Here’s what Lamont should do to fix CT transportation issues: Getting There
Atlantic Street reopens as bridge repair finishes
STAMFORD — Over the weekend, traffic was allowed back on Atlantic Street near Interstate 95, as a multi-month construction project is set to wrap up soon.
Back in February, the street was closed between the south side of South State Street and Dock Street. The first four months or so of the work involved installing a new center pier on the road and widening Atlantic Street to three lanes in each direction.
During the 4th of July week, the old bridge, which carries five tracks for Metro-North Railroad and Amtrack trains, was taken down and a new one put in place over the course of roughly 10 days. As portions of the old one were demolished, new pieces — constructed off site in movable portions — were wheeled in and installed, under a method called Accelerated Bridge Construction.
The new Atlantic Street Bridge is wider and will allow for an additional train track to serve the stations at Glenbrook, Springdale, New Canaan and Danbury.
The last couple of months of the project involved lowering Atlantic Street to accommodate a new clearance of 14 feet, 6 inches. The projects to replace the railroad bridge and improve the adjacent Exit 8 ramp are expected to cost a total of $100 million to $120 million and are entirely state funded.
Pedestrians may now access the Atlantic Street sidewalks under the new bridge.
Drivers should still expect occasional lane closures as work will continue to “complete and stain the retaining walls on South State Street which are being constructed to permit additional upgrades to the Stamford Train Station,” according to a press release from the state.
East Lyme home builder proposes affordable housing development
Mary Biekert
East Lyme — After being granted a request for sewage capacity in late August, a local home builder can now pursue the additional town approvals he needs to construct an 108-unit affordable housing development off North Bride Brook Road.
Jason Pazzaglia, owner of the custom homebuilding company Pazz & Construction, LLC, was granted 35,400 gallons of daily sewage capacity from the Water and Sewer Commission after he submitted a request for the proposed development earlier this year.
Receiving the allocation was the first of many approvals Pazzaglia will need from the town to build the development. But now that he has the allotment, he would be able to tie into a sewer line that runs by the proposed property, Utility Engineer Brad Kargl said by phone Monday.
As of last week, Pazzaglia had not yet submitted plans for the development to the town's land use department, according to Director of Planning Gary Goeschel, and has not yet gone before planning and zoning boards, or the Inland Wetland Agency.
Goeschel said last week he believes Pazzaglia intends to go before the Inland Wetland Agency with his plans in October.
Pazzaglia, who is a member of the Board of Finance but is not running for re-election this year, did not return messages.
In his application for the sewage capacity, Pazzaglia outlined plans to build 108 multi-family units on the eastern end of an approximately 20-acre property located at 90 North Bride Brook Road. The property, which sits nearby Bride Lake, abuts the southern side of Interstate 95 and the eastern side of the Rocky Neck Connector.
In 2017, Pazzaglia purchased the property from its estate owner Edward H. Dzwilewski for $450,000.
According to Pazz & Construction website, Pazzaglia, who grew up in East Lyme, has been in business since 2002 and specializes in building single-family homes throughout southeastern Connecticut, as well as septic system repairs, home renovations and additions, and excavations.
“It is not clear whether he is planning to move forward with the plan, or his timeline,” said First Selectman Mark Nickerson, who also chairs the Water and Sewer Commission, by phone Thursday. “He had not communicated with me his plans in the least.”
Nickerson noted that Pazzaglia would need to abide by new policy changes that the Water and Sewer Commission adopted in January, but which have been appealed in court by Landmark Development Group — the same developers proposing an 840-unit housing development in the Oswegatchie Hills area of town. The case is still pending.
The policy changes, if upheld in court, dictate how long a developer can hold on to allotted sewage capacity, ensuring that developers move forward with a proposed development in a “timely manner,” Nickerson said. As part of those provisions, developers who have received a sewage allotment from the Water and Sewer Commission have approximately five years to obtain necessary land-use permits and tie in to the town’s sewer system before the allotment expires. In certain instances, a developer can apply for a time extension with the Water & Sewer Commission.
Study recommends new hotel, outdoor space to spur Hartford’s convention center
Joe Cooper
consulting firm hired to examine and recast future opportunities at the Connecticut Convention Center listed a new downtown hotel among its recommendations to spur activity at the nearly 15-year-old meetings-events facility.
Construction of a new 300- to 500-room, $120 million hotel near the convention center is among Johnson Consulting’s recently released list of eight recommendations to boost marketing the 540,000-square-foot facility over the next five to 10 years.
The study targets a five-year period for development of a new hotel, which would be funded in part by public subsidy. A new hotel could generate an estimated $25 million a year in sales as it would help the convention center secure national events, and add to the facility’s adjoining 400-room Hartford Marriott Downtown.
The consultancy also recommended adding 1,500 new hotel rooms within a mile of the convention center over the next 15 years.
Another key recommendation includes building a “robust” outdoor space linking the convention center to the Connecticut Science Center over Interstate 91. The effort would help add sellable outdoor space and more signage linking the convention center to the Front Street entertainment district and other downtown attractions. A price tag was not included for the recommended outdoor space, but the study said the addition could generate $1.5 million in annual revenue.
The study also recommended the establishment of a new convention bureau focused on marketing the venue and downtown Hartford, and creating a new state-funded budget of about $3 million to $5 million to guarantee marketing for convention and leisure tourism downtown.
“Compared to competitive destinations, there is virtually no outbound sales function marketing the CTCC (Connecticut Convention Center) and Hartford,” the study said. “This effort will significantly enhance the penetration of citywide events and provide a consistent resource for selling the destination.”
Other recommendations include modifying the convention center’s meeting room concourse and exhibit hall areas to provide networking and collaboration spaces; establish a customer advisory board consisting of national meeting planners that provide feedback and input; and invest in new high-speed internet access, among others.
The Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau (CTCSB) is currently tasked with marketing conventions and sporting events across the state, especially in downtown Hartford. CTCSB, however, has been pinched in recent years by state budget cuts, as its funding has declined from $1 million in 2012 to $450,000 in the current and future fiscal years.
The quasi-public Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA), which oversees the convention center and Hartford Marriott Downtown, and
solicited the recommendations last year, will discuss the hotel proposal, among others, at its regular board meeting on Sept. 19. CRDA’s venue committee reviewed the recommendations on Friday. Michael Freimuth, CRDA’s executive director, said it’s unlikely the board will vote to pursue any of the recommendations this month as “the board wants to digest” the proposals.
“The trends in the [convention] industry are different today then when the building was first proposed,” said Freimuth, adding that the convention center today faces increased competition from casinos across the region.
In 2018, the convention center lost two mainstay events, including
the Connecticut International Auto Show and
the Hartford Boat Show, to Mohegan Sun's new $80 million, 250,000-square-foot convention center.
In response, the venue has been
targeting smaller events to attract new visitors amid growing competition for larger gatherings.
The convention center, which has exhibit, meeting and ballroom space, hosted 167 events and welcomed 328,000 visitors in fiscal 2019, according to CRDA. The facility cost about $14.3 million to operate last year and generated $11 million in revenue.
MICHAEL PUFFER
WATERBURY — It won’t cost Waterbury $100,000 to track down overpowering odors blamed on its sewage treatment plant after all.
Recent news of the additional fee to Jacobs Engineering had sparked criticism. The company was already hired to a 10-year, $62.9 million, contract to run the city’s sewage treatment plant.
Mayor Neil M. O’Leary, on Monday, said he agreed the city should have ensured expenses such as the study were part of the deal.
O’Leary shared his concerns with Jacobs representatives on Friday. By Monday morning the company agreed to waive the fee.
“We are doing it in-house and it’s a gesture for the long-term partnership of our company with the city,” said Kevin Dahl, a regional manager with Jacobs.
Jacobs was brought in as the best way to deal with defective equipment, absent emergency procedures and other problems uncovered following 5 million gallon sewage spill in 2017.
O’Leary said he’s been very happy with reports of the company’s performance so far.
Residents and businesses in the city’s South End neighborhood and downtown have complained of an overpowering stench at points this summer. Even O’Leary has described it as the worst he’d encountered.
O’Leary and his aides toured the sewage treatment facility led by Jacobs staff and a representative of Synagro Northeast, a company managing the sewage sludge incinerator at the plant.
The group wound its way through a refurbished laboratory, past massive pools where sewage is digested by bacteria, and through a new phosphorous-control facility that is under construction. All the while, Dahl spoke of repairs and upgrades.
Smells were particularly strong by the incinerator building, especially the area where sludge trucked in from outside Waterbury is deposited.
Dahl said Jacobs plans to sample air in up to 25 locations around the plant, sending material to two laboratories. The idea is to measure smell strength and its likely destination based on prevailing weather patterns.
“That will tell us where we need to spend money, if we need to, and where to address problems,” Dahl said.
Dahl said his team hasn’t uncovered anything that would account for the overpowering odors reported by some residents and businesses. But Dahl also said he’s confident Jacobs can and will take steps to improve smells wafting from the plant.
“When you walk around you’ll find smells, but nothing that’s going to knock you over,” Dahl said. “We want to put science behind it, because we’ve been in the business. we are not going to smell everything the way a resident might smell everything.”
The city’s Environmental Control Commission will hold a hearing on concerns of sewage treatment plant smells at 6 p.m. Sept. 26, in a hearing room on the second floor of City Hall, 235 Grand St. Residents can share their experiences. Jacobs and Synagro staff will be on-hand, along with city representatives.
Construction noise emerges as key concern with Middlebury highway project
KAYLEE PUGLIESE
MIDDLEBURY – In a room filled with almost 100 people, only about a dozen voiced their thoughts on a major construction plan during a hearing hosted by the Department of Transportation, and many of those opinions involved construction noise.
The Department of Transportation presented its proposed plans to improve the highway at Exit 17, extend Chase Parkway and improve operations on Routes 63 and 64 and SR 845.
The plan intends to widen sections of Routes 64 and 63, construct a new roadway extension to connect Chase Parkway with Route 63 at the intersection of Woodside Avenue, construct a multiuse trail on the westerly side of the roadway which will connect to the Middlebury Greenway, add and alter traffic lights to accommodate the changes, construct a new commuter parking lot at the southeast corner of the intersection of Route 63, Woodside Avenue and the new Chase Parkway Extension and widen the I-84 westbound interchange 17 off-ramp to Chase Parkway from one to two lanes.
The constructed is anticipated to begin Spring 2022 and will last for about three years at an estimated cost of $29 million.
Nancy Bailey of White Avenue questioned if the project was really necessary.
“My major concern about what’s happening with this project is the noise that is being impacted by the residents who live around this area,” she said. “I have been living in town since 1989 and there have been numerous projects, and the impact of the noise is considerable. I used to be able to go to sleep at night with my windows open and not hear the highway.”
Janine Wiley of Joy Road said she felt better about the project after seeing the structured plans.
“I am hopeful that the design anticipates the volume of traffic,” she said. “I am concerned about the light on Chase Parkway and that it doesn’t back it up even worse.”
Wiley said she hopes for sound mitigation during construction hours to make life better for all residents.
DOT officials said a study showed 66 crashes within the project limit between May 2015 and May 2019 – 36 rear-end crashes, 18 intersecting turn crashes and 18 crashes resulting in injury.
There are right-of-way impacts associated with the project, including two total acquisitions and approximately 13 partial acquisitions with numerous permanent and temporary easements, officials said.
This means living quarters and businesses may have to be relocated during the construction. Temporary rights for construction will be required, according to the project.
Written statements on the project can submit by mail or deliver to the attention of Susan M. Libatique, Principal Engineer, Division of Highway Design, 2800 Berlin Turnpike, P.O. Box 317546, Newington, Connecticut on or before Oct. 10.