HARTFORD — With the state's short-term financial picture looking bleaker, two senior officials in Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's administration made a pitch Friday for preserving a proposed $100 billion overhaul of Connecticut's transportation network.
Widening traffic-clogged interstates, replacing aging bridges and rebuilding dilapidated roads are all vital to keeping employers in Connecticut and attracting new ones, they said at a press briefing at the Capitol.
"Transportation is a very big, important part of our economy and a big part of why people want to be here," Commissioner Catherine Smith of the economic and community development department told reporters.
"Two-thirds of what's in the plan is basic infrastructure (maintenance)," said Transportation Commissioner James Redeker, who warned that cutbacks would just add to the backlog of repairs and maintenance the highways and mass transit systems need.Malloy is scheduled to begin talks with legislative leaders Monday on ways to close the estimated $118 million deficit in the current budget. After news of the shortfall surfaced in late September, some lawmakers have publicly questioned whether Connecticut can still afford the 30-year, $100 billion plan.
Malloy is resistant to scaling back the ambitious plan, saying traffic congestion — especially along the highways and throughout Fairfield County — is costing taxpayers and businesses time and money every year. Smith said Connecticut enjoys the unique geographic advantage of being between Boston and Manhattan, but cautioned that businesses will look elsewhere if their products, customers and employees are chronically stranded in traffic. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Power plant dominates Oxford race
In Oxford politics this fall, “power broker” is a loaded term.
The first selectman’s race has turned into a referendum on the construction of a natural gas-fired power plant in town, where environmentalists have collided with the local administration over the project’s impact.
Two-term Republican incumbent George Temple says the Towantic Energy Center project will dramatically boost power generation and local tax revenues.
Democrat Kathy Johnson, who occupied Oxford’s top office from 2001 to 2003, is looking to harness the public’s opposition to the project, which has drawn protests from the Sierra Club to the quiet New Haven County town of 12,000.
“I don’t believe any money in the world is worth the health of people,” said Johnson, 68. “I’ll do everything in my power to stop it. I’m not seeing that it fits what we wanted for Oxford, which was to preserve our rural character.”
Temple, 69, who has led Oxford since 2011 and is a former town attorney, said his opponent is grasping at straws.
“I think that’s basically the only issue that she has,” Temple said.
Construction on the 785-megawatt power station could start before the end of the year, according to Temple, who emphasized that the plant has received the required approvals from the Connecticut Siting Council. It will occupy a 25-acre parcel of land on Woodruff Hill Road.
“The power plant is here, whether we support it or not,” Temple said. “I’m a realist.”
Temple said the power plant will boost energy production by 48 percent and could generate up to $112 million in tax payments over the next 22 years by its Maryland-based owner, Competitive Power Ventures.
“I think it could be very good for Oxford in terms of the money that it’s going to bring,” Temple said. “I don’t think it’s the environmental hazard that it’s painted to be.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Gas line likely to connect American Industries to Plainfield
GRISWOLD - Yankee Gas, a subsidiary of Eversource, and American Industries are in negotiations to construct a gas line along Route 12 between Plainfield and the plant's location on Plainfield Road in Griswold.
According to Economic Development Commission meeting minutes from Sept. 16, the negotiations between Yankee Gas and American needed just one more signature for an official commitment for the gas line to be installed.
Eversource's only comment is that the negotiations are ongoing.The discussions have the support of town officials who see the installation of a natural gas line as a strong first step toward providing water, sewer and natural gas for businesses interested in setting up shop in Griswold.According to Tom Giard, chairman of Griswold's Economic Development Commission, providing water, sewer and natural gas in the town and borough is the long-term plan. There currently are no natural gas options in the town or borough.Jim Barnie, a member of the Economic Development Commission, said the board hopes the gas line, if officially agreed on, can extend from American Industries into Jewett City where residents and businesses along Main Street can take advantage of a new energy source."We have so many apartments that are electrically heated, and utilities and rent take a large percentage of income,” Barnie said. "The negotiations are driven by whether there will be enough customers and to see if they see there’s profits here."According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the cost of natural gas per thousand cubic feet in July 2015 in a residence costs $18.22. The commercial price in the same month cost $9.29.Because the stretch between Plainfield to American Industries is on Route 12, which is a state road, the approval of construction will go through the state. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Exit 25 off-ramp paving to begin in I-84 project
WATERBURY -- This week on Interstate 84, crews will begin paving the new Exit 25 eastbound off-ramp and paving the median on I-84 eastbound from Harpers Ferry Road to Austin Road.
The work is part of the highway reconstruction project between Washington Street and Pierpont Road, which includes widening the roadway to three lanes in each direction and eliminating an S-curve near Harpers Ferry Road.
Last week, Harpers Ferry Road closed from Plank Road to Ashmun Street for sewer and water work. Crews will install new sewer and water lines to make room for a retaining wall along Harpers Ferry Road. The closure is expected to last another seven weeks.
Meanwhile, the closed section of Plank Road between Brookdale Lane and Harpers Ferry Road has reopened to local traffic only. Detour signs are in place to direct vehicles around the construction site.
Also this week, there will be shoulder paving on I-84 westbound between Washington Street to Hamilton Avenue.
In addition, construction will continue of the new south abutment, stem and wing wall on the western portion of the Hamilton Avenue bridge. Also, construction of the southern pier is underway.
Work to remove the old pedestrian bridge over the Mad River to Hamilton Park will occur this week, and workers will rig and set the new pedestrian bridge.
Other work this week includes forming and pouring concrete for the first abutment of the new bridge carrying the Exit 24 eastbound off-ramp over the Mad River, along with construction of a retaining wall south of the Exit 23 eastbound on-ramp.
Crews are also continuing to construct the new Exit 23 westbound off ramp, which is located north of the existing ramp.
On Reidville Drive, one lane will be closed intermittently with alternating traffic for the excavation and trucking of materials. Also, jacking of a ductile pipe for a new sewer pipe under I-84, east of Hamilton Avenue, will occur this week.
Rock blasting will occur on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, between 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., along Reidville Drive. Traffic will be stopped on I-84, Hamilton Avenue, Harpers Ferry Road and Reidville Drive at the time of blasting.
Naugatuck close on plans for Parcel C
NAUGATUCK — Local leaders are as close as they have ever been to rebuilding on a vacant piece of prime commercial real estate property downtown known as Parcel C.
The 2.2-acre tract on the corner of Maple and Water streets has long been a primary focus of redevelopment efforts and several proposals for that land — a movie theater, a pharmacy, housing units and others — have failed while the land has sat vacant for more than 30 years.
Now, however, there is a plan that officials believe will stick.
"I think it's fair to say this is as close as we've come" to development on the property, Mayor Robert A. Mezzo said. "But there as been a lot of work to get us to this point and there is still more work to do — albeit on the developers' end — if everything goes as expected on Monday."
Monday night developers Rob Oris and John Lombard will reveal publicly for the first time architectural renderings of their proposal. It calls for development of at least a 30,000-square-foot medical building anchored by Saint Mary's Hospital of Waterbury. Additionally, they want to build a 5,000-square-foot restaurant.
They will meet at 5:30 p.m. at Town Hall with the Naugatuck Economic Development Corp. and will present their proposals in open session. The NEDC board is expected to vote to give a favorable review to the Board of Mayor and Burgesses, the borough's governing body, which must approve these types of projects. The board has a special meeting scheduled for 6:45 p.m.
Mezzo said he believes officials will be pleased with the proposal.
"What I've seen is a very impressive proposed building and smaller pad site adjacent to it that is consistent with the historical architecture in downtown," he said. "Once constructed, it would provide a very attractive gateway to our downtown." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE