TORRINGTON — Contractors who plan to bid on the $70 million sewer plant upgrade project now have more time to finalize their bids as the city extended the deadline to July 10.
The change from the initial deadline of June 19 was made after a contractor requested an extension , said Ray Drew, the Water Pollution Control Authority’s administrator. The request came from Walsh Construction Co.of Canton, Mass., he said.
The three-week extension shouldn’t delay the planned start of construction, Drew noted, which is still expected to be late August or early September. The city missed a deadline in March, which caused state regulators to reject the contract and require the new bidding process to be held. Only one company, C.H. Nickerson, of Torrington, had bid on the project before the bid was rejected.
George Hicks, the supervising sanitary engineer with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said Tuesday that the contract addenda announcing the deadline change can be viewed on the website of the Wright-Pierce, the city’s project engineers, at https://bit.ly/2I7WspE. The contract document lists seven plan holders, or contractors, who are expected to bid on at least one portion of the project. They range from companies based in Illinois, Ohio to Texas, with the majority of interested contractors located in New England.
The project description listed on the Wright-Pierce website calls for construction of systems that will remove phosphorus from treated wastewater that is discharged into the Naugatuck River. The upgrade is required by the state as part of its environmental protection regulations. Other requirements of the contract, called for by the project engineer, are the renovation of existing structures and buildings and the demolition of certain existing equipment.
Sixty people attended the city’s pre-bid conference held on May 30.
“They don’t all represent contractors,” Drew said.
Some are sub-contractors.
“They attend to get an idea of the extent of their specialty,” for the project, he said.
A second addenda, or addition to the contract, will be issued soon, Drew said, to respond to four requests for information. Those requests contain 41 questions, he added.
The extended deadline “will give contractors additional time to prepare bids” Drew said. “I hope there will be more bids,” he said, compared to the last round.
Public hearing to be held on Bethel elementary renovations
BETHEL — Voters already approved the money for renovations to the Rockwell and Johnson elementary schools, but now the Planning and Zoning Commission must give its blessing.
The commission will hold a public hearing on the project at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Riordan Room D of town hall.
“The voters approved the money and the concepts,” Town Planner Beth Cavagna said. “Now we’re down to the nuts and bolts of the application.”
The commission will consider traffic, the position of the buildings and stormwater management as it reviews the project, Cavagna said.
She said she is not sure how long it will take for the commission to review the project, but said it could vote on it the night of the hearing.
The renovations are meant to give the two elementary schools a major face lift and provide a 21st century educational environment for students. Both schools will get updated gyms, libraries, cafeterias and classrooms. An addition will also be built onto Johnson.
The project will also fix problems at the buildings, such as outdated heating and cooling systems and poor handicap accessibility.
A state grant will cover 45 percent of the project’s eligible costs.
Superintendent Christine Carver said the public hearing will give residents the opportunity to share any concerns about issues such as construction noise. But she expects few residents will have a problem with the renovations, especially since the buildings are in the secluded school park on Whittlesey Drive.
“These two projects are so isolated from other areas,” she said. “It’s not as if there is a neighborhood around it, so quite frankly I don't anticipate any issues.”
Crews plan to conduct hazardous waste testing and other preliminary work on the schools this summer. Work begins in earnest around October and will take about two years.
Carver said she met last week with state officials who were pleased with design development and will meet again with the state in late August or early September to review designs.
“We really are progressing nicely,” she said.
Cromwell road crews working to repave streets around town
CROMWELL — The town has embarked on another round of road repairs.
Crews made up of town employees and outside contractors have fanned out over the past week preparing five lanes for improvements, which, in some cases, involve completely rebuilding the roadway.
A portion of a sixth — Evergreen, between Coles and Willowbrook roads — was repaved earlier this month.
The work is part of a continuing program begun by Director of Public Works Louis J. Spina following his hiring in mid-2014. In his first budget as department head, Spina commissioned a pavement management study — which rates streets most in need for repaving or reconstruction. He has been methodically working through the list.
In just the past year alone, the town repaved or otherwise rehabilitated nearly 20 miles of the roads in town —“almost one-third of our stock,” Spina said in a recent interview.
That included repaving 7.1 miles of streets.
In all, the town has approximately 57.5 miles of roads. Those being repaved now are Catherine, Elm, Missionary and Hillside roads, and Lincoln Road between Timber Hill Road and South Street.
Taken together, the work will result in repaving and/or rebuilding 2.35 miles, Spina said.
“These areas are being addressed now as the town continues to make significant investments in our infrastructure,” Town Manager Anthony J. Salvatore said, discussing the ongoing work.
Paving will take place again in the fall, Salvatore said.
“We have the pavement management study that we go by. And both the Director of Public Works, Mr. Spina, and I have to been trying to stick to that, and we’ve been very fortunate that the (town) council has been supportive of those efforts,” he added.
Wednesday, Salvatore put the cost of this spring’s portion of the road-repair projects at $450,000.
Spina described the pavement management study as “one the best tools you can have. We had a professional come in and review the roads and make an objective assessment of which roads should be done first,” he explained.
Before he decides which to place on the list to be repaired, Spina reaches out to the Water Pollution Control Authority, water department and public utilities such as Eversource “to see if they have any plans to do any major work on these roads in the next few years.
“The last thing you want to do is to repave a road and then have someone come in three weeks later and excavate that road,” he said.
Spina had one penciled in for repaving with the current group of roads. But when he talked to the WPCA, he found out staff were planning repair work that would require opening up 300-plus feet of the roadway, so he removed it from the list.
Repairs begin with crack sealing, after settling and the freeze-thaw cycle opens up fissures in the street. Left unchecked, water from rain or snow melt gets in and the crevices widen.
Crews can apply either natural product or a petroleum-based liquid to seal the cracks, which buys time before a road has to be repaved.
Milling and paving is the next step. The worn-out surface of a road is removed and then the underlay is “milled” — furrows cut into the underlay and a new top coat laid down.
The furrows help the overlay bond more tightly to the underlay.
The final step is reclaiming a road, which essentially involves rebuilding the entire roadway, Spina said. The process involves stripping off the existing asphalt and pulverizing it.
That pulverized product then becomes the base material, which is overlain with a two-inch binder coat.
The crown of the road (which directs water off to the curb) is re-established and the road is tied into catch basins to restore appropriate drainage. A 1.5-inch surface coat is put down and tied into driveway aprons to cause water to flow into the nearby drains.
The reconstruction of a portion of Willowbrook Road, which has been widened and repaved, is separate from the ongoing infrastructure repair project being conducted by Spina and the highway department.
The Willowbrook project, tentatively scheduled to be complete sometime in July, is jointly funded by federal, state and local governments.
Wallingford wastewater plant project estimated to cost $86 million
WALLINGFORD — Proposed upgrades to the town’s aging wastewater treatment plant are projected to cost about $86 million.
The work will be done to meet stricter phosphorus discharge limits and upgrade other processes at the plant, which has not been overhauled since it opened in July 1989. Most existing systems and equipment are near the end of their useful life, officials have said.
The first phase, estimated to cost $55.7 million, will address the state-mandated phosphorus limits, according to a presentation given to the Public Utilities Commission this week by AECOM, a firm hired to design the project. The project’s first phase was previously projected in March to cost $47 million .
The second phase, estimated to cost $30.8 million, will upgrade other equipment and processes, including nitrogen removal.
Wallingford is eligible for state funding to pay for a portion of the phosphorus removal upgrades and a low-interest loan for the remaining phosphorus costs. To receive the maximum amount of state funding possible for the phosphorus upgrades, the town needs to meet a series of state deadlines, including entering into a construction contract by July 1, 2019, beginning construction no later than April 1, 2020, and completing the phosphorus upgrades by April 1, 2022The second phase is expected to be completed from 2023 to 2033 and will be broken down into “smaller subprojects” to level out the impact on ratepayers. The second phase includes $9.7 million to upgrade the plant’s process for handling solid waste, $7.2 million to replace various equipment and $3.5 million to expand lab space, which is undersized based on current standards, according to the presentation given by AECOM.
Much of the project will be funded through water and sewer rate increases.
Public Utilities Director Richard Hendershot could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. said he anticipates the project will have a large impact on rates.
“I don't know how there could not be,” Dickinson said.
Dickinson wasn’t aware of the new cost estimates on Wednesday, but expressed concern.
“Other communities that have undertaken this are showing significant increases in water and sewer rates,” said Dickinson, who has long been opposed to the new phosphorus mandates. “The economy isn't good. At one time, 90 to 95 percent of this was paid for through state and federal funding. Well, they don't have the money, so where are we supposed to get the money?”
Earlier this year, the Meriden City Council approved a rate increase of 5.7 percent that will take effect this fall. As a result, the average home consuming 3,000 cubic feet of water per year, will pay $31 more for water and sewer annually.
Wallingford is one of many municipalities undertaking upgrades to meet stricter discharge limits enacted by the state. 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.
Officials will hold a public workshop on the project on 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in room 315 of Town Hall.
Work Continues On Park Road/ I-84, Local Road Projects Continue Through July
Construction work and detours in the area of Park Road and the Interstate 84 entrance and exit ramps are expected to continue through June and July and more roadways throughout town will be paved and milled, according to town officials.
Over the last month, Paramount Construction crews installed a retaining wall along the I-84 entrance ramp, narrowing the ramp to prep for paving the new entrance ramp in August. Crews for weeks worked on drainage on Park Road, according to West Hartford civil engineer Greg Sommer.
Over the next month, crews will work on electricity for traffic signals and granite curbing on Park Road. Motorists can expect to see a lot of what they have seen the last month or so — heavy construction and detours. Sommer said he hopes motorists will avoid the area as much as possible.
While the I-84/ Park Road project continues, the town has about 8.3 miles of road reconstruction, reclamation and milling projects slated to be completed by summer’s end.
A dedicated bike lane has been established on Boulevard with a shared bike lane westbound. Martin said signage still needs to go up on Boulevard to indicate no parking on the eastbound lane and that the westbound lane is a shared road.
Road reconstruction projects include work on: Wilfred Street, Bonny View Road, Smallwood Road and Brainbridge Road from Ballard Drive to Foxcroft Road.
In July, the town has a number of repaving and reclamation projects planned. Here are the tentative dates, weather permitted, according to Martin.Starting July 4, crews will work on Westpoint Terrace, and paving is expected July 18.Starting July 9, crews will mill South Main Street from Elmfield Street to the Newington town line. That project includes repaving of the Elmfield Street and South Main Street intersection and a detour will be set up for southbound traffic — that detour plan has not been finalized yet. Similar to the Boulevard paving — a dedicated bike lane will be set up southbound with prohibited on-street parking. The northbound lane will be a shared lane with on-street parking permitted.Starting July 12, crews will mill the entire length of Caya Avenue. The road will be closed to through traffic but the I-84 off-ramp will stay open. That project is expected to start earlier — 6 a.m. instead of the usual 7 a.m. start time. Project expected to be completed by July 16.Starting July 13, crews will mill Shield Street. That will be an overnight project and the road will be closed to through traffic. July 19 and 20 are tentative paving dates and will be done overnight.Starting July 17, crews will reclaim and repave Dexter Avenue. The reclamation portion will be done during the day and paving will be done at night. For a reclamation project, crews use equipment that breaks up asphalt into smaller pieces but keeps it in place to use as much of the existing pavement as a base. It does make for difficult travel, though. Dexter Avenue would be paved overnight starting July 27.Starting July 17, crews will mill the upper parking lots in Fernridge Park. Crews are expected to pave the lots on July 30.Milling is expected on July 11 and paving on July 18 for sections of Hillcrest Avenue, Braeburn Road, and all of Lynn Court.