DANBURY — Voters in Danbury approved a $53.5 million expansion to Danbury High School Tuesday in a vote of 997 yes to 860 no.
The approved plan is to build a 24-classroom wing on the back of Danbury High School to house its freshman academy. Also included in the plan are a new auto body shop, a performing arts theater, a $6 million smart roof and a new glass-enclosed front entrance designed to make the place safer without feeling institutional.
New Milford turf plan gets public input
NEW MILFORD — The turnout was small but enthusiasm was huge Monday at a special meeting of the New Milford Turf Field Construction Committee.
The committee was seeking input from residents on details of plans to install artificial turf and new lighting on fields at New Milford High School. A sports awards banquet the same night affected turnout at the special meeting, but some sport enthusiasts who couldn’t attend emailed letters of support to committee members.
“We need lights for both fields,” wrote Joe Wunderlich, “and artificial turf that is closest to natural grass would be preferred.”
“I am a nationally rated women’s lacrosse official and I support this change,” wrote Connie Chapin. “As a taxpayer, I would like to compare maintenance costs on the present natural grass fields to the cost of artificial turf for comparison.”
The committee intends to fashion a request for bids to install the new synthetic turf, which is expected to cost $3 million to $4 million. Lighting would be added and improvements made to the high school track as well.
Kathy Rehaag, a band parent who also has two children who play sports on the fields, wants to see lighting on both fields. If both the stadium field and practice field are turfed and lighted, she said, evening band practices now held on the high school parking lot could be moved to a field instead. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Progress continues connecting Middletown to water treatment plant
MIDDLETOWN >> Though Mother Nature slowed its progress, drilling continues on the city’s $40 million project to connect to the Mattabassett Sewer District water treatment facility in Cromwell.
Crews lost about three months to heavy snow and severe cold between late December to late March, according to William Clayton, project manager for Northeast Remsco Construction, the Farmingdale, N.J.-based firm contracted for the job.
Rocky conditions also have slowed the work. It takes about 10 weeks — up from previously estimated six to eight weeks — for “each of the longer drills,” said Clayton Tuesday at the deKoven Drive worksite.
“The ground has been challenging, it’s physically harder and rockier than anticipated,” he added.
About $15.4 million of that bottom line goes to the drilling while the pumping station will run another $19.5 million to $20 million, city water and sewer chief Guy Russo told the Press.
The city also broke ground on a new pump station in May 2014. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
$2.27M bond approved for Lyman Hall athletic complex
WALLINGFORD — The Town Council unanimously approved an ordinance Tuesday night authorizing a $2.27 million bond to pay for the Lyman Hall High School athletic complex project.
The project, which will cost $2.4 million, will consist of a larger seven- to eight-lane track, an artificial turf field, and an emergency lighting system.
Comptroller Jim Bowes said the life expectancy of the athletic complex is 20 years.
Mountain View Landscapes & Lawncare Inc., of Chicopee, Mass., was awarded the contract after submitting the lowest bid last month.
Tuesday’s approval of a bond authorization allows the Board of Education to move forward with the project. The Lyman Hall athletic complex project has been delayed for several years for a variety of reasons, including funding.
Several years ago, the town put $300,000 in an account to help fund the project. Nearly $100,000 was used to pay the architect, Bowes said, and the rest was added to the total cost of the project.
Republican Councilor Craig Fishbein asked if there would be state funding available to pay for part of the project. Bowes said he was not sure. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Downtown Meriden utility work begins early. snarls traffic
Downtown Meriden utility work begins early. snarls traffic
MERIDEN — Though utility work snarls traffic downtown, officials promise the hassle will be worth it.
Work to replace 1.5 miles of aging natural gas pipelines began ahead of schedule, with crews from Eversource Energy doing preliminary work on Pratt Street a few weeks ago, and beginning work on West Main Street this week.
A notice sent to customers Monday estimated work would start on June 15. Mitch Gross, a spokesman for Eversource, said work began earlier due to a quicker-than-estimated city permit process.
“In this case, we were able to get everything ahead of what we estimated,” he said.
The work is also dependent on the availability of crews and equipment.
The project includes both day and night work. The section of West Main, East Main and Grove streets will require work between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. Gross said this is also based on crew and equipment availability, as well as coordination with other construction projects downtown.
“The city has a lot of things on its construction schedule, and we’re trying to work in tandem with them so we don’t interfere with each other,” he said, adding that the work on West Main will continue at night “for the immediate future.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
CT plans $200M, five year Charter Oak bridge project
CT plans $200M, five year Charter Oak bridge project
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced Tuesday a five-year, $200 million construction renovation to the Charter Oak Bridge in Hartford designed to alleviate congestion on I-91 North on the south side of the city.
The new state budget going into effect on July 1 provides funding for the project meant to make it easier and quicker for motorists to merger onto I-84 East from I-91 North. That interchange frequently causes backups on I-91 North that can extend up to 1.4 miles because of long lines of drivers waiting to get into the right lane to exit onto I-84 East.
The renovation will widen I-91 North between exits 27 and 29, including modifying four bridges; replace the I-91 North ramp at Exit 29; realign Route 15 North; and widen the southern approach to the Charter Oak Bridge.
Construction is expected to begin in 2018 and be complete in 2023, creating 1,100 jobs.
The $200 million will be funded by 80 percent federal funds and 20 percent state funds.
State says it plans to rid Charter Oak of traffic bottleneck
HARTFORD — The state has begun preliminary design work to reconstruct the northbound approach to the Charter Oak Bridge, a job projected to require five years of construction and cost $200 million.
The Charter Oak Bridge, opened 24 years ago to relieve traffic congestion, has become a time-wasting and sometimes dangerous bottleneck for northbound I-91 traffic headed to East Hartford or eastbound I-84, according to the state transportation department.
"When we talk about congestion reducing productivity and traffic hampering our economic output, the Charter Oak Bridge on I-91 North is the perfect example," he said.
The Charter Oak work will start with roughly three years of design, engineering and contract preparation using about $10 million that's already budgeted, according to the DOT. Construction crews would start sometime in 2018 and finish in 2023. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Redevelopment agency approves development plan for Haven South
WEST HAVEN >> The Redevelopment Agency unanimously approved the municipal development plan and development agreement for The Haven South, the proposed first phase of The Haven upscale outlet mall, Tuesday night after a two-hour public hearing that drew 120 people.
The agency, with little comment or discussion, also voted unanimously to designate The Haven Group LLC as “exclusive developer” of the 24-acre development area, which includes 50 separate properties, a number of which still must be acquired.
The plan involves the acquisition of land within an area south of Elm Street, roughly between First Avenue and the West River from Elm to Main Street.
The ball now moves to the court of the City Council, which will meet to consider the MDP, development and other components of the project at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Yale commits to hiring 500 more city residents over the next 2 years
NEW HAVEN >> Yale University has committed to hiring 500 city residents over the next two years, including 100 in the building trades.
In a letter Tuesday to Mayor Toni Harp and Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker, Bruce Alexander, Yale’s vice president for New Haven and state affairs, said, “Yale University and our entire community share the goal of further enhancing the economic development and livability of the City of New Haven. We realize how important high quality jobs are to this process.”
Of almost 13,000 employees, about 4,000 are New Haven residents. Alexander wrote that Yale will hire as many as possible through New Haven Works, a partnership between the city, Yale, area businesses and nonprofits to help employ city workers.
The letter said the 100 construction workers would depend on availability of city residents in the building trades and that the university “will encourage other employers to fill more of their position openings” with city residents. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
It seems not every governor can produce a traffic jam
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy once called himself the “anti-Christie,” a gibe at New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Now, his staff has produced the anti-Bridgegate: That’s when you count on a traffic jam, and it doesn’t happen.
Malloy held a press conference Tuesday at a spot picked for its view of a single-lane on-ramp to the Charter Oak Bridge in Hartford that reliably backs up onto I-91, perfect to illustrate why he has made transportation infrastructure a priority.
The governor announced that a project in 2018 will “construct two lanes of traffic to get onto the bridge, as opposed to the one lane that is currently causing such a big problem.”
“Except today,” muttered a state employee.
The ramp was clear.
Malloy shrugged off the unusual absence of a traffic jam at Exit 29, where motorists leave I-91 north to cross the Connecticut River and connect with I-84 east. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
