DOT Steers $35 Million Route 8 Work Into Fast Lane
But the inconvenience will be a fraction of what would have happened if contractors were using traditional construction techniques, according to the state transportation department.
Instead, crews from Manafort Brothers Inc. will be replacing deteriorated bridges in a way that the DOT wants to use more frequently: Accelerated Bridge Construction. Engineers say they're able to use pre-built replacement components to drastically cut the work time on the $35 million project. "With traditional construction techniques, this could take two years. This way, we build everything off-line — the whole goal is to get in, do the work and get out," said Scott Adkins, project engineer for the transportation department.
Connecticut's DOT earned praise within the construction industry two years ago when it replaced two I-84 bridges in Southington in a single weekend using the Accelerated Bridge Construction approach. Workers assembled new bridges alongside the existing ones, then shut down the highway for two days so they could demolish the old bridges and use jumbo cranes to swing the new ones into place.That $6 million job was considered a major success, particularly because residents and business owners in and around Southington said the short, sharp inconvenience was vastly preferable to months of negotiating narrowed, rerouted or closed lanes.
The DOT is using a similar strategy in the substantially larger Bridgeport project.
Manafort is replacing four bridges: one each northbound and southbound over Capitol Avenue and over Lindley Street. That stretch of Route 8 is between exits 4 and 5, and is prone to southbound traffic backups in the morning rush hour and northbound backups in the late afternoon. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Tariffville Water Tank Replacement Moves To Public Hearing
SIMSBURY — Residents can voice their opinions next week on the effort to replace the 80-year-old water tank that provides drinking water and fire service to the Tariffville section.
A public hearing before the board of selectmen, which would have to approve the project, will be held Monday at 6 p.m., in the main meeting room of town hall.
The project has been endorsed by several town commissions, including open space, conservation, planning and culture, and parks and recreation.
Final approval will depend on consent from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, First Selectman Lisa Heavner said.The project has been in the works for about two years, said Kevin Donahue, vice president of the Tariffville Water Commission. The existing tank, which sits near the top Laurel Hill, the ridge between Hayes Road and the Farmington River, was built in the 1930s.
The estimated cost is $1.6 million. The new structure would be roughly the same size as the existing tank, which is 48 feet wide and 24 feet high.
It was repaired about 10 years ago, Donahue has said, but has "reached the end of its useful life."
The tank holds more than 300,000 gallons of water and provides drinking water to Tariffville's 1,300 residents. Some of the water is reserved for the fire service, Donahue said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Stop work order issued for subcontractor on Torrington courthouse project
TORRINGTON >> Interior Building Contractors, a Durham-based company, has been issued a stop work order at the Litchfield Judicial District Courthouse construction site in Torrington after those working on Saturday refused to explain how they were paid when queried by inspectors, a labor official says.
IBC was cited for “misrepresenting employees as independent contractors,” a violation of Section 31-288 of the Connecticut General Statutes, according to the stop work order.
Until the company produces records of paying these employees on the books — payroll, workman’s compensation, etc. — they are indefinitely barred from working on the project, according to Gary Pechie, the director of the Wage and Workplace Standards Division with the Connecticut Department of Labor. Compensating workers off-the-books, Pechie said, is “an easy way to get around what they really have to pay.”
On Saturday, when laborers asked about how they were paid and who they were working for, a worker brandished boxcutters at an inspector, then left hurriedly without answering, along with others working on site, Pechie said. Members and staff of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters stood alongside an inflatable “fat cat” Monday morning to protest this labor practice at the Field Street site.
“It’s just the game that’s being played in the industry to cut each other’s throat,” said Ted Duarte, senior organizer with the NERCC. “What they’re doing is perpetuating the race to the bottom.”
Duarte said this practice hurts workers, as they do not receive workman’s comp or payments into their respective Social Security funds. It also hurts taxpayers, he said, because payroll taxes are not paid, and those injured are likely to go to emergency rooms to seek treatment, which is paid through the state Second Injury Fund. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Ski Slope, Game Park Could Be Part of Norwich Hospital Redevelopment
NORWICH — A development of the Norwich State Hospital property by the operators of the Mohegan Sun casino could include a synthetic ski slope and an outdoor adventure game park — alongside office and housing, possibly a 55-and-older community.
"There are a number of things our guests are looking for so they can have a more holistic experience that takes us outside the demographics that we have now that is just the gamer," Kevin Brown, chairman of the Mohegan Tribal Authority, said Monday. "I don't want anyone to get overly focused on thinking this is about making the casino bigger and better. This is about other possibilities that could go on that ground."
Brown said the development in the town of Preston would not include gaming activities, but could include restaurants and shops.
Brown's comments came in a news conference after a breakfast meeting of the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut.The tribe, Brown said, has conceptual drawings for each part of the 393-acre site. But those could evolve as the tribe and local officials in Preston negotiate a final sales and development agreement over the next six months. The tribe would work with development partners for what is expected to be a $200 million to $600 million project. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Blumenthal backs Coast Guard Museum on waterfront
Norwich — U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Monday that he is confident environmental obstacles recently raised about siting the proposed National Coast Guard Museum near City Pier in New London can be overcome.
Blumenthal, D-Conn., was referring to a column in The Day in which the head of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Rob Klee, noted that building on the water would be challenging and that the organization coordinating the museum had yet to submit formal plans. He said a determination of whether the museum can be built while adhering to environmental regulations couldn't be made until plans are laid out.
Blumenthal, addressing a breakfast meeting of the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut, told a crowd of more than 200 at the Holiday Inn Norwich that he supports the $100 million museum, adding that the Coast Guard is the only U.S. military branch that does not have such a site.
"That museum should be built on the water in New London, and it should be built as quickly as possible," Blumenthal said.
Blumenthal addressed several other concerns he has been working on in the Senate, including the opioid epidemic, help for veterans and the defense budget.
The overprescription of painkillers is affecting everyone from veterans with post-traumatic stress to athletes recovering from injuries, Blumenthal said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
