Groton Long Point Road Bridge preliminary design under discussion
Kimberly Drelich
Groton ― The preliminary design for a project to replace the
Groton Long Point Road Bridge and make the structure safer and more resilient
in the face of rising sea levels is under review.
Consulting engineer AECOM presented a preliminary design for
the bridge and causeway Tuesday to the Town Council at its Committee of the
Whole meeting. The plan calls for two 11-foot travel lanes, two 5-foot bike
lanes, and a 5½-foot sidewalk, though the Groton Long Point Association Board
of Directors is asking to remove from the project a sidewalk from the bridge to
East Shore Avenue.
The bridge is a critical piece of infrastructure, as the
only vehicular bridge that connects Groton Long Point and Mumford Cove with the
rest of Groton, Project Manager Andre St. Germain said. The population of
Groton Long Point was 530, according to the 2020 census.
The state has rated the existing bridge, which was built in
1935 and has two 12-foot travel lanes and two 3-foot shoulders, in “poor
condition,” a condition before “serious” and then “critical,” St. Germain said.
The rating is a major driving factor for the project ― the bridge is still
safe, he said, but it’s important to address it now while it’s not an
emergency.
The goal is to make the bridge safer for pedestrians,
drivers and cyclists, provide a causeway capable of withstanding storm surge,
build an easy-to-maintain structure that complements the area and build it in
an economical fashion, while minimizing impacts to the environment, he said.
The preliminary design would widen the bridge by about 5
feet, to 41 feet, and increase the length from 50 feet to 86 feet, according to
a town document. The proposed sidewalk would run from Esker Point Beach to East
Shore Avenue.
The design takes into account that in 2050, sea levels are
projected to rise by about 20 inches, St. Germain said. He explained that
raising the bridge by 6 feet to accommodate federal design standards is not
feasible due to the impact on surrounding properties, but the government allows
design exceptions if meeting the criteria is unreasonable. The proposal is to
elevate the bridge by about 4 feet to 13.3 feet at its top elevation.
The project was estimated to cost about $6.7 million in
2021, but that does not account for right of way acquisition, the cost to
relocate utilities, or inflation, St. Germain said. One option for funding is
to apply to a program in which the federal government covers 80% of the cost
and the town covers 20%, but the town also could apply to a new program,
available due to the new infrastructure law, in which the federal government would
cover the full cost.
St. Germain presented a proposed timeline to start final
design next year, complete it in 2024, and then start construction in 2025,
with the goal of finishing construction in 2026.
Greg Hanover, the town’s public works director, said
planning for the project goes back a decade but the project stalled for some
years due to a lack of funding, though the town continued moving it forward.
The first public listening session to get input on the project was held in 2012
and the most recent one was in 2019. He said an ad-hoc working group began
meeting in October 2020 to provide comments to the engineers as they developed
the preliminary plans. The group included members of the Town Council,
Representative Town Meeting, Groton Long Point Association and the Groton
Resilience and Sustainability Task Force.
Groton Long Point Association President Michael Flynn sent
the town a letter last month on behalf of the association’s board of directors
in which the board supported the project but not a sidewalk from the bridge to
East Shore Avenue.
At Tuesday’s meeting, he said that a fishing pier, not a
sidewalk, is needed. He said a fishing pier would keep fishermen away from the
roadway and provide a cement barrier, rather than a sidewalk which a car could
veer into and hurt somebody.
Councilors at Tuesday’s meeting made suggestions, including
about the importance of incorporating a barrier to deter children from jumping
off the bridge in the summer, adding a reflective barrier to better shield
pedestrians and cyclists from cars, and researching the potential for a
combination of a fishing pier and sidewalk.
Town Manager John Burt said Thursday that the council plans
to review a few other design options before selecting one to present at a
public information session this summer that has not yet been scheduled.
Shelton zoning board OKs 100-apartment development on Petremont Lane, double the original ask
SHELTON — A 47-apartment development on Petremont Lane will
more than double its size.
The Planning and Zoning Commission, at its meeting Tuesday,
approved Good Guys Development’s proposed modification to Petremont Lane and
brings the apartment total to 100.
In a vote earlier this year, the commission had approved
plans to allow construction of a building with 47 units and 93 parking spaces.
Tuesday’s vote was 5-1 in favor of the project, with
commissioner Jimmy Tickey opposed. He voiced concerns about the potential for
the negative traffic effects of the project — dubbed Clock Tower at Petremont
Lane.
“I have concerns about the density of this development, its
impact on the local roadways and traffic generally,” Tickey said.
Tickey said the applicant’s traffic report cites state
Department of Transportation numbers from 2013, “yet anyone who drives these
roads daily knows how much this area and related traffic has grown in the last
nine years.”
Traffic engineer Kermit Hua of KWH Enterprise, reported the
traffic effect from the project would be “limited.”
The commission’s approved resolution notes the physical
condition and traffic flow pattern on the roadway must be improved. The city
engineer’s letter, dated April 14, 2022, recommends the widening of Petremont
Lane.
One issue during the original approval for the site was the
possible effect on Petremont Lane, which is a tight roadway connecting Coram
Road to River Road. Petremont Lane’s intersection with Coram Road is close to
the intersection with Constitution Boulevard South, an already congested
traffic area.
The new plan eliminates that issue, according to Stephen
Bellis, the attorney representing Good Guys Development. The proposal has a
driveway and sewer and water to Coram Road, with nothing done on Petremont
Lane.
The resolution states, if the city agrees to participate in
the work, the applicant must make “timely improvements” to the roadway before
any permits for construction or occupancy are issued.
Bellis said the developers purchased an abutting property on
the corner of Coram Road, which increases the lot size to some 4 acres,
allowing for the expanded development plan.
“Good Guys was able to buy the additional land,” Bellis
said, “so there is an application to modify the approval and allow 100 units
total in light of the additional land.”
Bellis said the proposal is for a “high-end luxury apartment
building with parking below the building.”
Among the amenities would be a lobby with a gym, golf simulator,
Amazon package room, and a computer/study room along with a dog park and two
rooftop lounges that would overlook the Housatonic River.
The parking will be on the ground level, with four stories
of apartments above — 40 studios, 32 one bedrooms, and 28 one bedrooms with an
office. Bellis said the developers are designating 10 units as affordable under
the state statute 8-30g. Bellis said each unit will have two parking spaces.
According to the submitted plans, the project site is
undeveloped and consists of 3.52 acres of wooded area and a single-family home.
The site is bounded by Petremont Lane to the west, an undeveloped, wooded area
to the east, commercial development to the south, and Coram Road to the north.
The structure, according to the submitted plans, will be
59-feet high, below the permitted 60 feet. The plan states that the
“stone-faced lobby and brick clock tower (are) intended to provide an aesthetic
enhancement of the streetscape and the architectural shingles and clapboard
will blend in with the neighboring buildings.”
Petremont Lane is just off River Road. The property abuts a
nonresidential area and a residential area, and, according to the application,
the purpose of the planned development district is “to allow the construction
of an apartment building to accomplish a transition between single-family use
and an established nonresidential area.”
Crossing the CT River? Construction begins on new trail connection for pedestrians, bicyclists
WETHERSFIELD — Groundbreaking took place Thursday off Route
3 for a biking and pedestrian-friendly project that was eight years in the
making.
The Putnam Bridge Trail Connection Project will provide a
safe and simpler way for pedestrians, pets and bikers to cross the Connecticut
River between Wethersfield and Glastonbury.
The project, which is expected to be complete
in October 2023, will cost about $8.2 million, Department of Transportation
spokesperson Josh Morgan said. The State Bond Commission already approved the
needed funds.
“We aren’t really the Department of Transportation, we are a
department of mobility, whether or not you’re going to go by bike, whether or
not you’re going to be a pedestrian, whether or not you’re going to use planes,
trains, the ferry boats,” DOT Commissioner Joe Giulietti said. “It’s the fifth
or sixth time I get to put a shovel in the ground, and I can’t take credit.
This one has been a long process to get it where it is today. As you see dirt
moved today, it’s going to continue all the way until we get it completed.”
The project will include parking lots on the shores of the
Connecticut River on both sides of the bridge and a paved trail leading from
the parking lots to the mouth of the bridge, Giulietti said.
“Finishing the current gaps to the bridge allows the public
to choose an active mode of transportation to safely cross the river,” he said.
“When completed, the residents and visitors can enjoy the businesses and
recreational activities on both sides of the river.”
The Putnam Bridge underwent rehabilitation in about 2013,
and a feasibility study for the pedestrian and bike trial was conducted in
2014, said Shannon King, DOT’s strategic communications manager.
After completion of the feasibility study, the project was
tabled for a bit until it was reconsidered in 2019, King said. Then, the
COVID-19 pandemic hit and forced the project once again to the back burner for
a briefer period.
The completed trail will make the Putnam Bridge one of the
few in the state for pedestrians and bikers to cross the river without a
vehicle.
A new commuting and recreational travel option for
nonmotorists in the area, the project will provides a 1.3‐mile link over the
Connecticut River between Great Meadow Road in Wethersfield and Naubuc Avenue
in Glastonbury, according to DOT
documents.
Sidewalks will also be installed on both sides of Naubuc
Avenue. Additional connections will be made to the Goodwin College trails in East
Hartford.
By comparison, the total distance otherwise traveled between
these points by pedestrians and bicyclists via one of the existing river
crossings nearby is 8 miles using the Charter Oak Bridge; 11 miles via the
Rocky Hill-Glastonbury ferry; or 26 miles on the Arrigoni Bridge in Middletown.
In April, the project bid was awarded to Richards Corp. for
$8,207,115.85, according to DOT
documents. To accommodate construction, there will be overnight lane
closures Sunday through Friday on Route 3 southbound in the area from 6 p.m. to
6 a.m. and on Route 3 northbound from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.
In addition to ensuring easier access across the bridge for
nonmotorists, the trail will offer a new tourist and economic boon for both
sides of the river, Wethersfield Mayor Michael Rell said.
“Obviously it’s no stranger to us that COVID has an impact
on all of our daily lives and probably the No. 1 thing we realized from COVID
is outdoor recreation is a good peace to come to body, mind and soul,” Rell
said. “We have a lovely Old Wethersfield, lots of new restaurants, coffee
shops. If you’re on that side of the river and want to come have coffee over
here and vice versa, see the great shops Glastonbury and beyond have to offer,
this is a great way to connect the two towns that’s different than just driving
55 mph and quickly going by it.”
Grant could bring millions to infrastructure, development improvement along Riverside Avenue
BRISTOL – City Council approved a motion to allow the mayor
to move forward in applying for a state grant which could potentially bring
millions to infrastructure and development improvement along Riverside Avenue.
“This is basically state grant money that has been bonded to
help communities of need and that’s defined by a lot of things,” said Mayor
Jeff Caggiano. “Bristol is in there because we are a diverse community, an
underserved community. We’re one of, I think, 37 communities that are eligible
for not only the municipality to look for funds but also the nonprofit groups.”
The mayor said state officials encouraged Bristol to apply
for up to $30 million in grant funding because the state’s economic and
community development officials are looking for “transformational projects that
can be linked together.” He likened it to processes the Bristol ARPA Task Force
was using in its oversight of federal fund administration to local initiatives.
The mayor noted any nonprofit organization could apply for
the grant on its own.
“We realized that the people running this grant have
suggested that we could have a potential transformational project on Riverside
Avenue that brings in these different organizations,” said Caggiano. “That is a
corridor that brings us into downtown Bristol, a very important corridor for
us.”
The mayor said the city has been planning to make a new
Riverside Avenue streetscape and the grant would be a “golden opportunity for
us to take advantage of once in a lifetime-type funds.”
The application is due July 25.
According to city documents, the application intends to
request “$7 million for Riverside Avenue streetscape improvements; $6.5 million
for the Sessions Factory housing development by BHA Vesta Sessions LLC (273
Riverside); $15 million to correct infrastructure deficiencies at the New
England Carousel Museum (95 Riverside) and to construct a new building housing
a working carousel; $1.5 million for expansion and enhancement of facilities at
the American Legion (22 Hooker Court) to include an emergency shelter at that
location; $250,000 for landscaping and facilities improvements to the Disabled
American Veterans building (191 Riverside); and additional funds for grants
administration.”
The mayor said project submissions would be considered by a
committee and potentially rejected but there would still be opportunities in
the future to resubmit.
“There’s no risk here,” he said.
Bristol Economic and Community Development Director Justin
Malley said many of the Riverside Avenue organizations were going to apply to
the grant opportunity on their own. The city would apply for its own grant but
also provide a reference to the other projects to make a package presentation
for Riverside Avenue.
Councilwoman Cheryl Thibeault expressed concern with what
she felt may be unwise fiscal spending priorities from the state when she
noticed other entities in need in town and the quick time needed to make a
decision about an application. However, if the money was going to be spent
regardless, she felt Bristol should apply for what funding it could.
Councilwoman Sue Tyler expressed concern with not being able
to learn more information about the Sessions project piece of the grant
applications before needing to vote.
Fired Dunkin’ Donuts Park developer says it has legal right to develop around stadium
Centerplan Construction, the developer at the center of a
legal dispute over Dunkin’ Donuts Park, has filed an amended complaint against
the city and is seeking to add a prominent developer as an additional
defendant.
Centerplan is asking the court for permission to cite RMS
DoNo I LLC – controlled by Randy Salvatore, founder and CEO of RMS Companies –
as a defendant. RMS has built
270 apartment units on property next to the stadium that it leases
from the city.
RMS is also planning to build 550 apartments and a 530-space
garage built on a vacant 5-acre lot at 1139 Main St.
In the amended complaint, filed Wednesday, Centerplan seeks
a declaratory judgment stating that its termination was wrongful and
unjustified, and that it retains the right to develop the parcels.
Also, Centerplan is seeking a court order prohibiting the
city from permitting any further development by RMS or another entity.
The amended complaint, filed Wednesday in Hartford Superior
Court, follows a decision
last month by the state Supreme Court ordering a new trial. In a 5-0
decision, the high court overturned the trial court’s ruling that the parties’
contracts “did not unambiguously grant the plaintiffs legal control of the
architect and the stadium's design across all relevant time periods.”
According to the complaint, the city hired Centerplan in
2015 to develop the ballpark for $56 million, along with four parcels around
it. The following year, the city terminated Centerplan and Dono Hartford LLC --
both controlled by Robert Landino -- saying they were at fault for
stadium-construction delays.
Centerplan sued the city for wrongful termination and breach
of contract, claiming it was owed $6 million by the city.
According to the amended complaint, Centerplan and its
affiliates were “at all relevant times … ready, willing and able to develop the
parcels … to include commercial, manufacturing, retail, office and residential
improvements.”
The complaint accuses the city of going on a “rampage”
against Centerplan and “devis[ing] a secret and sinister plan to escape its
obligations” by contacting Centerplan’s bonding company, Arch Insurance Co.,
and claiming Centerplan was in default of its contractual obligations.
“The City resolved its dilemma by falsely accusing
Centerplan of a default and wrongly terminating DoNo and Centerplan,” the suit
says.
Also, the suit blames the city for failing to provide
contractually required notice of default and says the city did not give
Centerplan an opportunity to cure alleged deficiencies.
After Centerplan’s termination, the city issued an RFP for a
new developer to build the stadium and to develop four surrounding parcels. It
ultimately selected RMS as the developer.
Hartford Corporation Counsel Howard Rifkin said the
complaint was the expected next step after the Supreme Court sent the case back
to the trial court.
“The city remains confident that, at the end of the day, the
result will be the same as it was the first time – a jury verdict in favor of
the city,” Rifkin said. “As for Centerplan’s irresponsible effort to stop the
development of the parcels adjacent to the stadium, which was already decided
in both Superior Court and Appellate Court, we will be filing a motion to dismiss
as quickly as possible.”
In 2019, after the order allowing the city to move forward
with the development came out, Centerplan filed a motion with the State
Appellate Court and lost. The city said the order allowing it to move forward
with development on the parcels surrounding Dunkin’ Donuts Park remains in
effect.
Salvatore said his attorneys are reviewing the matter.
Biden PLAs, Apprenticeship Mandates Meet Industry Opposition
LUCY PERRY
The Biden administration has a plan to create a highly
skilled diverse workforce to complete infrastructure projects over the next
decade. It involves diverting federal funds toward contractors and grant
applicants who partner with labor organizations. Industry groups and labor
unions can't see eye to eye on how that will happen.
Biden's idea is to encourage job training programs in
certain sectors in order to benefit communities and groups lagging in
male-dominated trade industries.
Professional organizations such as AGC and ABC have been
vocal in their opposition to the concept. They believe some of the methods
Biden plans to achieve his goals will actually limit access for women- and
minority-owned businesses.
Unions maintain workers already have access to training as
well as representation in negotiating benefits such as childcare through
registered apprenticeships.
Melissa Wells of the North America's Building Trades Unions
(NABTU) believes industry needs to "get serious" about supporting
groups who have traditionally been overlooked.
"Whether it's historically marginalized communities,
people of color, women or individuals that have been in contact with the
justice system, we have to provide them support," said Wells, head of
diversity for the unions.
A Biden executive order seeks to impose project labor
agreements (PLAs) on all federal construction projects worth at least $35
million as a means to do that.
Responding to an AGC survey, 73 percent of contractors are
currently bidding on federal construction projects in that category.
Yet, the same number report they would not bid on those
projects if a PLA were required.
"The use of a PLA can provide structure and stability
to large construction projects," said the White House. "PLAs also
help ensure compliance with laws and regulations governing workplace safety and
health, equal employment opportunity and labor and employment standards."
AGC survey respondents see it differently.
"PLAs require every general contractor or subcontractor
to negotiate with or become a party to an agreement with one or more
union," said the AGC.
This mandate will make it harder for general contractors to
subcontract with small, disadvantaged businesses, said 82 percent of firms
surveyed.
"These groups typically are not accustomed or prepared
to operate on a union basis," the association maintains.
Seeking Labor Solutions
The Trump administration wanted to raise the numbers in the
talent pool, said former head of the DOL's training division, according to a
Bloomberg article. "We were trying to move away from the idea that you had
to be a registered apprentice in order to get into an apprenticeship
program," said John Pallasch. "We just wanted to get more qualified
people into the talent pipeline so that business and industry had the skilled
labor that it needs."
The Biden administration will focus on bolstering DOL's
80-year-old registered apprenticeship programs, which has tougher standards for
participants.
Building trades unions and the Biden administration thought
the industry-led IRAPs programs would undercut their registered
apprenticeships.
They believed workers could claim to be apprentices, but not
have the full, complete safety and skills training or guaranteed wages provided
by registered programs.
"The problem with IRAPs is no safety standards, no
progressive wages," said Tom Kriger, NABTU director of education and
research. "It was kind of very loose and very ill-defined."
Industry-run programs typically only provide training for a
specific skill, limiting a worker's ability to find future jobs, he added.
Registered apprenticeships shouldn't be the only pathway for
job training, said the ABC. The registered system can be overly competitive,
making it difficult for workers with other responsibilities to prepare for the
testing required to qualify. And it can have too many requirements to attract
businesses to participate, according to Greg Sizemore, ABC vice president of
health, safety, environment and workforce development.
The organization found that fewer than 25,000 workers
completed construction job training under DOL's multi-year registered
apprenticeship programs in fiscal 2021.
"Clearly, the government-registered apprenticeship
system is not meeting the industry's need for skilled labor," said Ben
Brubec, ABC vice president of regulatory, labor and state affairs.
The system "cannot be the only solution supported by
government to meet industry demands and build a diverse workforce," he
added
PLAs guarantee a contractor will enter into collective
bargaining agreements with at least one union covering the duration of the
project.
Biden's February executive order directed federal agencies
to use such agreements on construction projects above $35 million.
Unions and Democrats hold up PLAs as a way to negotiate
well-paying jobs and secure benefits to support workers who are
underrepresented in the trades, like women.
"There's PLAs that have language around helping
support, and fund childcare," NABTU's Wells said. "I think there's
more room for growth using that pathway."
But industry groups and Republicans say that PLAs favor
unions and make it difficult for smaller, local and minority-owned businesses
that don't have strong ties to unions or are unable to meet the requirements
outlined in the agreement.
"And by the time they do, the truth of the matter is,
the project will be left with somebody else," ABC's Sizemore said.
"Would a government-mandated PLA result in a decrease in hiring of
minority and women owned businesses, veteran owned businesses? We're saying
absolutely, it would."
Reasons to Doubt
The Department of Labor announced a summer-long "Talent
Pipeline Challenge" calling on employers and local governments to work
with organizations that offer job training, like unions and seek out women and
workers of color.
The DOL also is rescinding the Trump administration's
Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Program or IRAP.
The program allowed companies to create their own training
programs that could be monitored by third parties,
The Trump DOL believed this would expand apprenticeships in
under-represented fields not a part of the DOL's traditional registered
apprenticeship model.
The construction industry believes rolling back a Trump
administration industry-based training model will tilt funding in favor of
labor organizations and exclude a large share of the trades workforce that
isn't unionized.
Only 12.6 percent of construction workers were union members
in 2021, BLS data shows.
"There's a large push by the administration and it's
very clear that they they want to grow the union workforce," said
Sizemore. "The vast majority of Americans working in the construction
industry say, ‘I choose to work in a merit shop environment that allows me to
get paid based upon what I know or the value that I bring to the industry, as
opposed to what somebody has negotiated for me in a contract.'"
Nearly three-quarters of federal contractors said they will
stop bidding on federal projects if the Biden administration were to impose
PLAs.
The AGC's survey also indicated the federal mandate will
make it harder for contractors to partner with small, veteran, minority or
disabled-owned firms.
The survey found that in addition to limiting competition
for federal projects, imposing PLAs will challenge firms to find enough workers
to hire.
Nearly 40 percent of the survey respondents operate under a
collective bargaining agreement, and 83 percent said there are not enough union
workers to guarantee completion of the project on time and on budget.
Among firms that have worked on a project that involved a
government-mandated PLA, 67 percent said the agreement made it harder to find
workers.
"Having fewer firms competing for federal projects
undermines the president's claim that his executive order will make federal
construction more efficient and cost-effective," said Stephen E. Sandherr,
CEO of the AGC. "Worse, these PLAs will hurt minority, disadvantaged and
veteran-owned businesses at a time when many of them are still recovering from
the economic impacts of the pandemic."
Association officials are urging the Biden administration to
abandon imposition of PLAs on most federal construction projects.
They are sharing details from the survey with the
administration as they outline details for how the president's executive order
will limit competition, impede efficiency in federal procurement, and harm
disadvantaged business enterprises.
"This executive order will turn Build Back Better into
build back fewer: fewer firms, hiring fewer people to build fewer projects,"
Sandherr added.
Ultimately, Biden wants to see his promise for an equitable
recovery, while repairing infrastructure, delivered. Industry wants that as
well, but the two sides disagree on how to get there.
"Hardworking taxpayers deserve efficient and effective
policies that will encourage all qualified contractors to compete to build
long-lasting, quality projects at the best price," said ABC.
"Government-mandated project labor agreements discourage quality
contractors and the more than 87 percent of U.S. construction workers who
choose to not join a union from bidding and working on projects in their own
communities." CEG