BETHEL - The school district plans to apply for money from the state next June to renovate the Johnson and Rockwell elementary schools, projects that have been discussed for years. A previous study of the projects put the potential price tag at $80 million.
Superintendent Christine Carver said the schools are in dire need of improvements. Johnson, the school for fourth and fifth graders, was built 36 years ago, while Rockwell, the school for Kindergarten through third grade, was built 45 years ago.
“The conditions within the buildings are very challenging,” she said. “Rockwell School is not big enough to house the population of students that it has currently. You have multiple specialists sharing spaces, you have lack of storage abilities, and the general condition of the building is just deteriorating drastically. And the same with Johnson. The only difference is that in Johnson they don’t necessarily have the same space issues that Rockwell does.”
Officials have not nailed down exactly what changes will be made to the schools, but the plan is to renovate them to be as good as “new.”
“It would be like, you can imagine, you’re in a house that’s falling apart and you renovate your house as new,” she said. “It’s conceptually the same thing. So all of a sudden now you’re in a space that from an educational perspective is a better environment for our children.”
The town wants to send the project to voters for approval in September 2017.
The district conducted feasibility studies in 2010 and 2013 to see about renovating Rockwell and Johnson, but plans were delayed as the town focused on approval for a new police station. Enrollment has since increased, so the district conducted another feasibility study this year.
Officials will not know the total cost of the project until they pick an architect and make construction plans, but the the estimated cost in 2013 was nearly $80 million, Carver said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Board approves study for Centre Square road
BRISTOL — The Board of Finance Wednesday approved $200,000 for an engineering study on an roadway through Centre Square that the city hopes will pave the way for development there.
“Bristol Hospital counts on an internal roadway to a parking garage,” Public Works Director, Walt Veselka explained to the board, adding that the property has been divided into three parcels: one for Bristol Hospital, the second for “a second party looking to purchase,” and a third that has not yet been determined.
“We are to a point with one potential party to approach the downtown committee and eventually the City Council,” said Bristol Development Authority Director Justin Malley.
The roadway is expected to cost $1.5 million to construct with utilities and sewer included. The additional $500,000 is needed for “streetscape improvements, to create a livable community, not just moving traffic,” Veselka said.
Malley added that building the roadway would be similar to what the city did with the Southeast Business Park. The city built the street first.
Now the business park is occupied with some business, others are building, and sales are progressing for many of the remaining parcels.
“This is our responsibility to step up. We have commitments as municipalities,” Malley said before the meeting. “We don’t know a ton about Centre Square. We’re essentially taking care of our own commitments before construction can begin.”
Also, Bristol Hospital officials have said they are slated to have final plans by late fall.
“Everything is on a fast track with Bristol Hospital,” Veselka said.
“Board of Finance Chairwoman Cheryl Thibeault asked what if Bristol Hospital backed out.
“The roadway is always going to be needed,” Malley answered.
“The appropriation shows a solid commitment by the city to all developers,” said Mayor Ken Cockayne.
Bristol Hospital has committed to building the parking structure, Veselka said.
The board also unanimously approved to move the item to the joint Board of Finance and City Council meeting.
Also, it unanimously approved a motion to retain Milone & MacBroom as engineers for the project. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
I-95 congestion ‘less than expected’ so far
Waterford — Just less than halfway in to the 34-hour, construction-related closure of one lane of Interstate 95 north, workers under the bridge over Oil Mill Road reported seeing a traffic volume that’s been “less than expected.”
About 11 a.m., John Deliberto, who’s managing the project to replace the bridge’s elements, said things were “right on schedule,” too.
“We’re just hoping everything continues as it’s been going,” Deliberto said.
The 34-hour closure of the left lane of I-95 north, which began Monday at 8 p.m., is one of three such closures that will take place in the coming months.
During each closure, workers on site will remove one section of the old bridge and slide into place a new, pre-manufactured section.
As of 5 p.m. on Tuesday, traffic backed up on I-95 north from the Oil Mill Road exit to about one-half mile south of Exit 75. Motorists crawled steadily along toward the construction, however.
On state routes 1 and 156, traffic continued to flow smoothly with few interruptions.
This week, it’s the left lane of the northbound bridge that’s affected. Next week, it’ll be the right lane. In October, the bridge portions supporting both southbound lanes will be swapped on dates yet to be determined.
The $5 million project, which began in March, uses a method called Accelerated Bridge Construction. It’s considered less disruptive and faster than more traditional bridge replacement practices.
Even so, last week, state Department of Transportation officials warned that traffic could back up to the Raymond E. Baldwin Bridge — 10 miles away from the Oil Mill Road bridge — during the closure.
Just before 11 a.m., traffic was slowing to a near-halt at Exit 73, the Society Road exit, in East Lyme. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Bronin rejects Yard Goats owner's offer to finance Hartford ballpark completion
The owner of the Hartford Yard Goats has told the city of Hartford in writing that he would help finance completion of Dunkin' Donuts Park so the team can have a home next season.
But Mayor Luke Bronin rebuffed the offer, saying he wants Arch Insurance, the firm that guaranteed completion of the stadium, to continue its investigation of the ballpark construction and provide the remaining funds needed to complete the project.
First reported by WNPR, the loan team owner Josh Solomon told the Hartford Business Journal he'd make is based on an estimate the city has about $4 million in capital remaining and may need several million more to finish the work. Solomon says he's offered to loan the remainder necessary and do "whatever it takes" to finish building the ballpark so it is ready for the 2017 season.
The much-anticipated but unfinished home ballpark for the Double-A minor league affiliate has been in limbo since the city fired the developers, Centerplan Construction Co. and its subsidiary, DoNo Hartford LLC, in June. Centerplan sued the city and Solomon mid-summer. The Centerplan and the city lawsuit is in mediation.
The Yard Goats players, who have aspirations of gravitating to the major leagues, have been on the road continuously, Solomon said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
DOT Takes To The Air To Inspect New London Bridge
NEW LONDON — After examining sections of the towering Gold Star Bridge with a drone-mounted camera Tuesday, engineers hope to know within days whether Connecticut could use technology to perform some bridge inspections in the future.
If the experiment succeeds, the state could have a way to inspect some bridges more quickly, safely and inexpensively - and with fewer traffic backups — than it does now, according to the Department of Transportation With drones being used for tasks from mapping forest fires to scouting for sharks off beachfronts, the DOT is studying whether they could help inspect the state's highway bridges. The DOT emphasizes that drones wouldn't replace hands-on inspections, but might be able to handle some of the costlier and harder parts of the job.
"Is this something that's going to take over the role of people? Absolutely not," DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick said as contractors flew a drone along the underside of the Gold Star's northbound span. "But on the larger bridges, we could do some of the work faster."
On Tuesday, Tom Tilotson of Exponent Technology Services remotely guided an Align drone through a flight to photograph sections of the truss work on the Gold Star. Watching from a monitor on the ground, a senior inspector from Middletown-based AI Engineers guided Tilotson to shift angles or position to provide the best possible view for the high-resolution camera. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
CANTON — The finance board on Monday approved spending $3.8 million for a new highway garage, although some members said they are worried paying for the project could mean cuts to town and school budgets in the future.
The proposal now goes to the board of selectmen, which must schedule a referendum. That may be scheduled when the selectmen meet Wednesday night. Town officials are pushing to have the referendum on Election Day in November.
First Selectmen Leslee Hill told the finance board she has talked to leaders of the North Canton Volunteer Fire Company about having the town take over the fire station on Cherry Brook Road, which the fire company owns. If that happens, the town would then assume the debt the fire company incurred to construct the facility.
Meanwhile, a consultant is assessing the fire station in Collinsville and a report should be done by the winter. Skinner said he anticipates the consultant will recommend expanding or rebuilding that fire station. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Massachusetts to launch open-road tolling system on turnpike in October
BOSTON – The Massachusetts Turnpike’s new open-road tolling system is expected to go live Oct. 28 and could increase costs for some drivers under a proposed new rate system, state transportation officials said Monday.
Under the new system, 24 toll plazas along the 138-mile highway from Boston to the New York border will be torn down and replaced by 16 gantries that arch over the highway and electronically charge vehicles with E-ZPass transponders without requiring them to stop or slow down.
For those without transponders, the system will take pictures of their license plates and send bills to their vehicles’ registered owners.
The amount of money drivers pay would depend upon where they enter and exit the stretch of Interstate 90 under a toll proposal under consideration. Some trips would cost more, some less.
State officials say it’s not a toll hike because overall toll collections would not significantly change.
“This is a rate-setting process designed to address how we are collecting the same amount of tolls in a different set of locations,” state Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack said. “We were not favoring any region of the state.”
A series of public meetings is scheduled before the new tolling system is voted on.
The proposal also calls for Massachusetts drivers with transponders to pay less than out-of-state drivers with transponders.
The goal of the new tolling system is to reduce congestion, pollution, toll plaza accidents and commute times.
“It’s about public safety, it’s about air quality and it’s about congestion,” state Highway Administrator Tom Tinlin said.
Once the system goes live, the state will start dismantling the toll plazas, which could cause travel delays, officials said. Road work connected to the project is expected to last until the end of 2017.
The change is expected to net the state Department of Transportation about $33 million less in personnel costs. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
The proposal now goes to the board of selectmen, which must schedule a referendum. That may be scheduled when the selectmen meet Wednesday night. Town officials are pushing to have the referendum on Election Day in November.
Monday night's vote by the finance board was unanimous and members said the project is vitally important to the town. But they also said it could mean cutting town and school operating budgets in future years to offset the expense while also minimizing tax increases.
"We either raise taxes or make cuts and if we make cuts we need to make that known to voters," finance board member Richard Eickenhorst said. "People should know how the finance board is going to cover this new debt." Finance board members also asked town officials about other major construction projects that may come up in the future. Chief Administrative Officer Robert Skinner said a proposal for the town's three fire stations is likely.First Selectmen Leslee Hill told the finance board she has talked to leaders of the North Canton Volunteer Fire Company about having the town take over the fire station on Cherry Brook Road, which the fire company owns. If that happens, the town would then assume the debt the fire company incurred to construct the facility.
Meanwhile, a consultant is assessing the fire station in Collinsville and a report should be done by the winter. Skinner said he anticipates the consultant will recommend expanding or rebuilding that fire station. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Massachusetts to launch open-road tolling system on turnpike in October
BOSTON – The Massachusetts Turnpike’s new open-road tolling system is expected to go live Oct. 28 and could increase costs for some drivers under a proposed new rate system, state transportation officials said Monday.
Under the new system, 24 toll plazas along the 138-mile highway from Boston to the New York border will be torn down and replaced by 16 gantries that arch over the highway and electronically charge vehicles with E-ZPass transponders without requiring them to stop or slow down.
For those without transponders, the system will take pictures of their license plates and send bills to their vehicles’ registered owners.
The amount of money drivers pay would depend upon where they enter and exit the stretch of Interstate 90 under a toll proposal under consideration. Some trips would cost more, some less.
State officials say it’s not a toll hike because overall toll collections would not significantly change.
“This is a rate-setting process designed to address how we are collecting the same amount of tolls in a different set of locations,” state Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack said. “We were not favoring any region of the state.”
A series of public meetings is scheduled before the new tolling system is voted on.
The proposal also calls for Massachusetts drivers with transponders to pay less than out-of-state drivers with transponders.
The goal of the new tolling system is to reduce congestion, pollution, toll plaza accidents and commute times.
“It’s about public safety, it’s about air quality and it’s about congestion,” state Highway Administrator Tom Tinlin said.
Once the system goes live, the state will start dismantling the toll plazas, which could cause travel delays, officials said. Road work connected to the project is expected to last until the end of 2017.
The change is expected to net the state Department of Transportation about $33 million less in personnel costs. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE