Milford-Stratford rail bridge to be repaired, eventually replaced in $2.2B federal transit project
Nick Sambides
MILFORD — The Housatonic River Railroad Bridge's long
recent history of malfunctions and repairs may soon be coming to an
end as part of a 12-year, $2.2 billion federal project to first repair and then
replace it.
Part of a
$16.4 billion federal funding package designed to improve rail service
along the nation’s aging Northeast Rail Corridor, the Devon bridge repair is
expected to finish in 2026, with the bridge's entire replacement with a new
structure occurring in 2035. The package includes Norwalk’s
Walk Bridge $1B replacement and the construction of a new train bridge
over the Connecticut River, said Josh Morgan, a Connecticut Department of
Transportation spokesperson.
"Our railroad infrastructure is incredibly old and
it is incredibly important," Morgan said Monday. "It (the funding) is
such a game changer for making sure that our infrastructure can handle more
traffic and outlive us for another 120 years."
President Joe Biden announced
the funding package last week. The "bascule span deck" or
drawbridge, features rail tracks that serve roughly 175 passenger trains a day
as part of the Metro-North Railroad’s New Haven Line and Amtrak’s Northeast
Corridor. The drawbridge also controls boat traffic in the Housatonic River.
If 12 years seems like a long time in which to replace a
single bridge, consider that the rail and sea traffic that it controls can't be
rerouted while the work is being done, Morgan said.
"If it is stuck open or closed, it (the bridge) is
stopping one mode of travel or the other," Morgan said.
That's happened frequently through the years. The
quarter-mile structure is 118 years old and has seen its day, said Morgan. In
one of its worst malfunctions, in 2015, the drawbridge got stuck in the open
position on July 1 of that year and repair work continued over the holiday
weekend. It stopped train traffic for several days and rail commuters were
reporting 10 to 15 minute delays as of July 6.
Nor can the bridge or its replacement be elevated to avoid
interfering with river traffic. That "would increase the grade for
miles," Morgan said. "You can’t have the train hit a hill and just go
over it."
The bridge "is in bad shape," Morgan said.
"It definitely needs the repair and the full replacement."
The $16.4 billion in new funding addresses 25 passenger rail
projects on the Amtrak corridor. All of the projects will rebuild tunnels and
bridges that are over 100 years old, the White House said in a statement. As matching funds,
Connecticut will provide $45.4 million and Amtrak will provide $15.9 million
for the bridge replacement, according to the Federal
Railroad Administration, which regulates rail safety as one of 10 agencies
within the U.S. Department of Transportation that handles intermodal
transportation.
Lamont introduces new DECD chief in ‘transformative’ New London
Lee Howard
New London ― Gov. Ned Lamont introduced Daniel H. O’Keefe as
his incoming head of the state Department of Economic and Community Development
during a downtown news conference Tuesday afternoon.
O’Keefe, the state’s chief innovation officer, previously
had been known as a technology investor, most recently as managing partner of
Apax Digital in New York City. A Harvard University graduate, O’Keefe received
high praise from outgoing DECD Commissioner Alexandra Daum, a former developer
who is leaving early next year to accept a position at Yale University.
“He’s worked with countless technology companies that are
growing and innovating,” Daum said. “Congratulations to the governor for a good
pick.”
Meeting at the High Tide Capital redevelopment project at
133 Bank St., former home of Jason’s Furniture where 13 out of 16 newly
constructed apartments are now occupied, Lamont said he wanted to make the DECD
announcement in New London because the city over the past few years has seen a
bigger economic transformation than any other place in the state.
“We’ve got a tailwind, and it’s a really good economy,” he
said in a speech on the first floor of the Bank Street project, where High Tide
developer Dash Davidson announced a Texas-based chicken and waffles restaurant
will soon locate, marking its third location nationwide. “There’s something
people are rediscovering about what makes the state special.”
In an interview after the news conference, O’Keefe said he
sees Connecticut moving in the right direction with the recent news that the
state saw a net in-migration of about 58,000 people last year.
“It’s really about vibrancy,” said O’Keefe, who is stepping
into a job with a $215,000 annual salary.
And in his speech Tuesday, he elaborated by making a
positive case for the future of Connecticut.
“The pandemic rewrote the rules, in a way,” O’Keefe said.
“That benefits the state of Connecticut. If you have more flexibility on where
to live, why not live in a place where the quality of life is high? Why not
live in a place that is one of the best in the world to educate and raise your
children? And that is exactly what is happening. People are voting with their
feet and with their wallets, our population is growing, our economy is
expanding.”
Lamont said the state experienced “a bit of a lost decade”
before COVID, as young people left the state in droves. But now there’s a new
growth in places like New London, which are in the process of becoming
“beautiful, dense, walkable communities,” he added.
“It’s just transformative what you’ve seen in this amazing
city,“ Lamont said. ”We’ve got to bring our cities back to life in a
significant way. Our cities were 30, 40, 50% bigger a couple generations ago.
And now they’re coming back, and it’s urban centers, like here in New London,
New Haven, Hartford and Stamford where people are rediscovering our state.“
A case in point could be found at 133 Bank St., where the
upper floors had been unoccupied for more than a generation before High Tide
Capital started a transformation earlier this year. Now, the apartments are
nearly fully occupied, and four of the tenants are from out of state, according
to the developer Davidson.
“I think this building is a testament to the collaboration
between New London and the state of Connecticut but really specifically to the
programs that run through the DECD,” particularly the state historic tax credit
program, Davidson said. “That’s the reason we’re able to do these historic
preservation projects.”
“We just can’t wait to do more projects like this,” he
added.
Darien Doubles Sewer Budget for Pipe Repairs, Flood Mitigation
Sophia Muce
DARIEN – Officials voted Monday to double the town budget
for sewer system improvements — to $4.6 million — in an effort to combat
flooding and lower an annual payment to Stamford.
Darien’s sewer system runs along 81 miles of the town, and
flows over to the Stamford Water Pollution Control Facility for treatment. But
with an increase in flooding during storms and “questionable” pipe
quality, Department of Public Works Superintendent Ed Gentile went before
the Board of Selectmen on Monday to request an additional $2.3 million for
phases two and three of the town’s sewer project.
“Right now, I’m pretty much solvent at zero,” Gentile said
of his remaining budget.
In October 2020, town bodies approved an original $2.3
million appropriation for the Gentile’s sanitary sewer system project. He said
the department has completed phase one – inspecting the system, hiring an
engineer and repairing some of the broken pipes – and was starting the second
phase when he realized he was over budget.
“We’re projected to be at a total of $2.9 million,” Gentile
said. “We’re about $580,000 over.”
Gentile said he dipped into federal funds allotted to the
town from the American Rescue Plan to offset the overage, but needed the town
to issue another bond to continue the improvements.
The town has continually struggled to mitigate flooding
during major events like tropical storms Elsa and Ida, which wrecked Darien
houses and businesses.
In a memo to the selectmen, Gentile said the three-phase
sewer project focuses on areas with high infiltration rates to eliminate
overflow.
He also said that the project will reduce the total annual
sewage to Stamford for use of their wastewater treatment plant. In fiscal year
2022-23, Darien paid Stamford about $3.6 million.
The two municipalities first entered an agreement allowing
Darien to use the Stamford plant in 1971. Per their current five-year
agreement, Darien can send over no more than 3.7 million gallons per day.
Gentile did not respond to CT Examiner questions about the town’s sewage output
on Monday.
Stamford calculates the town’s payment based on its sewage
output and pipe size, so a more-efficient sewer system could seemingly help to
reduce the town’s annual cost.
In a Monday email to CT Examiner, Stamford WPCA Executive
Director William Brink said the city’s annual average daily intake decreased
from 16.2 million gallons per day in 2021 to 14.6 in 2022. Despite new
commercial and housing developments in Stamford and Darien in recent years,
Brink attributed the drop to 2021 upgrades to the city’s treatment plant and
new technology.
“The additional flow from new development appears to be
offset by the use of flow saving water fixtures and appliances in new and
existing development,” Brink explained.
But even with the eco-friendly technology, Darien’s payment
to Stamford has increased by almost 39 percent in the last year, compared to
their $2.5 million charge in fiscal year 2020-21.
In phases two and three, Gentile told the selectmen, the
department will inspect, clean and fix the remaining 60 percent of the town’s
infrastructure. Once the project is complete, he said he can finally be
confident in Darien’s sewer system.
“The next phase, and even the next evaluation phase after
that, is going to start wrapping up this town to an area where I know the
sanitary sewer system is reliable,” Gentile said.
The board unanimously approved the appropriation, with
little comment other than thanking Gentile for his work. On Tuesday, Gentile
will appear before the Sewer Commission for their approval.
As developer Randy Salvatore prepares to restart a
multi-phase development of roughly 1,000 apartments on city-owned lots around
Hartford’s Dunkin’ Park baseball stadium, he has begun to lay the groundwork
for an equally ambitious development nearby.
Salvatore, on Nov. 8, submitted a special permit application
to Hartford’s Planning and Zoning Commission seeking to build 473 apartments in
two buildings, as well as a 507-space parking garage, on the former Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute campus.
The Nov. 8 application includes a rendering outlining future
development phases on the RPI campus that will add three more buildings and
another parking garage.
Salvatore intends to demolish existing buildings on the
12.7-acre RPI campus, except for a single garage. The rendering included with
his application outlines a development of 1,232 apartments in five buildings,
as well as three parking structures with a total of 1,310 spaces.
Salvatore has previously said he has an agreement to
purchase the RPI campus.
Salvatore is already engaged in the “North Crossing” project
to build roughly 1,000 apartments in several buildings on city-owned parking
lots around Dunkin’ Park.
Salvatore completed the first 270-unit apartment building of
North Crossing in 2022, and had expected to roll right into the next phase, a
228-unit apartment building before the close of 2022.
But that second project stalled amid a lawsuit from another
developer — Centerplan Construction Co. and DoNo Hartford LLC — that claimed
prior and ongoing rights to develop the city-owned parcels around the stadium.
Mayor Luke Bronin in late October reached a $9.9 million
settlement to end the seven-year lawsuit, allowing Salvatore’s “North Crossing”
project to proceed.
While North Crossing was stuck in legal limbo, Salvatore
entered into a purchase agreement for the RPI campus nearby. He had planned to
shift focus to the RPI campus while the lawsuit dragged on.
After the settlement, however, Salvatore said he would begin
building the next phase of North Crossing while also advancing efforts to buy
and secure permits to develop the RPI campus.
Attorney Joseph P. Williams, of Shipman & Goodwin LLP,
wrote in a Nov. 8 application submitted for Salvatore that the RPI is a
“logical extension” to the ongoing “North Crossing” development.
“It will extend the link between downtown and DoNo, and it
will help revitalize the area by increasing density and creating vibrancy and a
mix of land uses in the neighborhood.”
Williams said the development will replace 1970-vintage
buildings with an “aesthetically appealing design, construction and amenities.”
“RMS’ proposed redevelopment of 275 Windsor Street will
significantly improve the aesthetics of the site and surrounding neighborhoods,
protect neighboring property values, add alternative choices to the City of
Hartford’s housing stock and enhance and activate the area,” Williams wrote.
Attempts to reach Salvatore were not immediately successful Tuesday.
New apartment building approved for Elm City
Aplan to knock down vacant commercial structures and build a
new apartment building on Grand Avenue in New Haven was approved last week.
The New Haven City Plan Commission on Nov. 8 voted 3-0 to
approve the development at 873, 887 and 897 Grand Ave., according to City
Planner Esther Rose-Wilen.
The owner and applicant, Moshe Feferkorn and JS Dorothy LLC
of Airmont, New York, intends to build a new 112-unit residential building,
Grand Avenue Apartments, at the site. It will have five-stories of living space
with ground level parking, for a total of six stories.
The vote followed a public
hearing, with residents submitting testimony both for and against the
application.
Supporters cited factors such as the need for housing and
the need to address the current blighted condition of the property. Opponents
raised concerns about the height of the building compared to the neighborhood,
aesthetics and traffic.
The site has vacant commercial space currently, including
space previously occupied by the business Unger’s Flooring.
Plans show the new building will have a 1,000-square-foot
retail space on the ground floor in addition to the parking area. Of the 112
units, there will be 66 studios, 38 one-bedroom and eight two-bedroom
apartments in the 82,000-square-foot building.
JS Dorothy LLC bought the property in November 2022 for $3.1
million, city records show.