WALLINGFORD — Demolition of McDonald’s on Route 5 has been completed.
Only the entrance sign remained as of Tuesday afternoon. Rubble near the center of the site had yet to be cleared.
The former restaurant closed for demolition on March 11. It was built 40 years ago and underwent several interior renovations.
Construction of the new 5,088-square-foot building will take about 90 days. Plans include a two-lane drive-through that should improve the flow of traffic in the parking lot.
The dining room will feature roomier beverage stations and modern décor.
Owner Ted Zafaris said the building’s playscape will have new tubes for children to play in, along with a video game station and design area.
Before endorsing the new proposal, the board rescinded a vote taken last November that approved an earlier proposal to simultaneously rebuild Flanders Elementary School and fully renovate Niantic Center, while closing Lillie B. Haynes and returning the building to the town.
The project would have cost $82,755,855, and the town would be responsible for an estimated $58 million of that, following state reimbursement.
The new proposal approved by the board on Monday calls for renovating "as new" the 101,000-square-foot Lillie B. Haynes School, the largest of the three elementary schools, for $45.06 million, an estimated $34.25 million cost to the town after state reimbursement.
The proposal also includes spending up to $1.5 million to refurbish Flanders Elementary, while rebuilding the school would be postponed for five to seven years.
The Board of Selectmen will next review the new proposal. If approved by the selectmen, the proposal then would move to the Board of Finance and then to townwide referendum.
Before Monday's vote, more than 20 residents addressed the board during public comment.
While some residents said the focus should be on the benefits the project would bring children, the majority raised concerns and urged the board to slow down the decision and allow them to be included in the process. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
QVCC to spend $1.9 million to upgrade parking lots, improve entry road
DANIELSON – Students who come back to Quinebaug Valley Community College after this summer’s break will be greeted by new parking lot decks, brighter lighting, freshly laid curbs and a less treacherous entry road. The $1.9 million state-funded parking lot project will upgrade four lots at the main Danielson campus, said Paul Martland, dean of administrative services. He said the project will be the first upgrade of the lots in 35 years. “They’re in pretty sad shape,” Martland said. “In some cases, we’ll peel the layers off and lay down new material.” Martin Charette, the campus’ building maintenance supervisor, said the lots are “way past their life expectancy,” though regular coats of sealant are applied to mitigate the worst cracks and divots. “The problem is, if water gets into those cracks, they freeze in the winter and get bigger,” he said. The project will also add new, more durable curbing around the lots, replacing the crumbling material damaged by plows and weather.
CT construction job growth lags nation
Keith Griffin
According to a national Association of General Contractors report, Connecticut saw a 2.3 percent increase in construction jobs in 2015 from 56,700 to 58,000, ranking it 39th in the country, tied with Maine.
Four New England states were in the top six for construction job growth. Rhode Island saw the second highest year-over-year growth in the country at 14.6 percent, followed by Massachusetts third at 11 percent. New Hampshire was fourth nationally at 10.2 percent annual growth. Vermont was ranked sixth at 7.9 percent.
Forty-three states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs between Feb. 2015 and Feb. 2016, according to analysis of Labor Department data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. The association did not provide national numbers.
#3 Large Company Category: Shawmut Design and Construction
Employees at the North Haven offices of Shawmut Design and Construction have a good reason to put their all into the work they do. They own the company.
In addition to yearly and spot-performance bonuses, every staff member can enroll in Shawmut's Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP) after they have been with the company for one year. An ESOP provides workers with an ownership stake, usually in the form of stock.
At Shawmut, that translates into annual contributions of company shares to a personal retirement account. Those shares can average 12 percent of their annual salary, over and above 401(k) contributions. To date, 54 of Shawmut's Connecticut staff are ESOP participants.
To bring in the best and brightest employee-owners, Shawmut runs a construction management skills training program for recent engineering graduates looking to enter the construction industry.
According to Ken Proscino, director of the company's Connecticut office, most participants in the program come with a four-year degree in some sort of engineering. Trainees go through a rigorous 36-month curriculum with rotations through project management, site supervision and estimating, paired with leadership development curriculum. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Proposed DOT Project Would Repave Route 2, Close Exits In East Hartford
The federally funded $48 million project would resurface the highway and reconstruct the median to install a concrete barrier and create wider shoulders.
Existing drainage systems would be cleaned out and modified and the guardrail will be upgraded to be compliant with modern standards. Several overhead signs and light fixtures will be replaced.
Project engineer Susan Libatique said the project is being undertaken to extend the highway's life."The purpose of the project is to extend the service life and to improve the facility by resurfacing the highway and providing safety and bridge improvements within project limits," Libatique said.
In addition to resurfacing the road, Libatique said the department is considering closing Exit 5B.
"Because of the proximity of Exit 5A, the Main Street off-ramp and High Street on-ramp, to Exit 5B, the Cambridge on-ramp and Sutton Avenue off-ramp, weaving of conflicting traffic in a relatively short distance occurs between these two exits," Libatique said. "Motorists have difficulty in attaining the operating speed to merge with mainline traffic. Closing Exit 5B will eliminate this weaving … and minimize crashes within this section of Route 2." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE