STRATFORD - The state Department of Transportation will hold a public hearing on the planned Exit 33 ramp project on I-95. The hearing will be held at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, June 16 at the Baldwin Center, 1000 West Broad St.
Construction is anticipated to begin in 2017 “based on the availability of funding.” DOT says. The estimated construction cost is approximately $22 million.
The DOT said in a release announcing the meeting, “the purpose of the project is to enhance access to I-95 and local roadways by providing a full interchange at Exit 33 on I-95 in Stratford. Currently, Exit 33 is a partial interchange consisting of a northbound off-ramp and a southbound on-ramp. It is proposed to construct a new northbound on-ramp and a new southbound off-ramp at this location. The new northbound on-ramp would begin at the Ferry Boulevard/U.S. Route 1 intersection on the south side of I-95 and the new southbound off-ramp would connect with Veterans Boulevard on the north side of I-95.”
The bridge carrying I-95 over East Main Street would be widened to accommodate the new northbound on-ramp/acceleration lane. The additional ramps would relieve congestion at Exits 32 and 34, and eliminate the current need for motorists to travel additional miles on local streets in heavy traffic to access the next closest interchange in Milford or the center of Stratford. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Area towns stand to gain state funds
HARTFORD — The State Bond Commission has its work cut out when it meets on Friday to review more than 40 requests for funding. Four of those agenda items, including the funding appeal for the “Beehive Bridge” project in downtown New Britain, would benefit area municipalities if approved.
Twenty-eight state school districts, through the Department of Administrative Services, have requested a bond authorization of more than $20,000,000 to finance supplemental grant-in-aid general improvements to school buildings. The city of New Britain stands to reap $23,000 from the bond commission. This round of bonding, when added to a previous allocation of more than $28.5 million, funds the $50 million initially authorized.
The Department of Transportation is seeking more than $5.3 million to complete 12 projects in its Local Bridge Program.
On the list are two upgrades in Southington — to bridges over the Eight Mile River on West Center Street Extension and over the Quinnipiac River on Spring Street. The projects carry a combined $1.6 million price tag. According to the bond commission agenda, these projects would create or retain approximately 214 construction-related jobs. Additionally, the DOT reports that state funds will be matched with about $7 million of local and other monies.
Finally, more than $2.5 million is expected to be granted to Hospital for Special Care through the Department of Public Health to acquire and implement an electronic medical records system. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Glastonbury Begins Milling, Paving Project Along New London Turnpike
GLASTONBURY – The town has started a milling and paving project along New London Turnpike.
A three-mile stretch of the road between the intersection of Hubbard Street and Neipsic Road to Main Street will be milled and then repaved over the next few weeks. Due to the high traffic counts, the work will be done from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. to avoid traffic backups in the area due to construction.
"We are trying to coordinate the milling as close to the paving as possible," Town Manager Richard J. Johnson said. "But there are two separate contractors and milling folks get very busy this time of year." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Associations representing state departments of transportation, legislatures and the nation's governors worked this month to head off a Senate appropriations provision that could potentially take away billions of dollars in already-authorized highway funds.
The groups sent joint letters to Senate and House appropriations committee leaders warning that a proposed rescission of $2.211 billion in contract authority for state DOTs, for the federal fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, could "force states to cut actual highway expenditures at a time when we need to be investing in our nation's infrastructure."
They also said the proposed fiscal 2017 rescission plus another $7.6 billion in rescissions already scheduled to hit in 2020 under the five-year FAST Act have the effect of "potentially eliminating the modest investment gains made in the FAST Act."
The May 11 letters were signed by the executive directors of the National Governors Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. The Senate passed its appropriations bill May 19 that covered Department of Transportation spending, and which contained the $2.2 billion rescission for the coming year.
AASHTO posted copies of the letters to appropriators on its FAST Act portal.
The threat facing state highway spending stems from arcane federal budget procedures, and how Congress "scores" legislation against 10-year spending projections, said AASHTO senior staff officials. But the state groups warned congressional appropriators that the rescissions issue "is not a simple and harmless budgetary maneuver." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
The groups sent joint letters to Senate and House appropriations committee leaders warning that a proposed rescission of $2.211 billion in contract authority for state DOTs, for the federal fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, could "force states to cut actual highway expenditures at a time when we need to be investing in our nation's infrastructure."
They also said the proposed fiscal 2017 rescission plus another $7.6 billion in rescissions already scheduled to hit in 2020 under the five-year FAST Act have the effect of "potentially eliminating the modest investment gains made in the FAST Act."
The May 11 letters were signed by the executive directors of the National Governors Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. The Senate passed its appropriations bill May 19 that covered Department of Transportation spending, and which contained the $2.2 billion rescission for the coming year.
AASHTO posted copies of the letters to appropriators on its FAST Act portal.
The threat facing state highway spending stems from arcane federal budget procedures, and how Congress "scores" legislation against 10-year spending projections, said AASHTO senior staff officials. But the state groups warned congressional appropriators that the rescissions issue "is not a simple and harmless budgetary maneuver." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE