Ben Lambert
HAMDEN — The Legislative Council unanimously accepted a $110,287.50 grant this week to fund the needed repair of the Chatterton Way Bridge, which spans Jepp Brook.
Town Engineer Mark Austin said in a letter to the council that the Chatterton Way Bridge was found to be in need of repairs in 2010, when the town assessed all the bridges in the community.
In the years since, the state Department of Transportation has determined it to be in “fair to worse” condition, and “strongly recommends” that it be repaired or replaced, Austin said.
“The bridge project will encompass design, construction, and administration and consist of slip lining rehabilitation of the existing structure, reinforcement of the existing stone retaining walls and other ancillary improvements,” Austin said. “We will use our internal staff for plan design and administration and bid the repair work.”
Mayor Curt B. Leng said the plan hopefully would allow the work to be done without a major impact on the neighborhood.
“The proposed construction will allow us to rehabilitate the bridge in its existing location with what we hope will be minimal disruption to the neighborhood,” Leng said in a statement.
The town was able to secure the funding through the 2018 State Local Bridge Program, Austin said. The measure was created by the state Legislature in 1984 to help municipalities defray the cost of bridge repair, according to the DOT.“In Connecticut, there are more than 3,400 bridges and culverts on municipally maintained roads. Construction and maintenance of these expensive structures is the responsibility of the cities and towns who own them,” wrote DOT officials on the department’s website. “This program provides for State grants to municipalities for the removal, replacement, reconstruction or rehabilitation of local bridges.”The grant will pay for approximately half of the project, with the rest to come from existing bonded funds, Austin said.
Construction is expected to begin in April and be completed by the end of June, according to documentation submitted to the council.
Councilman Brad Macdowall, who represents the residents of Chatterton Way, said in a statement Friday he was pleased to see the repairs move forward.
“I’m really excited for the bridge to get some much-needed TLC. Town Engineer Mark Austin went above and beyond for the grant to make sure we are protecting the integrity of the bridge and the safety of those who use it,” Macdowall said. “We desperately need to repair the bridge, and I’m very happy that it can be done with minimal cost to Hamden taxpayers.”
PROVIDENCE (AP) — A company says it's beginning construction on what will be the onshore wind farm with the most operational capacity in the state.
Green Development, LLC, is building a seven-turbine wind farm in Johnston, R.I.
It says its turbines, at 3 megawatts each, will be fully operational by the year's end, for 21 megawatts.
Green Development says it also owns 10 turbines in Coventry, but they're 1.5 megawatt each, for a capacity of 15 megawatts.
The North Kingstown-based company says it's dedicated to creating "green jobs and green energy."
The Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources says other onshore turbines are located in Portsmouth, Narragansett, Warwick, Providence and North Kingstown.
The office says Providence has a three-turbine wind farm and the other municipalities have either one or two turbines.
Rail station, hotel, housing fill Newington’s bucket list
Gregory Seay
Newington, whose Berlin Turnpike corridor is popular with shoppers and diners, is the scene of several proposed development projects that could one day raise its destination profile even more.
Aside from the recent $3.2 million sale of the Sears Outlet store, a developer and Eversource are pending with a sale of the utility operator's 24-acre hilltop former service-center site at 3333 Berlin Turnpike. According to Andrew Brecher, Newington's economic-development director, the developer's initial vision is for housing.
At 550 Cedar St., Massachusetts developer-landlord Dakota Partners, which owns Hartford's Capitol Lofts and 179 Allyn St. apartment buildings, is proposing an affordable-housing development near one of Newington's two CTfastrak busway stations.
Next spring, work is slated to begin on developer Michael Frisbee and his partners' $60 million Villas at Cedar Mountain assisted- and independent-living community.
But just a short walk up Cedar Street from the Dakota project would rest the largest and potentially biggest economic-development spur for Newington: the state Department of Transportation's (DOT) proposal for a new, $55 million train station at 565 Cedar St., across from Central Connecticut State University.
Included in the $55 million, Brecher said, would be funding for DOT upgrades to Route 9 and arteries to and from the train-station site.
The rail-station site would be an alternative to the DOT's original plan for one at Francis and Willard avenues, in the town's Newington Junction neighborhood, named for a time when a train station once sat there, Brecher said.
However, junction neighbors' concerns about traffic and noise from a nearby rail station prompted DOT to rethink its scheme, Brecher said.
As a result, the town and DOT scheduled an Oct. 18 "informational meeting'' for residents and town leaders to hear more about the proposed rail station. Also contemplated is related parking, to accommodate Hartford Line and CTfastrak riders.
Meantime, still under discussion, Brecher said, is a new hotel in town adjacent to the CCSU campus. An Albany, N.Y., developer is proposing a 120-room hotel, with 65-seat restaurant and 5,000 square feet of conference space. The unnamed developer recently completed a second market study that showed significant market demand for a lodging facility with that size and amenities, he said.
But for the state's fiscal woes, which held up DOT's rail-station planning, the hotel might have been built already, or at least begun construction, Brecher said.
Meantime, Town Planner Craig Minor, Brecher says, is working on a "transit village design district'' overlay of the town's existing zoning layout, to help residents and officials choose the most ideal long-term development options.
Electric Boat To Expand Groton Shipyard To Meet Rising Submarine Demand
Stephen Singer
Electric Boat plans to spend $850 million to significantly expand its Groton shipyard as the Navy picks up the pace of submarine construction and design to face down threats from China and Russia.
The subsidiary of General Dynamics Corp. is building two Virginia-class attack submarines a year and is designing the ballistic Columbia-class submarines to be ordered from 2021 to 2035, replacing the aging Ohio-class subs. To keep up with demand for the two submarine programs, Electric Boat projects it will need 18,000 workers by 2030. The workforce reached 16,500 last year, the most in 25 years. Most of the employment growth will be in trade mechanics, supervisors and associated personnel.
“What’s driving this is the Navy wants to continue the Virginia class at the current pace for the foreseeable future,” Jeff Geiger, president of Electric Boat, said in an interview. “Compounding on top of that is the Columbia class...to replace the Ohio built in the ’80s and ’90s.”
General Dynamics also is spending about $850 million to upgrade and expand its shipyard in nearby Quonset Point, R.I.
Construction is expected to begin in 2019 and extend to 2023, in time to receive submarine modules — the portions of the enormous vessels — that are built at Quonset Point and shipped to Groton for assembly and construction.
Plans call for a final assembly hall at the southern end of the shipyard for construction of 12 Columbia class submarines beginning in 2021. EB is designing the building and seeking permits for construction, which is expected to begin in 2019.
“The Navy has put a very high urgent priority designation on this project,” he said. The Quonset Point site will be outfitted with facilities that provide additional module fabrication and space to support both Virginia-class and Columbia-class construction projects, Geiger said.
In Groton, changes will allow EB to build a bigger ship and receive a larger barge containing the larger modules, he said.
A floating dry dock will be added, extending buildings at water’s edge, Geiger said. The projects will require federal and state environmental review.
The construction has upset some neighbors. Frank Ricci, a retired 34-year supervising engineer at EB, said a new building will block much of the view of the Thames River from his house.
“I’ll see the sun setting behind the buildings,” he said.
Ricci, who has lived in his home 45 years and recently spent $30,000 to build a porch facing the river, attended a recent meeting EB called to solicit their opinions. A lawyer advised him that opposition won’t halt EB’s plans.
“It’s a government thing,” he said, quoting the attorney.
Geiger said EB is trying to work with neighbors and “be sensitive to them.”
But the shipbuilder faces “very limited siting for the facility,” he said.
EB will try to reduce traffic during the construction of the buildings by using boats on the Thames River to deliver supplies, Geiger said.
Courtney said the project is too important to allow significant alterations in response to neighbors’ complaints.
“I’m very confident this is going to proceed,” he said.
Carlton Smith, zoning and building official for the city of Groton, said EB officials have not yet presented an application for the expansion project. The city will have to sign off on building heights and other details when the project is formally submitted, which he said will be early next year.
The Army Corps of Engineers and state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection also will review the project. The Corps of Engineers will review EB plans for dredging in the Thames River.
Electric Boat is benefiting from a shift in military strategy that increasingly relies on undersea warfare. Authorization for federal spending that Congress and President Donald Trump approved includes funding for two Virginia-class submarines and advanced procurement for future submarines, at $7.6 billion.
It also funds the Columbia submarine at $3.2 billion and adds $237 million to expand the submarine industrial base of manufacturers.
The state has already come on board the shipyard construction project. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced in May a package of nearly $85 million in grants, incentives and loans to help General Dynamics add nearly 1,900 employees over 17 years and expand its Groton site.
“We’re very excited about this,” Geiger said of the expansion. “It’s a great opportunity for our country.”
Nearly 36 Miles of Pipeline Replaced After Gas Explosions
BOSTON (AP) - The utility company involved in last month's explosions and fires in Massachusetts says it has replaced nearly 36 miles of main pipeline in the area.
Columbia Gas announced Oct. 21, that it's 80 percent through its work replacing 45 miles of main pipeline, and about halfway through its work replacing 6,100 service lines to homes and businesses.
The company says 151 construction crews are expected to continue work Sunday in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover.
The Sept. 13 explosions and fires killed a teenager and injured at least 25 other people.
Federal authorities say natural gas lines became overpressurized after Columbia Gas failed to account for critical pressure sensors as workers replaced century-old cast-iron pipes in Lawrence.
The company says it has paid $23 million in claims from customers.
Waterbury’s Municipal Stadium upgrades funded
MICHAEL PUFFER
WATERBURY – The Board of Aldermen voted 13-1 Monday to borrow $5 million for upgrades at Municipal Stadium.
Near $4 million of that will go to J.A. Rosa Construction, as aldermen also voted to hire the Wolcott company to design and build an 8,520-square-foot bathroom and locker room facility.
Municipal Stadium is the city’s premier outdoor sports complex along Watertown Avenue. It already underwent a $4.5 million renovation that began in 2013 and wrapped up three years later.
That project refurbished the main baseball field, fencing, lighting, landscaping, signage and the grandstands. It was supposed to replace bathrooms and locker rooms under the old grandstands. But the project ran into problems threatening to put it massively over budget. Officials were forced to revise plans, stripping out the bathrooms and locker rooms.
Mayor Neil O’Leary told board members Monday they shouldn’t look back at that prior “debacle,” but rather ahead to the economic development possibilities a completely revamped stadium would bring. Recent baseball tournaments had filled every hotel in the city and beyond, he noted.
Under the contract agreed Monday, J.A. Rosa is to substantially complete the building by June 30, and finish “punch-list” odds and ends by July 22.
The remainder of the $5 million will be spent on replacing an artificial turf on a football field and other improvements.
A couple speakers voiced concern over cost, including Lawrence V. De Pillo, a former alderman. He contended a prefabricated building could serve the same functions for about one-third the proposed cost.
“I think the taxpayers are sick of watching boards and commissions waste their money,” De Pillo said.
Alderman Roger Sherman, a Republican, had previously voiced concerns over cost. But, on Monday, he said further research led him to side with city officials, and he voted in favor.
Of the 14 board members present Monday, only Vernon Matthews voted in opposition.
Matthews, who is also a member of the Board of Park Commissioners, said he hasn’t seen any evidence that the upgrade will bring enough additional events to justify the expense.
Green Development, LLC, is building a seven-turbine wind farm in Johnston, R.I.
It says its turbines, at 3 megawatts each, will be fully operational by the year's end, for 21 megawatts.
Green Development says it also owns 10 turbines in Coventry, but they're 1.5 megawatt each, for a capacity of 15 megawatts.
The North Kingstown-based company says it's dedicated to creating "green jobs and green energy."
The Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources says other onshore turbines are located in Portsmouth, Narragansett, Warwick, Providence and North Kingstown.
The office says Providence has a three-turbine wind farm and the other municipalities have either one or two turbines.
Rail station, hotel, housing fill Newington’s bucket list
Gregory Seay
Newington, whose Berlin Turnpike corridor is popular with shoppers and diners, is the scene of several proposed development projects that could one day raise its destination profile even more.
Aside from the recent $3.2 million sale of the Sears Outlet store, a developer and Eversource are pending with a sale of the utility operator's 24-acre hilltop former service-center site at 3333 Berlin Turnpike. According to Andrew Brecher, Newington's economic-development director, the developer's initial vision is for housing.
At 550 Cedar St., Massachusetts developer-landlord Dakota Partners, which owns Hartford's Capitol Lofts and 179 Allyn St. apartment buildings, is proposing an affordable-housing development near one of Newington's two CTfastrak busway stations.
Next spring, work is slated to begin on developer Michael Frisbee and his partners' $60 million Villas at Cedar Mountain assisted- and independent-living community.
But just a short walk up Cedar Street from the Dakota project would rest the largest and potentially biggest economic-development spur for Newington: the state Department of Transportation's (DOT) proposal for a new, $55 million train station at 565 Cedar St., across from Central Connecticut State University.
Included in the $55 million, Brecher said, would be funding for DOT upgrades to Route 9 and arteries to and from the train-station site.
The rail-station site would be an alternative to the DOT's original plan for one at Francis and Willard avenues, in the town's Newington Junction neighborhood, named for a time when a train station once sat there, Brecher said.
However, junction neighbors' concerns about traffic and noise from a nearby rail station prompted DOT to rethink its scheme, Brecher said.
As a result, the town and DOT scheduled an Oct. 18 "informational meeting'' for residents and town leaders to hear more about the proposed rail station. Also contemplated is related parking, to accommodate Hartford Line and CTfastrak riders.
Meantime, still under discussion, Brecher said, is a new hotel in town adjacent to the CCSU campus. An Albany, N.Y., developer is proposing a 120-room hotel, with 65-seat restaurant and 5,000 square feet of conference space. The unnamed developer recently completed a second market study that showed significant market demand for a lodging facility with that size and amenities, he said.
But for the state's fiscal woes, which held up DOT's rail-station planning, the hotel might have been built already, or at least begun construction, Brecher said.
Meantime, Town Planner Craig Minor, Brecher says, is working on a "transit village design district'' overlay of the town's existing zoning layout, to help residents and officials choose the most ideal long-term development options.
Electric Boat To Expand Groton Shipyard To Meet Rising Submarine Demand
Stephen Singer
Electric Boat plans to spend $850 million to significantly expand its Groton shipyard as the Navy picks up the pace of submarine construction and design to face down threats from China and Russia.
The subsidiary of General Dynamics Corp. is building two Virginia-class attack submarines a year and is designing the ballistic Columbia-class submarines to be ordered from 2021 to 2035, replacing the aging Ohio-class subs. To keep up with demand for the two submarine programs, Electric Boat projects it will need 18,000 workers by 2030. The workforce reached 16,500 last year, the most in 25 years. Most of the employment growth will be in trade mechanics, supervisors and associated personnel.
“What’s driving this is the Navy wants to continue the Virginia class at the current pace for the foreseeable future,” Jeff Geiger, president of Electric Boat, said in an interview. “Compounding on top of that is the Columbia class...to replace the Ohio built in the ’80s and ’90s.”
General Dynamics also is spending about $850 million to upgrade and expand its shipyard in nearby Quonset Point, R.I.
Construction is expected to begin in 2019 and extend to 2023, in time to receive submarine modules — the portions of the enormous vessels — that are built at Quonset Point and shipped to Groton for assembly and construction.
Plans call for a final assembly hall at the southern end of the shipyard for construction of 12 Columbia class submarines beginning in 2021. EB is designing the building and seeking permits for construction, which is expected to begin in 2019.
EB will continue to build the Virginia-class submarine at the shipyard’s northern part.
U.S. Rep. Joseph Courtney, whose 2nd District includes the Groton shipyard, said the cost to extend the shipyard “ranks as high as any construction project in Connecticut.”“The Navy has put a very high urgent priority designation on this project,” he said. The Quonset Point site will be outfitted with facilities that provide additional module fabrication and space to support both Virginia-class and Columbia-class construction projects, Geiger said.
In Groton, changes will allow EB to build a bigger ship and receive a larger barge containing the larger modules, he said.
A floating dry dock will be added, extending buildings at water’s edge, Geiger said. The projects will require federal and state environmental review.
The construction has upset some neighbors. Frank Ricci, a retired 34-year supervising engineer at EB, said a new building will block much of the view of the Thames River from his house.
“I’ll see the sun setting behind the buildings,” he said.
Ricci, who has lived in his home 45 years and recently spent $30,000 to build a porch facing the river, attended a recent meeting EB called to solicit their opinions. A lawyer advised him that opposition won’t halt EB’s plans.
“It’s a government thing,” he said, quoting the attorney.
Geiger said EB is trying to work with neighbors and “be sensitive to them.”
But the shipbuilder faces “very limited siting for the facility,” he said.
EB will try to reduce traffic during the construction of the buildings by using boats on the Thames River to deliver supplies, Geiger said.
Courtney said the project is too important to allow significant alterations in response to neighbors’ complaints.
“I’m very confident this is going to proceed,” he said.
Carlton Smith, zoning and building official for the city of Groton, said EB officials have not yet presented an application for the expansion project. The city will have to sign off on building heights and other details when the project is formally submitted, which he said will be early next year.
The Army Corps of Engineers and state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection also will review the project. The Corps of Engineers will review EB plans for dredging in the Thames River.
Electric Boat is benefiting from a shift in military strategy that increasingly relies on undersea warfare. Authorization for federal spending that Congress and President Donald Trump approved includes funding for two Virginia-class submarines and advanced procurement for future submarines, at $7.6 billion.
It also funds the Columbia submarine at $3.2 billion and adds $237 million to expand the submarine industrial base of manufacturers.
The state has already come on board the shipyard construction project. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced in May a package of nearly $85 million in grants, incentives and loans to help General Dynamics add nearly 1,900 employees over 17 years and expand its Groton site.
“We’re very excited about this,” Geiger said of the expansion. “It’s a great opportunity for our country.”
Nearly 36 Miles of Pipeline Replaced After Gas Explosions
BOSTON (AP) - The utility company involved in last month's explosions and fires in Massachusetts says it has replaced nearly 36 miles of main pipeline in the area.
Columbia Gas announced Oct. 21, that it's 80 percent through its work replacing 45 miles of main pipeline, and about halfway through its work replacing 6,100 service lines to homes and businesses.
The company says 151 construction crews are expected to continue work Sunday in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover.
The Sept. 13 explosions and fires killed a teenager and injured at least 25 other people.
Federal authorities say natural gas lines became overpressurized after Columbia Gas failed to account for critical pressure sensors as workers replaced century-old cast-iron pipes in Lawrence.
The company says it has paid $23 million in claims from customers.
Waterbury’s Municipal Stadium upgrades funded
MICHAEL PUFFER
WATERBURY – The Board of Aldermen voted 13-1 Monday to borrow $5 million for upgrades at Municipal Stadium.
Near $4 million of that will go to J.A. Rosa Construction, as aldermen also voted to hire the Wolcott company to design and build an 8,520-square-foot bathroom and locker room facility.
Municipal Stadium is the city’s premier outdoor sports complex along Watertown Avenue. It already underwent a $4.5 million renovation that began in 2013 and wrapped up three years later.
That project refurbished the main baseball field, fencing, lighting, landscaping, signage and the grandstands. It was supposed to replace bathrooms and locker rooms under the old grandstands. But the project ran into problems threatening to put it massively over budget. Officials were forced to revise plans, stripping out the bathrooms and locker rooms.
Mayor Neil O’Leary told board members Monday they shouldn’t look back at that prior “debacle,” but rather ahead to the economic development possibilities a completely revamped stadium would bring. Recent baseball tournaments had filled every hotel in the city and beyond, he noted.
Under the contract agreed Monday, J.A. Rosa is to substantially complete the building by June 30, and finish “punch-list” odds and ends by July 22.
The remainder of the $5 million will be spent on replacing an artificial turf on a football field and other improvements.
A couple speakers voiced concern over cost, including Lawrence V. De Pillo, a former alderman. He contended a prefabricated building could serve the same functions for about one-third the proposed cost.
“I think the taxpayers are sick of watching boards and commissions waste their money,” De Pillo said.
Alderman Roger Sherman, a Republican, had previously voiced concerns over cost. But, on Monday, he said further research led him to side with city officials, and he voted in favor.
Of the 14 board members present Monday, only Vernon Matthews voted in opposition.
Matthews, who is also a member of the Board of Park Commissioners, said he hasn’t seen any evidence that the upgrade will bring enough additional events to justify the expense.