NEW YORK — A massive new commuter rail project below New York City's Grand Central Terminal — one of the nation's largest transportation upgrades — is slowly rolling forward, including a tunnel costing $1 million per foot, the chief engineer said Wednesday.
Once finished, the terminal will cover five city blocks and reach 14 stories deep under Grand Central, allowing Long Island Rail Road passengers to get off on Manhattan's east side. For now, they must travel all the way to Penn Station on the west side.
The target completion date is 2022, when "I hope to be alive," joked Michael Horodniceanu, 70, head of capital construction for the Metropolitan Transit Authority.
He led reporters on a walking tour Wednesday showcasing progress in rough caverns and tunnels being filled in with floors, ceilings and walls, plus stairways and escalators up to Grand Central.
"We're doing it under very strict rules of not disturbing the daily traffic of Long Island Rail Road, Amtrak and New Jersey Transit — trust me, not an easy thing to do," Horodniceanu said, referring to other train services operating in the area that must cut power at carefully planned times for the work. "It's a very tricky thing."
The new terminal will bring an estimated 160,000 passengers daily — about half of LIRR's projected riders — from the far end of Long Island through a new Queens station in the Sunnyside neighborhood linked to the 120-foot tunnel under Northern Boulevard. It will be part of a seven-mile network of new tunnels.
"One of the things we needed to do there is to freeze the ground," Horodniceanu said, adding that only then could workers remove the dirt and build steel supports. "This was a very risky operation; we had to make sure it was done properly." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Next stage begins on bus-only corridor: land development
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — As Connecticut's bus-only corridor begins its eighth month, state transportation officials are turning their attention to the next stage of the half-billion dollar project: promoting development along the Hartford-to-New Britain route.
Transportation Commissioner James Redeker is scheduled to lead real estate agents Friday on a tour of possible sites to consider for renovation and construction of housing and offices, including a one-time coal yard, former car dealerships and empty manufacturing and industrial areas in Hartford, New Britain, Newington and West Hartford.
"The expectation of any major transportation corridor investment ... is that it will attract people and businesses to locate," Redeker said.
On the tour, real estate agents and brokers will identify potential barriers to development, such as zoning, industrial pollution, financing and other issues, said Lyle Wray, executive director of the Capital Region Council of Governments.
"We've been at this forever," he said. "This is our baby."
So-called transit-oriented development promotes a mix of retail and residential space adjacent to rapid transit stations, encouraging growth of walkable communities.
State officials sold the $567 million CTfastrak to the public and legislature by saying it will take cars off Interstate 84, reduce pollution and speed bus commuters through a busy portion of central Connecticut. Critics slammed the cost of the 9.4-mile route — $112 million in state money and the rest from the federal government — insisting it could have been better spent on highway improvements or to boost Metro-North Railroad.
Backers said the transit system would also promote economic development by encouraging construction and renovation of properties for apartments, condominiums, restaurants, offices and similar sites that have fallen into disuse. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
All three seats on the Board of Selectmen in Windsor Locks, the north-central Connecticut town where the airport is located, turned over in Tuesday’s municipal elections, raising the possibility that the new board will agree to partner with the Connecticut Airport Authority on a bid to land a third Connecticut casino.
“Once in office, I would revive it,” Chris Kervick, the Democratic first selectman-elect, said Wednesday.
The board shifted from a 2-1 Republican majority to a 2-1 Democratic majority in Tuesday’s voting.
Democratic First Selectman Steven Wawruck Jr., who announced prior to the election that he would be retiring, called last week for the board to respond to the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes’ request for casino proposals.
Although it was reported that the selectmen voted 2-1 to reject Wawruck’s motion, the minutes of the meeting show no vote took place.
When Wawruck first asked for a motion to respond to the tribes' RFP (request for proposals), neither of the board’s Republican members — Dennis Gragnolati and Michael Russo — offered one.
Wawruck then made a motion that the town “move forward to the next stage” in the RFP process “with the airport entity as the sole applicant,” and “to allow the first selectman to sign the necessary documentation to further this effort on behalf of the Town of Windsor Locks.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
DEEP Officials Respond To West Hartford Residents' Concerns On Tree Cutting Project
WEST HARTFORD — A state agency's presentation about a controversial tree-cutting and dredging project along Trout Brook was cut short after protests from residents, many of whom expressed concerns that the 11th-hour explanation was too little, too late.
"People feel a sense of urgency; our neighborhood has been devastated," said Art Bourgault, of 5 Linbook Road. "I wish you began this presentation before the trees were cut."
About 100 people attended a public information session held by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Wednesday night. After vocal, heated opposition on DEEP's presentation of the history of the flood channel, agency representatives skipped ahead to answer questions from residents.
The $4.5 million project aims to remove 15 years worth of silt from Trout Brook and is part of the broader flood-control channel of the south branch of the Park River watershed, overseen by the federal Natural Resource Conservation Service. Residents expressed anger after multiple trees were cut down at the end of Linnard and Linbrook roads, which terminate near the banks of Trout Brook.About 2,500 dump trucks full of material needs to be dredged out of these channels, DEEP Supervisor Jennifer Perry said Wednesday night.
This type of work was last done in 1999 and 2000, and maintenance work must be performed to bring the channel system back to its original condition or the flood control system would be decertified, said Dennis Schain, DEEP spokesman. There are significant financial consequences if the system is decertified, according to a press release. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Second New Haven housing development targeted by city for repairs
NEW HAVEN >> Workers have started repairs on Attilean Manor, quickly responding to orders from city Building Official Jim Turcio to fix a crumbling second-floor exterior walkway before winter sets in.
Attilean, an aging cinderblock structure, similar to Church Street South, but with only 31 units, was back on the city’s radar recently when the Livable City Initiative condemned some units because of mold due to water leaking into the apartments.
“The problem is this and Church Street South were built, within a four- or five-year period, with the same type of construction. Unless you maintain those buildings, they are going to fall apart and that is what is happening,” Turcio said of the 43-year-old complex on Day Street.
The 288 families at Church Street South are scheduled to be moved out over the next year because of mold and structural deficiencies that became known after the New Haven Legal Assistance Association filed a suit demanding repairs.
First priority goes to the more than 50 Church Street South families who have been living in hotels since their units were condemned or they had medical issues exacerbated by the mold. Lining up apartments for this initial group has been slow going. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE