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WALLINGFORD — With work continuing on Phase 3 of the Linear Trail expansion, state Rep. Mary Mushinsky said Wednesday she anticipates the delivery and installation of a 280-foot bridge crossing the Quinnipiac River soon.
“We are supposed to get the bridge any day now, as long as the weather holds up. They’re going to keep working on the trail,” Mushinsky said. “The paving is already in.”
Contractors began working on the site in June. Phase 3 of the project, which expands the trail into Yalesville, is expected to cost $2.4 million and is slated to be completed in July 2016.
On Wednesday, materials and equipment could be seen throughout the site. Structures were installed to prepare for the installation of the bridge.
Mushinsky, who is also co-chairwoman of the Quinnipiac River Linear Trail Advisory Committee, said there was “excessive interruption” from residents, who were going out to the site and getting in the way of construction.
Mushinsky said she did not know exactly when the bridge would be delivered.
“Driving down to Hartford, I won’t be surprised to see it dropped in there in the next few weeks,” she said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
The money from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency split between the Connecticut Department of Public Health and the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, according to officials with the federal agency’s Boston regional office. A total of $17.1 million will go to Connecticut’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund program, which is overseen by DEEP, with remaining $8.9 million directed to the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program, which is administered by DPH.
Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA’s New England office, said the federal money will help pay for projects “that will provide benefits for decades to come.”
“Clean drinking water and proper wastewater treatment are fundamental to protecting people’s health,” Spalding said in a statement. “But aging water infrastructure needs to be upgraded and repaired.”
Dennis Schain, a DEEP spokesman, said both state programs have a broad reach.
“The money is used for projects around the state,” Schain said. “We’re grateful for the money that the federal government is providing us.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Worker deaths decline in 2014
Worker deaths in Connecticut were lower than usual in 2014, according to new information supplied by the state Department of Labor. The construction sector and the transportation and warehousing sector saw the most on-the-job deaths.
The report, issued as part of the monthly Connecticut Economic Digest, said 33 workers lost their lives in the state in 2014. That's compared to 4,679 work-related deaths across America in the same time frame. On average, 39 people a year die on the job in Connecticut.
Connecticut's construction sector and the transportation and warehousing sector each had 7 deaths for a combined 42 percent of 2014 deaths. There were 3 deaths in the government sector; in the past four years this sector accounted for 16 percent of deaths. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Ridge Road Apartment Building Proposal Draws Heat At Wethersfield Hearing
WETHERSFIELD — Neighbors turned out in force at a public hearing Tuesday to oppose a proposed 70-unit apartment building off Ridge Road.
"I think overall you can tell by the line [of people waiting to speak] that I don't think that anyone is in favor of this going into our neighborhood," said Shawn Rugar, whose home is next to the complex's proposed entrance.
A parade of speakers at the zoning commission hearing said the building, proposed for 291 Ridge Road, would damage the neighborhood's character, lower property values and increase traffic. They expressed skepticism about the developer's plan to attract higher-income tenants and worried that the property would deteriorate over time.
"It would certainly make you think twice if you were going to buy a home in the area," Gerhard Merkle said of the proposed apartments. "I have no doubt that it would affect property values." Robert Garrey condemned the proposal as "a Residence Inn" and said no rental units should be built along Ridge Road."This is a hotel. It's awful. I please ask you to reject this," Garrey said, sparking thunderous applause from the crowd of about 50.
Commissioner George Oickle said condominiums or an assisted living facility would be more appropriate for the area. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Ballpark Developer Centerplan Offers Bid For East Windsor Casino
Centerplan Cos., which is leading a $400 million development in Hartford, including a minor league ballpark, is looking to the north for a new project: a casino.
The Middletown-based development company submitted the proposal for East Windsor, said First Selectman Robert Maynard. It is one of five proposals from four towns for a Hartford-area casino, which would be the third in Connecticut.
Maynard declined to identify the site, but he said it is not far off I-91 in the area of Route 5. The location, Maynard said, would not dramatically change the rural character of the town.
The state's third casino would be operated jointly by the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes. State leaders and the tribes hope it will fend off competitive pressures posed by a gaming complex currently under construction in Springfield. Connecticut could lose tens of millions of dollars in gambling revenue to the Springfield casino, analysts say. The tribes aim to open the Hartford-area casino a year or more before the opening of the Springfield facility, scheduled for 2018; but they still must secure final approval from state lawmakers to expand gaming in the state beyond the flagship gambling complexes in southeastern Connecticut. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUEEngineers Say Best Plan May Be To Put I-84 In Hartford At Ground Level
EAST HARTFORD — Engineering analyses so far show that the best configuration for rebuilding I-84 in Hartford would remove the Trumbull and High Street on-ramps, put the highway at ground level and reconstruct Capitol Avenue to pass over it, planners said Wednesday night.
To move traffic most safely and efficiently on the highway and surrounding city streets, the on-ramps at Broad and Asylum streets would also be eliminated, state transportation department engineers said.
The state is still considering a series of options for replacing 2 miles of elevated highway through Hartford, but initial studies suggest that a new roadway at ground level — or in a slightly lowered trench — would be better and more practical than either a new elevated route or a tunnel.
The cost to build a new viaduct or a tunnel would be significantly higher than putting in a grade-level highway, and future maintenance costs also would be more, DOT engineers told about 30 listeners at a public information meeting at the library downtown.The most current DOT estimates show it would cost $4.3 billion to $5.3 billion to tear down the viaduct and rebuild the 2-mile section at grade level. A new elevated highway would cost $4 billion to $6.2 billion, and a tunnel would run $9.7 billion to $12.1 billion, the DOT said.
Part of the tunnel's enormous expense would be the cost of moving the Park River conduit, planners said.
A ground-level highway also would allow the most efficient interchanges in Hartford, providing a way to reduce traffic congestion in the city as well as on I-84, engineers said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Manchester's Charter Oak Park To Be Refurbished
MANCHESTER — The board of directors has agreed to move forward with an approximately $1 million renovation of Charter Oak Park.
The project, which includes new playing courts and parking area, is to begin in the spring and likely will take two construction seasons to complete, General Manager Scott Shanley said Wednesday.
There are now two basketball courts and four tennis courts at the park, located at Charter Oak and Main streets. Plans call for three basketball courts, two for adults and one for children, and two tennis courts, Shanley said.
Although many people play tennis at the park and the recreation department offers a full schedule of summertime lessons, directors and town staff members agreed at the board's meeting Tuesday that basketball courts are more in demand. The full-sized hoops court to be used by younger players will be separated from the two adult courts, in part so kids aren't exposed to the loud cursing that sometimes accompanies adult games, officials said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUEJudge Delays Decision On Moving Gold Street In Hartford
HARTFORD — The relocation of downtown's Gold Street will remain at a standstill for at least a little longer after a Superior Court judge in Hartford put off a decision Wednesday.
Judge Marshall K. Berger delayed the ruling to give the city more time to respond to a court filing by the opponents of the project, the Bushnell Tower Condominium Association.
The association has turned to the courts to stop the city from moving the street closer to their building. The association lost an initial appeal in Superior Court, which it is now seeking to overturn in state Appellate Court.
When the city started work on straightening the street earlier this fall, the association was successful in securing an order in Superior Court to stop the work. Although the city held a planning and zoning commission hearing on the street work, it failed to hold a second hearing required by state law concerning roads that are constructed through parks or open space.Now that the city has held the second hearing, Berger will be left to decide two things: whether to lift the stop-work order or keep it in place until the Appellate Court decides whether to hear the case. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE