WESTPORT — The project to replace the 88-year-old Saugatuck Island Bridge is going well and set to be completed by Aug. 15.
Rob Corroon, a member of the Saugatuck Island special taxing district board, said the project is running smoothly.
“Everything’s going very well,” Corroon said. “It’s a pleasure to work with the town of Westport. The folks in public works are the best of the best. The bridge is moving along and they don’t seem to be having any major issues.”
Residents were inconvenienced the week of May 12 when there was a temporary power outage for two hours to accommodate the switch from permanent electricity to mobile generators. The mobile generator — a needed feature while construction if ongoing — caused some disruption because of how loud it was when operating, but was tolerable, according to Corroon.
The cost of the $2.6 million steel replacement bridge is half funded by a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant, secured due to damage Hurricane Sandy caused in 2012. The other $1.3 million price tag is split equally between the town and the Saugatuck Island special taxing district.
But in a June 2015 RTM meeting, Public Works Director Steve Edwards gave his “conservative estimate” that the bridge would cost a total of $1.7 million and added that he hoped the price would be less than that. In fact, the actual cost is now expected at almost $1 million more.
“The bridge cost went from $1.7 million to $2.6 million—this is a problem for the people of the town,” Jennifer Johnson, RTM 9, said on Wednesday, adding that she felt the increase in cost was not handled in a transparent manner.
Edwards did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
In an October RTM meeting Edwards explained the bids came in higher than expected.
“The final costs did come in considerably above what our initial estimate was, but because we had really good, competitive bids, we are comfortable that these are the real costs,” he said. “It’s not an arbitrary high level. It is an actual bid number reflecting the complexity of the project.”
Even as construction is ongoing, Johnson is still frustrated with the way in which the costs were distributed equally between the private island and the town for a one-lane bridge that serves the residents of Saugatuck Island.
“The town is being extremely generous in what it’s funding. The town is not funding 50-50 for private roads that snow plows have trouble getting up,” Johnson said.
Gov. Malloy suspends DOT construction for holiday weekend
All regular construction-related activity on Connecticut state highways and roads will be suspended for the Memorial Day Weekend to allow easier travel, according to a release from the governor’s office.
Gov. Dannel Malloy announced the brief construction hiatus will begin Friday at 6 a.m. and last through Tuesday at 6 a.m., the release said.
“Memorial Day has traditionally been the unofficial start of summer and one of the busiest travel days of the year, and we do not want our state’s residents to worry about any additional delays because of roadwork this weekend,” Malloy said in a prepared statement.
Only emergency work will be performed during the weekend, if necessary, according to the release.
Connecticut DOT Commissioner James P. Redeker supported the decision.
“Suspending work on a busy holiday weekend only makes sense,” Redeker said in a prepared statement.
NORWALK — By midday Thursday, two boaters had launched their vessels into the water under windy, rainy skies at the newly renovated Norwalk Visitor’s Docks at Veterans Memorial Park.
The weather was hardly ideal for the reopening day of the David S. Dunavan Boating Center, but Dock Master Neil Hershkowitz expects business to pick up over the Memorial Day weekend.
“One boat was about 34 foot and one was like 27 foot — nice size boats,” said Hershkowitz, referring to the first boats that rolled into the water after the renovations. “But again, it was just a start. If it’s nice weather, we’ll be busy Friday and Saturday.”
Under a $2.1 million contract with city, Holzner Construction of Bridgeport replaced the deteriorated underwater wooden launch ramps with massive full-width concrete ramps, installed a retaining wall and raised the parking lot at the Visitor’s Docks.
The old ramps left boaters dependent upon the tide when deciding whether to launch their vessels. A miscalculation often ended with a call to a towing company to get a stuck boat trailer pulled out. Hershkowitz doesn’t foresee that happening anymore.
“It’s a concrete-type launch,” said Hershkowitz, a parks department employee. “There’s no low spots so you can launch at any time. That’s the beauty of it.”
While the new ramps, parking lot and retaining wall are in place, the boating center office and pump station were running on generator power Thursday as Noreast Generator finished hooking up electricity.
The parks department had targeted May 1 as the reopening day for the Visitor’s Docks, but the city and its contractor were slapped late winter with a violation notice by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection over the handling of dredged materials. After testing, DEEP allowed the material to be returned to the water but fined the city $6,000, and the reopening date was pushed back several times.
The delay wasn’t good news for fishermen who like to get into the water in April. At times, the phone rang off the hook at nearby Fisherman’s World at the corner of Seaview Avenue and Fort Point Street.
“There’s going to be a lot of relief for people that have been itching to get into the water,” said Rich Mahoney, an employee at the store, before addressing usage of the public launch ramps. “Some people, if they belong to a marina, the marinas will put them in the water, but if you’re just a guy that keeps their boat in the trailer in their yard or in their driveway, you’re kind of out of luck (without the ramps).”
Although the Visitor’s Docks have reopened, they will be closed from 11 p.m. Sunday, May 28, through noon Monday, May 29, to make room for Norwalk’s 2017 Memorial Day Parade, which will step off from the park. No overnight parking will be allowed and violators will find their vehicles towed at their expense.
Bristol Hospital offers glimpse of proposed ambulatory center
A centrally located plot of land in downtown Bristol that has been vacant since a former mall was demolished there nearly a decade ago could look much different by 2019.
On Thursday, Bristol Hospital released renderings of a proposed 60,000-square-foot ambulatory center that would house specialty practices, lab space, therapy services and a ground-floor cafe.
The hospital has partnered with Florida-based Rendina Healthcare Real Estate, which will build and own the three-story building. The hospital would lease the building from Rendina.
The parties have not disclosed the price of the project.
City officials signed a purchase and sale agreement with Bristol Hospital last month for the land – a 4-plus-acre portion of Centre Square (formerly known as Depot Square).
The deed has not yet transferred, but Mayor Ken Cockayne said Thursday that the hospital will pay approximately $50,000 per acre for the property, which is located between Main and North Main streets, about half a mile from the hospital's Brewster Road campus.
"The hospital has stepped up to the plate when no one else wanted to," Cockayne said, adding that the deal has already drawn interest from at least one other developer who may want to build mixed-use space at the square. "This will change downtown."
The building, which still needs local approvals, would be subject to local property tax, though Bristol officials have granted an abatement that starts at a 100 percent discount and declines in stages over a 10-year period, Cockayne said. Personal property taxes would not be abated, he added.
Bristol Hospital hopes to break ground later this year and complete the building by 2019.
A previous developer for the site of the former Bristol Centre Mall, Renaissance Downtowns, wanted to build apartments, shops and restaurants at the site, but the deal fell apart two years ago when Renaissance asked the city to provide $4 million towards the project.
Malloy Campaigns For XL Center Renovations
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy used a visit Thursday to the city's XL Center to campaign for an aggressive, $250 million makeover, as a key legislative committee has whittled away at his initial requests to get to project moving.
Malloy is seeking $50 million in 2018 and $75 million in 2019, one half of the renovations, which would be completed over three or four years. But the request, which would be financed through the sale of bonds, was cut deeply by the finance, revenue and bonding committee to $40 million and $35 million.
Malloy warned that smaller investments would only drive up the costs.
"If you don't put enough money into those various stages, what you'll end up with is more years," Malloy said, in a news conference. "Now, more years means more construction inflation, means more events not taking place in the facility, means a disruption in usage as well as the cost." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
The weather was hardly ideal for the reopening day of the David S. Dunavan Boating Center, but Dock Master Neil Hershkowitz expects business to pick up over the Memorial Day weekend.
“One boat was about 34 foot and one was like 27 foot — nice size boats,” said Hershkowitz, referring to the first boats that rolled into the water after the renovations. “But again, it was just a start. If it’s nice weather, we’ll be busy Friday and Saturday.”
Under a $2.1 million contract with city, Holzner Construction of Bridgeport replaced the deteriorated underwater wooden launch ramps with massive full-width concrete ramps, installed a retaining wall and raised the parking lot at the Visitor’s Docks.
The old ramps left boaters dependent upon the tide when deciding whether to launch their vessels. A miscalculation often ended with a call to a towing company to get a stuck boat trailer pulled out. Hershkowitz doesn’t foresee that happening anymore.
“It’s a concrete-type launch,” said Hershkowitz, a parks department employee. “There’s no low spots so you can launch at any time. That’s the beauty of it.”
While the new ramps, parking lot and retaining wall are in place, the boating center office and pump station were running on generator power Thursday as Noreast Generator finished hooking up electricity.
The parks department had targeted May 1 as the reopening day for the Visitor’s Docks, but the city and its contractor were slapped late winter with a violation notice by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection over the handling of dredged materials. After testing, DEEP allowed the material to be returned to the water but fined the city $6,000, and the reopening date was pushed back several times.
The delay wasn’t good news for fishermen who like to get into the water in April. At times, the phone rang off the hook at nearby Fisherman’s World at the corner of Seaview Avenue and Fort Point Street.
“There’s going to be a lot of relief for people that have been itching to get into the water,” said Rich Mahoney, an employee at the store, before addressing usage of the public launch ramps. “Some people, if they belong to a marina, the marinas will put them in the water, but if you’re just a guy that keeps their boat in the trailer in their yard or in their driveway, you’re kind of out of luck (without the ramps).”
Although the Visitor’s Docks have reopened, they will be closed from 11 p.m. Sunday, May 28, through noon Monday, May 29, to make room for Norwalk’s 2017 Memorial Day Parade, which will step off from the park. No overnight parking will be allowed and violators will find their vehicles towed at their expense.
Bristol Hospital offers glimpse of proposed ambulatory center
A centrally located plot of land in downtown Bristol that has been vacant since a former mall was demolished there nearly a decade ago could look much different by 2019.
On Thursday, Bristol Hospital released renderings of a proposed 60,000-square-foot ambulatory center that would house specialty practices, lab space, therapy services and a ground-floor cafe.
The hospital has partnered with Florida-based Rendina Healthcare Real Estate, which will build and own the three-story building. The hospital would lease the building from Rendina.
The parties have not disclosed the price of the project.
City officials signed a purchase and sale agreement with Bristol Hospital last month for the land – a 4-plus-acre portion of Centre Square (formerly known as Depot Square).
The deed has not yet transferred, but Mayor Ken Cockayne said Thursday that the hospital will pay approximately $50,000 per acre for the property, which is located between Main and North Main streets, about half a mile from the hospital's Brewster Road campus.
"The hospital has stepped up to the plate when no one else wanted to," Cockayne said, adding that the deal has already drawn interest from at least one other developer who may want to build mixed-use space at the square. "This will change downtown."
The building, which still needs local approvals, would be subject to local property tax, though Bristol officials have granted an abatement that starts at a 100 percent discount and declines in stages over a 10-year period, Cockayne said. Personal property taxes would not be abated, he added.
Bristol Hospital hopes to break ground later this year and complete the building by 2019.
A previous developer for the site of the former Bristol Centre Mall, Renaissance Downtowns, wanted to build apartments, shops and restaurants at the site, but the deal fell apart two years ago when Renaissance asked the city to provide $4 million towards the project.
Malloy Campaigns For XL Center Renovations
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy used a visit Thursday to the city's XL Center to campaign for an aggressive, $250 million makeover, as a key legislative committee has whittled away at his initial requests to get to project moving.
Malloy is seeking $50 million in 2018 and $75 million in 2019, one half of the renovations, which would be completed over three or four years. But the request, which would be financed through the sale of bonds, was cut deeply by the finance, revenue and bonding committee to $40 million and $35 million.
Malloy warned that smaller investments would only drive up the costs.
"If you don't put enough money into those various stages, what you'll end up with is more years," Malloy said, in a news conference. "Now, more years means more construction inflation, means more events not taking place in the facility, means a disruption in usage as well as the cost." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE