WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers are pushing forward on must-pass highway legislation after an amendment reviving the federal Export-Import Bank provoked a heated clash on the Senate floor.
The amendment advanced over a procedural hurdle by a vote of 67-26 in an unusual Sunday session, and was likely to win approval Monday to be included on the highway bill. But that was only after senior Senate Republicans publicly rebuked Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz, who last week accused Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of lying to him about whether there was a deal to allow the vote on the Export-Import Bank.
Conservatives strongly oppose the bank, calling it corporate welfare, and are trying to ensure that it stays dead after congressional inaction allowed it to expire June 30.
Three of the Senate's highest-ranking Republicans rose after the Senate convened Sunday afternoon to counter the stunning floor speech Cruz gave on Friday in which he attacked McConnell, R-Ky.
"Squabbling and sanctimony may be tolerated in other venues and perhaps on the campaign trail, but they have no place among colleagues in the United States Senate," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the Senate's president pro tempore. Cruz is running for president. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Chief Administrative Officer Dr. Richard Bachoo briefly explained each project in an interview last week, including the most obvious undertaking — a new, $82 million residence hall located between the Student Center Garage and Ella Grasso Boulevard. The new seven-story, 220,000-square-foot building will house about 637 students and is scheduled to be completed in time for students to move in next month. Construction has been ongoing since 2011.
The university is also planning to have a new dining facility completed in early 2016. The $10 million project will be located in the north end of campus near existing residence halls. The structure will take up approximately 22,000 square feet and will include areas for food preparation, serving and dining for about 1,400 students.Another large project in the works is an “infill” that will connect Willard and DiLoreto Halls. The $61 million project involves renovating and connecting both buildings to provide upgraded space for students. This connector will include a new main entrance, along with additional classroom space and offices. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
DOT to tell the latest about I-84 Viaduct plan
HARTFORD — State engineers will report the latest details on planning for the massive I-84 Hartford viaduct replacement at a public forum July 29.
It will be the first of three sessions in the city between now and Sept. 22 to review the current alternatives and get public suggestions about how to go forward.
The state hasn't committed to a particular strategy for replacing the half-century-old elevated highway, and isn't yet ready to commit to a firm timetable or budget. Engineers are currently estimating construction would begin in 2020 and continue through 2025, but they emphasize that's not a solid schedule yet.
In these preliminary stages, engineers and designers are gathering information to use when working out the specifics of what to build and where, and exactly how to manage the construction work.
The biggest question is whether Connecticut will simply put up a modern viaduct roughly where the current one stands, replace it with an underground tunnel in a smaller version of Boston's Big Dig project, or lower the roadway to surface level. The option getting the most discussion lately combines two of those models: Part of I-84 west of the I-91 interchange would be built as a tunnel or in a trench, while the rest would be at ground level.
No matter how the job is designed, the work promises to be the most far-reaching traffic project in the capital city in decades. It brings the likelihood of years of heavy construction, detours, temporary lanes and ramps, and serious upheaval for traffic patterns between East Hartford and West Hartford. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Hands-on classes aim for union jobs in New Haven
POMFRET >> Sapphire Birdine is 5 feet tall and weighs 115 pounds. The jackhammer she was using to break up concrete was 90 pounds. “There’s no fluff here,” said Ralph Inorio, business manager, secretary/treasurer of the laborer’s union Local 455, as he watched the latest class at the New England Laborers Training Academy go through their paces.
Hands-on instruction in welding was taking place in another location on the expansive grounds of the former Jesuit facility, as some students learned about mason tending and how to build a scaffold.
The class consisted of five graduates of the pre-apprenticeship program run by the Construction Workshop Initiative 2 in New Haven, led by Nichole Jefferson, as well as five students from H.C. Wilcox Regional Vocational Technical High School in Meriden.
For the four-week general construction session, they are up at 6 a.m. and on the job by 8 a.m., dressed in safety gear as if heading to a real work site. The training goes on all day until 4:30 p.m. with a short break for lunch.
Inorio said for the past 15 years, Local 455 and other trades — which have their own training facilities — have teamed up with CWI 2. Their graduates come for an interview and those they consider ready and pass a drug test are taken into the program. The sessions are always geared to a demand for work in the field, Inorio said. “I make sure I take in the proper numbers. They are up here for four weeks putting their lives on hold, away from their families,” he said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Aging infrastructure plagues nation's busiest rail corridor
In Maryland, a century-old rail tunnel needed emergency repairs this winter because of soil erosion from leaks, causing widespread train delays.
In Connecticut, an aging swing bridge failed to close twice last summer, stopping train service and stranding passengers.
And last week, New Jersey Transit riders had a truly torturous experience. There were major delays on four days because of problems with overhead electrical wires and a power substation, leaving thousands of commuters stalled for hours. One frustrated rider, responding to yet another New Jersey Transit Twitter post announcing a problem, replied: “Just easier to alert us when there aren’t delays.”CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE