowingly misrepresent employees as independent contractors, or fail to pay worker's compensation insurance or minimum wage, among other violations.
The Hartford Business Journal reported last November that the labor department was increasing its efforts to crackdown on Connecticut's underground economy.
But state labor investigators have warned that the current civil penalty of $1,000 per day isn't a sufficient deterrent, causing some companies to ignore stop-work orders and continue jobs even though they are violating state law.
The Foundation for Fair Contracting in Connecticut, an organization that lobbies for construction worker's fair wages, suggested the state increase the penalty to $10,000 per day but Labor and Public Employees Committee members agreed to only a $2,500 fine.
The measure has support from the state Department of Labor. The bill is now headed to the Senate.
— Greg Bordonaro

Shoppes at Avalon back before Glastonbury zoning commission

GLASTONBURY — With construction yet to begin on The Shoppes At Avalon project, Developer John A. Sakon is returning to the town plan and zoning commission with a proposal for more buildings.
Last month, the commission approved Sakon's plan for a 94,640-square-foot retail and restaurant development. Sakon will go before the commission again Tuesday night with a proposal that includes a plan for two additional 4,500-square-foot buildings.
Sakon has hired Diggs Construction of Hartford, a minority-owned company, to build Avalon. It is intended to feature upscale restaurants and stores similar to West Hartford's Blue Back Square and South Windsor's Evergreen Walk.
The commission will hold a public hearing on the proposal at 7 p.m. in town council chambers of town hall.
The commission will also hold a public hearing on a proposed sidewalk network from Welles Street to Glastonbury Boulevard along Naubuc Avenue. The plan needs a flood zone permit since work will be done in the flood plain. The commission will also hold a hearing on parking areas planned by the town at Arbor Acres and Greyledge Farm open spaces on Marlborough Road. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

More bidders sought for Lyman Hall athletic complex in Wallingford

WALLINGFORD >> The supervisor of the school district’s buildings and grounds department says he is concerned there won’t be adequate competition among bidders for the proposed upgrade of the Lyman Hall High School athletic complex.
Mark Deptula convinced the Board of Education to give its informal approval to spend a couple of additional weeks soliciting more bids the project. Deptula told the board’s Operation’s Committee that he expects the first round of bids to yield only one or two bidders when it closes later this month.
“That puts us in a scary position that could have a major impact on the overall costs of the project,” Deptula said. “I’d feel a lot better if we had six or seven bidders.”
The district and the town’s purchasing office had been soliciting bids from a list of contractors that are pre-approved by the state for municipal projects. But the state has multiple lists of pre-approved contractors and Deptula said he will spend the next couple of weeks trying to attract new bidders.CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

         

CT Construction Digest April 20, 2015

New Milford Hospital's new ER nears completion

NEW MILFORD -- The new 11,000-square-foot Arnhold Emergency Department at New Milford Hospital is nearly complete and is expected to open in June.
Patient comfort and convenience are key to the design, with a welcoming lobby filled with natural light and easy access with general and handicapped parking close to the front entrance. The ambulance entrance is in the back of the department.
Materials chosen are designed to improve safety from flooring to lighting. A triage room is immediately accessible where a nurse can start medical treatment, set up X-rays and other tests so everything is in place when the doctor arrives.
"The department was designed in collaboration with S.L.A.M., architects that specialize in emergency department and hospital design," said Dr. Thomas Koobatian, the hospital's executive director and director of emergency services.
Koobatian said the "home run" is having 12 private patient rooms, where privacy and infection control are easily maintained.
The nursing staff will be centrally located to all of the patient rooms in a middle quad to expedite response time. The setup is an improvement from the current emergency department that has staff at the end of its corridor of rooms.
There is a bariatric room for heavier patients weighing 300 to 500 pounds. The bariatric room and critical care room, for trauma and cardiac resuscitation, each have controls for two patients, allowing the number of patient rooms to increase from 12 to 16 in the event of a disaster. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Bridgeport's East Side hopes to proper from Steel Point

When Bridgeport Jai Alai opened in 1976, East Side business owners were told it would be a boon for their establishments. In reality, visitors rarely strayed from the facility to check out the local haunts, according to Eduardo Reyes, owner of El Coquito, an East Main Street eatery that sells Latino food and tropical ice.
"The only way it affected us was the (increased) traffic," he said. "And then attendance dropped, it dwindled out and it was gone."
That's why Reyes doesn't want to get his hopes up about the chances of the activity at the massive Steel Point development spilling over into the area.
The 52-acre peninsula is just two blocks away from Reyes' eatery. A Bass Pro Shops, Chipotle and Starbucks are now under construction and are slated to open there later this year.
Once completely built out, the project is expected to have approximately 800,000 square feet of retail, 200,000 square feet of commercial/office, 300,000 square feet of hotel/meeting area, a new 250-slip marina and up to 1,500 residential units.
"The people that go there to buy are not going to come here to eat," Reyes said.
Making connections
The concern that Steel Point will become an isolated tourist area is one that many elected officials in the area share. Some compare it to Stamford's Harbor Point project and the way that development has fit right into the South End and established connections with the downtown through a trolley system.
"We have to be very mindful and very vigilant that we're part of the process," said state Rep. Christopher Rosario (D-128).
He noted that large developments don't always translate into positive changes for the areas they are built in. "We don't want to make the same mistakes as other cities, like Atlantic City," he said. Development there "didn't really weave into the neighborhood." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

More then $3M in unforeseen changes to Meriden's school projects

MERIDEN — Despite the hundreds of unforeseen changes to construction that amount to more than $3 million at the Platt and Maloney high school projects combined, city and school officials say the work is on track and that the changes aren’t triggering warning bells.

Since work began on the $111.8 million reconstruction and renovation at Platt High School and on the $107.5 million project at Maloney High School, 271 change orders to the design or handling of construction have been approved by members of the School Building Committee, according to a worksheet compiled by the consulting firm Arcadis, which was hired as program manager by the city.

 The state defines change orders as “written authorization to a contractor, signed by the owner, authorizing a change in the work, an adjustment in contract sum, and/or an adjustment in contract time,” according to a manual by the state Department of Public Works published in 2006.

In Meriden, these changes range from things like needing to add an $8,840 intercom system to the natatorium at Platt that was never included in designs, to things like needing to purchase $334,552 worth of new steel beams and sheer walls to replace columns that had been miscalculated at Maloney.

Since the start of construction at Platt, 144 change orders have been approved — 127 were included in Arcadis’ report through March 9, and 17 more were approved by the School Building Committee at its April 10 meeting. Some of these changes are credits and some extra costs, so their net additional cost to date is $1,579,497.

At Maloney, the committee has approved 127 change orders through its most recent meeting, totaling $1,668,413.

The chairman of the committee also has authority to approve time-sensitive or emergency change orders, up to $50,000 without full committee approval, though these changes are already included in the final figures. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

 

DOT to host forum about replacing I-84 viaduct

 

HARTFORD — When Connecticut tears down the deteriorating I-84 viaduct and rebuilds as much as 2 miles of the highway, the impact promises to be enormous: Years of construction, delays and detours in the middle of the city.

"At $4 billion to $5 billion, this is the biggest project in today's dollars that the DOT has ever done," said Rich Armstrong, a senior engineer with the state transportation department.
Even though the time for payloaders, dump trucks and cement mixers is still years away, planners are closing in on decisions that will affect hundreds of thousands of motorists, employers, merchants and taxpayers. And the state Department of Transportation wants to hear from the public now, before those decisions are made.
For an entire week starting April 27, consultants and DOT staff will be available to talk with anyone with a stake in the project's outcome.In what is billed as an "open planning studio," engineers and designers will be at the Christ Church Cathedral auditorium each day, ready to show maps and diagrams of the elevated highway that takes I-84 through the center of Hartford and the options for replacing it.
Mostly, they want suggestions from those whose neighborhoods, livelihoods and daily commutes will be affected. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE