Work begins on next phase of Grossman greenway in Winsted
Emily M. Olson
WINSTED — By late fall, people who enjoy the Sue Grossman Still River Greenway will be able to venture farther, following the trail toward the center of town.
Winsted recently hired Dayton Construction of Watertown to complete the next phase of the greenway, which began construction Aug. 1.
Clearing vegetation and placing erosion controls along the length of the trail is the first step, according to Project Administrator Bart Clark.
“Earth-moving activities are anticipated to begin very soon,” according to the public works department. “Several critical items such as pedestrian bridges have been ordered but are not expected to arrive for several months. Work is expected to be completed in late November, barring unforeseen events.”
The Grossman greenway begins at Lanson Drive and Winsted Road in Winsted, crosses the town line into Torrington, parallel to Route 8, and ends at Harris Drive. The city’s trail was dedicated by Torrington officials in 2009.
In July, the Winsted Board of Selectmen gave Town Manager Josh Kelly approval to apply for a $2 million grant from the state Department of Economic and Community Development to fund the project.
“It’s worthwhile to get our foot in the door on this funding,” Kelly said at the time. “There’s also a second round of grants, and this will prepare us to apply again.”
In March, Public Works Director Jim Rollins and Clark detailed the town’s plan to extend the greenway by about 3,300 feet, a little more than a half-mile.
Eventually, Rollins said, the trail will extend to Willow Street off Rowley Street, adjacent to Winsted’s recreation area.
“The whole trail has been part of a cooperative approach with the city of Torrington,” Clark said. “Torrington plans to extend their trail further south.”
In April, Torrington City Engineer Paul Kundzins and Assistant City Engineer Mark Austin designed the the city’s extension for the trail, which includes road paving, new curbs, sidewalk replacement and drainage improvements, which will provide for safer travel for vehicles, pedestrians and bicycles, they said. That project began in early June.
One concern for the Winsted end of the trail expansion is its effect on wetland areas. The extended trail will run along an old railroad path with an embankment that follows the Still River, and includes a regulated floodplain overseen by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, according to Rollins and Clark. The Federal Emergency Management Agency required Winsted to obtain permits from DEEP to protect the floodplain, they said.
The Grossman greenway continues into Torrington, and eventually would become part of the Naugatuck Valley Greenway, which runs into Derby.
Those with questions can contact Clark at the the Department of Public Works at 860-379-4070.
New Britain officials excited to break ground of Phase II of Stanley Loop Trail
Ciara Hooks
NEW BRITAIN – Mayor Erin Stewart, Director of Public Works Mark Moriarty and Common Council members broke ground on Phase II of the Stanley Loop Trail Wednesday morning.
“When we started our work in trying to make New Britain more pedestrian and bike friendly it started with a couple plans,” Moriarty said. “One of the plans looked at bike connectivity and trying to open up more mufti-use trails in the city and that was 10 years ago.”
The city began talking about the use of outdoor spaces for recreation during the height of the covid pandemic.
“When you want to talk about recreation and the use of our parks, Eric Barbieri (Parks, Recreation and Community Services director) is just over the moon at how many people are utilizing New Britain’s beautiful park system and we continue to make these improvements for the quality of life for our residents,” Stewart said. “But also for people to enjoy nature, outdoors and we see that there’s a huge need for that.”
According to Moriarty, plans for growth and expansion of this magnitude have been in the works for quite a while and this project is something different.
“This is a project that is getting people into nature, into the woods,” he said. “There is like this cherished woodland property that is a part of Stanley & AW that is really not utilized by that many people.”
Phase II of the Stanley Loop Trail project includes a paved multi-use trail that will span 1.6 miles between the Central Connecticut State University campus at the corner of Stanley Street and Eddy Glover Boulevard, through Stanley Quarter Park.
“It’s actually going to cross Blake Road and go into the wooded portion of AW Stanley Park then ending at Stanley Street across from Holmes Elementary School,” Stewart said. “Phase II of this trail will end directly across from the Phase I section of the Stanley Loop Trail in AW Stanley Park, which is already complete.”
The total cost of the Phase II project is $3.7 million.
“80% of this project is being funded through the federal Transportation Alternatives Program and Safe Routes Program, which is being administered by CT Department of Transportation,” Stewart said. “I think that’s what also makes this unique is the City of New Britain’s unique ability to capitalize on every grant that we are able to find and made available to us, and that the small portion that the city has to pay-in to make this project possible is well worth it at the end of the day.”
Construction will be done by Lawrence Brunoli, Inc. of Farmington and is expected to be completed by late summer 2023.
“The Parks & Recreation Department has a lot of projects coming on for park improvements in a lot of differentplaces, including the $10.5 million Osgood project that we’re doing right now and the pond dredging is finally coming through,” Barbieri said. “But when you have other departments like Public Works doing projects within our parks to make them better it just shows the teamwork that the mayor has kind of set up inside City Hall. They’ve been great. They came to our Parks & Recreation Commission meetings for approval, they showed the whole thing to them, got them on board, and they did a lot of work to get the funding, so I appreciate them and I think this trail is used pretty heavily now but it’s just going to be through the roof once we get this thing finalized and done. It’ll be safer; it will be a nicer environment for people to come and recreate passively or actively.”
“This is what it’s all about, giving people access to embrace nature in an urban area where it is kind of is like a concrete jungle in a lot of places of New Britain, and our park system is very important to us,” Stewart said. “So we’re really excited to have this project.”
Uncas Leap Heritage Park plans take shape in Norwich
Claire Bessette
Norwich ― Plans for the $2.4 million Uncas Leap Heritage Park are taking shape, including a staircase to an overlook at the waterfall, snaking pathways, a second overlook at the rocky gorge, an amphitheater and mill ruins to explore.
Lead designers for SLR International Corp. of Cheshire presented preliminary plans to the Norwich City Council Monday to fund the heritage park through the city’s American Rescue Plan Act grant. The design is 30% complete.
The group hopes to finish the design, have permit approvals and advertise for bids in February for construction next spring. If that schedule holds, the park could be completed by November 2023.
The city already paid for and completed some work on the project, building a parking lot adjacent to the park property on Yantic Street and completing a partial demolition of a granite early 19th century mill building.
The ruins of the small mill will be hollowed out, with a pathway through the building lined with a decorative fence and interpretive panels describing the area’s rich history in the early industrial period.
Granite blocks from the mill walls now are piled up on the park property. The plan calls for them to be assembled into a stone amphitheater, or “story circle,” as Michael Doherty, principal landscape architect for SLR called it.
Doherty and SLR landscape designer Lan Ma both have been working on the proposed Uncas Leap park since it was conceived in 2016, without a clear funding source. Doherty said they are excited to see the project come to fruition with construction in sight.
Lan described elements that have changed since the park master plan was unveiled in 2018. The group eliminated plans for a kayak tie-off at the base of the gorge and steep pathway up to the park. The topography at the entrance to the mill ruin will require a staircase in front, moving handicapped access to another point in the pathway.
At the edge of the pedestrian bridge that crosses the falls, a staircase would lead viewers to a cantilevered overlook of the falls. A second cantilevered overlook would be positioned over the rocky gorge at the base of the falls.
The level lawn between the pedestrian bridge and the Central New England railroad bridge and tracks offers views of the river, the upper Yantic Falls in the distance and the railroad bridge. Lan said a picnic area with benches is proposed for the lawn.
Across Yantic Street from the mill ruins, an old, steep, concrete staircase leading down from Sachem Street will be replaced with a modern safety code-compliant staircase with new railings. The staircase is closed for safety reasons, but people still use it, Doherty said.
An idea to create a switchback handicapped ramp down the steep slope was abandoned, Doherty said, as it would require extensive excavation and supports. The Mohegan tribe, which has been meeting with the Norwich Historical Society in partnership on the park plan, has expressed concern that the area above the hollow was an extensive tribal burial ground. Tribal representatives have asked for minimal disruptions to the soil on the slope to avoid any potential disturbance to burial sites.
Doherty said the new staircase can be built without digging into the soil on the slope.
SLR will spend the next several months completing the designs and getting the project ready for construction bids. Doherty said the group will submit applications for inland wetlands and planning and zoning permits in late August or September.
The group will present options to city officials on materials and colors for construction materials and lighting for the park, details Doherty said, “can make the park shine,” while avoiding over-designing the park and disrupting its historic character.
“We want it to be durable and be maintenance free, but we also want it to be beautiful,” Doherty said.
‘It’s a very complicated project’: Waterbury Amazon facility could be boom or bust
WATERBURY — Approximately 1,000 permanent full-time jobs could be generated if Bluewater Property Group constructs a multistory Amazon e-commerce distribution facility on the Naugatuck border, but the Pennsylvania-based development company’s vice president said the project is far from a guarantee.
Christina Bernardin’s message of caution came last week before the Zoning Commission unanimously approved text amendments increasing maximum building height limits to 130 feet and expanding property-line setbacks to 150 feet from the building.
The Naugatuck Zoning Commission also approved the amendments last month.
Increasing Waterbury’s maximum building height limit from 60 to 130 feet in industrial parks could generate greater economic opportunities across the region, but the project still requires numerous local, state and federal permits and approvals, Bernardin noted.
“The site is challenged from a topography standpoint, which would be the next step here to understand site engineering and to perform construction feasibility,” she said.
Preliminary plans call for a three-story building that trucks and employees could access via driveways off Sheridan Drive in Naugatuck, Bernardin said. Another driveway off Great Hill Road in the borough would be used for emergency purposes, she said.
Bluewater is required to conduct traffic studies the state Department of Transportation would need to review and approve. The company would fund required traffic improvements, road work and maintenance, Bernardin said during a June public forum.
With the text amendment approved, Bluewater will continue its six-month due diligence phase to determine the feasibility of developing the site, Waterbury Development Corp. Interim Director Tommy Hyde said Wednesday.
“It’s a very complicated project,” he said, “and it still needs a lot of things to happen for it to be finalized.”
If all goes well, Bernardin said the project could create 300 construction jobs and later about 1,000 full-time permanent jobs.
“This is Amazon’s premier distribution center,” she said. “It requires the most high-quality building materials, thoughtful architectural design and it’s very safe from a design perspective.”
Several city residents favored the project during public comment, including Mike Iacoviello, a union member of Carpenters Local 326.
“This community needs a boon and needs something to boost its grand list to make this city better,” he said, “and turn it back to where it was at the height of the Brass City.”
Connecticut to Target Sewer Pollution With $580M for 18 Municipal Upgrades
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont announced Aug. 2 that clean-water grants totaling $580 million have been authorized to upgrade sewer systems and waste-water treatment facilities throughout the state.
The money will be for construction-ready municipal water pollution control projects designed to guard against sewage pollution and help improve water quality.
Funding for the 18 prioritized projects will be spread out over two years, according to CT Insider, an online network made up of several local news sources.
Federal infrastructure financing, worth $73 million, will go to New Haven and Hartford-area communities serviced by the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC), as well as projects in Norwich, Ridgefield, Litchfield, West Haven and Plainfield.
"The projects on this list will help our cities and towns to properly manage and treat their wastewater, and in turn help make our waterways cleaner," Lamont said in a statement. "These projects will also mobilize many good-paying jobs and strengthen supply chains as construction gets under way."
The governor's news release included comments from Katie Dykes, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).
"Properly managing our wastewater and ensuring we have sufficient infrastructure to do so is an essential part of being good stewards of our environment," she added.
Dykes and Lamont each praised the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law approved by Congress and signed into law by President Biden late last year. The legislation helped infuse money into Connecticut's grants' program.
Various Cities in MDC Granted a Total of $279M
Among the cities and projects slated to get the pollution-control monies include:
New Haven's Water Pollution Control Facility, where $10 million in new funds will complete a project to remove nitrogen from wastewater.
Another $75 million will go toward addressing issues in the city's storm and sanitary sewer lines in its Orchard Street, Yale, and Trumbull Street neighborhoods as well as at the East Street pump station.
The West Haven sewage plant will use its $38 million to replace an outfall line.
The Litchfield plant is set to receive $7 million for facility upgrades.
In Ridgefield, $10 million has been allocated to close a small sewage treatment plant, DEEP officials said.
The largest single award granted by the state will be $156 million for an upgrade of Norwich's Water Pollution Control Facility, although in aggregate, the MDC will receive more funding: a total of $279 million for projects in Hartford, East Hartford and Rocky Hill.
Other Towns Also Need Waste-Water Upgrades
State Rep. Joe Gresko, D-Stratford, co-chairman of the legislative Environment Committee, told CT Insider Aug. 2 that he hopes the communities of Stratford and Bridgeport can soon get in line for funding.
He noted that Bridgeport's West End facility, where stormwater from combined sanitary and storm sewage overflows into Black Rock Harbor and nearby Ash Creek, is responsible for nearby beach closures.
CT Insider reported that the Bridgeport plant is currently in the design phase for upgrades and will likely become eligible for funding during the 2024-2025 cycle.
"When they did the upgrade to the Stratford plant in the early 2000s, there was never an emergency relief valve installed," Gresko said about that town's treatment facility, located at the base of Birdseye Street on the Housatonic River.
According to DEEP, Connecticut cities and towns may submit applications for reserve funds through the end of the 2022-23 fiscal year.
The MDC is a non-profit municipal corporation chartered by the Connecticut General Assembly to provide potable water and sewerage services on a regional basis.
Additionally, it provides quality water supply, water pollution control, mapping, and household hazardous waste collection to eight member municipalities: Bloomfield, East Hartford, Hartford, Newington, Rocky Hill, West Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor. The MDC also supplies drinking water to portions of non-member towns: Farmington, Glastonbury, East Granby and South Windsor.