East Lyme braces for more than 4 years of snarled traffic
Elizabeth Regan
East Lyme ― Before traffic in this growing beach town gets better, it’s going to get worse.
Officials this week announced the time is here to begin a $148 million construction project at the Exit 74 interchange of Interstate 95 that’s been touted as one of the largest in the state. The goal is to reduce congestion and improve safety on the highway and Route 161, the underlying state road leading to the shore.
The declaration set the clock on 4 1/2 years of lane closures, detours and snarled traffic.
The project was first slated to begin in 2021, but was delayed by issues including property acquisition by eminent domain. Since then, the Starlight Inn and Mobil gas station have been demolished and East Lyme Driving Range has been shuttered to make room for the highway improvements.
A wide, looped on-ramp will cover part of the former golf range as one of numerous changes, including the widening of the highway and Route 161, replacement of the interstate bridge and relocation of the existing commuter parking lots to an area across the street from King Arthur Drive.
On the town website, First Selectman Kevin Seery said project officials have likened the project to the reconstruction of New Haven’s Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge, commonly known as the Q-Bridge. That $554 million project took five years to deliver, according to the Associated Press.
Connecticut Department of Transportation spokeswoman Shannon King Burnham described the expanse of I-95 here as one of the most heavily traveled in the state. The project is currently among the largest in eastern Connecticut and the state.
The first year will consist mostly of utility relocation work, Seery said. That information came from project managers with the Glastonbury-based engineering firm GM2 and representatives of the state Department of Transportation at a pre-construction meeting last week, where they told officials that crews will begin moving poles, gas lines and water and sewer lines on Route 161 in the coming weeks.
The contractor is Plainville-based Manafort Brothers Inc.
Seery warned the work will require lane closures. Those will begin once surveyors are done placing their stakes and ribbons in a project area running roughly from Stop & Shop to True Value Home Center.
The first selectman said daytime closures on Route 161 are limited by contract to one lane in each direction between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Police Chief Mike Finkelstein said intermittent traffic delays would disrupt “normal operations and normal lives” for the next four years.
“It’s going to be fun,” he said, sarcastically.
Still, he said the effect on traffic during the first year of utility work won’t be as intense as it will be during construction over the next several years.
He also was relieved to hear that work on the highway, when it begins, is not expected to involve full closures that will divert all interstate traffic onto local roads.
Burnham, the DOT spokesman, told The Day that some work will involve closing the highway for 10 minutes at a time, but there will be no long-term or permanent lane closures on I-95.
Route 161 beneath the highway is slated for complete closure overnight when the bridge is demolished and when the steel girders go up, she said. The rest of the work will include reduced lanes but no anticipated road closures on the state road.
The majority of construction work will occur overnight, according to Burnham. She said any specific lane closures or detours would be announced “well in advance” on the project website expected to go live in mid April, on social media and in press releases if necessary.
There will also be a camera feed on the website so the public can view real-time traffic.
Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Newton sent a letter to the school community telling them to expect busing delays.
“We will be regularly planning and strategizing with the town and DOT in hopes of minimizing these delays and road issues,” he wrote.
The state transportation department has said there are higher than normal crash rates at interchange 74 and on Flanders Road in the vicinity of Burger King.
Included in the designs are auxiliary lanes between exits 74 and 75 in each direction.
In the case of the northbound side, Finkelstein said officials were told the lanes will give drivers more time to get up to speed, while cars traveling just one exit would be able to get off without ever having to merge into another lane of traffic.
He said significant grading work is also going to be done to level what is now a narrow and hilly expanse.
Burnham said widening and leveling the highway is necessary to accommodate the increasing number of cars and how fast they move. Drivers will be able to see farther and spend more time in acceleration and deceleration lanes before merging or exiting.
“The posted speed limit is 50 MPH, but the designed improvements will allow for 70 MPH,” she said.
Updates will be provided on the town’s website, local access TV stations, and the town’s Facebook pages.
Finkelstein said he’s hopeful the project managers, contractor, state transportation department and local officials can work together to manage the situation as efficiently as possible.
“We have heavy traffic anyway, so certainly it’s going to be a lot for people to deal with during this time frame,” he said.
THOMAS BREEN
An aldermanic committee endorsed the Elicker Administration’s plan to build a new community marina and expanded waterfront park on Long Wharf — as well as a cafe kiosk and bathroom on the Green and a family-friendly playground downtown — if the city manages to secure $32.1 million in infrastructure-boosting state aid.
