April 5, 2016

CT Construction Digest April 5, 2016

Railroad improvement work increases with impact on local traffic

The state Department of Transportation and Amtrak have alerted motorists in Meriden and Wallingford to expect construction delays and detours as workers replace the Gypsy Lane bridge and prepare the road crossings for double tracking to begin this summer.
Work began on the Gypsy Lane bridge Friday and will continue through August. Amtrak and its contractors met with city officials last week to close Gypsy Lane during the reconstruction.
Officials said work will occur weekdays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Traffic personnel and signs will direct motorists as workers replace the bridge structure and put down new track. The new bridge will have more clearance than the existing structure, but not as much as some truck operators might want, said Bruce Olmstead, supervising engineer for the DOT.
“It should improve some vertical clearance, but not too much,” Olmstead said.
The work is part of a $569 million rail upgrade to increase commuter service from New Haven to Hartford and Springfield by January 2018. The line, now called CTrail Hartford Line, will operate 17 trains daily from New Haven to Hartford and 12 trains to Springfield. The project includes double tracking an additional 23 miles.
Work at the Toelles Road crossing in Wallingford began Monday and will continue to June. Construction will occur weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will include new drainage, curbing, sidewalks and signage. Crossings at Ward Street, Quinnipiac Street, Hall Avenue, Parker Street, North Plains Highway and Pent Highway will follow, according to the project planning team.
Traffic personnel and signs will direct one-way alternating traffic during construction. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
 
 
LEBANON — Work has started on a 55-and-older housing development being built on land next to the Lebanon's senior center and close to the town green. Lebanon First Selectman Betsy Petrie said the town's building department accepted the plans by the developer, Paradise Agency, to build eight single-story townhouses on a 6.7-acre parcel of land at 37R W. Town St The department issued a building permit Thursday, Petrie said. Land clearing began in early March. Each townhouse will have two bedrooms, a 1,200 square-foot living area and an attached garage, according to the town. They would be rented at market rate. "This property will provide needed housing for a segment of the population that is changing their lifestyles, whether downsizing from existing homes or the need to be closer to family members," Petrie said. Potential residents of the housing are eager to see it completed, Petrie said. "We have tons of interest in this project. I get calls about it daily," she said. Managed by brothers Bruce and Ron Goldstein,of Colchester, Paradise Agency operates rental housing in Willimantic, Colchester, Jewett City and Lebanon, as well as commercial properties. The town’s plan of conservation and development identifies housing for older people as one of Lebanon’s goals. In 2006, the town authorized the purchase of property off West Town Street and Doctor Manning Drive for a senior center, recreational purposes and housing for senior residents. Last year, the town sold some of the land for $100,000. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
 

I first heard the idiom "fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me," in a 1967 episode of Star Trek in which Engineering Officer Scott was duped into responding to a phony distress signal planted by the Klingons – only to have the Klingons try the same thing again.
These words reverberated with me as I drove home from a Feb. 9 forum at UConn Law School convened by the MetroHartford Alliance to discuss the state's 1992 constitutional spending cap and the proposal to enact another constitutional spending provision – the so-called transportation fund "lockbox."
The lockbox would secure funds (make sure they are used as intended and not diverted to other expenses) raised for Gov. Malloy's proposed 30-year transportation infrastructure improvement plan Let's Go Connecticut!
The lesson Scott learned from the Klingons is one that Connecticut voters should heed because the only reasonable inference to draw from the remarks of elected officials at the UConn forum (Richard Balducci and Attorney General George Jepsen) is that the constitutional cap was a well-camouflaged ruse. Accordingly, when it comes to the lockbox the question is whether we will shame ourselves by being fooled twice.
The answer appears to be "yes." More on that later.
Balducci was Speaker of the House in the 1991-1992 legislative session, and, as he said at the forum, "spending caps" were used as a bargaining chip in 1991 to induce legislators to vote for the then new personal income tax. In 1991, the legislature enacted a statutory spending cap and drafted and approved the constitutional version for placement on the Nov. 2, 1992 ballot (where voters approved it with an 80 percent majority). CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Bristol Hospital Project Becomes Center Of State Dispute As Malloy Budget Chief Blasts 'Expansion'

BRISTOL — Bristol Hospital's proposal for a downtown medical office complex on Monday became part of a statewide funding dispute when Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's budget chief publicly blasted the project as a burden on taxpayers.
In a scathing letter that was copied to legislative leaders and the press, state budget director Ben Barnes accused Bristol Hospital of constructing a needless expansion while simultaneously warning that funding reductions would jeopardize health care.
"You are hiring, building and expanding with taxpayer money while the state of Connecticut is making difficult choices about cutting services and laying off state employees," Barnes said in letter to hospital President Kurt Barwis.
The hospital replied Monday evening that Barnes' message amounted to "unfounded allegations and innuendo," and Barwis said he was "alarmed" by the remarks.
"Given the state's woefully inadequate and deficient funding of Medicaid to Bristol Hospital, the notion that the hospital is using or plans to use state of Connecticut Medicaid funds for the project is baseless and not credible," Barwis said in statement. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Yale to build new lab on Science Hill in New Haven

NEW HAVEN >> Yale University plans to replace the J.W. Gibbs Laboratory building on Science Hill with a new facility, and the question is whether it triggers aldermanic review of parking spaces.
It is the first Yale project since the alders amended Section 65e(4) on Overall Parking Plans that applies to Yale University, Yale-New Haven Hospital and the Connecticut Mental Health Center.
The aldermanic leadership Monday night decided to send the proposed site plan to its outside counsel for a recommendation.
The university, in testimony before the plan was updated in December, said it encourages workers to take shuttles and public transportation to work, but also assigns off-street parking to all its employees, for which they are charged on a sliding scale.
The alders want to resolve the parking conflicts that occur when Yale workers park on the street and take spaces from residents. Part of the agreement was to appoint a committee to study the issue with longer-term solutions.
The parking issue has been exacerbated by the growth of apartments downtown and the demand to build on lots that previously were used only for parking.
Karyn Gilvarg, executive director of the City Plan Department, has sent a letter to the aldermanic leadership advising them of the site plan submitted by Yale for a replacement for Gibbs, to be known as the Yale Science Building. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Contractor Training — Cultivating the Trainer Within

Training…why do it? The short and simple answer to the question of why bother with construction training is twofold: safety and productivity.
Accidents and injuries are a costly unnecessary risk to valued employees, expensive equipment, and company morale. And well-trained employees are not only safer, but feel more competent and comfortable on a work site, which translates to higher productivity and emanates beyond a site — fostering a positive reputation within and outside the company.
Travel most anywhere and watch construction crews. There are great crews and some that really struggle. The struggle can be battles with each other or the lack of training to do the task assigned to them by the foreman or above.
The idea of training is broader than a formal function occurring in a classroom or at a field site. Training should be considered a responsibility of every supervisor and manager, since they are in the best position to help cultivate their crew's skills and knowledge. Supervisors and managers are promoted to their positions because of their experience and expertise. They know what they're doing.
Good, strong managers and supervisors inspire their crews to do great things and be productive. Senior company management needs to support this concept that everyone is responsible for training. With managers and supervisors functioning as leaders and mentors generous with their knowledge and help, workers learn to help their coworkers avoid mistakes and perform tasks better.
As new technology, ideas, processes and procedures are introduced to the company, there is a need for the managers or supervisors who excel at training to be tapped.
In-the-company trainers should be chosen out of the best you have available. The thinking can't be, “Hey, I can't lose that guy to training!” Generally speaking, a contractor's cream of the crop manager has done every aspect of the job and can relate to what the crews face day in and day out. And who better can teach than that individual? CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE