Work steps up at site of Norwalk's $1B Walk Bridge project; winter won't stop construction crews
NORWALK — As construction chugs along to replace the
128-year-old Walk
Bridge in the heart of South Norwalk, officials
say the $1 billion project won’t face any winter delays.
A crew of 85 to 90 workers has been working at the railroad
bridge, moving transmission cables under the Norwalk River and installing
structural supports, according to Rory McGlasson, public involvement manager at
WSP USA, the program management consultant for the project.
Last month, large
equipment arrived on site for the construction of the drill shaft's
structural supports for the project.
The new railroad bridge, which carries Metro-North and
Amtrak trains over the Norwalk River, is slated to for
completion by 2029.
The cable undergrounding process is separate but connected
to Eversource's
work to install underground transmission cables throughout Norwalk,
according to McGlasson and Jeff Bird, WSP construction project manager.
The cables that run over top of the current railroad
bridge’s structure need to be relocated under the Norwalk River before the new
structure is built to allow trains to run over its tracks, they
said. Eversource crews aren’t working on undergrounding at the Walk Bridge
site, but rather from Veterans Memorial Park in East Norwalk.
Eventually, the Eversource underground cables will connect
to those under the Norwalk River, the WSP representatives said.
The Walk Bridge reconstruction has many moving parts outside
of the Eversource undergrounding, McGlasson and Bird said. Four Norwalk bridges
housing railroad tracks are also being updated.
Bridges at Fort Point Street, Osborne Avenue and East Avenue
are being replaced, as is the superstructure of the Strawberry Hill Avenue
Bridge. The East
Norwalk Train Station off East Avenue is also being upgraded as part
of the Walk Bridge reconstruction program.
All work necessary for the bridges’ northern tracks to be
operational will be done by October 2025, Bird said.
But Walk Bridge-related work has begun to
impact Norwalkers already: a part
of Fort Point Street has been closed for most of November.
Despite local
interruptions, McGlasson said the construction thus far has been either
staging or preparation for the “real bridge work.”
To passersby, it may look like that work has already begun.
Two barges, one with a crane, and five other large cranes are visible around
the Norwalk River, Bird said.
Permanent structures being installed also mark the progress.
Bird said both the north and south ends of the new bridge will have two towers.
Two drill shafts, each 12 feet in diameter, will go on either side of all four
towers for a total of eight drill shafts.
“They are concrete columns, if you will, that will take the
weight, the load of the bridge itself and transfer it down through the river,
through the bed, through the fill of the river, call the way down to a
competent bedrock material,” Bird said.
On Wednesday, Bird said three of the eight drill shafts were
complete and crews should finish the fourth by next week.
As winter approaches, though, Bird said that crews have no
plans of slowing down construction — except in the case of a major storm that
makes conditions unsafe. But a little snow won’t stop construction, he said.
The biggest concern is cold temperatures that can make it
more difficult for concrete to set, but Bird said crews have ways of warming
concrete to ensure it doesn’t freeze.
Contractor discovers substandard soil at State Pier
Greg Smith
New London ― The Connecticut Port Authority said Friday it
is working with State Pier contractor Kiewit to remedy what appears to be
substandard soil used on a portion of the newly-constructed offshore wind
facility.
The remedy for the problem, the cost to fix it and who might
pay remains in question.
The problem was discovered by routine soil testing of the
100-foot long section at the south end of the pier where fill was used to
expand its size. The area was once two piers.
The soil contains excessive silty material and is not in
compliance with the port authority’s contract with Kiewit, said Paul
Whitescarver, chairman of the board of directors of the Connecticut Port
Authority.
The issue was first made public during the CPA’s Finance
Committee meeting on Tuesday after board member John Johnson asked whether
capital expenditures were completed. The state and Danish company Ørsted have
jointly contributed to the $310 million cost of upgrading the pier to
accommodate the massive offshore wind components.
Whitescarver, who said the area where the soil problem was
discovered was unusable, said he thought the remedy would be covered by
Kiewitt.
“The excessive silty soil negatively affects the load
capacity of this area, which is designed to be a transport corridor for
terminal operations,” Whitescarver said in a statement. “The CPA is working
closely with its designer, contractors and partners to establish an acceptable
remediation plan.”
A spokesperson from Kiewit was not immediately available for
comment but has said the section of the pier in question represents less than
.5% of the total project. Whitescarver said the CPA is working with Kiewit on a
solution.
Despite the problem, Whitescarver said operations at State
Pier remain unaffected. The pier is loaded with parts ― wind turbine blades,
nacelles and towers ― that are bound for the waters off Rhode Island as part of
Orsted’s Revolution Wind project.
Whitescarver said the area in question is not intended for
component storage and never was intended to have the kind of load capacity that
the two heavy lift platforms have.
“The bottom line is there is no change in operations at the
pier and no disruption in operations,” Whitescarver said.
News of more problems at State Pier, however, prompted a
statement from state legislators already frustrated by the project’s spiraling
costs.
Republican senator Heather Somers of Groton, Henri Martin
and Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding issued a statement on Friday.
“It seems like every time the tide comes in, it brings with
it another controversy for the Port Authority. Now we have this latest
revelation. The south portion of the pier is not stable enough for wind
component storage use because of the type of fill that was used,” the statement
reads.
“There is finger-pointing between the Port Authority and
construction management company Kiewit on who is responsible. Meanwhile, the
costs paid by the Connecticut taxpayer continue to rise. The price tag is
already north of $310 million at this unfinished site, which we now learn has
potentially dangerous and costly structural deficiencies.”
The senators called for “full transparency” and urged the
port authority to answer questions from the public.
“The taxpayers of Connecticut deserve nothing less,” the
statement reads.
Westport approves $5.5M to repair 40-year-old pond walkway, tide gate
WESTPORT — The 36-year-old Old Mill Pond walkway and tide
gate, which has fallen
into disrepair, will be rehabbed — and some hope access to the site will
come with the work.
The Representative Town Meeting, at its meeting Wednesday,
approved spending $5.5 million to repair the failing structure, work on which
would begin next October and be finished in mid-2026.
Funds to cover the cost will come from the town’s remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds, some $3.3 million, with the balance covered with bond and note authorization to the Municipal Improvement Fund Account.
The ARPA funds, according to the federal government, must be
under contract to projects before Dec. 31, 2024, or the funds revert back to
the government. The funds must be spent in two years.
But some RTM members, while in agreement the work is
needed, lamented the inability to access the property. A gate was installed
several years ago as it is private property.
For coastlines, private property ends at the mean high-water
line. Some RTM members hope that city officials can investigate, first if the
gate is in the proper location and if there can be a way for residents to have
access to the mean high-water line on the other side.
For the tide gate and walkway work, Director of Public Works
Pete Ratkiewich said most marine structures that involve pilings or concrete in
the water last 20 to 25 years. He believes that because the town has performed
maintenance on the tide gate each summer, workers were able to expand the life
by 11 years.
Tide gates are used to control water flow between a tide
area and drained upland area.
The gates are about 15 inches tall and swing in and out of a
stop on a concrete slab. One side prevents sediment from moving out, and the
other prevents it coming in, thereby improving water quality.
In 2019, the maintenance crew noticed a lot of the structure
is falling apart, including the masonry.
This July, the department received a report from someone
walking on the bridge who said it felt like walking on a trampoline. This
indicated that some of the poles holding the structure had
broken, Ratkiewich said.
The department temporarily repaired this, as construction on
the permanent fix is expected to start in about a year with a delay in
materials, with hopes to finish it in late spring 2026.
The idea is to repair the tide gates, taking every piece of
hardware off and replacing it, Ratkiewich said. This will require going down to
the foundation, removing the compromised concrete and repouring it.
A cofferdam will also need to be built around the
foundations to create a dry work environment, as concrete can't be poured into
water. Live wires are also located in the area.
Enfield selling former Nathan Hale School property to private developer
ENFIELD — The site of the former
Nathan Hale School, which closed in 2017, is being sold to a private
developer who aims to redevelop the property to include residential units, an
athletic facility, and a day care facility.d
Members of the Town Council voted unanimously on Monday to
sell the property at 5 Taylor Road to Enfield-based The
Court LLC for $750,000, which would place the property back on municipal
tax rolls while providing more options for homes and recreation.
Plans call for the demolition and removal of a large part of
the original school building, and 27,000 square feet of new construction
featuring three multi-sport courts that can accommodate basketball,
volleyball, pickle ball, and futsal — a soccer-based sport played on a hard
court.
All told, there are expected to be eight two-story walk-up
residential buildings with four two-bedroom units per building, totaling 32 new
residential units, southwest of the sports facility.
Along with adequate parking, the site is also expected to
include a two-way street to provide access to the sports facility and
residential units.
Initial plans call for an existing portion of the school and
its gymnasium to remain, as well as the proposed construction of a day care
facility.
Demolition of the school and construction of the new sports
facility is expected to take between one and two years. Following completion,
residential construction is expected to take roughly three years.
Councilwoman Gina Cekala called the sale and redevelopment
of the property "a long time coming."
"I'm happy to see it finally come to fruition,"
she said, noting the dedication The Court has to its home in Enfield.
Councilman Robert Cressotti agreed, saying, "I think
they're going to do a fantastic job."
Nathan Hale School, a kindergarten through Grade 2 school
built in 1962, was closed in the summer of 2017 and its 232 students were moved
to other schools.
Over the years, the building has deteriorated and the
property has remained under the ownership of the school district and then the
town, meaning it was not taxed as part of the town's grand list.
After it was closed, it was used for several years for
storage and some administrative functions for the school district.
Multiple parties were interested in purchasing the property
last year and town officials issued requests for proposal for redevelopment in
February, receiving three proposals.
Greenwich officials say $2M more needed to fully fund Old Greenwich School construction
GREENWICH — Town officials set
aside $43 million to rebuild Old Greenwich School earlier this year
but were told that was never going to be enough to cover the expected cost to
rebuild the 122-year old school.
The Old Greenwich School Building Committee had argued for
another $1.26 million on top of the $43 million set aside during the budget
season in the spring to cover the full project cost, based on professional cost
estimates. That request was denied.
The building committee, an all-volunteer group coordinating
the pre-construction tasks, is now seeking
$1.96 million, a roughly $700,000 increase from the request made in March,
to fund the “owner’s contingency” — money held in reserve to pay for unforeseen
issues or cost overruns.
The building committee only has enough money to fund the
contingency at 2 percent of the project cost, which the construction experts
working with the town think is not enough, members said.
“That's not sufficient,” building committee chair James
Waters said to the Board of Education on Nov. 21. "We're about to start
talking to the state about our grant application, and our team believes that
our application will likely be held up until the town demonstrates that it has
an appropriate owner contingency for the project.”
The building committee is working with Downes Construction
Company and others to rebuild the school.
Owners contingencies on projects like this typically range
from a minimum of 5 percent to 10 percent, officials said. The $1.96 million
request would put the Old Greenwich School project contingency at 7 percent, if
approved.
OGS was built in 1902 and
the aged building has fallen into disrepair. The school has been the target
of a federal lawsuit which alleged possible discrimination because of
inaccessibility at the school.
The building is rife with issues, including the lack of a
sprinkler system, no elevator and flooding problems. The planned renovation
will bring it into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well
as fixing numerous other problems.
The school board approved the $1.96 million request on Nov.
21, 7-0 with one member, Wendy Vizzo Walsh, abstaining. Walsh said she objected
to cost projections growing year after year.
“Shovels haven't even been put into the ground yet and
you're asking for more money,” she said.
Before the vote, Waters said that the building committee has
done extensive due diligence and exploratory work at the school to identify
potential problem areas.
“We have drilled into ceilings, we've drilled into walls,
we've drilled into the soil, we've drilled down to the foundation. We've tried
to examine what the team believes are the most risky areas that could be very
expensive future change orders,” he said. “Do we know everything today? No,
that is not possible while having a working school in place. But we've tried to
get as much as we can and we have factored that into our budget.”
The $1.96 million request still needs to be approved by the
Board of Estimate and Taxation and the Representative Town Meeting.
None of the six Republicans on the BET, the town’s finance
board, voted to approve the previous request for $1.26 million in contingency
funding in March. The Republicans control the 12-member BET and the board chair
can break a tie if the board splits 6-6 on a given vote.
Waters said in March that the committee would be back to
seek extra contingency funding.
Republicans, at the time, objected to the swelling cost of
the project and speculated that the old building could contain asbestos or
other hazardous materials that could present a danger to students.
Last year, when the asbestos speculations were first raised,
school superintendent Toni Jones said it was “reprehensible
and egregious” to say that the town would do anything to endanger students.
The building committee plans to take the project out to bid
in February and start construction in the summer. That timeline, however, is
contingent on BET and RTM approving the funding at their next meetings in
December and January, respectively.
Without the extra money, Waters said, the replacement
project start would be delayed until 2026. If the project is delayed, the
construction advisors estimate it will cost the town an additional $1.92
million.