MERIDEN — A line wrapped around the Silver City Ballroom on Colony Street Wednesday as dozens of candidates waited for interviews and a chance to be hired for upcoming construction jobs downtown.
Haynes Construction hosted the job fair for local trade workers to interview with subcontractors selected to work on Meriden Commons I, a $14.5 million commercial and residential building at 177 State St. The project is being developed through a public-private partnership with the Meriden Housing Authority and Pennrose Properties and the Cloud Co.
Haynes is the general contractor. Markesse Farilien of Meriden said he has been looking for work for six months after receiving training in roofing and an Occupational Safety and Health Administration certification. Farilien is one of 16 tradespeople sent to the job fair after receiving training from the Construction Workforce Initiative 2, Inc. on Center Street in Meriden. “We’re excited about the opportunities and the wonderful construction coming to Meriden,” said Dominique Baez of Construction Workforce Initiative. “A lot of our folks are from Meriden.”
Officials from 20 subcontractors representing the plumbing, electrical, general construction, HVAC, roofing and painting trades were on hand inside the ballroom to meet with candidates.
Preference was given to qualified city residents, housing authority tenants, minorities, veterans and women. About 50 candidates were signed in within the first half hour.
“We’re hoping a lot of these people can fill a job if not with this project but any other jobs they might have in the state,” said Rosemary Davis of Haynes Construction.
Sanford Cloud of Cloud Company LLC, a financier on the project, was on hand to check in with the applicants and subcontractors.
“I’m very pleased with the turnout,” Cloud said. “This is what housing development is all about. Local residents have an opportunity to work.”
Meanwhile, in conjunction with the Town of Groton, it is also proceeding with some preliminary design work and permitting for the replacement of the closed North Stonington Road bridge in Old Mystic even though the Town of Groton has not approved its share of the funding for construction. The small bridge, just west of the Old Mystic fire department, spans the two towns.
The Lantern Hill Road bridge, which was built in 1950, is listed in fair condition, according to the town’s application for the permit. The state has agreed to fund about half of the $1.2 million project while Stonington and Ledyard will split the remaining $600,000.
The application states that rehabilitating the bridge is not viable due to its condition, concerns about scouring of the bridge and its narrow 17-foot width, which does not permit two-way traffic. The new span will be 26 feet wide.
Plans call for the bridge to be closed from April through November of 2018 for the work.
Town Engineer Scot Deledda said that the two towns are scheduled to meet with state transportation and environmental protection officials this week to discuss the final state permitting process.
The North Stonington Road bridge has been closed since the March flood of 2010. The replacement cost also is estimated at $1.2 million, with the state paying half, leaving Stonington and Groton to contribute $300,000 each. Stonington has appropriated its share but Groton, which is struggling with a massive decrease in proposed state aid and increased taxes, has not.
“We don’t want it to come to a screeching halt,” Deledda said. “It’s better to have the approved permits. That way, when the money is available, we can proceed.”
Deledda said that when people ask him about the delay in replacing the bridge, he points out that Stonington has supported the project. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Waterford develops plan for three-month closure of Jordan Cove Road
Waterford — A plan to rebuild the bridge over Jordan Cove also includes an evacuation plan for the people who live in the Millstone Point area of town and a new route for school buses.
The replacement of the bridge will take three months and is scheduled to begin Aug. 21. While it’s under construction, Jordan Cove Road — the primary exit route out of two small Millstone Point neighborhoods in the southernmost part of Waterford — will be closed, First Selectman Daniel Steward said.
During the three-month construction process, residents will need to use Gardiners Wood Road, which runs north to Rope Ferry Road from Jordan Cove Road, to enter and leave the neighborhood and reach I-95.
Town officials developed the plan — to be implemented in case of a flooding emergency in Millstone Point — in conjunction with the police, Dominion Energy and school district officials.
Because Gardiners Wood Road occasionally floods during heavy rainstorms, Steward said, the town also has worked with Dominion Energy to develop a second alternate route out of Millstone Point through roads on the Millstone Power Station property.
Town officials approved a $1.5 million appropriation to pay for the replacement of the bridge, which is more than 80 years old, this winter. Town officials approved the capital expenditure for repairs to the bridge in 2015.
A state grant through the Small Town Economic Assistance Program will cover 80 percent of the estimated $1.5 million construction cost.
Massachusetts-based New England Infrastructure won the bid to reconstruct the bridge, Steward said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Winsted roads to be resurfaced under first phase of construction plan
WINSTED >> The town this week announced a list of roads that will receive repairs under the first phase of a larger plan.
According to the Department of Public Works, Hurlbut Street, East Lake Street, Meadow Street, Hubbard Street, John Street, Elm Street, Wheeler Street, Hinsdale Avenue and Spencer Street, from Hinsdale Avenue to Losaw Road, will be resurfaced.Work is expected to begin in mid-to-late August, according to the announcement, as part of the town’s road improvement plan for the year.Plans for future phases of the road improvement effort, Town Manager Robert Geiger said Tuesday, have not been determined yet, as the town is in the midst of contracting out the first phase of the project at this time. An ad-hoc committee will be formed to guide future steps in the project, Geiger said.
Geiger made improving town roads a major focus of the 2018 town budget, as he set aside $1.4 million in funding for such construction — up from $448,572 in the previous year.“A million four doesn’t go nearly far enough, but it’s going in the right direction,” said Geiger at the time.Lenard Engineering conducted an analysis of town roads for the Board of Selectmen, compiling a report that was submitted in July 2016. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE