With passage of budget, Malloy highlights upcoming bridge work
New London — With the
passage of a state budget and a funding source in place, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Friday announced tentative start dates for work on the Gold Star Bridge, widening of Interstate 95 and replacement of an I-95 bridge in East Lyme spanning Route 161.
Both bridges are structurally deficient and while safe, in need of serious work, according to state Department of Transportation Commissioner James Redeker. The projects are expected to start no later than 2018.
Malloy returned to the state pier in New London, under the Gold Star Bridge, Friday for a press conference five months after he used the same spot to highlight the importance of investing in transportation infrastructure.
Malloy has made similar visits promoting the passage of the budget and his transportation initiative in other parts of the state.
“These major interstate bridges are an integral part of the southeast region’s transportation network and economy,” Malloy said. “Southeastern Connecticut can’t afford more delays in addressing these issues. That’s why we’re here today.”
State Sen. Paul Formica, R-East Lyme, applauded the news of the East Lyme project, something he said he has been fighting for at least five years and a project he lobbied for in the latest legislative session. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
City leaders say revitalized downtown worth the wait
NEW BRITAIN — The third phase of the city’s streetscape project, coupled with simultaneous infrastructure improvements to city gas lines by Connecticut Natural Gas (CNG), have caused headaches and complaints by store owners and pedestrians in the Central Park area.
However, city leaders say the final product when all the work is completed will be worth the temporary inconveniences.
“When it’s all done, it will look like night and day. It will be a beautiful place for people to enjoy downtown,” Mayor Erin Stewart said Friday from her offices in City Hall, a stone’s throw from the work. “The park will be more open. There will be space for food trucks and farmers markets.”
The mayor said the constant noise and street work being performed by CNG on the western side of Central Park should be complete “in a few months, maybe sooner depending on weather.”
CNG has been working on streets in front of several businesses, forcing some of them to close down temporarily. They are not expected to be reimbursed for the closure, city officials said.
Maria Bernacki, owner of Sir Speedy on Main Street, said, “The nice thing is we found out today [Friday] that the cement directly in front of the store is not being torn apart. There is a walkway from Court Street to the business.”
However, she added, “There is a lot of caution tape, and the rest of the sidewalk in front of the business is being torn up as of today. We probably won’t know if there is a drop in business until after today.”
Bernacki said she will “reserve judgment” on the project “until it’s done. But we do want what is best for our downtown and let’s hope this is what’s best for downtown.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Work begins on Backus new Plainfield medical center
PLAINFIELD — Preliminary site work began this week on a new
Plainfield medical center to be run by The William W. Backus Hospital, a
facility expected to be up and running in a year.
The project, overseen by Branford-based O,R&L Plainfield LLC,
calls for the construction a two-story, 40,000 square-foot center on 3.68 acres
on Gallup Street — just east of the Plainfield Backus Emergency Care Center at
582 Norwich Road. Like the emergency center, the new facility will be leased to
Backus by OR&L.
The Backus Center for Specialty Care will tentatively be home to
several medical services, including physical rehabilitation, a women's health
office, cardiology, an infusion section with medical oncology section and an
ambulatory surgery center, Backus spokesman Shawn Mawhiney said.
"The idea behind this facility came after the tremendous success of
the emergency care center," he said. "And the research done through phone
surveys and conversations with community stakeholders in New London and Windham
counties about health and health care needs in the region."
Mawhiney said a public ground-breaking ceremony is scheduled for 4
p.m. July 8 at the site.
Operating hours for the center, an appointment-only facility, are
expected to vary from office-to-office. The center will include 201 parking
spaces, 20-foot LED lights and several landscape "islands" in the parking lot
that include catch basins. An artist's rendering of the building shows a stucco
and brick facade with an entry portico. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Infrastructure investment pays off, The tale of two states
here are lots of reasons for bondholders to love Colorado and show no respect for New Jersey. Here's a big one: infrastructure. Colorado made a huge investment in it and is getting rewarded by investors. New Jersey didn't and is being punished.
More than 20 years ago, Colorado residents defied business leaders, airline executives and not a few politicians (led by consultant Roger Ailes, now president of Fox News). They voted to borrow a lot of money — a total of $4.4 billion by now — to build the Denver International Airport. At twice the size of Manhattan, it's the largest airport in the United States, and it's been pumping up the economy ever since.
Denver International makes more money for the state than any other enterprise, pumping $26.3 billion a year into the economy while supplying 225,000 jobs. It gave Denver, the 22nd-largest U.S. city, the nation's third-largest domestic flight network, with a record 53.4 million passengers last year and revenue of $322.8 million. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Mixmaster to get extensive repairs
WATERBURY — The stacks of bridges that comprise the infamous Mixmaster at the junction of Interstate 84 and Route 8 are due for the most of extensive repairs in their history.
The state Department of Transportation is planning to rehabilitate eight bridges starting in 2017, with the bidding process beginning next year. As the Mixmaster is about to turn 50 years old, it needs more than just routine maintenance work, the agency has determined. "Bridges are like people and they have life cycles," said Kevin Nursick, a DOT spokesman. "Even with scheduled maintenance and checkups, they reach a point where typical maintenance is no longer enough."
But the structure, built from 1966 to 1967, isn't a safety hazard, he said.
"It is not in ideal condition and it's a functionally obsolete, outmoded beast of an interchange," Nursick said. "But the structure is not unsafe, let me be abundantly clear about that."
The rehabilitation includes replacing decks, upgrading parapets and repairing steel superstructures, concrete piers and abutments. The DOT has bundled the work into three projects, which may occur simultaneously. The projects are expected to be finished by 2019.
Due to the extent of the work, lane closures and possibly exit closures will be required. Construction on the Mixmaster will likely add to the traffic delays caused by the reconstruction of I-84 between Washington Street and Pierpont Road, which is expected to be completed by 2020.
In February, as Gov. Dannel P. Malloy touted his 30-year master plan for modernizing the state's transportation system, he claimed he was expediting plans to replace the Mixmaster, citing recent inspections.
"It needs to be replaced, and it needs to be replaced not in the distant future, but relatively soon," Malloy said at the time.
Nursick said he's unaware of any inspection reports that call for immediate attention.
Nursick wouldn't say when or how the decision was made to initiate the rehabilitation projects. But apparently the need is significant enough that the work needs to be performed, regardless of when the Mixmaster is replaced. "We need the rehabilitation to get us to the point where it can be replaced," Nursick said.
The DOT doesn't currently have an estimate of when replacement will occur.
The following bridges are scheduled for rehabilitation:
* I-84 eastbound, located on the upper level of the highway stacks — The deck will be rehabilitated, which includes a new membrane and bituminous overlay. The parapets will be modified to meet the DOT's current standard and there will be repairs to the steel superstructure. Also, there will be repairs to the concrete piers and abutments of the substructure, along with painting to protect and cover structurally sensitive areas.
* I-84 westbound, located below the eastbound deck — The deck, parapets and steel will be rehabilitated, similar to the upper level bridge. The piers and abutments, which extend up from the ground to carry the bridge, will be repaired as well.
* Route 8 northbound, located on the upper level — The entire deck will be replaced.
* Route 8 southbound, located on the lower level — Three spans of the deck will be replaced, and new parapets will be installed.
* Route 8 northbound to I-84 eastbound; I-84 westbound to Route 8 southbound; Route 8 northbound off-ramp to Riverside Street; Route 8 northbound to I-84 westbound — The decks of all four bridges will be rehabilitated, including a new membrane and bituminous overlay. The steel will be repaired, with painting and upgrades to the parapets. Any substructure concrete in need of repair will be addressed.
A cost estimate for the work was not available, though the DOT expects funding to be there when it's needed.