Work to begin for $18 million CT sewer rehabilitation project. Detours planned
Work is scheduled to begin this week to rehabilitate
downtown sewers, a system for which the original sewer was built in the 1800s.
The initial work, which is the first of three phases of the
sewer rehabilitation project, begins on Tuesday Nov. 4 and is expected to last
three weeks. Central Row will
be closed eastbound during these hours; however, businesses and sidewalks
will stay open for pedestrians.
Vehicular traffic eastbound on Central Row “will be detoured
around the closure during this time period,” according to the MDC. See the
detour map.
The project is by The
Metropolitan District and its contractors, VMS Construction and
Insituform Technologies, and all three phases are expected to be completed by
next spring.
In all, the project is expected to last several months in
the downtown Hartford area on Central Row, Market Street and Main Street the
next several months could see detours. No sewer service interruptions are
expected.
The MDC said the “initial phase of rehabilitation work,” on
Central Row between Main Street and the Prospect Street intersection, is
expected to take about three weeks. Initial work includes “conducting test
pits, lining manholes and replacing a portion of the existing sanitary sewer
main,” according to the MDC.
The Metropolitan District coordinated with the city of
Hartford, the Connecticut
Department of Transportation and CT Transit for the project.
The project will be performed on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6
p.m. Drivers can expect lane closures and detours during the construction.
Normal traffic will return following each construction shift. An electronic
message sign will also be on site for drivers, according to the MDC.
The second phase of the sewer rehabilitation work will begin
early next month on Market Street from Kinsley to State Street, according to
the MDC.
Phase three will take place on Main Street in front of State
House Square south to past the Travelers building. That phase will rehab the
sewer pipe with cured in place pipe. Curing takes 16 hours. Work on phase three
will last about a week next spring.
According to The Metropolitan District, the sewers being
investigated and rehabilitated date back to 1865, an era in which
sewers were constructed with brick.
This sewer rehabilitation program is “an effort to reduce
extraneous infiltration of groundwater into the sewer system and extend the
longevity of the system.”
The Metropolitan District said it uses trenchless technology
in which the pipe is cured in place “in which a new pipe is installed within
the older failing pipe – if the original pipe remains in good enough
condition.”
“The liner is then inflated to match diameter and shape of
the host pipe, and then ‘cured’ by ways of heat. When cured, this liner becomes
a new pipe, similar in characteristics to a segment of plastic pipe. This heat
can be applied either from steam or hot water. Once the curing process is
complete, existing connections from buildings or catch basins are reinstated by
‘cutting’ the new cured pipe in the location of these connections,” according
to The Metropolitan District.
The pipe is inspected by robotic cameras prior to attempting
to install the pipe that is to be cured in place. If the pipe is failing, and
that part of the pipe is excavated, it will be repaired before the curing can
be performed.
When the method of curing pipe in place is used within the
older failing brick sewer pipe, the work is done in a faster timeline, with
little or no digging. The pipe is cured in place “is performed by pulling a
resin-impregnated felt-type liner through the host pipe.”
In the Central Row areas, there will be “excavation for
access to CCTV the existing brick sewer under the utility vault to the
collapsed sewer under the traffic island,” according to the MDC.
The total cost of the project is $18 million for all three
parts of the work, to be paid through several sources. The first phase is $3.5
million, the second is $4 million and the third is $10.5 million, according to the MDC.
Trumbull's new Hillcrest school may not be ready for use until 2029
TRUMBULL — Hillcrest students
and staff may now have to wait until the spring of 2029 to use a new middle
school, officials said at a Tuesday Board of Education meeting.
Kevin Dion, Trumbull Public
Schools' director of operations, said the new school building is now slated to
be completed later than initially planned. Officials
originally said the new school could be completed in 2028, if not
sooner.
"Everybody is moving at a break-neck pace, but
unfortunately, we want to make sure we get this right, that takes time,"
Dion said.
He said the timeline could change once the project goes out
to bid for contractors, which could be in January or February.
"We'd like for next summer to have everyone on board
and breaking ground toward the end of next summer," he said.
Trumbull residents, in a 2024 referendum vote, approved
the $142.3 million Hillcrest construction project, which will cost the town
$82.5 million after securing a 44% state reimbursement rate. The new school
will be 145,884 square feet and will accommodate a projected enrollment of 826
students.
The current Hillcrest school is slated to be
demolished.
The school will include new classroom technology, special
education resources, safety and security upgrades and more, including a black
box theater instead of an auditorium, and a planetarium.
Dion said the black box theater could be a good venue for
plays, concerts, class lessons and more. The theater will seat up to 300
audience members. Chairs will roll out from the wall when needed and collapse
back into the wall when not in use. Another 90 chairs will fit on the
stage, Dion said
"It really is an open usable space, there's many uses
for it," Dion said. "It'll fit our needs."
The new building's gymnasium will be able to fit upward of
300 spectators on the bleachers, which will be placed on both sides of the
court for sporting competitions, pep rallies and more, Dion said. The gym is
currently planned to be 7,420 square feet.
Hamden council approves contracts for middle school demolition initially slated to begin this summer
HAMDEN — Town officials voted to move forward with the
demolition of two
blighted former middle school buildings, although the site's future
remains unclear.
Plans
to demolish the former Michael J. Whalen Junior High School
building and renovate the free-standing gynasium, were
altered from plans to develop a community campus at the site after the Legislative
Council voted last year to reallocate millions of funds to addressing sinking
foundations in the Newhall neighborhood, which was once a site of
dumping for industrial waste.
The school and gym were decomissioned as educational
buildings in 2006 and have since sat decaying with shattered windows, fire
damage and grafittied walls in the middle of the Newhall neighborhood.
Last September, town officials projected construction would
begin in August 2025. On Monday, Town Engineer Stephen White said the council's
votes in favor of amending two contracts could mean the middle school building
"will either be substantially down or down by the end of next year.”
The town initially approved contracts with 7-Summits
Construction to serve as construction manager at risk and with BL Companies for
demolition and site planning.
However, the scope of work was changed this summer,
requiring new contracts. On Monday, the council approved amended contracts,
including shifting 7-Summits Construction's role to one of construction manager
as advisor. White said some of the planning work is already "partially
complete" from the original 7-Summits Construction contract.
According to White, the current demolition plans are not
tied to any future construction at this time. He said it is expected to be a
flat, grassy area although some pavement restoration may be required. White
said BL Companies is also committed to communication information about air
quality during demolition to residents.