As Connecticut braces for another legislative debate about paying for highways and mass transit, the state Department of Transportation is pointing out ways that about 30 other states have raised new revenue for those same purposes.
The DOT is not endorsing any of the options, but the new draft of its long-range plan emphasizes that the continuing gap between transportation revenues and expenses can’t be sustained.
The agency notes that, since 2012, other states have addressed funding problems by increasing their gas taxes and diesel taxes, expanding highway tolls, creating a hotel tax and even imposing fees for electric and hybrid vehicles.
Doing nothing, the DOT cautions, would hurt Connecticut. “If the state fails to rise to these challenges, citizens can expect a pattern of stagnation — deteriorating highways and bridges, ever greater congestion and lost work time, insufficient rail service that fails to address the growing congestion, disconnected bus systems, and constant emergency ‘Band-aid’ fixes to try to keep a declining system operating,” says the long-range plan. The DOT in mid-December released the draft of its statewide transportation plan for 2018 to 2050, and has posted it at http://bit.ly/2lkbDTV.
The public will get an opportunity to comment at DOT information sessions on Jan. 16. The first session runs from 12:30 to 3 p.m., and the second from 6:30 to 9 p.m.; both are at DOT headquarters at 2800 Berlin Turnpike in Newington.
The state has a backlog of billions of dollars of transportation expenses, ranging from bridge repairs and deep-water harbor dredging to a new diesel locomotive fleet for its commuter rail operations.
With a rising percentage of residents becoming senior citizens, the state will need a robust public transit system, the report says.
“By 2040, Connecticut’s population segments ages 70-74 and 75-79 are projected to increase over 87 percent and 110 percent respectively,” the plan says. “These large increases in aging residents portends growth in reliance on and safe, affordable and convenient public transportation and costly paratransit services.”
In the last week of December, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy renewed his call for a long-term state commitment to revamp its transportation network. He is urging the General Assembly to raise transportation spending even though this is an election year.
The DOT plan notes that other states have used at least a dozen different approaches in recent years to bolster transportation spending.
Tennessee, South Carolina, California, Oregon and New Jersey raised their fuel taxes in the past two years, and Michigan, Indiana, Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Idaho and Georgia all began charging fees for electric or hybrid vehicles during the past four years. Oregon has imposed a $15 charge on adult bicycle purchases.
Connecticut resurfaced 260 two-lane miles of roadway
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Gov. Dannel P. Malloy says the Connecticut Department of Transportation has resurfaced 260 two-lane miles of roadway across the state during this last construction season.
About 55 two-lane miles of the total was completed under the agency's pavement preservation program, which includes crack filling, surface patching, drainage repairs and other work to extend the life of existing roadways.DOT is responsible for maintaining more than 4,100 miles of roads and highways throughout Connecticut and typically resurfaces about 250 to 300 miles each year. This year, the agency spent $69 million on road resurfacing.
The Democratic governor is warning that such routine maintenance is at risk if the state does not financially shore up its Special Transportation Fund, which is facing insolvency in 2019.
He says the account needs new revenue.
Companies tout renewable energy projects for Massachusetts
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Some entrepreneurs hoping to provide renewable energy to Massachusetts electricity customers are touting their projects in the run-up to the decision, expected in late January, about which company could be chosen to help provide clean power to the Bay State.
The stakes are potentially huge for the dozens of companies that have submitted proposals, some of which are proposing major infrastructure projects that would carry Canadian electricity produced by wind or hydro power across Vermont, New Hampshire or Maine to reach Massachusetts.While there are a variety of projects vying to be chosen by Massachusetts in the current round, even if they're not selected, it's likely there will other calls in the future for projects to provide more renewable power to southern New England.
Last week, the backers of New Hampshire's Northern Pass project, which would run a 192-mile transmission line from Pittsburg on the Canadian border to Deerfield, carrying enough hydropower to about a million homes, were optimistic.
Despite a vow of continued pressure from people who object to the Northern Pass project, the backer of the project Eversource expects to receive final regulatory approval in both the United States and Canada, allowing it to begin construction in April. Northern Pass claims it will be ready to transmit power by 2020.
"We feel we have submitted the most mature project," said Eversource spokeswoman Kaitlyn Woods. "We are confident it will be selected."
National Grid, the backer of the project known as the Granite State Power Link, is running online advertisements promoting its project. The company announced last week it had filed for a presidential permit, the first regulatory step needed for it to bring 1,200 megawatts of power to southern New England.
The project would be built alongside an existing line that enters the United States at Norton, Vermont, and connect with an upgraded power line at Monroe, New Hampshire. It's unclear when that project could be ready for construction.
"I think we're well positioned to win because ultimately we are the best options for customers," said National Grid's Joe Rossignoli. In addition to the Granite State Power Link, National Grid is backing a smaller project that would bring power from new wind and solar projects from upstate New York to Massachusetts.
Another proposed project, the New England Clean Power Link, would carry power 154 miles down Lake Champlain from the Canadian border and into Vermont, where it would connect to the grid and feed Massachusetts' demand for clean power. The project is backed by TDI-New England.
"In addition to meeting all the Commonwealth's requirements, TDI-NE believes the New England Clean Power Link is the right turn-key project for Massachusetts," said Donald Jessome, president of TDI-New England. "Our project is fully permitted, enjoys wide spread support up and down the line and offers a fixed price bid." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Plainville reaches settlement on high school track repairs
PLAINVILLE – The town has reached a settlement on the improperly installed high school track and will pay a portion of the costs to re-install it.
Although the cause of the bubbling track was disputed, the parties agreed that a new asphalt base included in the remediated track would extend its lifespan. The parties ultimately agreed to settle the claims with a lump sum payment to general contractor LaRosa for $60,000. Of this, the town will pay $43,334.
LaRosa, Town Manager Robert E. Lee explained, was originally seeking more than $275,000.
“At the end of the day, we ended up paying a lot less than LaRosa originally wanted,” said Lee at Monday’s town council meeting. “The town’s share which will come from the remaining funds in the turf field account. KBA agreed to contribute $8,333 and BSC agreed to contribute an additional $8,333. In addition, KBA agreed to write-off and release the Town from its claim for $70,000 for additional architectural services related to the remediation effort.”
The mediation session to resolve the dispute, which lasted more than eight hours, was held before Retired Superior Court Judge Jonathan E. Silbert on Dec. 1. Town Manager Robert E. Lee, Town Attorney Michael Mastrianni and Dennis Cavanaugh from Robinson & Cole met with a counsel from LaRosa Earth Group, LLC, Kaestle Boos Associates, Inc., BSC Group, Inc., TJL Industries, LLC and Dalton Track and Tennis were also in attendance. KBA had provided design services for the project, BSC was a sub-consultant for the design of the athletic field and track and LaRosa was the General Contractor for the field and track improvements. LaRosa also had a subcontract with Dalton to furnish and install the track resurfacing.
LaRosa wanted $275,000 that LaRosa originally wanted represented $137,500 charged to Dalton Track for labor and material and $137,500 incurred to remove the defective track and milling and repaving the asphalt base for the new track. KBA had sought $70,000 for additional architectural and construction administration fees resulting from the remediation.
The contractors and designers disagreed as to the cause of the problems with the installation of the running track in 2015. The contractors contended that the asphalt base of the track lacked the necessary strength to accommodate the track surfacing material that was installed. The contractors also alleged that the original project design was defective because it failed to require that the old asphalt base be tested before the commencement of construction or replaced as part of the original design. In contrast, the design team contended that the asphalt base was sufficient to accommodate the latex track surfacing material and that the defects were caused by the contractors’ improper installation of the surfacing material and/or the contractors’ use of a material that had not been specified by the architect. CLICK TTITLE TO CONTINUE
Southington bridge work ‘substantially complete’
SOUTHINGTON — Work is nearing completion on the West Center Street Extension bridge replacement project.
Public Works Director Keith Hayden said work on the bridge, which spans the Eight Mile River, is “substantially complete.” It was originally scheduled to be completed in November. Hayden said the cost of the project is about $1.2 million.
Contractors will be returning in the spring to finish work on topsoil, seeding and some minor items, Hayden said. That work may require further lane closures.
Work began in March to replace the bridge deck.
The replacement included the steel beams supporting the bridge deck and some work on the top of the abutments to support the new beams, Hayden said.
The repairs should last about 75 years, he said.
Bridges are rated by the state on a scale of zero to nine. The highest rating indicates a brand-new bridge and a zero is a closed bridge. Ratings of four or less are considered structurally deficient, but not necessarily unsafe.
The bridge’s deck was rated at three, while other components, such as the superstructure and substructure, were rated at six or seven. The bridge was originally built in 1961.
Five Hartford area transit projects to receive portion of $15M in grants
Eleven transit-oriented development projects in Connecticut will receive $15 million in funding, including five in the Hartford region.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said this week the funding will come through a competitive grant program that supports responsible growth, and noted it is targeted at boosting economic activity and creating jobs.
Grants come under the state's Responsible Growth and Transit-Oriented Development Grant Program.
The Hartford area projects set to receive grants include:
- Berlin – $536,884 to acquire property at 861 Farmington Ave. and the rail spur property adjacent to the Berlin Steel site;
- East Windsor – $123,800 to develop a storm-water management plan and establish new zoning recommendations to promote the village-style redevelopment in Warehouse Point;
- New Britain – $1,999,500 to extend pedestrian infrastructure improvements along a portion of Columbus Boulevard and Chestnut Street, including sidewalks, lighting, and way-finding;
- Wallingford – $175,000 to fund the planning and engineering design for downtown pedestrian improvements along North Colony Street and Hall Avenue; and
- Windsor Locks – $1,847,400 for the construction of a retaining wall and surface parking lot intended to support the redevelopment of three parcels in the Main Street Commercial District.
Proposal To Ship Trash From Connecticut To N.Y. Hits Snag
ith just days left before the state must choose a developer to modernize the aging trash-to-energy plant in Hartford, one of three finalists may have to scrap its proposal to send 116,000 tons of garbage out of state.
It’s not unusual for private waste management companies to ship trash to landfills across state lines, according to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. What is unusual is the plan submitted by Newport Beach, Calif.-based Mustang Renewable Power Ventures — to turn about 11 percent of the waste it would handle into a form of alternative energy, which it then hoped to send to a cement plant in Coeymans, N.Y.
As it turns out, residents wanted nothing to do with the plan, which Town Supervisor Philip Crandall lambasted in a letter to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy earlier this month and at a news conference with other elected officials on Wednesday.
And the cement plant wasn’t interested in Mustang’s plan either, according to its owner, Chicago-based company LafargeHolcim. The plant isn’t capable of accepting the trash-based energy, called “process engineered fuel,” and it didn’t give Mustang permission to include the plant in its proposal, LafargeHolcim spokeswoman Jocelyn Gerst.
“The fact is that we and Mustang Renewable Power Ventures agreed to talk about the possibility of using alternative fuels, but that is all,” she said. “There are no contracts, agreements, or plans for the Ravena plant to work with this company and, in fact, we have determined that we will not be pursuing a relationship with Mustang Renewable Power Ventures at our Ravena plant in the future.”
She added that the company was “as upset as others about being named, without our consent, as a potential destination for these materials.”
Mustang did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday. The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has until Sunday to choose a developer and said it was aware Mustang would need to find another destination for the process engineered fuel.
DEEP spokesman Chris Collibee said he is not aware of any companies in Connecticut creating or using that form of alternative energy.
“If this bidder were to be selected — and they are one of three finalists — they will be required to develop a final project that meets all federal and state environmental as well as human health standards and permitting requirements, including seeking local approvals, whenever necessary, for any activities conducted in other states,” Collibee said.
Mustang’s plan is one of three under consideration by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to redevelop the trash-to-energy plant in the South Meadows, which handles one-third of the state’s garbage. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE