Newington, Conn.
Award of Merit
Owner: Connecticut Dept. of Transportation
Lead Design Firm/Engineer of Record/Civil Engineer: Alfred Benesch & Co.
General Contractor: O&G Industries Inc.
Consultant Liaison Engineer, Design: CME Associates
Subcontractors: A&J Construction (Milling and Paving); Canam Bridges (Structural Steel Manufacturing); Coastal Materials (Concrete Testing and Inspection)
Among the few accelerated bridge construction projects in Connecticut, the team says this $5-million project was completed under budget and ahead of schedule with minimal traffic disruption.
This project relied on teamwork. After a three-month design and fabrication period, the team says it spent two critical weekends dismantling the existing bridge and installing the seven 105-ft-long precast bridge units (constructed 100 yd from the site) that replaced 19 aging concrete box beams. One half of the bridge was dismantled, and 21 days later, the remaining half was dismantled before the bridge units were dropped into position.
Executing a carefully sequenced and rehearsed plan, some 75 personnel from eight companies worked for 50 continuous hours each weekend, finishing six hours ahead of schedule both times, the team says
To accelerate the project’s speed and lower the cost, the team says it reduced sheet piling, improved the concrete approach slabs, self-fabricated the bridge units and worked around Amtrak schedules.
Getting There: LIRR project digs bigger hole for Connecticut rail commuters
Jim Cameron
We all know what happened when Boston decided to bury its downtown elevated interstate highway, known as the Central Artery. What was intended to be a seven-year, $2.6 billion project ended up taking a decade and costing $14.6 billion.
Head’s up: New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority — the parent company of Metro-North — has similar designs for our beloved Grand Central. Nicknamed the East Side Access project, the goal is to bring some Long Island Rail Road trains into Grand Central.
The plan would use the lower level of the already built 63rd Street subway tunnel, allowing some LIRR trains from Queens to enter Manhattan and then follow a new, very deep tunnel under existing Metro-North tracks beneath Park Avenue.
Trains would terminate 14 stories under Grand Central on eight tracks with up to 24 trains arriving per hour. Exiting passengers — an estimated 162,000 per day (compared with the 115,000 who arrive and depart at GCT from Connecticut — would be whisked upward on high-speed escalators, into an underground concourse complex stretching from 43rd to 48th streets beneath Vanderbilt Avenue.
A few years ago, I donned boots and a hard hat and surveyed the construction. It was so massive, it looked like something out of a James Bond movie.
The cost has already ballooned from $3.5 billion to $11 billion in a project rife with corruption. In 2010, the MTA discovered it was paying 200 workers $1,000 a day each with no assigned duties. This year, we learned that relatives of high-ranking union officials were being paid $42 an hour (plus $23 in benefits) to deliver coffee to the workers. Construction analysts say it costs four times as much in New York City to build projects like these compared to Asian and European jobs.The East Side Access project will give LIRR riders better access to midtown. But is today’s subway ride connection from Penn Station to GCT really all that bad? Imagine what we could do with $11 billion to improve commuter rail service in the tri-state region.
Another concern is what will doubling the number of passengers in GCT mean for Connecticut commuters? If you think the station is crowded now, just wait until this project is complete.
GCT would quickly be maxed out for trains and platforms, making much-needed expansion of train service to Connecticut a real problem.
And just imagine the already jam-packed Lexington Avenue subway station with even more riders.
Diverting LIRR trains into GCT should open “slots” in Penn Station for some Metro-North trains, which would travel there by way of the Hell Gate Bridge. But don’t count on it, considering New Jersey Transit, Amtrak and LIRR will also be vying for Penn Station access.If all of this concerns you, don’t get your knickers in a knot. There’s nothing you can do to stop it. The money’s already been appropriated and the project should be finished in 2022.
What role did Connecticut play in this boondoggle? Zero. New York’s MTA didn’t ask our opinion or seek our approval. Connecticut commuters pay the bills and New York’s MTA calls the tune, building a really “big dig” that benefits Long Island, but penalizes us. What’s wrong with this picture?
Keeping Millstone humming
The Day Editorial Board
It may seem odd that a plant would celebrate being judged “at risk,” but such is the case with Dominion Energy, which learned last week that the “at risk” status of its Millstone Power Station nuclear plant in Waterford will better position it to land profitable energy contracts.
This is the latest step in a long effort, stretching over two years, to provide Millstone station the stability it needs to remain viable. The final step should come soon when the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is expected to include Millstone among the power generators selected in its “zero-carbon” auction.
While Millstone may be operating profitably now, Dominion recognizes its longer term prospects were not good unless something changed. It could no longer compete with power plants fueled by cheap natural gas. Nuclear plants have closed across the country because they could not survive in their markets, including the Kewaunee Power Station in Wisconsin in 2012. Also operated by Dominion, it confronted price pressures similar to those facing Millstone.
A sudden shutdown of Millstone would pose a big problem, given that it supplies about 50 percent of Connecticut's electric power and about 95 percent of the state's zero-carbon energy. It is a major southeastern Connecticut employer, with about 1,500 high-priced jobs.
In passing a law that this newspaper strongly advocated for in its editorials, the state legislature allowed Millstone to enter into an auction with other technologies, such as solar, wind and hydropower that, like nuclear, have the benefit of not producing greenhouse gases.
But the “at risk” of closure designation, granted by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, was a critical finding under the legislation. It means that DEEP will grade Dominion’s bids to sell power from Millstone not only on price but also on consideration the economic and environmental benefits the plant provides.
Because of their proprietary nature, Dominion provided confidential records documenting the economic challenges facing Millstone to state regulators. Both the Office of Consumer Counsel and DEEP urged the PURA to designate the nuclear station as at risk of retirement.
DEEP will select winning proposals by year’s end. The winning bidders then will negotiate contracts with electric distribution companies Eversource and United Illuminating. PURA anticipates approving the contracts next spring.
In time Millstone should be displaced by renewable energy sources, but keeping it open now provides a bridge to that clean-energy future.
The $9M Milford Project That Many Didn't Want Is Celebrated Today
By Brian McCready
MILFORD, CT — The $9.1 million project that no one in Milford wants is now well underway and a ceremony was held in Milford, which included Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. I'm sure no one is against restrooms, a concession building and a short new boardwalk but city officials and local residents wanted no part of this controversial project because Milford residents because there is concern about the scope of the project and its impact on the environment and local neighborhoods. An earlier concern that residents would have to pay to access the park has since been alleviated by the new Passport to Parks program.I'm sure no one is against restrooms, a concession building and a short new boardwalk but city officials and local residents wanted no part of this controversial project because Milford residents because there is concern about the scope of the project and its impact on the environment and local neighborhoods. An earlier concern that residents would have to pay to access the park has since been alleviated by the new Passport to Parks program.
Governor Dannel P. Malloy and Department of Energy and Environment Protection (DEEP) Commissioner Rob Klee today cut a ribbon to celebrate the imminent completion of long-awaited renovations at Silver Sands State Park in Milford.
The project, which will be fully completed by the beginning of the 2019 beach season, includes three new buildings, including a concession building, restrooms, and offices. A new beach boardwalk will connect the previously existing boardwalk to the bathhouse, and a short new boardwalk across the tidal wetlands will connect the existing main boardwalk to the new bathhouse.
"Connecticut's state parks are integral to the state's quality of life," Governor Malloy said. "These renovations will help make Silver Sands more accessible for all. The beauty of our shoreline state parks is that they give people from all backgrounds, regardless of their socioeconomic situation, the opportunity to utilize our world-class beaches. I could not be more proud of the improvements that are being made."
The main paved parking lot, which previously consisted of 197 spaces, is being expanded to 251 spaces. The overflow gravel parking lot, which had been 500 spaces, is being reconfigured and built with reinforced grass with a total of 420 spaces.
A new grassed parking lot will be constructed to the north of the main parking lot that will have 146 spaces. Parking at the bathhouse, which previously consisted of 16 spaces, is being reconfigured to accommodate the new building and will increase to 20 spaces. A ticket booth complex is being constructed along the entry road, and a new maintenance building is being constructed at the north end.
This 4,710 square-foot building will include a 1,660 square-foot garage, a 1,537 square-foot workshop and storage area and 1,527 square-feet of staff space.
"The significant investments in the Connecticut State Park system are a hallmark of the Malloy administration," Commissioner Klee said. "Each year, millions of people visit our state parks. Projects such as the one at Silver Sands will significantly improve the visitor experience for all park goers in the years to come."
The state park acquisition of Silver Sands, ultimately involving over 300 parcels, began after Hurricane Diane destroyed 75 homes in 1955. Needing help to renovate the battered beach, the City of Milford asked the Park Commission for help with the nearly overwhelming task. When the land transfers were complete in 1960, Silver Sands became the state's fourth shoreline park.