By Kimberly Drelich Day staff writer
But the state Department of Transportation said it first wants to hear from residents and businesses in the surrounding area, as it moves forward with developing the design for the project.
The DOT said in a notice that it will hold a public information meeting on Thursday, March 29, in the Upper Meeting Room at East Lyme Town Hall. A forum for people to speak individually with the DOT will begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by a presentation at 7 p.m.
During the meeting, DOT officials will present what the issues with the bridge are and what the agency is proposing, and then ask for public comment as DOT proceeds with the design, Robert Brown, project manager, said by phone.
"The purpose of the project is to rehabilitate the bridge structure and its architectural, mechanical and electrical components; which include replacement of the wearing surface on the bridge deck, removal and replacement of bridge joints, repainting the superstructure, upgrades to the operator’s control house and repairs to the vertical sheeting of the fender system around the main pier," the DOT wrote in the event notice.
The agency said the renovations will enable "a 25 to 30 year service life of the bridge."
DOT already replaced the bridge's control unit, when the span faced issues with the critical function of opening and closing for marine traffic last summer, Brown said, and the upcoming project will include follow-up electrical and mechanical work.
DOT plans to complete the project over about a two-year timeframe, he said.
With businesses, restaurants, charter boats and the Niantic Bay Boardwalk in the vicinity of the bridge, Brown said it will be critical to work to minimize disruptions to ongoing activities during the summer.
"We're trying to develop a project that works around that issue," Brown said.
He said everyone should feel they have the opportunity to add input to the direction in which the project is heading. DOT anticipates starting the final design phase about the end of the summer.
East Lyme First Selectman Mark Nickerson said DOT explained to the town that the bridge needs significant upgrades. He said that while he's glad the construction project will be done, it’s also important to be sensitive to the impact on the local area and marine traffic. He said the session will be an opportunity for DOT to get feedback from the public.
DOT officials also are working to coordinate with state and local agencies and the U.S. Coast Guard, Brown said.
DOT said in the event notice that it anticipates starting construction in spring 2020, "based on the availability of funding."
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy had listed in January funding for the bridge as among the projects postponed unless the legislature finds more revenue for the state's Special Transportation Fund.
Brown said the bridge had been placed on the list of projects under review but it is a priority and DOT anticipates funding, whether it's ultimately from state, federal or a combination of state and federal sources.
"Funding is always a concern but it’s a very important project to keep going," he said.
Bridge given 'stress test' before it collapsed
MIAMI - Authorities said Friday that cables supporting a pedestrian bridge under construction in Florida were being tightened following a “stress test” when the 950-ton concrete span collapsed over traffic, killing at least six people, injuring 10 others and flattening an untold number of cars.
Officials expected to find more bodies in the rubble. People who haven’t heard from their loved ones congregated near the scene Friday.
Jorge and Carol Fraga drove from West Palm Beach, fearing their relative’s car was trapped beneath the bridge at Florida International University. Sixty-year-old Rolando Fraga, Jorge’s uncle, lives in the area and frequently takes the nearby turnpike to work, but no one has heard from him since mid-day Thursday.
“The waiting is so ... I don’t have words for that,” Carol Fraga said through tears.
The $14.2 million project was supposed to be a hallmark of the faster, cheaper and less risky method of bridge-building promoted by the university. Slated to open in 2019, it would have provided safe passage over a canal and six lanes of traffic, and created a showpiece architectural feature connecting the FIU campus and the community of Sweetwater, where many students live.
As state and federal investigators worked to determine why the five-day-old span failed, Florida politicians pointed to the stress test and loosened cables as possible factors, and a police chief asked everyone not to jump to conclusions.
“This is a tragedy that we don’t want to re-occur anywhere in the United States,” said Juan Perez, director of the Miami-Dade police. “We just want to find out what caused this collapse to occur and people to die.”
Experts from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration joined police in taking over command of the scene Friday from first responders.
Price tag for Wallingford sewer plant work is estimated at $47 million
By Matthew Zabierek, Record-Journal staff
WALLINGFORD — Work to bring the town’s wastewater treatment plant into compliance with new phosphorus discharge rules is estimated to cost $47 million.
Wallingford is one of several municipalities undertaking upgrades to meet stricter discharge limits enacted by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The town is also considering additional overall improvements to the plant, which discharges water into the Quinnipiac River.
Phosphorus is naturally present in human waste but is also added to drinking water as an anti-corrosive for pipes to eliminate lead contamination. Phosphorus is considered an environmental hazard because it causes algae bloom, which depletes oxygen in water bodies and poses a threat to wildlife.
The town is eligible to receive just under $20 million in state and federal grant funding for the work, The remaining costs would be paid for primarily through water and sewer rate increases. The town would also be eligible for low interest state loans.
Representatives from AECOM, an engineering firm, presented project details to town officials last week during a meeting of the Public Utilities Commission.
The first phase would address phosphorus treatment upgrades. The second includes other improvements to the plant, which hasn’t been overhauled in 28 years.
In order to eligible for the maximum amount of the grant funding, the town must enter a construction contract prior to July 1, 2019. If the deadline is met, municipalities receive 50 percent funding for certain components of the phosphorus removal project. If the deadline isn’t met, only 30 percent of costs will be covered.
Meeting the deadline will be a challenge, officials said.
“This is a sprint for 26 miles,” said Neil Amwake, general manager of the water and sewer divisions.
The first phase of the plan was submitted to DEEP for approval this month. If it’s approved, the Public Utilities Commission will seek a bid waiver to enter into a contract with AECOM to design the project. Once the designs are complete, the town would put the work out to bid.
The planning and design phases for the town’s current wastewater treatment plant each took three years, Amwake said.
“We are attempting to do the planning study and the design and the bid in about 21 months,” he said.
Plans and cost estimates for the second phase have not been completed.
Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr., who attended the Thursday meeting, raised concerns about how the costs of a second phase would affect water and sewer bills.
“That obviously can carry a high price tag too and we don't have that quantified yet,” Dickinson said. “There are improvements necessary just because of its age and that alone is expensive, so it's not a pretty picture.”
Meriden’s City Council voted last year to increase utility rates over a three-year period to fund $47 million in upgrades to its wastewater treatment plant.
“This is a common dilemma, this isn't just one community,” Dickinson said. “I don't want to have affordability lost in the shuffle. We have to evaluate what kind of rate increases this will cause and keep the public informed.”
DIckinson has questioned the state’s decision to mandate the phosphorus removal upgrades.
“It’s not a public health issue,” Dickinson said Friday. “If it were a public health, then OK. But once you get beyond public safety and health, things that are good to have don't have the same immediacy.”Jorge and Carol Fraga drove from West Palm Beach, fearing their relative’s car was trapped beneath the bridge at Florida International University. Sixty-year-old Rolando Fraga, Jorge’s uncle, lives in the area and frequently takes the nearby turnpike to work, but no one has heard from him since mid-day Thursday.
“The waiting is so ... I don’t have words for that,” Carol Fraga said through tears.
The $14.2 million project was supposed to be a hallmark of the faster, cheaper and less risky method of bridge-building promoted by the university. Slated to open in 2019, it would have provided safe passage over a canal and six lanes of traffic, and created a showpiece architectural feature connecting the FIU campus and the community of Sweetwater, where many students live.
As state and federal investigators worked to determine why the five-day-old span failed, Florida politicians pointed to the stress test and loosened cables as possible factors, and a police chief asked everyone not to jump to conclusions.
“This is a tragedy that we don’t want to re-occur anywhere in the United States,” said Juan Perez, director of the Miami-Dade police. “We just want to find out what caused this collapse to occur and people to die.”
Experts from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration joined police in taking over command of the scene Friday from first responders.
Price tag for Wallingford sewer plant work is estimated at $47 million
By Matthew Zabierek, Record-Journal staff
WALLINGFORD — Work to bring the town’s wastewater treatment plant into compliance with new phosphorus discharge rules is estimated to cost $47 million.
Wallingford is one of several municipalities undertaking upgrades to meet stricter discharge limits enacted by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The town is also considering additional overall improvements to the plant, which discharges water into the Quinnipiac River.
Phosphorus is naturally present in human waste but is also added to drinking water as an anti-corrosive for pipes to eliminate lead contamination. Phosphorus is considered an environmental hazard because it causes algae bloom, which depletes oxygen in water bodies and poses a threat to wildlife.
The town is eligible to receive just under $20 million in state and federal grant funding for the work, The remaining costs would be paid for primarily through water and sewer rate increases. The town would also be eligible for low interest state loans.
Representatives from AECOM, an engineering firm, presented project details to town officials last week during a meeting of the Public Utilities Commission.
The first phase would address phosphorus treatment upgrades. The second includes other improvements to the plant, which hasn’t been overhauled in 28 years.
In order to eligible for the maximum amount of the grant funding, the town must enter a construction contract prior to July 1, 2019. If the deadline is met, municipalities receive 50 percent funding for certain components of the phosphorus removal project. If the deadline isn’t met, only 30 percent of costs will be covered.
Meeting the deadline will be a challenge, officials said.
“This is a sprint for 26 miles,” said Neil Amwake, general manager of the water and sewer divisions.
The first phase of the plan was submitted to DEEP for approval this month. If it’s approved, the Public Utilities Commission will seek a bid waiver to enter into a contract with AECOM to design the project. Once the designs are complete, the town would put the work out to bid.
The planning and design phases for the town’s current wastewater treatment plant each took three years, Amwake said.
“We are attempting to do the planning study and the design and the bid in about 21 months,” he said.
Plans and cost estimates for the second phase have not been completed.
Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr., who attended the Thursday meeting, raised concerns about how the costs of a second phase would affect water and sewer bills.
“That obviously can carry a high price tag too and we don't have that quantified yet,” Dickinson said. “There are improvements necessary just because of its age and that alone is expensive, so it's not a pretty picture.”
Meriden’s City Council voted last year to increase utility rates over a three-year period to fund $47 million in upgrades to its wastewater treatment plant.
“This is a common dilemma, this isn't just one community,” Dickinson said. “I don't want to have affordability lost in the shuffle. We have to evaluate what kind of rate increases this will cause and keep the public informed.”
DIckinson has questioned the state’s decision to mandate the phosphorus removal upgrades.
Construction Employment Increases, New Metals Tariffs Threaten Future Sector Job Gains
Construction employment increased in 248 out of 358 metro areas between January 2017 and January 2018, declined in 68 and stagnated in 42, according to a new analysis of federal employment data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said that future construction job gains could be undermined, however, as new tariffs force contractors to pay more for steel and aluminum products and dampen demand for new construction.
"The new tariffs are already leading to increases in what many contractors are paying for steel and aluminum products," said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. "Most contractors will be unable to pass along these increased costs, leaving less money to invest, ironically, in steel construction equipment as well as personnel."
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. added the most construction jobs during the past year (10,600 jobs, 12 percent), followed by Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. (9,900 jobs, 9 percent); Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas (9,200 jobs, 4 percent); Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif. (9,000 jobs, 7 percent) and Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, Calif. (8,400 jobs, 16 percent). The largest percentage gains occurred in the Merced, Calif. metro area (38 percent, 800 jobs) followed by Lawrence-Methuen Town-Salem, Mass.-N.H. (26 percent, 700 jobs); Midland, Texas (24 percent, 5,900 jobs) and Greeley, Colo. (23 percent, 3,500 jobs).
The largest job losses from January 2017 to January 2018 were in Baton Rouge, La. (-6,600 jobs, -13 percent), followed by St. Louis, Mo.-Ill. (-3,300 jobs, -5 percent); Montgomery County-Bucks County-Chester County, Pa. (-2,600 jobs, -5 percent); Columbia, S.C. (-2,500 jobs, -12 percent) and Camden, N.J. (-1,700 jobs, -8 percent). The largest percentage decreases for the year were in Auburn-Opelika, Ala. (-32 percent, -1,200 jobs) followed by Monroe, Mich. (-16 percent, -300 jobs); Baton Rouge and Columbia, S.C.
Association officials said that a better way to support the domestic steel and aluminum industries is to increase funding for needed infrastructure improvements. They cautioned that the tariffs announcement by the President last week would not only increase the cost of many construction projects, but it could prompt retaliatory measures from other countries that hurt U.S. manufacturers and shippers, impacting demand for new factories and transportation facilities.
"Boosting demand for their products is a much better way to strengthen the domestic steel and aluminum industries," said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association's chief executive officer. "And the best way to boost demand is to finally begin making the investments needed to improve the nation's aging and over-burdened infrastructure."
For more information, visit www.agc.org.