Governor Malloy is holding a press conference on his transportation
proposal today in New Haven!
The details:Date: Friday, June 5, 2015
Time: Noon
Location: I91-I95 Interchange Project, New Haven (The same location as the press conference with Rosa DeLauro)
Directions: I-91 South, Take Exit #2, Go through first light on Ives Place, At second light – go right on East Street, Take a right on Water Street, When in-between the two bridges – turn left into the project, proceed up and to the left to the bridge deck.
Parking is available on the project site. There will be a person at the project entrance with a sign-in sheet.
As always, industry attendance is needed to make this a successful event!
Portland selectman hear recreation complex plan ideas
The proposal calls for construction of two soccer fields, two baseball fields, a splash pad, an 8,000-square foot playground, a bocce court, a horseshoe court, a picnic area, and a multi-use trail system among several other things. The proposed Portland Town Park would be constructed on a portion of the Goodrich property, which is located off Route 17. The town acquired the property in 2005.
Daniel Biggs, an architect with the engineering firm of Weston & Sampson, outlined the proposal to the selectmen during their regular meeting Wednesday at the Portland Public Library. Biggs and his firm are working with the Portland Route 17 Recreational Complex Steering Committee, which was established by the town in 2013 to develop a plan for the site. Brian McCarthy, the chairman of the steering committee, said the panel had made a concerted efforts to listen to the wishes of residents while also “being very sensitive to the neighbors’ concerns.” The overwhelming response from more than a dozen residents who spoke was immediate and complete support for the project, which carries a preliminary price tag of $5 million. In comments he made as he thanked Biggs and the committee for their efforts, Selectman Carl Chudzik hit upon what could become a unifying theme for the park project. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
New London High School project to be part of General Assembly's special session
New London — Though the legislative session ended by constitutional mandate late Wednesday night, the General Assembly had not completed all of its work.
Its members agreed to reconvene later this month for a special session, and among the work left outstanding is to add New London’s planned school construction project to the General Assembly's annual school construction spending bill, which would allow the city to move forward with its plan to renovate New London High School.
Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio said Thursday he expects the bill to pass nearly unanimously and that the delay in receiving approval will not significantly affect the project's timeline.
The roughly $98 million project, which, along with construction of a new middle school, will complete the facilities portion of the city's plan to become the state's first all-magnet school district, was not among the school building projects recommended by the state Department of Administrative Services to the General Assembly for funding when the legislative session began because it was not approved at the local level until it passed referendum in November. To be included on that list, DAS spokesman Jeffrey Beckham said, a municipality must have approved the project by June 30, though the legislature can add the project to the final bill by inserting "notwithstanding language" as an amendment to the bill. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Specifically, the federal Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) and/or the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) will provide the funding for the bridge.
Town Engineer David Smith said Dewberry was chosen after a shortlist of about six firms was selected.
Smith added that three options are being explored to renovate, or possibly replace, the more than a century-old bridge.
"All three will preserve the 130-year old truss, in some sort of more-decorative, but visible, presence," Smith said, adding that the initial assessment work will begin soon after the approval, and the evaluations will take most of the summer. A final design will likely be presented in about 12 months. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Construction spending reaches highest level in six years
WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. construction spending climbed in April to the highest level in more than six years, fueled by healthy gains in housing, government spending and non-residential construction.
Construction spending advanced 2.2 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1 trillion, the highest level since November 2008, the Commerce Department said Monday. Spending had risen a more modest 0.5 percent in March.
The gain included a 0.6 percent rise in residential construction and a 3.1 percent jump in non-residential activity such as office buildings, hotels and shopping centers. Government projects increased 3.3 percent, reflecting the biggest jump in spending on state and local projects in three years.
Economists are looking for construction to provide solid support to the economy this year.
The April advance was the biggest one-month gain in three years and left construction activity more than 4 percent above where it was a year ago.
The construction industry has struggled to come back from the Great Recession, which hit builders hard. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Workers tunneling under I-84
WATERBURY — Drivers on Interstate 84 won't notice, but construction workers are putting a tunnel 25 feet beneath the highway for a new sewer line, using "trenchless" pipe installation technology that won't disturb traffic flow. The work is part of the $298 million I-84 widening project between Washington Avenue and Pierpont Street, which is expected to be finished by 2020. "Typically, you'd dig an open trench," said Project Engineer Christopher Zukowski. "Our goal is to keep I-84 moving and not interfere, so it's a trenchless excavation." On Friday, M&P Pipe Jacking of Newington, a subcontractor for the project, began removing rock and soil for a 42-inch-diameter sleeve that will hold the sewer pipe. The pipe, which will be 300 feet long, is located just east of the Exit 23 westbound off-ramp onto Hamilton Avenue. On Wednesday, crews had burrowed a 38-foot tunnel. Although the work is more than 10 percent done, it's difficult to predict when it will be finished because the workers may encounter more rocks — like the one they discovered Wednesday — that could take days to remove. The subcontractor hopes to finish by the end of the June. The sewer line is being installed using a jacking pit, equipped with hydraulic pistons that push a cutting sheath into the earth, knocking soil out of the way. "The hydraulic jacks literally push the pipe into the earth," Zukowski said. A worker inside the tunnel, armed with a jackhammer, removes displaced rocks and soil and dumps them in a wheelbarrow, which a pulley brings back to the open side of the tunnel. Workers empty the wheelbarrow and send it back to the worker inside so the process can continue.
The tunnel digging worker steers the cutting sheath using hydraulic levers and follows a laser that shows the tunnel route. The system also includes an air pump that sends oxygen to the person in the tunnel. Once the digging is complete and the 42-inch pipe is installed, work of installing the new sewer line will begin. The 42-inch pipe will serve as a sleeve for the 16-inch sewer line, which will be set on wooden planks. After the sewer line is installed, the sleeve will be filled with sand, using a blower, and sealed with grout on both ends. The sleeve could be used later to access the sewer line for repairs or maintenance, without needing to dig another trench, Zukowski said. It also adds an extra layer of protection to the sewer line. The new sewer line will replace an aging city sewer line.