SOUTHINGTON — On Tuesday, people in downtown could look across from Mill Street to Center Street and not see something that had blocked the view for a century: the Ideal Forging factory buildings.
Where the thick factory walls once stood was now a clear sightline, though the large piles of rubble on the 14-acre site will keep crews busy into late September, when the job is slated to be done.
Since demolition began, crews have torn down buildings on three parts of the factory complex, have culled recyclable metals from the rubble, ground up wood to haul away, and crushed bricks to fill in the building footprints and level the lots.
"How many tons have we taken away? Hundreds. A lot. I don't know exactly," Hennessey said Tuesday afternoon as his crews stopped for the day. "We've had dozens of truckloads of wood and steel go out."
Louis Perillo, the town's economic development director and on a local group of municipal officials who meet every two weeks to discuss the project, said Tuesday the massive job has gone well since crews began erasing the sprawling factory from the landscape.
Before demolition began, town, state and other officials worked with the parcel owner to make sure that the buildings were clear of hazardous wastes, that truck routes were mapped to minimize inconvenience to nearby businesses and residents, and that site work was done to minimize dust and noise.
Last Wednesday, Police Chief Jack Daly, a member of the town public works commission, told fellow members the Ideal Forging demolition was progressing smoothly despite the large amount of work required to tear down the buildings and clean the site. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
South Windsor residents, officials meet with Eversource over substation changes
SOUTH WINDSOR — Residents of the Stonefield Trail neighborhood met with town and Eversource Energy officials Monday to discuss their concerns over changes at the Barbour Hill substation.
Town Manager Matthew Galligan described the meeting as productive and said there was good communication between the town, residents and Eversource.
Eversource provided an update on the $37 million project and then took questions and comments from residents.
"I think they're looking for communication … [and] we have to improve that," Galligan said.
Mayor Saud Anwar said, "Everyone is united within the town council and the community that Eversource can do far better in respect to communication. They committed to work with us to be able to provide our citizens the best solution. I'm cautiously optimistic to make sure we continue to move in the right direction."
Residents met with Eversource representatives in March to discuss the plans, but they said they had many unanswered questions and were concerned that the modifications would create noise pollution and lower their home values.
"We are not saying they should not increase their reliability. We're saying they should respect these are our homes," Garvin Boudle, who lives on Stonefield Trail, told the town council in April.
In its final report, the siting council acknowledged receiving concerns from homeowners in the area. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Where the thick factory walls once stood was now a clear sightline, though the large piles of rubble on the 14-acre site will keep crews busy into late September, when the job is slated to be done.
Since demolition began, crews have torn down buildings on three parts of the factory complex, have culled recyclable metals from the rubble, ground up wood to haul away, and crushed bricks to fill in the building footprints and level the lots.
"How many tons have we taken away? Hundreds. A lot. I don't know exactly," Hennessey said Tuesday afternoon as his crews stopped for the day. "We've had dozens of truckloads of wood and steel go out."
Louis Perillo, the town's economic development director and on a local group of municipal officials who meet every two weeks to discuss the project, said Tuesday the massive job has gone well since crews began erasing the sprawling factory from the landscape.
Before demolition began, town, state and other officials worked with the parcel owner to make sure that the buildings were clear of hazardous wastes, that truck routes were mapped to minimize inconvenience to nearby businesses and residents, and that site work was done to minimize dust and noise.
Last Wednesday, Police Chief Jack Daly, a member of the town public works commission, told fellow members the Ideal Forging demolition was progressing smoothly despite the large amount of work required to tear down the buildings and clean the site. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
South Windsor residents, officials meet with Eversource over substation changes
SOUTH WINDSOR — Residents of the Stonefield Trail neighborhood met with town and Eversource Energy officials Monday to discuss their concerns over changes at the Barbour Hill substation.
Town Manager Matthew Galligan described the meeting as productive and said there was good communication between the town, residents and Eversource.
Eversource provided an update on the $37 million project and then took questions and comments from residents.
"I think they're looking for communication … [and] we have to improve that," Galligan said.
Mayor Saud Anwar said, "Everyone is united within the town council and the community that Eversource can do far better in respect to communication. They committed to work with us to be able to provide our citizens the best solution. I'm cautiously optimistic to make sure we continue to move in the right direction."
Residents met with Eversource representatives in March to discuss the plans, but they said they had many unanswered questions and were concerned that the modifications would create noise pollution and lower their home values.
"We are not saying they should not increase their reliability. We're saying they should respect these are our homes," Garvin Boudle, who lives on Stonefield Trail, told the town council in April.
In its final report, the siting council acknowledged receiving concerns from homeowners in the area. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE