Local permits granted for FedEx at former Aetna site in Middletown
MIDDLETOWN — The planning and zoning commission has approved a special exception permit for FedEx Ground to build a major distribution hub at the former Aetna property on Middle Street.
With approvals Tuesday night for the special exception and a related four-lot subdivision of the 262-acre property, FedEx Ground has received all necessary local regulatory approvals.
The company still needs permits from the state Department of Transportation and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, and is seeking a state tax incentive plan that must also be approved by the common council.
Bill Connor, manager of real estate for FedEx Ground, said the local approvals are "a great first step" but said the company could not fully commit to building the facility in Middletown until all approvals are obtained.
"It certainly gives us confidence we can develop this site, but until we get all the approvals we can't say definitively we're going to be in Middletown," Connor said.
FedEx Ground has said it has explored sites elsewhere in New England but views Middletown as its preferred location.
The zoning board of appeals recently approved variances to allow FedEx to add more signs than current regulations allow and to build its fences and sound barriers taller than is allowed.
FedEx Ground representatives said if all approvals are obtained they would build a 500,000-square-foot facility with more than 500 employees. The "hub" would receive large shipments of packages that would then be sent to smaller facilities for home distribution.
Trucks would come and go from exit 21 on I-91 off of Route 372 in Cromwell, using Industrial Park Road to access the facility. Employee parking lots will be accessed off Middle Street.
FedEx Ground said most truck traffic would travel between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m., and that the facility is estimated to generate far less overall traffic than the Aetna campus did when it was in operation. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
DOT plans replacement of Route 1 bridge over Niantic River
The Department of Transportation said it plans to begin replacing next year the nearly 90-year-old bridge that brings Route 1 over the Niantic River between East Lyme and Waterford.
Construction is scheduled to start in April 2016 and finish in November 2017, according to the state Department of Transportation.
The new upgraded structure will replace the existing concrete bridge built in 1926, the DOT said.
"Inspections and engineering analyses indicate that the bridge is structurally deficient, hydraulically inadequate, and functionally obsolete, and that it should be replaced in its entirety with a new structure to maintain public safety and traffic flow and protect the local and downstream environments," a project description from the DOT states. "The proposed reconstruction of the bridge will include necessary upgrades to safety components and improved stormwater management features."
The new bridge's design is slated to be completed this week, according to the DOT.
The DOT is proposing a bridge with two 12-foot lanes, along with one 10-foot shoulder and one 5-foot shoulder, according to the DOT's April application to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.The proposed bridge would have a reinforced concrete deck supported by steel stringer beams.
The bridge would also have cast-in-place concrete abutments and micropiles drilled into bedrock, according to the application. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Construction employment climbs to highest level in 6 years
Construction employment in July climbed to the highest level since February 2009, while the number of unemployed workers with construction experience shrank to a 14-year low, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials cautioned that the diminishing pool of available qualified labor may be having an impact on the industry’s ability to meet growing demand.
“It is encouraging to see construction employment rising again, but the industry could hire many more workers if they were available,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “The lack of experienced construction workers may be impeding the industry’s ability to start or complete new projects. The recent acceleration in construction spending may soon level off unless the sector can draw in more workers with the right skills.”
Construction employment totaled 6,383,000 in July, the most since February 2009, but the total rose by only 6,000 in July and by an average of only 7,200 per month over the past five months, Simonson noted. The number of unemployed workers who reported last working in construction totaled 474,000, the lowest amount since 2001.
“The sector’s job gains in the past five months have been intermittent and relatively sluggish despite signs of accelerating demand for construction,” Simonson said. “The latest Census Bureau data show the amount of construction spending is rising at the fastest rate since 2006, and there are several indicators — such as the steady increase in hiring of architects and engineers — that suggest demand for construction will remain strong, but contractors may have difficulty finding enough workers to take on all those projects.”
Overall construction employment rose by 6,000 from June to July, far below the monthly average of 19,250 between July 2014 and July 2015, Simonson noted. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Even transportation panel’s homework sets off a partisan furor
The group studying how to fund a 30-year transportation improvement program in Connecticut knows there are few options – if any – that won’t spark controversy.
But the state’s Transportation Finance Panel watched that challenge expand significantly after its research became the focal point of an intensifying partisan battle among state legislative leaders.
With a report due to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy in October, the group’s task doesn’t appear to be getting easier. Democratic and Republican leaders both insisted Tuesday that rhetoric from the other side is distorting not only the debate over fixing Connecticut’s infrastructure, but how to strengthen the economy in general.
“It’s always a challenge to identify sufficient revenues to fund what everyone would consider essential transportation improvements,” panel Chairman Cameron Staples, a New Haven Democrat and former state representative, said Tuesday. “It becomes even more critical when you consider that, given the scope of the task we’re facing, we’re trying to consider every alternative – not only to raise revenue, but to manage projects, achieve efficiencies in construction and in financing.”
Staples’ panel, which includes transportation advocates from both sides of the aisle, is studying how numerous states finance transportation. That means research into many examples of tolling, fuel taxes, project-labor agreements, public-private partnerships and various other topics all-but certain to spark intense debate. “And we’re still in the discussion stage," Staples added. "We literally have not developed any recommendations yet.”
The former lawmaker was referring to a verbal sparring match that developed over research into a “mileage tax” – a system being tested in Oregon that levies a charge against residents for each mile they drive.
After a report on this research was aired in late July on WTNH-TV 8 in New Haven, House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, referenced the mileage tax in an op-ed piece in The Courant. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Voluntown school roof coming in under budget; will be ready for start of school
VOLUNTOWN - The Voluntown Elementary School will have a new roof in time for the opening of school – and the project is coming in under budget, school officials said.Superintendent Adam Burrows said $1.1 million was approved for the project at a town meeting in February. But the reroofing, which is being down by Quality Roofing Services of West Haven, appears to be coming in at about $800,000, or about $300,000 less than budgeted, Burrows said.Danny Young of Quality Roofing Services, told the building committee last month that he expects “substantial completion” of the roof by Aug. 21The money was spent on design and construction costs, removing materials, architect fees, schematic drawings and specifications, engineering fees, equipment and materials.Burrows said 43,320 square feet of the 62,000-square-foot roof is being replaced.“We’re really pleased with the project that they’re completing and staying in budget and it’s less than we anticipated,” Burrows said. Voluntown is eligible for a 69 percent reimbursement from the state for the roof replacement and the cost to the town may likely be closer to $415,000, Burrows said.There are 14 different sections on the roof,” Burrows said. “There were sections thatwere newer and just 15 years old after a 2000 building project took care of those sections.” The sections replaced this summer were close to 34 years old. But Burrows said it has withstood the test of time. “Usually you don’t go 34 years without repairs,” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE