HARTFORD — The State Bond Commission is to release tens of millions of dollars in funding for repairs to the bridge that connects Middletown and Portland.
Repairs to the Charles J. Arrigoni Bridge, which carries Route 66 over the Connecticut River, will ensure transportation over the key connector will not be compromised, according to the state Department of Transportation.
Additional funds will also be allocated to cover traffic signal removal on Route 9 in Middletown, according to a press release.
“This major investment in the Arrigoni Bridge is important to protecting the safety of pedestrians, motorists and the public,” Sen. Matthew Lesser, D-Middletown, said in a prepared statement.
“It includes important security upgrades that will save lives. And I’m happy to see Governor Lamont move forward by renewing the commitment to fixing the traffic lights on Route 9 — the funding approved today will keep DOT working on a solution that works for Middletown and the state as a whole.'
With a total cost of $46.8 million, $39.4 million coming from the state, the phase two replacement of the Arrigoni Bridge from Middletown to Portland will involve the bridge’s approach spans, which are deteriorating. The work will additionally assist with repairs to sidewalk and pedestrian railing deficiencies to better support integrity of the deck, according to the release.
The Arrigoni Bridge, built between 1936 and 1938, was the largest and most expensive bridge in the state at the time of its completion. The phase two design will use state-of-the-art technology to improve the safety and reliability of this historic 79-year-old bridge, according to the state.
This request was made by the Fix it First Bridge Program, which provides rehabilitation, reconstruction, repair, or replacement of bridges on the state highway system. This repair is for bridges which have been identified as being in fair or poor condition where funds are not otherwise available.
Additionally, $2 million has been allocated to cover design activities and coordination for a traffic signal removal project on Route 9 in Middletown.
Portland officials share details of waterfront property plan with public
PORTLAND - Officials say they are pleased with the results of two-hour informational meeting held on a piece of waterfront property the town hopes to buy.
Some three-dozen residents turned out for the weekend meeting, which was held at the Riverfront Park pavilion.
A majority of the Board of Selectmen members were there, as were state Sen. Norm Needleman, D-Essex, and state Rep. Christie Carpino, R-Cromwell.
The town has been working since 2014 to acquire the 5.28-acre property, which contains three parcels land that formerly served as the home of the Connecticut Tar & Asphalt Co.
Along the way, the town has been awarded three state grants to determine the extent of contamination on the site and lay the groundwork for its eventual clean up.
While town official are anxious to get the issue resolved once and for all, it appears unlikely that a town meeting on the proposal will take place until after Labor Day.
Several selectmen have indicated they want maximum transparency: having as many people possible to be aware of and vote on the $385,000 proposal.That suggests a vote on the issue will not take place until sometime after Labor Day.
But “That certainly won’t be happening in July,” First Selectwoman Susan S. Bransfield said Monday.
Several of the selectman have already told her they will not be available for meetings during July.And, like the selectmen, many residents have blocked out time for vacations and other summer activities in July.
Saturday morning’s meeting was full of useful information, Bransfield said.
Residents were able to view a video of the property shot by a drone that was piloted by Selectman James K. Tripp.
Tripp also took photographs of the property from a boat moored in the Connecticut River.
As a result, residents were able to see both “a surviving deep-water pier as well as buildings that still remain on the property,” Bransfield said.
Once Tripp’s multi-media presentation was completed, Bransfield gave a short history of the effort to acquire the property and its accumulation of grants in 2013, 2016 and 2017.
The grants were used to determine the amount of contamination on the property and lay out an estimate of what it will take to clean the land of residual oil and related by-products.
Elwin Guild, chairman of the Economic Development commission, then “explained how the proposed purchase an redevelopment are in compliance with the both the 2006 and the 2016 Plan of Conservation and Development.”
Guild said the project meets the standards set forth in the POCD while also demonstrating “this is something the town has planning for long-term.”
Needleman and Carpino each sought to reassure residents that the third state grant is still available for the town to use.Mary D. Dickerson, land use/economic development coordinator, presented two reports, one on the projected revenues and expenses of the project, the other FAQs, or frequently asked questions, about the project.
Amy Vaillancourt, the environment planner, who is assisting the town, discussed how the site would be cleaned if the town were to agree to the purchase.
Selectman Edward J. “Rick” Sharr offered his opinion of the proposal both as businessman and “as someone who is involved in real estate.”
The meeting concluded with walk of the perimeter of the property.“I was very pleased with the number of the people who attended and the questions they asked. I’d also like to thank all our presenters,” Bransfield said.
Preston needs additional $4 million for cleanup of former Norwich Hospital site
Claire Bessette
Preston — The state's use decades ago of ash from a coal-fired heating plant at the Norwich Hospital to create roadways and sidewalks throughout the property is resurfacing as an unexpected cost during the final months of the town's cleanup of the site, which Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment has proposed developing.
Environmental testing and cleanup crews have removed coal ash piles and have dug up former campus roadways to get at ash in the roadbeds. But Preston Redevelopment Agency Chairman Sean Nugent said much more extensive coal ash contamination has been detected on the property.
“We found additional ash cinders below, in some places two feet of ash, then two feet of clean (fill), then two feet of ash beneath that,” Nugent said. “We also found additional asbestos material wrapped around tree roots.”
The discoveries have added an estimated $4 million in cleanup costs associated with the 393-acre property, prompting town officials to seek release of a $2 million low-interest contingency loan approved by the state in addition to a $10 million grant awarded to cover final cleanup costs. The low-interest loan has payment forgiveness provisions based on the number of jobs created by the future development.
The town also is seeking an additional $2 million state grant to cover the added costs of removing the coal ash and asbestos in the ground.
State Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, co-chairwoman of the General Assembly’s Appropriations Committee, said she has asked Gov. Ned Lamont’s office to look at potential brownfields funding for Preston to finish the hospital cleanup.
Osten said the additional $2 million request is in keeping with Lamont’s so-called “debt diet,” which calls for reducing bonding to essential spending.
“I think it qualifies, because it cleans up a former state site, it’s economic development ...," said Osten. “I think cleaning up brownfields to get these properties back on the tax rolls is important.”
Nugent said that if the $2 million contingency loan can be promptly released by the state Department of Economic and Community Development and the state schedules a Bond Commission vote on the request for the additional $2 million later this summer, the town would not lose time in the final cleanup process.
The town hopes to finish all environmental cleanup by this fall, and by the end of the year obtain certification from the state that the cleanup is done. That would clear the way to transfer the property to Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment.
“If we don’t get the first $2 million released in three weeks, we will have to stop operations,” Nugent said. “We certainly don’t want to do that.”
Norwich could ask voters for another $5 million for road, bridge work
Claire Bessette
Norwich — In November, voters could be asked for the fifth time since 2006 to approve borrowing $5 million to continue an aggressive program of local road repaving, infrastructure improvements and bridge work.
The City Council on Monday scheduled a public hearing Aug. 5 on an ordinance requesting to bond $5 million for “the improvement or new construction of roads, bridges and bridge structures, sidewalks, piers and wharves, and appurtenant areas throughout the City of Norwich."
Voters supported similar $5 million road and bridge work bonds in 2006, 2009, 2013 and 2017.
By charter, the proposal must be forwarded to the Commission on the City Plan for a recommendation before the City Council votes on whether to forward it to voters in a referendum on the November election ballot. Also by charter, any spending item over $800,000 must be approved by voters at a referendum.
Mayor Peter Nystrom, a co-sponsor with council President Pro Tempore William Nash, said the 2017 bond has $3 million remaining, but city leaders wanted to schedule a new bond for a vote this fall to avoid a gap in funding with projects ongoing.
“Looking at the amount of road work needed in the town, and if you don’t do it now, you’d have to wait another year for the funding, or do a special election, which costs money,” Nystrom said. “I’m just concerned about the timing.”
Public Works Director Patrick McLaughlin said road paving is being done in spots throughout the city this summer, concentrating efforts in Greeneville right now. “There are some pretty bad roads there,” he said. Other work is in Laurel Hill, and the city will need to target streets in the Thamesville section near the Montville border.
A major project to replace the Sherman Street bridge over the Yantic River near the Asylum Street intersection will require $1 million in local matching funds to accompany state grants, McLaughlin said. The bridge is in the design phase and construction is projected to start in two years. The city made some temporary repairs on the bridge about 18 months ago.
Alderman Samuel Browning recommended that City Manager John Salomone and McLaughlin give a presentation at the Aug. 5 public hearing on the road bond to say where the money is likely to be spent, and whether it would be all for roads, for bridges, wharf work or other anticipated projects.
Ideanomics, state ink deal to begin W. Hartford redevelopment in July
Joe Cooper
Financial-technology company Ideanomics reached an agreement with the state Friday that clears a path for it to move forward with plans to build a $283 million tech hub in West Hartford.
The so-called “FinTech Village,” which promises to create 330 jobs, was in limbo last month when Ideanomics CEO Alfred Poor told vendors to halt work at the former UConn campus amid “regrettable and irreconcilable differences with the state of Connecticut.”
West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor, Rep. Derek Slap (D-West Hartford) and other officials last month helped restart negotiations between Ideanomics and Gov. Ned Lamont’s office to resolve previously undisclosed disagreements.
On Friday, the two sides agreed to a new plan on how to cover costs for additional cleanup of PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and asbestos that were found on the property after its $5.2 million sale last fall.
UConn’s former IT building is the only salvageable building at the site and will be the last existing school building at the site. Ideanomics had previously planned to raze two of the property’s five buildings, but contamination at two structures is worse than expected, officials said.
The additional remediation work is expected to cost millions of dollars more than originally planned, they said.
Ideanomics was not allowed to conduct environmental testing at the former campus prior to its acquisition from UConn, according to officials, who said the company had not conducted a site test until December and designed an environmental cleanup plan in April.
Ideanomics had asked Lamont’s administration for economic assistance with the redevelopment effort, and the state Department of Economic and Community Development began working with the fintech company to explore solutions to minimize costs or risk to the state.
“While I recognize the substitution of a performance bond for a surety bond creates some additional risk, I believe the overall economic benefits of this approach justify that risk,” Lamont wrote in the letter.
“In addition, you have my commitment that in the event of a default the State will assist and work cooperatively with UConn to satisfy any environmental liabilities resulting from the replacement of the surety bond,” he continued.
Ideanomics plans to submit a formal site plan to the town in late July or August, officials said. A zone change is likely needed for the development.
Former Gov. Dannel Malloy’s administration last year announced it reached a deal to provide Ideanomics, then called Seven Stars Cloud, with a $10 million forgivable loan if it meets certain hiring goals.
High-stakes lawsuit over construction of Dunkin Donuts Park goes to the jury
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