NORWALK — As public input always seems contentious in major construction projects, the state Department of Transportation is trying to stay ahead of the curve on its latest Norwalk plan.
The department held its 19th informational meeting since early 2016 Wednesday night, regarding the U.S. Route 7 and Route 15 interchange, a project more than a decade in the making.
“We’re really trying to reach out to as many small groups as possible to have these informal informational meetings,” said DOT Project Manager Andy Fessenmeyer. “In the old days, we would have just had big public meetings, and that’s not always the best way to have these conversations. We’re doing the best we can to get public input, and it’s important to come out early when we really have very little done. No one can say later that we did all this work without them.”
The groups present at Wednesday’s meeting included Harbor Watch, Earthplace, the Connecticut Fund for the Environment and Save the Sound, and others with environmental concerns. The environmental groups are concerned about the water quality of the Norwalk River and the protection of wetlands and natural habitats in the watershed.
The DOT brought members of its primary consulting team, Santec, and Mark Alexander from the Office of Environmental Planning. The largest concern, it seemed, was not necessarily the impact of the interchange project, but the combined effect of several projects along the Norwalk River set to take place over the next few years. Projects include the Walk Bridge replacement project, repairs to the Yankee Doodle Bridge and the interchange.
Overhaul of the Route 7/Merritt Parkway/Main Avenue interchange has been more than a decade in the making, receiving both support and opposition.
The purpose of the project hasn’t changed — to create a full-directional interchange between U.S. Route 7 and Route 15, otherwise known as the Merritt Parkway, while maintaining access at Main Avenue to and from the parkway, according to the DOT.
As it is, motorists traveling west on the Merritt Parkway cannot exit to either the northbound or southbound Route 7 connector. Motorists driving either north or south on the connector cannot exit to the eastbound parkway.
In May 2005, the Merritt Parkway Conservancy and other preservationist groups filed a lawsuit against the Federal Highway Administration and the DOT to get the state to downsize its original design, which the groups considered too large, too costly and destructive to the parkway.
The following year, U.S. District Court in New Haven found that the Federal Highway Administration had not met its legal “obligation to ensure that all possible planning was done to minimize harm prior to approving the interchange project.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Groundbreaking set for new Oxford library
OXFORD - First a supermarket and modern shopping center and now, a new public library.
First Selectman George Temple has announced that the ground-breaking ceremony for the new library will be at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 18 on Great Oak Road. The library will be located between the Great Oak Middle School and the Quaker Farms School.
For decades, Oxford residents had hoped that a new, expanded library would replace the existing one in the basement of the Stephen B. Church Town Hall. A referendum for $3.5 million passed in November 2015 to build the 8,600-square foot library on one floor. Additional funds from benefactors and gifts totaled another $750,000.
Part of those contributions came from the estate of Miriam Strong, a longtime Oxford resident whose estate was pilfered by former Woodbury lawyer Peter M. Clark. For years, Clark used Strong’s estate as his personal checking account. When he needed money to repay other client accounts, he just reached into Strong’s while serving as its co-executor. Clark took more than $1.8 million from Strong’s estate.
Strong, an Ansonia High School graduate who spent 33 years working as a chemist for Anaconda American Brass, built an estate of $4.8 million. Unmarried, she lived in Oxford for 33 years, serving on the Republican Town Committee and the Inland Wetlands Commission. She hired Clark, a 57-year-old elder law attorney, to draft a will and serve as its co-executor. Her desire included leaving enough money to Oxford to build a library, to buy open space and create an ongoing college scholarship.
Last January, Clark was sentenced to three years and nine months in federal prison.
Montagno Construction, of Waterbury, was awarded the contract to build the library.
At a Dec. 7 a town meeting, residents approved the transfer of $250,000 to the library construction fund to allow for storage space and future expansion of library services. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
East Lyme boards begin initial review of schools project
East Lyme — Members of the education, selectmen and finance boards met Wednesday for an initial review of an estimated $35.82 million proposal to alter the town's three aging elementary schools.
Town officials asked questions about contingency funds, security upgrades, items eligible for state reimbursement and the process for overseeing construction costs at the meeting at Lillie B. Haynes School that preceded any formal votes on the proposal.
Architect Al Jacunski outlined to the officials the alterations for the three schools that include new air-conditioning systems, upgraded security and Wi-Fi, handicap-accessible bathroom fixtures and new paint, flooring, light fixtures and doors, drinking fountains and laptop carts.
The proposal includes upgrades specific to each school, including a new roof at Flanders Elementary School, a new site layout that reconfigures the drop-off area and increases parking at Lillie B. Haynes, and exterior masonry work and upgrades to the gymnasium at Niantic Center School, according to the presentation. The fish on the outside of Niantic Center School most likely will have to come down, Jacunski said.
The LEARN wing at Lillie B. Haynes will not be included in the project.
Ken Biega, assistant vice president of O&G Industries, presented conceptual design estimates that come in at $35.82 million, including contingency.
Some items have extra money built into them to accommodate potential issues that could arise during construction. For example, a high water table could pose an issue to the Lillie B. Haynes site reconfiguration, so money has been built into that item's cost estimate to accommodate the issue, if it should occur, according to Biega's presentation.
A few items, like upgrades for Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, would be eligible for some state reimbursement, according to Wednesday's presentation. A meeting is scheduled for Jan. 24 with state officials to get a clearer picture of eligible items.
The Town Building Committee would provide regular reports to town officials during construction, First Selectman Mark Nickerson said.
Board of Education Chairman Tim Hagen explained the board's rationale for maintaining three schools. He said that when the board first began planning about five years ago to renovate the schools, projections indicated that future elementary student enrollment would drop below 800 students and not support the need for three schools.
But East Lyme has started to see an uptick in both birth rates and families moving into the district, he said. Projections now indicate elementary enrollment could stand at about 1,000 students in 2022, or likely no fewer than 900 and no greater than 1,100. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Trout Brook Trail Information Meeting Jan. 17 In West Hartford
Town officials next week will host an informational meeting to discuss plans for Trout Brook Trail construction expected to take place this summer between Farmington and Asylum avenues.
The meeting is scheduled for Jan. 17 at 6 p.m. in room 400 of West Hartford Town Hall, 50 South Main St.
Civil engineer James Brennan, heading the project, told the Courant that the purpose of next week's meeting is twofold: "to provide information on what is happening, and to get input" from residents while the design process is under way.
Preliminary construction costs are estimated to be $771,000, according to town officials. Federal funding would cover $282,000, state funding would cover $368,000 and the town would fund the remaining $121,000, according to the town.
The nearly 3-and-a-half-mile trail will, at it's completion, connect the Elmwood section, near the CTfastrak, to the UConn campus in town. UConn plans to vacate the West Hartford campus in 2017 and move the Greater Hartford branch to the former Hartford Times building on Prospect Street in downtown Hartford. The future of the 58-acre West Hartford campus at Asylum Avenue and Trout Brook Drive is unclear.
The paved path would be pedestrian and bicycle-friendly. Most of the trail will be a 10-foot-wide paved surface, according to information on the town's website.Portions of the trail have already been completed; the first, from Park Road to Farmington Avenue, was completed in 2008. In 2009, New Park Avenue to Quaker Lane South was completed, and in 2015, Quaker Lane South to the opposite of Jackson Avenue was completed.
The next phase – from Farmington Avenue to Fern Street, Fern Street to Duffield Drive, and Duffield Drive to Asylum Avenue – is about 1 mile in length, Brennan said.
The section from Farmington Avenue to Fern Street runs along Trout Brook and behind a few residential yards; Fern Street to Duffield Drive runs between Trout Brook and Trout Brook Drive; Duffield Drive to Asylum Avenue runs between Trout Brook Drive and next to a few residential parcels.
Officials have sent letters to nearly 100 residents notifying them of the upcoming construction project and the informational meeting, Brennan said.
The final piece, from Jackson Avenue to Park Road, is expected to be designed in 2018. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Former Himmel Brothers site in Hamden to become mixed-use development
HAMDEN >> A long-shuttered Dixwell Avenue factory soon will undergo remediation before its renovation into apartments.
The former Himmel Brothers site at 1409 Dixwell Ave. sits on contaminated ground, according to Economic Development Director Dale Kroop, from years of dumping on the property, much like another former factory on Mather Street that was cleaned up and renovated into apartments. The developer now will do the same on Dixwell Avenue he said.“They took an old, contaminated manufacturing facility and turned it into 42 apartments,” Kroop said of the Mather Street project. “That project now generates over $30,000 a year in taxes.”That’s the plan for the Dixwell Avenue site, he said. Developer Flip Flop and Fly will pay the town $200,000 toward back taxes owed on the site, Kroop said, and pay to clean up the property to make way for a mixed-use development. The Legislative Council recently approved the agreement with the developer for the project that has been years in the making. “We have finally reached a sensible agreement to redevelop the site over time,” Kroop said. The negotiations for the agreement began in 2006, he said, “and it has worked out for the benefit all parties. Good negotiations should always strive to make all parties achieve their primary goal.” Plans for the development include 32 apartments in two smaller buildings and the renovation of the main building into retail on the first floor and apartments on the second floor. The first phase will include the construction of the two smaller buildings and will be done this year, Kroop said, and the second phase includes the renovation and expansion of the mixed-use building will be done by next year. The $4 million project is expected to result in an additional $50,000 in revenue for the town, Kroop said. Of the $4 million investment, half will go toward cleanup of the property, he said. “There are usually good reasons that these blighted properties stay that way for a long time and why taxes accrue,” he said. “They are expensive to deal with and often redevelopment can’t be achieved because of the high remediation costs alone.” Mayor Curt Balzano Leng credited Kroop and others working on the agreement with its successful conclusion. “Town officials have steadfastly worked over the past year to ensure that this property would not continue to languish in disrepair,” Leng said. “I am very pleased with these efforts.”
MassDOT's $19.9M Project Replaces Several Bridges Along I-95 in Attleboro
The project consists of demolition and replacement of the substructure and superstructure of the I-95 northbound and southbound bridges over North Avenue in Attleboro. It also calls for the building of a temporary highway in the median of I-95 and over North Avenue to shift the traffic during two accelerated windows for the replacement of the bridges. Other scope of work includes the installation of a noise barrier including drilled shafts, widening of the southbound highway and utility relocations.
MassDOT District 5 awarded J.F. White Contracting's civil division the contract for the Attleboro Bridge Replacement project in July 2016. Work is expected to be complete by the spring of 2018.
Challenges with the project include maintaining three lanes of highway traffic in both directions of travel, coordinating work with adjacent contracts, demolishing and replacing the existing bridges within the time limits set in the contract, and maintaining traffic along North Avenue during the construction of the bridges.
One unique aspect of the job is that the contractor will be using an earth backfilled arch bridge as their choice for a temporary bridge. The contract uses accelerated bridge techniques during the construction of the bridges. By moving one direction of traffic into the median there is little disruption to highway traffic.
Major subcontractors for the job include Walsh Construction for earth work, J. R. Vinagro Corp. for clearing and grubbing and demolition, and Highway Safety Solutions Inc. for signage, traffic barriers, and pavement markings.
The length of the project with the temporary median road is just less than 1 mi. A total of 85,000 cu. yds. (64,987 cu m) of fill will be placed for the temporary median road, and the job will include 8,400 sq. ft. (780.4 sq m) of prefabricated bridge units and 37,740 sq. ft. (3,506 sq m) of noise barrier.
According to MassDOT, the proposed work for both bridges will consist of removing the existing bridge superstructures and substructure and replacing with new superstructures and substructure complete with new decks and barriers. The new superstructures will accommodate three lanes of traffic in their respective directions. The new structures will not feature sidewalks.
Four highway guardrail transitions will be located at the corners of each bridge, and approximately 100 ft. (30.5 m) of the existing approach roadways will be milled and paved on both sides of the bridges. CEG