WALLINGFORD — One year after work began to replace the East Center Street bridge, officials say the project is on track to be completed by its original target date of November 2018.
Project engineer Anil Sehgal said crews will begin tearing down and rebuilding the existing 103-year-old bridge in the next couple of weeks.
Work on the “structurally deficient” bridge, located next to Vinny’s Deli at 567 Center St. (Route 150), began on April 1 last year, according to the state Department of Transportation.
Route 150 is a state highway, so the state is responsible for bridge maintenance.Before bridge construction could start, utility infrastructure in the area had to be removed and relocated or, in some cases, replaced. The utilities included underground water mains, sewage pipes and overhead poles and wires.
Work still needs to be done to remove underground fiber optics, Sehgal said, which could take “several weeks, if not several months.”
“There are a lot of utilities going through Center Street,” said Sehgal, from the state Department of Transportation. “The utility work was quite cumbersome.”
The bridge will be replaced in two sections to maintain traffic. Beginning this month, the north half of the bridge will be removed and replaced, which Sehgal said will be finished by the end of this year. The south half will be replaced next year.
Two-way traffic will be diverted to the south side of the bridge during construction. Sehgal said two-way traffic will be maintained except in “very rare” cases when there will be one-way alternating traffic.
At the request of the town, Sehgal and supervising engineer Dan Stafko, also from the DOT, updated the Town Council on Tuesday.
Sehgal said there is no reason to believe the project will not be completed by November 2018.
The state contracted with C.J. Fucci, a company based in New Haven, to do the bridge work.
There is no incentive clause in the state’s contract with C.J. Fucci contingent on the project’s completion by November 2018, Sehgal said. But the state still maintains some contractual rights to recover costs if the project is late, he said.
The work has cost just under $4 million, according to the DOT.
The project “is taking longer than anyone wants it to take” due to the necessary utility work, Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. said.
Several nearby residents and businesses owners have expressed frustration over the timetable as well as the traffic disruptions. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
SOUTHINGTON — Town officials are planning to replace the bridge over the Quinnipiac River on Spring Street, work that could begin in two years.
The bridge, built in 1960, crosses the river near Light Metals Coloring, 270 Spring St.
Paul Champagne, Public Works Committee chairman, said the bridge is considered safe for travel by the state Department of Transportation, but it needs repairs because of aging.
Champagne said the project has been in planning stages for about a year. Public Works Director Keith Hayden said the town initially expected a 48 percent reimbursement from the state for renovations to the bridge. But designers found the bridge footings are susceptible in a severe flood, requiring a rebuilding of the entire bridge. While that increased the cost from $1.7 million to $3.3 million, it made the town eligible for 80 percent federal reimbursement “Even though the bridge is more expensive, we end up paying less,” Hayden said.
The additional work also means the town must restart the design and planning process to comply with federal guidelines.
Town Manager Garry Brumback said residents are encouraged to contact the engineering department at 860-276-6231 with questions or concerns about the Spring Street project.
The busy road will likely be reduced to one lane while construction is underway. The town has provided detours during the replacement of other bridges but Champagne said that’s probably not practical in this case.
“Spring Street is a very busy street so it would be almost impossible to close that off,” he said.
If the project goes forward, design work will begin next year with construction following in a year or two.
Champagne said with 80 percent federal funding available, the town should replace the bridge. He said the committee is making an effort to maintain steady progress on bridges and other building projects that he feels have been been neglected for years.
“You have to just keep going at it,” Champagne said.
This spring, work will begin on replacing another aging bridge on West Street Extension bridge. It was given a higher priority than Spring Street because it was in worse shape.
“(Spring Street) is not as bad as the West Center Street is,” Champagne said.
The state Department of Transportation is starting this spring a two-year project to improve the southbound structure and is planning for a later overhaul of the northbound span that calls for replacing the entire deck.
The southbound project is slated to begin April 17, weather permitting. Construction work mostly will take place during the day and will entail lane closures and the installation of Jersey barriers along the length of the bridge.
Southbound
Components of the bridge's southbound span, built in 1973 with a rehabilitation project done in the 1990s, need repairs after being exposed to salt, debris and traffic over the past quarter century, according to DOT engineers. The work is expected to preserve the bridge for the next 25 years.
Keith Schoppe, the project engineer for DOT, described the $30 million construction work as a "classic rehabilitation project on a large scale," as the Gold Star Bridge, spanning a mile, is the longest bridge in the state.
The project will entail stripping off the deck's asphalt and waterproofing membrane to get down to the concrete, which will be inspected using a "hands-on" approach to detect any deteriorating areas, engineers said. Deteriorating areas then will be patched up.
The project further calls for replacing the bridge's modular deck joints, which allow the bridge to expand and contract as needed. A new higher-tech waterproofing system will be applied and the deck will be repaved, engineers said. Steel will be repaired and replaced as needed, and the bridge's substructure also will be patched up, they said. The replacement of signs, navigation lights and the Route 32 northbound connector ramp are among other components of the project.
The contract was awarded to Mohawk Northeast Inc., according to Schoppe. DOT anticipates the southbound work will be finished by fall 2018.
Construction will take place in multiple stages, with Jersey barriers sealing off work zones on the bridge. DOT plans to work on the left side of the southbound bridge for the first half of the project, and then work on the right side of the southbound bridge.
The DOT plans to keep four of the five southbound lanes open during the start of the project and over the busy summer months from Memorial Day to Labor Day, according to Robert E. Obey, district engineer for DOT's District 2 Construction. Three lanes will be open at all other times.
For the first phase of construction, the bridge will be reduced from five 12-foot lanes and wider shoulders down to four 11-foot lanes with narrower shoulders, Obey said. A Jersey barrier will be installed on the left side along the entire length of the bridge. After Labor Day, the barrier will be shifted over, and the bridge will be reduced to three lanes.
Schoppe said most of the construction work will take place during the day.
Obey said DOT typically aims to conduct most of its highway repairs at night, but it would have been challenging to do the project with temporary nighttime lane closures, given the extent of the work needed. The barriers will allow DOT to extend work hours, work in multiple locations on the bridge at the same time, and make it safer for workers and drivers, he said.
DOT also temporarily may close some lanes at night as needed during parts of the project, Obey said. DOT said it will announce lane closures to the public in advance. Warning signs will alert drivers to lane shifts.
The sidewalk across the deck will be maintained and remain open for most of the project, though periodic closures will be required, engineers said.
Northbound
The northbound span, built in the 1940s, about 30 years earlier than the southbound span, needs more extensive work, according to DOT engineers. Work, estimated to cost more than $200 million and with a tentative start date of spring 2018, will include the replacement of the entire bridge deck and strengthening and upgrading steel.
The northbound span is built of structural steel that is outdated compared to today's standards, Obey said. The bridge will be upgraded to accommodate today's vehicles and loads, he said; the old steel will be sandwiched between plates of stronger steel, and steel that has been water damaged will be repaired. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Group submits proposal to turn Lambert Kay into shops, galleries, business offices
WINSTED >> Parker Benjamin Real Estate Services has submitted a proposal to acquire the Lambert Kay property at 32 Lake St.and turn the existing building there into shops and apartments, according to Town Manager Robert Geiger and the company’s managing broker, Brian Lyman.
The Unionville and Charleston, South Carolina-based organization was the sole respondent to a request for a proposals issued by the town, Geiger said Wednesday. Geiger briefed the Board of Selectmen on the proposal in March, but did not disclose the name of the interested party at that time.The group has not submitted a price for purchasing the property, Geiger said, but is interested in acquiring it. Lyman said Wednesday that the company is seeking to construct a mix of shops, galleries, offices and a restaurant on the property, which previously was a pet grooming supply factory. “We’ve been looking to acquire an old vacant mill building in Winsted for a couple years now,” said Lyman. Geiger said Wednesday that has met with representatives of the group, but, in a continuation of the process he discussed with the Board of Selectmen in March, remains in the process of vetting the proposal. “We have to make sure they’re real, have the money, have integrity,” said Geiger. The group previously restored two former mill buildings in Unionville, according to Lyman and documentation detailing the group’s interest in the Lambert Kay site. Lyman said one of the former mill buildings had been turned into apartments, while another became a series of shops. He said he visited Winsted to see the former pet grooming facility, and found it in typical shape for a former mill building. The location of the building near the intersection of Route 8 and Route 44 — which provides access to Litchfield County and the Berkshires — the makeup of the community itself, including the growth of Northwestern Connecticut Community College; and the proximity to the Mad River was attractive as the group considered responding to the request, Lyman said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Top Misconceptions About the Construction Industry
There are a number of misconceptions about the construction industry today. Despite being a highly skilled trade that's growing increasingly diverse and presenting an abundance of advancement opportunities, some often think of construction as a male-dominated industry with little room to move higher up the chain. Let's explore these and other misconceptions about construction.
It's Exclusively for Men
Although the construction industry is filled predominantly with males, the number of females in the industry continues to grow. From 1985 to 2007 there was an 81.3 percent increase in the number of women employed in construction. Women continue to serve pivotal roles in the administrative, professional, production and managerial fields of the industry especially.
More specific areas of construction have seen even more women lead in the field. Women comprise 18 percent of architect and 17.5 percent of civil, architectural and sanitary engineer. While males still make up the vast majority of workers in these fields, the number of women continues to grow. Excelling in the construction industry isn't gender-based. The skills sought after include endurance, agility, quick thinking, coordination and balance, all attributes non-specific to a certain gender.
The Workforce Is Uneducated
The construction industry is filled with mentally demanding tasks that require a good degree of education and sense. The construction workforce is generally highly educated, especially in regard to their field, with many construction employers aiding in a recognized development graduate program. When you consider many construction sites are dealing with multi-million dollar projects, there's little doubt those with pivotal roles are educated.
One reason the construction industry's workforce continues to become more educated each year is the willingness of employers to sponsor undergraduates while they pursue a degree or accreditation. For example, McAllister CAT provides great benefits to employees, including tuition reimbursement and profit sharing.
Compared to many cutthroat industries that treat employees like numbers, rather than individuals full of passion and potential, the construction industry clearly values education — often to the point of employers paying out of pocket to ensure a future employee receives training.
The Industry Isn't Lucrative
The construction industry offers many high-earning opportunities. A number of positions and niches have significant salaries, well above the average. Elevator installers and repairers, for example, make an average of $80,870 per year.
Similarly, there are fairly accessible and frequently open positions like a construction equipment who makes an average of $43,810 per year, with on-the-job training or a vocational school often being the only requirements. This is a good salary for an entry-level position no matter the field, especially for someone who opts to pursue the trade instead of dealing with university-related student debt for decades. Many recent graduates with a college degree struggle to find a reliable position with a similar salary that has room to rise up the ladder. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE