DARIEN — Construction on Noroton Heights Train Station platforms has begun, leading to changes for commuters.
Phase one and two of the $6.27 million state-funded project, which will see the replacement of the platforms on either side of the Noroton Heights tracks, is scheduled to continue through November 2017 and will result in minor inconveniences for commuters, according to Director of Public Works Edward Gentile. Work got underway on March 27.
One such inconvenience includes a loss of 20 parking spaces on the south side of the tracks during the first two phases of construction.
“That is the worst impact during this project,” Gentile said, at a Monday, April 3 meeting of the Board of Selectmen.
However, because the state decided to change their plans — which at first involved trucking in prefab platforms, which required a high volume of large vehicles — to a less invasive procedure in which the concrete will be poured on site, Gentile said further headaches for commuters may be avoided. “Since they’re pouring in place, that eliminated a need for 20 additional spaces,” Gentile explained.
Phases three and four of the project are expected to begin after a winter shut down in April 2018. Completion of the project, being undertaken by Manafort Brothers of Plainfield, is estimated for November 2018.
Bids for Stamford school project nearly $17M over budget
STAMFORD — A trade association is calling on the city to amend an agreement requiring organized labor for the build-out of the New School at Strawberry Hill after just two bids were received.
The bids also exceeded estimates by nearly $17 million, each coming in at roughly $66 million.
Associated Builders and Contractors of Connecticut blamed the union-only project labor agreement, known as PLA, for the lack of competition and cost overruns.
“If Stamford wants to attract more competitive bids and bring the project back on budget, they should remove the PLA from the job and rebid the project immediately,” Chris Syrek, CT ABC’s president, said in a news release.
“PLAs are discriminatory contracts designed to discourage open competition and ensure that only union contractors bid on the project,” he wrote. “There are zero non-union bids on this job and now Stamford taxpayers will be left holding the bill for a school that is over budget. Proposals for the third — and costliest — phase of the project were due March 31. It’s part of an estimated $77 million expansion of the “New School at 200 Strawberry Hill,” an interdistrict, magnet school that opened last fall as an extension of Rogers’ International Baccalaureate program.
The project, which is partially funded by a state grant, involves construction of a new wing south of the main building designed to house classrooms, offices, a gym, cafeteria and media center.
It’s not clear whether the city plans to negotiate with the existing bidders, cut items from the budget or seek additional funding to increase the project’s budget.
Mayor David Martin acknowledged in a statement Tuesday afternoon that the bids are “substantially higher” than the cost estimate.
“We remain committed to this project and are already working to bring the bid numbers in line with our available funds,” he said. “There are several different steps we are considering. Right now, we are carefully analyzing the bids as well as our cost estimate to determine what factors might account for the differential. Once we have additional details and information, we will make a determination about how to proceed.”
According to a document obtained by The Advocate, a bid by OBG Industries came in at $65.6 million and another by Bismark Construction came in just short of $70 million. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Construction phase to begin for Ledyard school renovation projects
Ledyard — The committee tasked with managing the town's $65 million school renovation projects has begun verifying the bid packages for Ledyard Middle School and Gallup Hill School after receiving them in March.
Overall, Permanent Municipal Building Committee Chairman Steven Juskiewicz said, the bids have come in lower than the cost estimate and construction is on schedule to begin soon.
"Things are good fiscally but we're less than 1 percent into the construction period ... there's a long way to go," he said.
So far, six bid packages have been awarded, so both sites can be prepared to allow construction to begin this summer.
The rest still are being examined by the construction manager through a process called scoping, which determines whether the construction specifications match what the committee selected and if the contractors are qualified.
Once all of the bids have been examined, construction manager O&G Industries will determine a guaranteed maximum price, not to be exceeded unless there are major changes in the scope of the project. Because the committee chose a "construction manager at-risk" contract method, any escalation in costs above the maximum price are the responsibility of O&G unless the town wants to make big changes.
Since the bids came in lower than the committee and O&G had estimated, the company is able to hold more money in contingency in case something unforeseen comes up.
One bid package, with security features like CCTV and alarms, did not receive a response but Juskiewicz said the town should have no problem getting companies interested when it sends out the package again.
He will inform councilors and the Board of Education when O&G finishes its calculations, which he estimated will be done in two weeks.
The legislature still needs to vote on a school construction bill that will approve the town's roughly 62.86 percent reimbursement. The town is eligible for extra money to cover interest incurred on its loans due to delays during the state budget process last year.
Dates for the groundbreaking ceremony have been set for April 21 at Ledyard Middle School and April 26 at Gallup Hill School. Both will start at 9:30 a.m.
Putnam ready for major road projects this summer
PUTNAM — It will be another summer of major road and sidewalk projects in town and that’s exactly how town leaders want it.
This summer the town will repave South Main and Walnut streets and also put in new sidewalks on both. Town Administrator Mary Calorio said she also has applied for grants to get more roads and sidewalks done in the summer of 2018.
“The construction season is coming up and we have two stretches that look like the war zone in Beirut,” Mayor Tony Falzarano said. “I feel for the residents, but we want to make sure we do these roads and they won’t get torn up again with other projects. These roads are ready.”
Both projects are incredibly important for the town, but they have made getting around a challenge at times. The water project is in its third year.
Public Works Director Jerry Beausoleil said Walnut Street is a mess and needs to be repaved.
“I don’t know how many people have been up there, but hopefully you still have your teeth and your shocks,” Beausoleil said. “I have a Camaro as many people know and I had to go up there today, and I had to go 5 miles per hour, or I would have bottomed out.”
Beausoleil said the pavement on Walnut Street will be removed and the road bed regraded and repaved. The sidewalks will be replaced at the same time, he said. He said the project should take about two months.
South Main Street will follow, Beausoleil said.
It is the bigger project, he said. The road is being completely stripped down.
Calorio said she is applying for LOCIP funding from the state to repave Woodstock Avenue and Church Street and replace the sidewalks there during the construction season in 2018. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE