DANBURY — A Texas energy company needs to lease a small piece of city land to stage construction operations for its $970 million gas pipeline expansion project.
But before Spectra Energy receives Danbury’s approval to clear the property in a wooded neighborhood north of Mill Plain Road, city leaders want to gather public input.
The proposal is to clear the one-tenth acre owned by the city on Driftway Point Road and build a small road for construction machinery to the pipeline trench. Spectra would pay the city $5,000.
“In order to construct our pipeline in our easement in some places, we need temporary work space,” Martin McCarthy, the right-of-way supervisor for Spectra, said during a recent meeting with city leaders. “It could be used for be anything from trench soil to the temporary storage of equipment.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Water main raises concerns for New Milford turf field project
NEW MILFORD — A leaking valve has raised concerns about an underground water main’s potential effect on the soon-to-be installed turf fields and track at the high school.
Town Engineer Dan Stanton said a coupling valve in an unmarked irrigation system burst last month and alerted officials to potential issues of the underground water main, which was installed when the high school was under construction 15 years ago.
While the valve was easily repaired, the leak raised concerns about a similar incident happening once the $4 million artificial turf project is completed.
“Once this project is completed, a leak could bubble to the surface on the state-of-the-art track causing it to melt and run,” Stanton told the Town Council Monday night. “We met with the project contractor and Aquarian Water and it was suggested to divert the water main along the sidewalk adjacent to the track. The estimated cost from the water company was $100,000.”
Stanton said the contractor, H I Stone, was not digging at the location of the coupling valve when it burst. He suggested it was the age of the valve and irrigation line that likely caused the failure. However, Stanton said there’s no way to assure it won’t happen again. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Lyman Hall fields, Calendar House among projects in line for state funding
More than $3.26 million worth of projects in the Meriden area are on the State Bond Commission’s agenda for its Friday meeting.
The meeting will be held at 10:30 a.m. in Room 1E of the Legislative Office Building, 300 Capitol Ave., Hartford.
Local project requests range from repairing buildings and maintenance needs to financing studies.
Funding of $250,000 in Wallingford would be used to renovate athletic fields at Lyman Hall High School.
A $2.4 million project to renovate the athletic fields at the school and construct an athletic complex is nearing completion. The project includes an artificial turf field, a new lighting system and an eight-lane track. Work on the new track surface has been put off until June in order to allow spring teams to use the new complex. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Council will vote on a proposal to borrow $400,000 to acquire a parcel at 1 Terminal Way – part of a plan to redevelop the Shipping Street area into a modern boat launch. But, as aldermen learned last week, the total project cost could be closer to $4 million between cleanup and construction, though officials are confident up to half of that could be paid for through state aid. Addressing all of the cleanup issues would cost around $2 million, but the city could save itself up to $600,000 by using pavement from the launch as a cap for contaminated soils, said James Olsen, vice president of Middletown-based environmental firm Tighe & Bond. “Quite honestly, I think the state has been waiting to see what skin the city has in the game before committing, but there has been money allocated to the construction of other boat launches in the state,” Peter Davis, the city’s director of neighborhood and planning services, told the council. “I think there’s an opportunity we can show the state we have some level of investment in this project.” The remaining $1.5 million, which includes the bond, would come from design, engineering and construction costs. “This is a classic case of ‘if you build it, they will come,’” John Paul Mereen, an 18-year member of the city’s Harbor Management Commission and former alderman, told the council. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
WEST HARTFORD — In an 8-1 vote, the town council approved a request to add units to a previously approved apartment building at 243 Steele Road, despite four residents' protests.
The controversial 150-unit apartment complex was approved in August 2014, and comprises seven buildings, including a clubhouse with pool and patio area. The developer received approval Tuesday night to increase the number of units from 150 to 160 by dividing in half five of the existing two-bedroom units to make them one-bedroom units, priced at $1,450 per month. Councilman Leon Davidoff cast the dissenting vote, citing traffic concerns and an unease with adding more units to a proposal that had already drawn major criticism.
In total, this would create 20 one-bedroom units, developer Geoffrey Sager said. Changes to the exterior of the corresponding buildings are also proposed, but there will be no increase in the size or height of those buildings, and no change to the existing site plan, developers said Tuesday.
"In the short run, it will cost us more to build, and it will cost us more in taxes," Sager said. "But in the long run, it will make the project stronger." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUEWest Haven council approves tax deferral for developer on former Carroll Cut-Rate site
WEST HAVEN >> The City Council has unanimously approved a new, expanded tax deferral agreement for the developer building an $18 million, 67-unit apartment building over 15,000 square feet of retail on the former site of the Carroll Cut-Rate Furniture building on Route 1 in Allingtown.
The approval essentially updates a much smaller seven-year tax abatement agreement for what then was a much smaller, 30-unit, $8 million apartment building over 7,420 square feet of retail in the a converted former Carroll Cut-Rate building.
The developer, Starter sportswear founder David Beckerman’s Forest Manor LLC, ended up demolishing the former furniture store after the city’s building official declared it unsafe months after a subcontractor using heavy equipment damaged the building while removing a rear loading dock. Building Official Frank Gladwyn originally found the building to be structurally sound after the Feb. 9, 2015, mishap, but later changed his mind. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
MassDOT Invests $183.3 Million in I-91 Viaduct Project
The contract for the much-needed rehabilitation of the I-91 Viaduct Rehabilitation Project in Springfield, a $183.3 million Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) initiative, was awarded to the joint-venture (J-V) of J.F. White Contracting Co. and the Schiavone Construction Co. LLC last April, and the work is progressing well.
“MassDOT is undertaking the project to replace the existing deck of the bridge, which is in poor condition,” stated the fact sheet for the project. “[It] is the result of several years of planning and valuable input from a wide variety of stakeholders. The project has been designed to reduce the number of traffic stages and keep construction duration to a minimum. Once completed, [it] will reduce annual maintenance costs, increase safety and accessibility on this busy interstate and ensure long-term serviceability.”
The project covers a lot of ground from I-91 northbound and southbound, just south of State Street to the I-291 interchange ramps, and the work covers various on- and off-ramps between these limits and the I-291 ramp structures.
“The completed bridge cross-section will be similar to the existing bridge width, with a wider left shoulder, three travel lanes and a wider right shoulder,” stated the fact sheet. “During construction, there will be one travel lane north of the I-291 ramps, while two lanes will be maintained on the viaduct in each direction, with occasional exceptions possible. In addition to the bridge and highway improvements within the limits of the viaduct, MassDOT is proposing bridge drainage system enhancements that will improve water quality in the Connecticut River. Other improvements will include new lighting on the viaduct, the upper levels of the north and south garage, and the Columbus Avenue railroad underpass.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE