State DOT proposes major redesign of route 82 in Norwich
Norwich — The busy Route 82 commercial strip in Norwich has borne the ignoble nickname “Crash Alley” for decades, earned by frequent vehicle crashes, numerous screeching tires from near misses and the uncounted nervous heartbeats of pedestrians trying to cross even at signaled crosswalks.
The state Department of Transportation has proposed a major, two-phase reconstruction project along the four-lane strip running from just west of the busy intersection with New London Turnpike to the intersection with Asylum and Mechanic streets.
Six roundabouts would replace traffic signals at key intersections, the largest one at New London Turnpike.
A 6-inch high median divider would prevent all left-hand turns along most of the stretch, and sidewalks would be reconstructed to improve pedestrian safety and reduce steep driveway ramps into businesses.
And in spots just beyond the major reconstruction zone, left-turn lanes would be created in the center of the roadway to improve left turns into side streets and businesses.
The intersection of residential street Surrey Lane would be eliminated, forcing traffic from that road and several side streets to drive east to New London Turnpike to get to Route 82.
Several properties along the route are outlined for possible acquisition by the state, including the Extra-Mart gas station at the Dunham Street intersection, a sign business at the corner of Asylum Street, a long-vacant former gas station at the New London Turnpike intersection, a vacant office building at the corner of Osgood Street and a vacant lot at Mechanic Street.
Road widening and sidewalk reconstruction might require other land acquisition not denoted on project maps. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
New Britain is proof busway is spurring development
NEW BRITAIN — Douglas Bromfield says he's on course to redevelop the long-abandoned Berkowitz Building into 52 apartments and first-floor retail, and credits CTfastrak with helping make the plan possible.
"If you want to know what transit-oriented development looks like, come back after this is built," Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said at a Wednesday afternoon press conference across Main Street from the hulking, boarded-up Berkowitz Building.
Looking to promote the economic growth potential of the $567 million busway, Malloy and Mayor Erin Stewart spent the late morning touring several businesses where owners said CTfastrak's downtown station has brought in more customers.
"CTfastrak has been such a benefit to the city of New Britain. We're seeking lots and lots more visitors," Stewart said.
Stewart, a Republican, was unwavering in her praise for the busway, even though state GOP leaders frequently criticize Malloy and Democratic legislators for building it. She said the bus rapid transit system created many opportunities for business growth in New Britain.
Malloy and Stewart ate hot dogs at Capitol Lunch, posed for photos at Eblens, and visited the Las Caribenas salon and the Roly Poly bakery.
The key point of the tour was Bromfield's big four-story brick building, where business won't be going until 2017 at the earliest. Stewart said it will be a crucial part of revitalizing the stretch of Main Street that links downtown and the Broad Street neighborhood known as Little Poland.
Bromfield, a Hartford-based developer, has purchased the building and is looking for state housing grants along with historic preservation tax credits to offset some of the renovation cost. He hopes to have financing lined up by February so construction can begin in the spring. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
7 years later, Madison field house projects break ground on Friday
MADISON >> After seven years of planning, raising millions of dollars and construction, the second phase of the Strong Center renovation plan is set to begin Friday.
Ground will be broken Friday at 10 a.m. for the construction of two new field houses, which will start the second half of overall renovations being done to the Strong Center at the Surf Club.
The project involves building the Strong Center Field Houses, where two buildings will be built to create Garrity Plaza, as well as a grand entrance into the area. Garrity Plaza will be named after Kevin Garrity, the largest donor to the project with a gift of $100,000.
The field house project is estimated to cost around $600,000, according to Strong Center Board member Larry Ciotti. For the project to be completed, the committee is still seeking $500,000 in donations and Ciotti said naming rights are still available for parts of the plaza.
Ciotti, the first high school football coach at Daniel Hand High School in 1970, said hundreds of sporting events over the years turned the once lush sporting facility into a shell of its former self.
“The field just looked tired and the bleachers couldn’t fit as many people as they should have, so something needed to be done,” said Ciotti.
The first phase, which was completed in recent years, installed a new turf field, flagpoles, bleachers and a scoreboard to the Strong Center. Those projects cost an estimated $2.4 million, with $1.1 million coming from the town and the rest from sponsors and donors, according to Ciotti. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Lyman Hall athletic upgrades on track
WALLINGFORD >> The Board of Education received assurances this week from the district’s Buildings and Grounds Supervisor Marc Deptula that the $2.27 million upgrade of the track and football field at Lyman Hall High School is going smoothly.
Board Chairwoman Roxane McKay sought assurances from Deptula at the board’s meeting Monday that the project will be finished shortly before Thanksgiving. The project, which is being done by Moutainview Landscapes and Lawncare of Chicopee, Massachusetts, calls for installing a new running track, an artificial turf field and new lights at the school.
A pre-Thanksgiving completion would allow the annual powder puff football game between girls from Lyman Hall and cross-town rival Mark T. Sheehan High School to be played on the new field. That game is played the day before the traditional Thanksgiving varsity football game between the two schools.
“Are we still on schedule?” McKay asked. Deptula said that despite what he described as “some pretty extreme weather,” work has proceeded at a steady pace since construction began in mid-July.
“We had two days with pretty heavy rains and they were able to work right through it,” he said of Moutainview Landscapes. Most of the old running track has been taken up, Deptula said, although a small portion remains in place to serve as roadway for construction equipment. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
New Report CT traffic is bad and likely to get worse
Washington – Connecticut has some of the worst traffic in the nation, with snarls that cost drivers about 20 gallons of wasted fuel and dozens of hours of lost time each year — and things are likely to get worse, a new report says.
Texas A&M Transportation Institute and the traffic monitoring firm INRIX say the Bridgeport-Stamford area is the second-most congested area of its size in the nation, and motorists there spent an average of 49 hours in traffic tieups each year.
Among similar, medium-sized cities, only Honolulu had worst traffic, the study said. The “Urban Mobility Scorecard,” released Wednesday, said Hartford was the fifth most congested medium-sized city in the nation, with drivers' spending an average of 45 hours a year in traffic delays. New Haven came in 11th, with an average of 40 hours a year in traffic jams.
Among large metropolitan areas, Washington, D.C., and its suburbs topped the list of the most congested cities, followed by Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif., and the San Francisco metropolitan area.
The New York-Newark, N.J.- Connecticut metropolitan area came in fourth. Drivers in that area spent about 74 hours in traffic delays and wasted about 35 gallons of fuel.
“The problem is very large,” the report said. “In 2014, congestion caused urban Americans to travel an extra 6.9 billion hours and purchase an extra 3.1 billion gallons of fuel for a congestion cost of $160 billion. "
The study said truckers were hit hardest, accounting for about 17 percent of the congestion cost, much more than their 7 percent of traffic.
Kevin Nursick, spokesman for the Connecticut Department of Transportation, said, “There is no sugarcoating that there is congestion.” But, he said, larger metropolitan areas in the nation have more severe traffic snarls.
“There’s a lot worse than what we’re dealing with,” he said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE