MERIDEN — The Bradley Eatery is one of two properties likely to be taken by the state in order to replace a West Main Street bridge, it was revealed Tuesday.
Officials from the state Department of Transportation and representatives associated with the work held a public hearing Tuesday on a proposal to replace an aging bridge that carries West Main Street, also Connecticut Route 71, over Sodom Brook.
The project is not expected to start until 2018, but an official said Tuesday that the Bradley Eatery — formerly the Bradley Diner — at 376 W. Main St. was “within one of the total takes of the project.”
The work will entail completely replacing the bridge, which Nicholas Giardina, a consultant liaison engineer from the Meriden-based BL Cos. Inc., said Tuesday was rated between fair and poor condition.
Giardina, the state’s consultant for the project, said the bridge is deficient in three major areas.
“All three reasons in themselves could warrant replacement, but when you have all three, you definitely need to talk about replacing it,” he said.
He said the bridge is still safe to travel over, and doesn’t yet fall within a range that would warrant more frequent inspections than the typical schedule: every two years.
The plan is to build a temporary bridge north of the existing bridge, which would maintain two-way traffic through the area during construction at the current volume. Once traffic is diverted, work to fully replace the bridge would begin. A separate, smaller, permanent bridge would be built between the new bridge and the temporary one to carry the utilities in the area.
Work is expected to begin in 2018 and will take 18 to 24 months over two construction seasons.
The project is expected to cost between $3 million and $4 million, to be paid by state and federal funds.
Michelle Miller, a project coordinator from the rights of way branch of the state DOT, said that two total acquisitions, two partial acquisitions, and six construction easements would be required to do the work. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
There was no comment from the public on either item before the votes were taken.
Voters approved a plan to take $185,000 from the town’s undesignated fund balance to repair structural problems at the ambulance building, which will involve replacing the slab and footings.
The problems have forced the ambulance company, which primarily serves the borough and central section of town, to station its ambulances at the Stonington Borough and Quiambaug fire departments.
The ambulance headquarters temporarily has been moved to the borough firehouse. The town owns the land where the building is located, and the ambulance company built and owns the building.
Plans are to do the work this fall so repairs can be completed before winter.
The voters also approved $329,000 to fix the Lantern Hill Road bridge, half of which will be reimbursed by the state.
The cost of the Lantern Hill Road bridge is being split with Ledyard, which is contributing approximately $350,000. The bridge connects the two towns.
MGM Springfield, the Massachusetts casino being built near Connecticut’s northern border, has undergone design changes that MGM officials say won’t affect the amount being invested in the $800 million project.
In a statement Tuesday, MGM said it was providing Springfield officials with updated renderings that show the elimination of what was supposed to be a 25-story hotel tower as well as the relocation of 54 apartment units.
“We have revised our design, and in so doing, have developed a concept that we believe will permit more cost effective construction, address the interests raised by the state and local historic commissions, and serve as a catalyst for increased economic activity in Springfield,” Michael Mathis, MGM Springfield’s president, wrote in a letter to Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno.
Mathis said the redesign eliminates the hotel tower, relocating the hotel's 250 rooms to the front of the project along Main Street between State and Howard streets. The hotel would instead rise five stories above a ground floor devoted to retail space. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
East Hartford Planning Commission To Discuss Outlet Center, Vacant Theater Plans
SOUTH WINDSOR — The Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday is expected to discuss plans for two potential large developments in town.
According to the meeting agenda, the commission is set to review a site plan application for The Outlet Shoppes at Rentschler Field, which would create 10 new retail buildings totaling 425,000 square feet.
Representatives from Chicago-based Horizon Group Properties Inc., the group leading the plan to create The Outlet Shoppes at Rentschler Field, told the council earlier this month their plan would be a catalyst for economic development and jobs.
"Rarely do we have an opportunity to build something that is going to be as transformational as this will be," said Horizon CEO Gary Skoien.
The project will be carried out in two phases. The first, which developers estimate to be a $100 million investment, will consist of 349,000 square feet and 85 retailers. The second will be 71,000 square feet and 15 to 20 retailers.
Once completed, the center would generate about $405 million in tax revenue over 20 years, Skoien said. The developers say they expect to create 1,208 jobs during construction and 1,628 permanent and seasonal jobs once the center is complete.
Skoien said the company has signed leases with tenants, but he declined to name the businesses that are on board. He said the project is currently out to bid, in order to break ground by October.
Horizon is projecting a grand opening date in fall of 2016 or early 2017. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Governor Seeks $7 Million For Busway Expansion Into Manchester And East Hartford
Maintaining a commitment to extend CTfastrak across the Connecticut River, the governor on Tuesday announced an expected $7 million in funding for new routes into Manchester and East Hartford.
The State Bond Commission, which Gov. Dannel P. Malloy chairs, is scheduled to vote on the allocation next week. The money would be used for additional buses and other equipment, Malloy said.
The system now has 10 stations along the 9.4-mile busway serving New Britain, Newington, West Hartford and Hartford. The planned east of the river expansion would use existing HOV lanes on I-84. The target date to launch the added service is late next year, DOT Commissioner James P. Redeker said.
A single CTfastrak route currently runs from Manchester Community College through East Hartford to the busway. That line, however, doesn't have dedicated stations or parking lots, and intervals between buses vary from 20 minutes to an hour, a service frequency far less than on the main busway routes.
State Rep. Jason Rojas, a Democrat whose district covers parts of Manchester and East Hartford, said the expansion "will result in a positive economic impact for riders in the Hartford-East Hartford-Manchester corridor, where there are more than 150,000 jobs."
The Department of Transportation is studying the best routes for extending the system into Manchester, using a $500,000 allocation that the bond commission approved earlier this year, Malloy said.
The Buckland commuter lot at Pleasant Valley Road and Buckland Street is an obvious place for a busway station, Manchester's head town planner, Mark Pellegrini, said. A stop there would benefit the area's growing commuter population and many workers in nearby retail and industrial businesses, Pellegrini said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Malloy vows to up the pressure for transportation ‘lockbox’
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy urged the public Monday to join him in pressuring the General Assembly to support a state constitutional amendment to safeguard budget revenues earmarked for transportation.
Speaking with reporters while reviewing upgrades at the New Haven rail yard, the governor also said his goal is to have a proposed amendment before voters for final consideration on the 2016 ballot, when the presidential race traditionally ensures a higher turnout.
Malloy’s statements also come just a few days after his administration announced weakening income tax receipts that could worsen a major projected deficit starting in mid-2017 beyond $1 billion.
The governor’s fellow Democrats in legislative leadership have said shielding transportation from potential budget cuts – amid a deficit of that scope – would only put more pressure on other equally vital programs.
People ask, what’s the next big step we could make in modernizing our transportation system? It is to get the legislature to adopt a constitutional lockbox,” Malloy said. “We do that, we establish faith with the citizenry of the state of Connecticut, they’re going to support the kinds of investments that we are making.”
“In the coming months, we’re going to need to really ramp it up so that the legislature hears from the citizens,” Malloy added. “They don’t want transportation dollars being spent in any other way.”
The governor convinced legislators during the 2015 regular session to dedicate a portion of sales tax receipts annually to transportation. That means about $160 million this fiscal year, $260 million in 2016-17, and an amount equal to one-half of 1 percentage point of sales tax receipts every year after that. In 2017-18, that half point would translate into $362 million for transportation. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
ARTBA Presents Awards for Innovative Project Financing
The I-95 Express Lanes project in Virginia and two former public officials from Florida and Pennsylvania have been recognized as models of excellence in innovative transportation financing by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA).
Awards were presented July 16 in two categories during ARTBA’s 27th Annual Public Private Partnership (P3) in Transportation Conference, held in the Nation’s Capital.
P3 Entrepreneurs of the Year Given to two individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the forward progress of P3s in the U.S. transportation industry.
Ananth Prasad, who joined HNTB Corp. as senior vice president in January 2015, spent 22 years with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), including a four-year appointment by Gov. Rick Scott to serve as the agency’s secretary.
Under Prasad’s leadership, FDOT led the nation in the use of design-build–finance project delivery, and developed an internal P3 expertise/strategy that set a precedent for other transportation agencies across America. Prasad was instrumental in the development of significant P3 projects, including the: $2.3 billion I-4 Ultimate Project in Orlando — the largest availability payment based P3 project ever undertaken in the United States; the $1.8 billion I-595 Express project in south Florida; and the $1 billion Port Miami Tunnel project.
Bryan A. Kendro was selected in 2012 to serve as the director of the newly-created Office of Policy & Public-Private Partnerships at the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Litchfield zoners help clear way for new supermarket
LITCHFIELD —With help from the Planning and Zoning Commission, Village Green owner Mark Greenberg is one step closer to demolishing three buildings in the West Street commercial plaza to make room for a new Stop & Shop.
The razing of the three buildings at the rear of the plaza is scheduled to begin Nov. 15. Once the buildings are gone, construction of a 38,000-square-foot Stop & Shop and a 369-space parking lot would begin.
Greenberg received a boost Monday when Planning and Zoning granted special exception approval that will allow the China Rainbow Restaurant to move from its current location in one of the buildings that will be demolished to a vacant space in the plaza building housing Dunkin' Donuts.
The commission amended the classification of the vacant space from "office" to "restaurant" to accommodate Greenberg's request. China Rainbow Restaurant currently has 850 square feet of space, the same amount of space in the location it will be moving to.
Planning and Zoning also approved Greenberg's plan designating eight parking spaces in the adjacent Litchfield Commons property for China Rainbow Restaurant.
The extra parking will allow the restaurant to meet Planning and Zoning regulations for parking.