Local legislators took that vote Wednesday night during the latest meeting of the Board of Alders Community Development Committee, which took place in the Aldermanic Chamber on the second floor of City Hall.
The committee alders voted unanimously in support of a resolution authorizing the city to apply for $32.1 million in grant money as part of Round 2 of the state’s $800 million Community Investment Fund (CIF).
As city Economic Development Administrator Michael Piscitelli told the committee alders Wednesday night, it’s unlikely that the city would be awarded all $32 million all at once.
“Part of this conversation is ideas, thoughts,” getting a plan and funding application in place for what infrastructure upgrades the city would like to make to downtown and Long Wharf and how much those improvements are expected to cos, Piscitelli said. That way, “when we go for future rounds, everything is tightly aligned” with one broader economic-development vision.
In that vein, Piscitelli, City Engineer Giovanni Zinn, and economic development staffer Courtney Henderson laid out in detail how the Elicker Administration would like to spend this requested $32.1 million if the state were to grant it. The proposed resolution now heads to the full Board of Alders for further review and a final vote before the city can officially submit the application to the state.
Piscitelli explained that the city is seeking $25 million in state aid for a suite of improvements to Long Wharf, including knocking down the former Gateway Community College building on Sargent Drive to help make way for the relocation of Gateway’s automotive trade school; redesigning and elevating Long Wharf Drive to protect the roadway from floods; creating a new community marina that would allow sailboats to access the area around the Canal Dock Boathouse; and developing a larger Long Wharf park complete with a 20-foot-wide waterfront promenade, fewer lanes for driving, more space for parking, and a dedicated tent-covered area for picnicking and enjoying food from the nearby taco trucks.
Wednesday night’s proposal, which can be read in full here and here, comes roughly a month after top city officials and Mayor Elicker first unveiled a detailed Long Wharf redevelopment plan to over 100 Hill community members and other interested residents. Read here for more about that plan, which overlapped extensively with Wednesday’s presentation, and which would see a park and pedestrian-friendly walkway where cars now travel on Long Wharf Drive, an automotive trade school where the former Gateway building is on Sargent, and a new home base for all of the APT Foundation’s New Haven substance-use treatment programs.
This is really “the opportunity to take a park that has become very popular with the food trucks,” Zinn said, but that is “really lacking some of the amenities” that would make the area all the more enjoyable to spend a full day at.
The move to lift Long Wharf Drive, Piscitelli said, stems in part from Fusco Corporation’s planned development of 500 new apartments along the water nearby.
“In a scenario where we had a big flood or storm surge,” Fusco’s planned new buildings would hold up fine, but the roads around it would not, he said. “This really creates that second layer of safety that the state has prioritized.”
As for downtown, Piscitelli and Henderson said, the city is applying for $7.1 million to fund the creation of a new cafe kiosk and permanent public bathroom on the Green, various public art projects in the Ninth Square and street improvements to Temple, and a new family playground at a still-to-be-determined site somewhere downtown.
Would any of this money be used to make sure the public restrooms and playgrounds are kept clean? asked Downtown/Yale Alder Alex Guzhnay.
“Certainly, public restrooms are challenging to keep clean,” Zinn said. He said tying such a restroom to a new cafe kiosk where customers can buy pastries and coffee would create a revenue stream to help cover the costs of cleaning the bathroom.
Has the city talked about this plan with the Proprietors of the Green, who legally own the property? Guznhay asked.
“We’ve had discussions with the Proprietors about the activation of the Green,” Zinn said. This proposal, he said, would further that goal.
“Supposing we don’t get what we’re looking for,” Dwight Alder Frank Douglass said about the $32.1 million grant application, “what’s the plan?” Which of these projects are priorities?
Piscitelli said the city would get feedback from the state on which projects were most competitive. And he said that, if one project is turned down for this funding source, another funding source for another initiative might emerge that the city could latch one of these projects onto.
The committee alders praised the plan before taking their unanimous vote of support.
“Here we are today with plans on the table with a beautiful vision” for making Long Wharf a place “where families can truly come” from all over the city to enjoy, Hill Alder Carmen Rodriguez said. This is “something that can be revamped to the now.”
After Closed Meeting, DEEP Walks Back Old Lyme Expectations For $17m Sewer Grant
Cate Hewitt
The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection walked back what local leaders thought was a $17 million grant for sewer construction in the beach communities, instead saying that the agency is looking at a variety of federal funding options for the project.
“Rather than offer $17M, as the [CT Examiner] headline indicates, DEEP conveyed a commitment to evaluate funding options for Old Lyme by exploring, and hopefully leveraging, potential new federal funding opportunities afforded under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL),” wrote DEEP spokesman Paul Copleman, in an email to CT Examiner on Tuesday.
“If such funds are available, DEEP still needs to determine how and if such potential funding options could work together with Clean Water Funding and how much additional funding could be made available,” wrote Copleman.
Graham Stevens, chief of water protection and land reuse at DEEP, told CT Examiner that “the state is looking to find out if there’s an opportunity to provide additional subsidy to this project to keep the cost under control for residents and accomplish our decade-long endeavor of trying to protect the environment and ensure the long term economic sustainability for these communities.”
He said part of the purpose of Friday’s meeting — from which the press was excluded — was to share that “we’re looking at all the options that we can think of and wanted to check in to make sure [the beach communities] would be interested if we were to be successful.”
“We wanted to let them know that we haven’t forgotten about their issues and that we’re working hard to try to, you know, work together with them to find a solution that works for everyone,” he said.
But Rep. Devin Carney, R-Old Saybrook, who attended DEEP’s Friday meeting by zoom, told CT Examiner that DEEP offered a “potentially forgivable loan” of an additional 25% of project costs under the state’s Clean Water Funds program. Under the program, the sewer project already qualifies for a 25% grant and a 75% loan at 2% interest for 20 years.
“It sounded to me like DEEP committed to 25%, which they estimated with $17 million as the highest number, so not necessarily $17 million,” he said. “And there has to be some sort of referendum – some entity has to be willing to take that on – because it’s not a grant, it’s a loan, and it’s potentially a forgivable loan and I’m sure there has to be certain obligations met for it to be forgivable.”
With the additional 25% would bring coverage of the project to 50%, which would potentially bring the price of the project for each homeowner to pre-pandemic levels, Carney said. But, he said, there are many, many steps to the funding process.
“I just want to make it clear – nothing is a done deal. I don’t want anybody to think, oh, we’re definitely getting this money,” he said.
Carney said it was important that DEEP come to Old Lyme to explain to residents and property owners exactly how the funding will work.
“I want to make sure that everybody fully understands from the horse’s mouth what is going on,” Carney said.
CRDA targets $107.2M upgrade to Hartford’s XL Center
Michael Puffer
Aplan to repair, upgrade and keep the 50-year-old XL Center in downtown Hartford running and relevant will cost $107.2 million.
That’s according to a construction estimate recently provided to the Capital Region Development Authority by two estimators.
Hartford officials and CRDA staff see the sports and entertainment arena as a key city attraction, something that brings in crowds to patronize local restaurants on event nights and adds to the city’s vibrancy.
CLICK HERE TO SEE NEW RENDERINGS OF AN XL CENTER RENOVATION
The aging facility is currently undergoing millions in repairs and will need millions more to keep functioning, even without a dramatic overhaul, said CRDA Executive Director Michael Freimuth. The current plan would keep the building running and make it a more appealing and efficient venue, allowing it to bring in more performances, he said.
“The thing that concerns me is if we don’t make an investment, we are really on a slow deterioration process to closure,” Freimuth told the Hartford Business Journal Thursday. “It may not be this year and it may be five years from now. It’s a 50-year-old building in an industry where the average is 15 to 20. And we don’t have some of the features that some of the modern buildings have that attract promoters and attract events and satisfy fans.”
In addition to rehabbing core systems, like the roof, plumbing, electrical and elevators, the planned rehab would redesign the stage, create premium seating areas at ground level, renovate seating, upgrade vending stations and other functions on the concourse and more.
Importantly, it would also redesign the loading bay areas to allow up to six tractor trailers simultaneous access, rather than just one or two under the current configuration.
That is important to allow performers to quickly load and unload, a key cost factor when considering a venue.
Securing a partner
Los Angeles-based based sports and live entertainment company Oak View Group manages the XL center on behalf of the CRDA, having taken over a management contract following its November 2021 acquisition of venue management and hospitality company Spectra. That contract expires in 2025.
CRDA and OVG are in negotiations, Freimuth said, that could lead to the company contributing “tens-of-millions” of dollars to the project through an agreement that extends its management of the facility another 20 years. Under discussion now is how any operational profits might be split.
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Freimuth is adamant that OVG would have to cover any operational losses.
Right now, the XL Center runs an operating deficit averaging about $2.5 million yearly, Freimuth said. The venue’s annual deficit climbed to about $4 million during the pandemic, although that was offset by federal COVID relief, he said.
Freimuth stressed the XL Center generates tax revenue and increased business activity in the area that is not reflected in the operating loss calculus.
The renovations being contemplated today are designed to help OVG attract more acts to put the facility’s operational budget in the black and reap additional benefits for surrounding businesses.
Freimuth said he hopes to strike an agreement with OVG by late spring. It would be contingent on securing renovations moving forward.
Where’s the money coming from
State lawmakers balked at a proposed $250 million redevelopment of the XL Center in 2018, but did approve $65 million to go toward a pared-down redevelopment plan the following year.
Those funds still require approval from the state Bond Commission.
Freimuth said he’s hoping to pair that state support with other CRDA funds, money from OVG and, possibly, additional donated funds to reach the $107.2 million price tag of the currently envisioned project. It is possible the state might have to contribute $5 million to $10 million more to make the project work, Freimuth said.
CRDA has tapped $40 million approved for the XL Center in 2017 to cover the costs of $15 million in ongoing repairs and upgrades — including construction of a highly-anticipated sports betting lounge on the edge of the building overlooking Ann Uccello Street.
Providence-based Dimeo Construction is building the lounge under a contract that includes improvements to the building’s western concourse, construction of additional restrooms, commercial kitchen improvements and upgrades to other systems. The sports betting facility was originally targeted to open last fall but is now expected to debut this summer due to supply chain delays.
In terms of the overall XL Center renovation, CRDA still needs to confirm the price tag. Two big steps include finalizing designs – something expected before Aug. 31 – and securing bids from subcontractors, expected to be completed by Nov. 30, according to a presentation shared with the CRDA board Thursday.
“The question everybody keeps asking is: ‘What is this going to cost?’ They don’t want to commit to something open-ended,” Freimuth said. “That’s what most folks are telling me – land the budget. That’s what we are trying to do, land the budget.”
The CRDA will also need to secure an agreement with Northland, owner of an abutting parking structure with retail spaces, in order to move a wall to improve loading capabilities. Freimuth said the renovation would benefit Northland’s operation as well.
Hartford officials would also have to agree to an extension of CRDA’s mandate to oversee the XL Center property. Freimuth said it is likely the General Assembly would need to pass special legislation granting CRDA additional deal-making authority.
CRDA’s tentative schedule calls for construction to launch in November or December. The XL Center would close in May 2024 to allow for construction, then reopen in September for the fall sports season.
It would close again the following May and reopen with upgrades completed in September 2025.
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Why don't we put all of our power lines underground?
MIKE SULLIVAN
BOSTON -- It is a common question after big snowstorms cause widespread blackouts - Why doesn't Massachusetts put all of the power lines underground?
About 49,000 Eversource customers were without power during this most recent nor'easter.
"You could potentially be talking about digging up every sidewalk, through one side of every street, through every municipality," said Chris McKinnon, a spokesperson for Eversource. "When you talk about taking all of that, and putting it underground, the cost can be extremely high."
McKinnon says it would cost roughly $2 million to $6 million per mile to convert their overhead lines underground. As of 2021, Eversource had 11,000 miles of power lines in the state. It would take $22 billion to $66 billion to convert all of that. In the past, former Governor Deval Patrick estimated it would take $1 trillion to move all of the overhead lines in the state underground.
"We would have to say what are the benefits, and some of the downfalls that could come with this?" questioned McKinnon.
While the lines would be more protected underground, other complications do arise. If lines are placed in an area with a high water table, this can lead to flooding in the lines. Overhead lines may be more susceptible to damage, but they are also easier to repair.
"When a tree falls onto a line we can see exactly where that tree fell, what the damage was and start making the repair immediately," said McKinnon. "If there is an issue, and we can't see it, we would have to start digging up trenches."
"In some parts of the country you are going to have really hard rock. Getting through that really hard rock just isn't worth the trouble," explained Scott Aaronson, Senior Vice President with the Edison Electric Institute.
Aaronson says communities need to assess whether the benefit of protection is worth the price.
"In Northern California, Pacific Gas and Electric in recent years announced an extraordinary underground project," said Aaronson. "Given the number of wildfires they have had in that region, the cost of not putting them underground was just too great. That goes to that cost benefit of if it makes sense let's do it."
"If you look at a big city like Boston, a lot of the electric equipment is already housed underground," said McKinnon.