Natural gas now flowing to East Hampton
Connecticut Natural Gas has announced that gas is flowing to approximately 11 miles of newly constructed natural gas main in East Hampton. Next on the its parent company's target list is Deep River.
CNG in the spring broke ground on a project originally scheduled to open up 9 miles of gas lines. "When we started construction on this expansion project, we heard from a lot of residents and businesses located beyond the original route who were interested in receiving natural gas service. This helped spur our decision to extend the new main beyond the original project scope," said James P. Torgerson, UIL's president and CEO. CNG is a subsidiary of UIL.
Now that gas is flowing to the new main, CNG is in the process of installing service lines to nearly 150 customers who have signed up to receive natural gas service. Those include more than 100 homes as well as American Distilling Inc., and nine East Hampton schools and municipal buildings. CNG expects next year to extend gas service nearly a mile farther up Route 66 to serve a housing development that's under construction there.
East Hampton is the second new natural gas franchise in as many years for a UIL-owned gas company. In 2014, CNG's sister company, The Southern Connecticut Gas Company, introduced natural gas service in Essex. Looking toward another new franchise later this year, SCG is currently installing natural gas mains in Deep River.
US hiring surges in October; unemployment at 7-year low of 5%
WASHINGTON >> U.S. hiring roared back in October after two weak months, with employers adding a robust 271,000 jobs and likely setting the stage for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates next month.
The unemployment rate dipped to a fresh seven-year low of 5 percent from 5.1 percent.
The burst of hiring, the most since December, filled jobs across a range of industries as companies shrugged off slower overseas growth and a weak U.S manufacturing sector. Significant job gains occurred in construction, health care and retail.
Friday’s report from the government suggested that the U.S. economy is rebounding after a worrisome summer and is continuing to outshine most other major economies. During August and September, hiring had flagged amid financial turmoil in China and faltering growth in Europe and emerging markets.
Even so, American consumers have kept spending at a healthy pace, supporting strong job growth even as factory payrolls were flat last month and oil and gas drillers cut jobs.
Soon after Friday’s report was released, the prospect of higher interest rates drove down financial markets. Futures on the Dow Jones industrial average fell 51 points in early trading.
After a prolonged period of relatively stagnant pay raises for many Americans, last month’s robust hiring also raised wages 9 cents to $25.20. That is 2.5 percent higher than 12 months ago, the largest year-over-year gain since July 2009. That is comfortably above inflation, which was been flat in the past year. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Industry Reacts to the Death of the Keystone XL Pipeline Project
Reaction to the news that President Obama has killed the Keystone XL Pipeline Project from inside the Construction Industry was both swift, and in some cases, very blunt.
AED’s McGuire: Keystone XL Disapproval “Inexcusable”
Brian P. McGuire, president and CEO of Associated Equipment Distributors, issued the following statement in response to the Obama Administration’s announcement of its decision to reject the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline.
“It’s inexcusable that after seven years of foot dragging President Obama has denied the cross-border permit for the Keystone XL pipeline project. His own State Department has said the project will support a substantial number of jobs and significant economic activity with minimal environmental impact. Unfortunately, in the denying the permit, the president has made a decision based on political rhetoric rather than concrete evidence.
“Denying the permit means the president has cut off a safe and reliable energy source during a period of unprecedented instability in the Middle East. Under the recent Iran nuclear deal, Iranian oil can again flow to world markets, but by rejecting Keystone the president is denying that same access to our closet trading partner. Any way you look at - from an economic, environmental, national security or foreign policy standpoint - the president has made the wrong decision.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Secure footing for new I-84 ramp in the works
WATERBURY — Crews on Thursday completed a pour of 430 cubic yards of concrete — enough to fill 43 mixer trucks — as they build the first abutment for a bridge.
The concrete footing will support the bridge abutment, which will carry Interstate 84's Exit 25 eastbound off-ramp over the Mad River.
As part of the ongoing I-84 reconstruction project, the highway will shift south to eliminate an S-curve west of Harpers Ferry Road. This creates a need for a new Harpers Ferry Road exit ramp, also located south of its current pathway.
While the project is years from being finished, the details at every step of the process are important — including the temperature of concrete during the 28-day cure.
"Maintaining consistent temperatures throughout the entire structure will ensure optimal strength and longevity," said Project Engineer Christopher Zukowski, of the state Department of Transportation, which is overseeing the project.
Temperature sensors have been cast into the concrete footing, which workers can read wirelessly. If the concrete becomes too cold while it's curing, workers would use an electric blanket to raise the temperature.
Likewise, if the concrete becomes too hot, they would cool it down.
On Thursday, concrete was poured from a concrete truck into the hopper of a pump truck equipped with a large crane-like boom and pipe attachment.
"The operator uses a wireless remote control to manipulate the boom and effortlessly position the concrete placement within the form work of the pour," Zukowski said.
The footing consists of metal forms, braced with wood to add strength, to support the weight of concrete while it cures. The footing itself is built on 77 steel H-piles driven to bedrock.
The contractor will pour additional concrete to construct the stem of the abutment, Zukowski said. Pours will occur during the next two to three months and the stem will become visible from I-84. The footing itself will eventually be buried.
After 28 days, the concrete will have a strength of 3,000 pounds per square inch.