July 3, 2017

CT Construction Digest Tuesday July 4, 2017

Legislative Alert!

Stop the Transportation Cuts!

TAKE 2 MINUTES AND USE THIS LINK TO STOP TRANSPORTATION CUTS
               THAT ARE IN THE HOUSE DEMOCRATS’ BUDGET!
                                    IT TAKES 2 MINUTES!
                        STOP TRANSPORTATION CUTS TODAY!
                                Thank you for your support!

 
Everyone,
Your support is needed for a press conference with Governor Malloy on the Transportation Funding Lockbox!
Date:               Tomorrow – JULY 5, 2017
Time:              12:30pm  (Please plan to arrive early!)
Place:              ConnDOT Garage
                        140 Pond Lily Avenue
                        New Haven, Connecticut
A strong showing of support is important!  Connecticut needs this Transportation Lockbox, and we have to show support for Governor Malloy as he opposes the House Democrats’ Budget proposal that guts the Special Transportation Fund!
Please bring as many people from your organization as possible.  And forward this message to others who support transportation investments in Connecticut!

List of Danbury-area road projects released

DANBURY — The state and regional council of governments recently released a list of 134 transportation projects planned to be undertaken in the area from 2018 to 2021.
The Western Connecticut Council of Governments, an 18-town group, is now reaching out for public comment on the projects.The comments are due by Aug. 7.
The projects are not all certain to be undertaken, but the list represents the state Department of Transportation’s “best guess” for what will be completed, said Robert Sachnin, senior planner for WestCOG. They range in size and cost and affect towns including Bethel, Bridgewater, Brookfield, Danbury, New Fairfield, New Milford, Newtown, Redding, Ridgefield and Sherman. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Amazon building, other developments pose public safety challenge in North Haven

NORTH HAVEN — Amazon’s $255 million fulfillment center under construction on Route 5 will pose unique challenges to the fire department, according to the town fire chief.
Meanwhile, overall development in town is expected to further increase fire and medical calls.
Fire Chief Paul Januszewski said his department has been involved since the inception of the 855,000-square-foot Amazon facility being built on the former Pratt & Whitney complex. Amazon plans to hire 1,800 employees at the outset, but could eventually expand to 3,000 to 3,500. “We were involved at least 18 months ago in the initial planning phase,” Januszewski said. “We’ve been involved on a weekly basis for a year and a half Amazon will install a highly advanced fire protection system.
“They took a very proactive approach to safety ... Employees train frequently in the event of a fire alarm and when the alarm is activated, the computers start flashing ‘fire.’ Employees can do no more work and robots in the building go into a safe area. The whole building comes to a complete halt until the situation is rectified,” he said. Even the smallest fire, however, will require dozens of firefighters to respond, said Januszewski. Pratt & Whitney had its own company fire department for medical calls, fires and other hazards, he said.
“There are not as many hazards in this building as there were at Pratt & Whitney, which was manufacturing versus a warehouse, but we have to make sure the building is being constructed according to plan and we’ll maintain a presence during the (construction) almost daily,” Januszewski said. “When it’s built the challenge is in the event an incident occurs we need a lot of firefighters to ensure people are evacuated, get the smoke out of the building and hook up to the sprinkler system to get the fire out. The sprinkler system should contain a fire to its area of origin and it’s a tall building so we must have a ladder truck to respond to that building at all times.”
Januszewski says fires at the facility will prompt calls to surrounding towns for assistance.
“(A fire) could have significant property damage or life loss so considering the number of people working in the building and the value of the property we would have to call surrounding towns to fight any fire in the building,” he said.
Amazon estimates the facility will generate between 50 and 90 medical calls per year, Januszewski said. The fire department can handle the increase, he said, but “it gets more difficult with other (development) in town.
“The Amazon site is a catalyst that brings everything else to northern Washington Avenue and Valley Service Road,” he said. “With more plazas and apartments going in, that will have an impact on us. The property that comes to mind is the medical epicenter on Devine Street. I’ve been warned we’re looking at three to five more incidents a day. That’s a significant increase to our call volume.”  CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
 
 
Norwich – The City Council on Wednesday will hold public hearings and potential votes on ordinances for two Norwich Public Utilities projects, including a $19.9 million water system upgrade that would extend a water line into Sprague and qualify NPU for higher levels of grants through the state Clean Water Fund.
The water system bond ordinance includes $16.7 million in upgrades to the city's water system to address state-mandated water quality improvements and a $3.2 million water line to provide the Baltic section of Sprague with a needed backup water supply during emergencies. The $19.9 million package would not affect NPU water rates until 2020 and would result in an initial 4 percent increase at that time, NPU General Manager John Bilda said.
The second ordinance covers a proposed $2.4 million sewer project to separate combined sewer and storm drains in the East Side section of the city, including Smith Avenue, Mowry Avenue and Donahue Drive. The combined sewer-rainwater system causes raw sewage pollution into local rivers and streams during heavy rains, when the system overflows. NPU has been eliminating combined systems over time throughout the city.
The City Council public hearing will be held at the start of the 7:30 p.m. meeting in Council Chambers at City Hall.
The proposed improvements to the NPU water system have been in the utility's long-range plan, Bilda said. But the project had to be moved up in priority after the state Department of Public Health tightened water quality standards, leaving NPU on the borderline of meeting or falling short of the new state standard.
The utility entered into a consent agreement with state regulators calling for filtration and water circulation upgrades at the Stony Brook and Deep River reservoirs and the Occum water tank, along with replacement or rehabilitation of water mains, costing a combined total of $16.7 million.
Since the state also is pushing for regional water system solutions to problems, the Department of Public Health sweetened Norwich's financing package with a proposal that NPU extend an emergency water system line into the Baltic section of Sprague to provide a much-needed backup water supply.The $3.2 million Sprague Emergency Interconnection included in the $19.9 million ordinance would be funded through a 50 percent Clean Water Fund grant, and a 50 percent low-interest loan through the program. If Norwich agrees to the project, NPU would receive a 30 percent grant and 70 percent loan package on the other $16.7 million upgrades.
Without the regional component, Bilda said, Norwich would receive only an 8 percent grant and would need to finance 92 percent by loan CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

West River Bridge On I-95 Expected To Be Completed Ahead Of Schedule

The new bridge that will carry cars over the West River on I-95 is going to be ready sooner than expected.
The state Department of Transportation and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced Monday the bridge will be completed three months ahead of schedule, thanks to "innovative construction techniques."
The bridge will connect West Haven and New Haven, and carries north and south lanes. The bridge carries 135,000 vehicles every day. "Now three months ahead of schedule, the DOT – along with its contractors and construction crews – continue to make progress," Malloy said. "We all agree that for too many decades, our state did not make the investments needed to ensure we maintained a modernized transportation system. Through projects like this, we are finally taking bold steps toward making a best-in-class transportation system a reality." The innovative technique that allowed for earlier completion was an incremental approach to launching the steel girders, officials said. "Rather than erecting the steel one piece at a time during nighttime lane closures, the girders are being assembled in the median and incrementally 'pushed' from east to west, along the entire length of the new bridge."
The accelerated project will eliminate 292 nighttime work shifts, and will only affect traffic for three nights, instead of the 60 originally scheduled.
"These methods were chosen with the goal of limiting the traveling public's exposure to construction activities," Transportation Commissioner James P. Redeker said. "This project will improve mobility and benefit the region for decades to come."
The bridge is expected to be completed Aug. 31, 2018.

Construction spending flat in May

U.S. construction spending was flat in May with homebuilding falling again, even as buyers face climbing prices and a shortage of available properties on the market.
The Commerce Department reported on Monday no increase in construction spending in May, which follows a report two weeks ago showing that housing starts fell for the third straight month.
Economists have been expecting housing construction to play a key role in supporting overall economic growth in 2017 as demand for homes rises amid low unemployment and rising incomes. However, many buyers have been frustrated by limited inventory and rising prices. Private residential construction fell 0.6 percent in May, the first decline in that category since April 2016 and its biggest decline since a 0.6 percent drop in July 2014. Non-residential construction declined 0.7 percent, the fifth straight monthly decline for the category. 
Overall construction spending was reported at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.23 trillion, the same as last month's revised figure.
The flat May number follows April's decline of 0.7 percent, which was revised from an originally reported drop of 1.7 percent. Analysts last month said they thought April's dismal number was an anomaly and had expected a modest rebound in May, which could still happen with revisions next month.
"Construction activity, unfortunately, continues to disappoint," said Jennifer Lee, an economist with BMO Capital Markets. "If June is flat again, that would mean a negative quarter for construction."
Government construction spending rose at the state and federal levels after declines last month. State and local government construction rose 1.7 percent after last month's decline of 2.7 percent. Federal government construction also rebounded, rising 6.4 percent after a decline of 2.1 percent in April.
Construction of manufacturing facilities dipped 1.7 percent in May and is down 10.7 percent from the same month last year. Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE