The first phase of a construction project aimed at improving drainage in central Greenwich will soon get underway.
The Board of Selectman this week approved a one-week partial closure for the intersection of Mason Street at Lexington Avenue to allow for an existing drainage manhole to be modified and a new, larger drainage pipe installed.
That work is part of a roughly four-month project phase that will include the replacement of storm drain lines on Mason Street from Lexington Avenue to East Putnam Avenue, on Church Street from East Putnam Avenue to William Street and on East Putnam Avenue at the intersection of Church and Mason. No other closures are anticipated.
The actual start date of the project has not yet been set, but is anticipated to be in August. Before work can begin, an issue between Connecticut Natural Gas and the YMCA must be resolved.
“The start of construction is dependent on CNG completing a gas line relocation and one of the relocation areas is on YMCA property,” said Gabriella Circosta-Cohee, a senior civil engineer for the town.
CNG is in the final stages of negotiating an easement with the YMCA, Circosta-Cohee said.
“As soon as they have the easement they can start their work and when CNG is complete, we can start with our work,” she said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Heavy construction at Meriden high schools as first day nears
MERIDEN — Work is going full-tilt at the city’s two public high schools as construction crews get new portions of both buildings ready in time for the first day of school.
At Maloney High School, which in the midst of a $107.5 million reconstruction and renovation project, a block of roughly 20 classrooms that will become part of the freshman academy are taking shape. The area includes a two-story bridge to connect the new wing to the recently completed crescent-shaped wing, said Senior General Superintendent Eric J. Mullins.
Mullins works for the Glastonbury-based Gilbane Building Co., the company that’s doing work at the east side school.
The connector bridge will be open-air on the lowest floor of the new wing, and enclosed with floor-to-ceiling windows on the second and third floors. The bridge in the lowest level will open up to a walkway around the building.
The design of the hallway takes advantage of Maloney’s position among some scenic views. The bridge, which is on a slight incline from the new wing to the crescent wing, offers a view of Maloney’s football field and the Hanging Hills in the background.
“This is the shot right here,” School Superintendent Mark D. Benigni said, surveying the view.
Permanent flooring is set to be installed next week in the new wing, Mullins said, with final overhead and classroom furnishings to be complete in the coming weeks as well.
The school’s pool has also undergone significant improvements as part of the process. Large windows now stand where rolling garage doors once were. The windows could offer a view similar to the view from the bridge.
Shrubbery eclipses most of that view, however, and school leaders touring the schools Wednesday considered having the shrubs removed.
In addition to the new windows, the pool itself will likely look new as well. Mullins said crews fixed areas where tile or composite steel had broken, installed new pool equipment, a new gutter system, new lighting, new duct work, and a new sprinkler system. Fresh paint also covers the natatorium CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
HARTFORD — In a sign that the near-stalemate between Amtrak and Connecticut is over, the railroad on Friday announced a major operational change to accommodate construction of the new Hartford Line commuter service.
Passengers on nearly all Amtrak shuttles between New Haven and Springfield will be riding buses for about a year or so, Amtrak and the state transportation department said. The Vermonter and Northeast Regional trains will operate as usual.
The development is a breakthrough for the DOT, which has been stuck in something of a standoff with Amtrak for many months – or longer – over finances and work schedules.
Negotiations have been complicated because Amtrak owns the track bed and the existing tracks, maintains authority over construction on the property, and will get ownership of the new, second set of tracks — even though federal and state tax dollars are paying for them. Realistically, the new commuter service can't go forward unless Amtrak signs off on it. Friday's announcement indicates the railroad is accepting a significant change in its regular service to accommodate construction.
"This is big. Shovels are going into the ground. We are moving forward with this important project," Devon Puglia, a spokesman for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, said Friday afternoon. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Transportation special session in the works
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (WTNH) — The discussion of a “mileage tax” in Connecticut is continuing to surge on the internet and social media. The proposal is to levy a tax according to the number of miles you drive. Top Democratic leaders of the state Senate are refusing to rule it “in” or “out” as the search continues for a way to pay for Governor Malloy’s $100 billion transportation plans.
At city and town halls across Connecticut, people are lining up to pay their property tax bills on their homes and their cars, due August 3. The “car tax,” the common name for the property tax on vehicles, is one of the taxes people complain about the most. Senate President Martin Looney and Majority Leader Senator Bob Duff are touring the state, trumpeting that a cut is coming in the car tax for residents of New Haven, Hartford, and the other big cities, starting in 2016.
New Britain based Dattco, the largest bus company in the state, will save over $50,000 in property taxes in the first year of the new “car tax cap,” but what’s being totally ignored in all this celebration is the fact that before this tax cut even goes into effect, lawmakers will likely be coming back to Hartford and vote on a plan that will increase fees in the form of highway tolls, taxes, or both, to pay for transportation plans. The mileage tax is a possibility.
The two leaders say it’s too early to weigh in on any one of the ideas, but Senator Looney wants to know more about the mileage tax.
“We need to wait for specific recommendations and how something might be implemented. In other words, how would the mileage tax be documented? Would people have to file a yearly statement? Whatever, the details have to be worked out,” he said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Middlebury intersection to be overhauled
MIDDLEBURY — An overhaul of the Route 63 and Route 64 intersection and the nearby Interstate 84 Exit 17 on- and off-ramps is moving forward, the state Department of Transportation said Friday.
The project is intended to reduce traffic congestion and improve safety in the area, which a 2001 study by Wilbur Smith & Associates found "possesses some of the worst operational deficiencies in the West of Waterbury corridor."
Currently, surveyors are taking measurements for the project, but construction won't begin until 2018.
The project, estimated to cost about $29 million, includes improvements to the Exit 17 interchange, construction of a connector road, and widening Route 63 and Route 64.
The intersection of the Exit 17 westbound off-ramp, Chase Parkway and Route 64 was ranked No. 37 on the state DOT's list of intersections with an abnormally high accident rates and was the site of a fatal accident in 2012. As part of the project, the intersection will be realigned and a traffic light will be installed.
Also, the DOT proposes to lengthen the deceleration lane of Exit 17 westbound by about 500 feet, which will require widening the highway. The off-ramp will be widened to accommodate a second lane. In addition, the I-84 eastbound on-ramp from Route 64 will be widened to two lanes.
The DOT plans to to build a connector road, called Chase Parkway Extension, from the intersection of Chase Parkway and Route 64 to Route 63 at the intersection of Woodside Avenue.
The connector road will help reduce traffic at Route 63 and Route 64 by eliminating the need for traffic heading from Waterbury to Route 63, and vice versa, to take Route 64 first.
A multi-use trail will run along the connector road, providing pedestrian and bike access between Middlebury and Waterbury, according to the DOT. Also, Route 63 will be widened from two lanes to four as it approaches Route 64. The intersection itself will be modified so that Route 63 will have three lanes at the southbound approach.
Route 64, which averages 20,500 vehicles a day, will be widened from two lanes to four, between the intersection with Route 63 and Chase Parkway. Also, the "vertical profile" of the road will be lowered to improve sight distance.
The DOT also plans to build a new Park and Ride lot at the southeast corner of the future Chase Parkway Extension and Route 63.
Eighty percent of the funding for the project is expected to come from federal sources, with the remaining 20 percent coming from the state.
Final design plans are scheduled to be finished by March, 2018 and the project will go out to bid in April.