WINDSOR LOCKS >> The Connecticut Airport Authority says its new transportation center at Bradley International Airport will not include a proposed tribal casino.
Kevin Dillon, the authority’s executive director, said Wednesday that it’s become clear that the timeline of any potential development of the casino would not be compatible with the $225 million transportation center’s construction schedule. But the authority says it wants to discuss other potential casino sites on the airport property.The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribal nations hope to open a jointly owned satellite casino in north central Connecticut to compete with MGM Resorts International’s planned casino in Springfield, Massachusetts. The tribes say they’re pleased the authority wants to continue what they call a critically important conversation by suggesting other locations on the property.
Neighborhood Leaders Push For School Board Vote On Hartford's Weaver High
HARTFORD — Neighborhood leaders in north Hartford say they are concerned about the state of the $100 million Weaver High School renovation after the city school board postponed a key vote to next month.The latest holdup will cost the project roughly $200,000 for the first month of the delay, said John Motley, chairman of the Hartford school building committee. Weaver's projected re-opening had already been pushed to fall 2019, a year later than expected, after a slowdown in the spring.
"We're dancing on a timeline," city Council President TJ Clarke II said at a community meeting this week. "There is a decision that needs to be made immediately. That's the bottom line. You either want to go down the path that's been outlined, or we need to make a decision collectively to not build the school. That's just how it is."
Demolition is underway at the prison-like Weaver building in the city's Blue Hills neighborhood. Built in 1974 for more than 2,000 students, the southern side of Weaver now looks like a bombed-out, skeletal version of its former self. Crews were on site this week as a rattling, robotic jackhammer chipped away at the top level five stories high, debris crashing down with a thud. The Blue Hills Civic Association, a group that has been advocating Weaver's overhaul for years, has hopes that the school that has long languished on Granby Street will be transformed into an academically rigorous, gleaming "crown jewel" that will allow city students to benefit from a partnership with neighboring University of Hartford. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUEAirport Authority Withdraws Prime Site At Bradley For Casino, Interest Remains
WINDSOR LOCKS — The Connecticut Airport Authority has withdrawn the prime site at Bradley International Airport for a potential casino, but the authority said Wednesday it is not abandoning efforts to bring a gaming venue to the airport.
Kevin Dillon, the authority's executive director, told the authority's board members Wednesday that the top location — a new, $225 million transportation center at the entrance to the airport — has been taken out of contention. Planning for the new casino by the tribes operating Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun is taking longer than expected, Dillon said.
The authority said it cannot wait any longer to begin designing the transportation center — a hub for rental cars and mass transit vehicles — if construction is to get underway in 2018, already later than the 2017 groundbreaking that was originally expected.
"Unfortunately, because of some of the delay that has been incurred in terms of moving this forward and getting legislative approval, it is not matching up with our time frame," Dillon said. "We are starting design on that project right now, and without understanding which way that is going to go, it is very difficult to start designing."
The Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans have formed a joint venture, known as MMCT, to pursue a third casino in the Hartford area. The "satellite" casino is aimed at lessening the impact on Connecticut from a casino and entertainment complex being built in Springfield by MGM Resorts International. The tribes said in a joint statement Wednesday that they were encouraged that the airport authority was still interested in a casino at the airport. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
WEST HAVEN >> The City Council and the Redevelopment Agency, in back-to-back special meetings Wednesday, both approved amendments to the development agreement with The Haven Group that the city’s lawyer said does not affect the project itself.
The council also approved the previously-planned sale of four properties within the project area to The Haven Group, developer of The Haven proposed upscale outlet mall. The sales are scheduled to close Thursday. Sale of the properties, which include 1.14 acres at 16 Elm St.; 0.5 acre at 70 Water St.; 7 Richards Place; and 3 Richard Place; will net the city a total of $402,500 — coming at the very end of the fiscal year when the city’s finances are at their tightest.The four properties were sold for $250,000 for 16 Elm St.; $110,000 for 70 Water St.; $21,500 for 7 Richards Place; and $21,000 for 3 Richards Place, according to information released by the city.They will join the 4.13-acre 105 Water St. parcel that was sold to The Haven Group LLC of Dallas on June 23, 2015. The one “substantive change” to the development agreement resulted from the extra time the city asked the developer to put into negotiating property acquisition to try to avoid eminent domain proceedings with the remaining holdouts, lawyer Gary B. O’Connor of Pullman & Comley told the City Council. Because that change put the developer off its development schedule, the city has agreed to waive its right to do a complete “due diligence” environmental assessment on the properties it is selling to The Haven Group. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
I-84 project's first bridge
WATERBURY — The first bridge scheduled to be finished on the Interstate 84 reconstruction project will have its concrete deck poured next week The bridge will carry the new Exit 25 eastbound off-ramp — which shifts south of its current location — over the Mad River. It's located adjacent to the mainline I-84, across from Hamilton Park. At 154 feet long and 29.26 feet wide, it's the smallest of eight highway bridges that are being built or reconstructed as part of the project. The state Department of Transportation and its contractor, I-84 Constructors, chose to complete the smallest bridge first to give workers a chance to become familiar with the process before moving onto bridges that are several times its size. The complex task of pouring 8.5 inches of concrete over the 4,500-square-foot bridge deck will occur over five to six hours. A total of 135 cubic yards of concrete will be used. The concrete will be poured on a series of stay-in-place forms, with ribs to increase their strength. The rib voids will be filled with plastic foam to prevent them from filling with concrete — which would weigh down the deck and do nothing to strengthen the bridge, said Project Engineer Christopher Zukowski, of the state Department of Transportation. The forms sit across steel girders, which contain shear studs and rebar that strengthen the concrete and help it bond to the steel. The concrete will be infused with 62,000 pounds of rebar. "Concrete is strong in compression and weak in tension," Zukowski said. "When the concrete is in tension, it wants to pull apart, but the rebar holds it in place and provides the strength." As the fluid, or plastic, concrete is poured, a screed equipped with drums that spin will set the concrete to prescribed elevations. Bright yellow screeds will run along rails on both sides of the deck Workers will stand on wooden platforms and use bull floats to manipulate the concrete to a smooth finish. They will provide optimal curing conditions by using moist burlap covers, soaker hoses and a misting fog spray. The concrete must cure at the same rate to prevent cracking. Chemical retarders will be mixed into the first half of the pour to delay the curing process, allowing the entire bridge deck to be poured and cure at the same time. The concrete will continue to cure for 28 days. "If it cures too fast, it could affect the overall strength and longevity of the bridge deck," Zukowski said. "You really want all concrete on the deck to cure at the same time."
Overhang brackets hold plywood along the outskirts of the bridge and will keep the concrete in place as it cures. Once the cure is finished, the brackets and plywood will be removed. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
The council also approved the previously-planned sale of four properties within the project area to The Haven Group, developer of The Haven proposed upscale outlet mall. The sales are scheduled to close Thursday. Sale of the properties, which include 1.14 acres at 16 Elm St.; 0.5 acre at 70 Water St.; 7 Richards Place; and 3 Richard Place; will net the city a total of $402,500 — coming at the very end of the fiscal year when the city’s finances are at their tightest.The four properties were sold for $250,000 for 16 Elm St.; $110,000 for 70 Water St.; $21,500 for 7 Richards Place; and $21,000 for 3 Richards Place, according to information released by the city.They will join the 4.13-acre 105 Water St. parcel that was sold to The Haven Group LLC of Dallas on June 23, 2015. The one “substantive change” to the development agreement resulted from the extra time the city asked the developer to put into negotiating property acquisition to try to avoid eminent domain proceedings with the remaining holdouts, lawyer Gary B. O’Connor of Pullman & Comley told the City Council. Because that change put the developer off its development schedule, the city has agreed to waive its right to do a complete “due diligence” environmental assessment on the properties it is selling to The Haven Group. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
I-84 project's first bridge
WATERBURY — The first bridge scheduled to be finished on the Interstate 84 reconstruction project will have its concrete deck poured next week The bridge will carry the new Exit 25 eastbound off-ramp — which shifts south of its current location — over the Mad River. It's located adjacent to the mainline I-84, across from Hamilton Park. At 154 feet long and 29.26 feet wide, it's the smallest of eight highway bridges that are being built or reconstructed as part of the project. The state Department of Transportation and its contractor, I-84 Constructors, chose to complete the smallest bridge first to give workers a chance to become familiar with the process before moving onto bridges that are several times its size. The complex task of pouring 8.5 inches of concrete over the 4,500-square-foot bridge deck will occur over five to six hours. A total of 135 cubic yards of concrete will be used. The concrete will be poured on a series of stay-in-place forms, with ribs to increase their strength. The rib voids will be filled with plastic foam to prevent them from filling with concrete — which would weigh down the deck and do nothing to strengthen the bridge, said Project Engineer Christopher Zukowski, of the state Department of Transportation. The forms sit across steel girders, which contain shear studs and rebar that strengthen the concrete and help it bond to the steel. The concrete will be infused with 62,000 pounds of rebar. "Concrete is strong in compression and weak in tension," Zukowski said. "When the concrete is in tension, it wants to pull apart, but the rebar holds it in place and provides the strength." As the fluid, or plastic, concrete is poured, a screed equipped with drums that spin will set the concrete to prescribed elevations. Bright yellow screeds will run along rails on both sides of the deck Workers will stand on wooden platforms and use bull floats to manipulate the concrete to a smooth finish. They will provide optimal curing conditions by using moist burlap covers, soaker hoses and a misting fog spray. The concrete must cure at the same rate to prevent cracking. Chemical retarders will be mixed into the first half of the pour to delay the curing process, allowing the entire bridge deck to be poured and cure at the same time. The concrete will continue to cure for 28 days. "If it cures too fast, it could affect the overall strength and longevity of the bridge deck," Zukowski said. "You really want all concrete on the deck to cure at the same time."
Overhang brackets hold plywood along the outskirts of the bridge and will keep the concrete in place as it cures. Once the cure is finished, the brackets and plywood will be removed. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE