Groton Long Point Road Bridge preliminary design under discussion

Kimberly Drelich

Groton ― The preliminary design for a project to replace the Groton Long Point Road Bridge and make the structure safer and more resilient in the face of rising sea levels is under review.

Consulting engineer AECOM presented a preliminary design for the bridge and causeway Tuesday to the Town Council at its Committee of the Whole meeting. The plan calls for two 11-foot travel lanes, two 5-foot bike lanes, and a 5½-foot sidewalk, though the Groton Long Point Association Board of Directors is asking to remove from the project a sidewalk from the bridge to East Shore Avenue.

The bridge is a critical piece of infrastructure, as the only vehicular bridge that connects Groton Long Point and Mumford Cove with the rest of Groton, Project Manager Andre St. Germain said. The population of Groton Long Point was 530, according to the 2020 census.

The state has rated the existing bridge, which was built in 1935 and has two 12-foot travel lanes and two 3-foot shoulders, in “poor condition,” a condition before “serious” and then “critical,” St. Germain said. The rating is a major driving factor for the project ― the bridge is still safe, he said, but it’s important to address it now while it’s not an emergency.

The goal is to make the bridge safer for pedestrians, drivers and cyclists, provide a causeway capable of withstanding storm surge, build an easy-to-maintain structure that complements the area and build it in an economical fashion, while minimizing impacts to the environment, he said.

The preliminary design would widen the bridge by about 5 feet, to 41 feet, and increase the length from 50 feet to 86 feet, according to a town document. The proposed sidewalk would run from Esker Point Beach to East Shore Avenue.

The design takes into account that in 2050, sea levels are projected to rise by about 20 inches, St. Germain said. He explained that raising the bridge by 6 feet to accommodate federal design standards is not feasible due to the impact on surrounding properties, but the government allows design exceptions if meeting the criteria is unreasonable. The proposal is to elevate the bridge by about 4 feet to 13.3 feet at its top elevation.

The project was estimated to cost about $6.7 million in 2021, but that does not account for right of way acquisition, the cost to relocate utilities, or inflation, St. Germain said. One option for funding is to apply to a program in which the federal government covers 80% of the cost and the town covers 20%, but the town also could apply to a new program, available due to the new infrastructure law, in which the federal government would cover the full cost.

St. Germain presented a proposed timeline to start final design next year, complete it in 2024, and then start construction in 2025, with the goal of finishing construction in 2026.

Greg Hanover, the town’s public works director, said planning for the project goes back a decade but the project stalled for some years due to a lack of funding, though the town continued moving it forward. The first public listening session to get input on the project was held in 2012 and the most recent one was in 2019. He said an ad-hoc working group began meeting in October 2020 to provide comments to the engineers as they developed the preliminary plans. The group included members of the Town Council, Representative Town Meeting, Groton Long Point Association and the Groton Resilience and Sustainability Task Force.

Groton Long Point Association President Michael Flynn sent the town a letter last month on behalf of the association’s board of directors in which the board supported the project but not a sidewalk from the bridge to East Shore Avenue.

At Tuesday’s meeting, he said that a fishing pier, not a sidewalk, is needed. He said a fishing pier would keep fishermen away from the roadway and provide a cement barrier, rather than a sidewalk which a car could veer into and hurt somebody.

Councilors at Tuesday’s meeting made suggestions, including about the importance of incorporating a barrier to deter children from jumping off the bridge in the summer, adding a reflective barrier to better shield pedestrians and cyclists from cars, and researching the potential for a combination of a fishing pier and sidewalk.

Town Manager John Burt said Thursday that the council plans to review a few other design options before selecting one to present at a public information session this summer that has not yet been scheduled.

Shelton zoning board OKs 100-apartment development on Petremont Lane, double the original ask

Brian Gioiele

SHELTON — A 47-apartment development on Petremont Lane will more than double its size.

The Planning and Zoning Commission, at its meeting Tuesday, approved Good Guys Development’s proposed modification to Petremont Lane and brings the apartment total to 100.

In a vote earlier this year, the commission had approved plans to allow construction of a building with 47 units and 93 parking spaces.

Tuesday’s vote was 5-1 in favor of the project, with commissioner Jimmy Tickey opposed. He voiced concerns about the potential for the negative traffic effects of the project — dubbed Clock Tower at Petremont Lane.

“I have concerns about the density of this development, its impact on the local roadways and traffic generally,” Tickey said.

Tickey said the applicant’s traffic report cites state Department of Transportation numbers from 2013, “yet anyone who drives these roads daily knows how much this area and related traffic has grown in the last nine years.”

Traffic engineer Kermit Hua of KWH Enterprise, reported the traffic effect from the project would be “limited.”

The commission’s approved resolution notes the physical condition and traffic flow pattern on the roadway must be improved. The city engineer’s letter, dated April 14, 2022, recommends the widening of Petremont Lane.

One issue during the original approval for the site was the possible effect on Petremont Lane, which is a tight roadway connecting Coram Road to River Road. Petremont Lane’s intersection with Coram Road is close to the intersection with Constitution Boulevard South, an already congested traffic area.

The new plan eliminates that issue, according to Stephen Bellis, the attorney representing Good Guys Development. The proposal has a driveway and sewer and water to Coram Road, with nothing done on Petremont Lane.

The resolution states, if the city agrees to participate in the work, the applicant must make “timely improvements” to the roadway before any permits for construction or occupancy are issued.

Bellis said the developers purchased an abutting property on the corner of Coram Road, which increases the lot size to some 4 acres, allowing for the expanded development plan.

“Good Guys was able to buy the additional land,” Bellis said, “so there is an application to modify the approval and allow 100 units total in light of the additional land.”

Bellis said the proposal is for a “high-end luxury apartment building with parking below the building.”

Among the amenities would be a lobby with a gym, golf simulator, Amazon package room, and a computer/study room along with a dog park and two rooftop lounges that would overlook the Housatonic River.

The parking will be on the ground level, with four stories of apartments above — 40 studios, 32 one bedrooms, and 28 one bedrooms with an office. Bellis said the developers are designating 10 units as affordable under the state statute 8-30g. Bellis said each unit will have two parking spaces.

According to the submitted plans, the project site is undeveloped and consists of 3.52 acres of wooded area and a single-family home. The site is bounded by Petremont Lane to the west, an undeveloped, wooded area to the east, commercial development to the south, and Coram Road to the north.

The structure, according to the submitted plans, will be 59-feet high, below the permitted 60 feet. The plan states that the “stone-faced lobby and brick clock tower (are) intended to provide an aesthetic enhancement of the streetscape and the architectural shingles and clapboard will blend in with the neighboring buildings.”

Petremont Lane is just off River Road. The property abuts a nonresidential area and a residential area, and, according to the application, the purpose of the planned development district is “to allow the construction of an apartment building to accomplish a transition between single-family use and an established nonresidential area.”

Crossing the CT River? Construction begins on new trail connection for pedestrians, bicyclists

Abigail Brone

WETHERSFIELD — Groundbreaking took place Thursday off Route 3 for a biking and pedestrian-friendly project that was eight years in the making.

The Putnam Bridge Trail Connection Project will provide a safe and simpler way for pedestrians, pets and bikers to cross the Connecticut River between Wethersfield and Glastonbury.

The project, which is expected to be complete in October 2023, will cost about $8.2 million, Department of Transportation spokesperson Josh Morgan said. The State Bond Commission already approved the needed funds.

“We aren’t really the Department of Transportation, we are a department of mobility, whether or not you’re going to go by bike, whether or not you’re going to be a pedestrian, whether or not you’re going to use planes, trains, the ferry boats,” DOT Commissioner Joe Giulietti said. “It’s the fifth or sixth time I get to put a shovel in the ground, and I can’t take credit. This one has been a long process to get it where it is today. As you see dirt moved today, it’s going to continue all the way until we get it completed.”

The project will include parking lots on the shores of the Connecticut River on both sides of the bridge and a paved trail leading from the parking lots to the mouth of the bridge, Giulietti said.

“Finishing the current gaps to the bridge allows the public to choose an active mode of transportation to safely cross the river,” he said. “When completed, the residents and visitors can enjoy the businesses and recreational activities on both sides of the river.”

The Putnam Bridge underwent rehabilitation in about 2013, and a feasibility study for the pedestrian and bike trial was conducted in 2014, said Shannon King, DOT’s strategic communications manager.

After completion of the feasibility study, the project was tabled for a bit until it was reconsidered in 2019, King said. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and forced the project once again to the back burner for a briefer period.

The completed trail will make the Putnam Bridge one of the few in the state for pedestrians and bikers to cross the river without a vehicle.

A new commuting and recreational travel option for nonmotorists in the area, the project will provides a 1.3‐mile link over the Connecticut River between Great Meadow Road in Wethersfield and Naubuc Avenue in Glastonbury, according to DOT documents.

Sidewalks will also be installed on both sides of Naubuc Avenue. Additional connections will be made to the Goodwin College trails in East Hartford.

By comparison, the total distance otherwise traveled between these points by pedestrians and bicyclists via one of the existing river crossings nearby is 8 miles using the Charter Oak Bridge; 11 miles via the Rocky Hill-Glastonbury ferry; or 26 miles on the Arrigoni Bridge in Middletown.

In April, the project bid was awarded to Richards Corp. for $8,207,115.85, according to DOT documents. To accommodate construction, there will be overnight lane closures Sunday through Friday on Route 3 southbound in the area from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. and on Route 3 northbound from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.

In addition to ensuring easier access across the bridge for nonmotorists, the trail will offer a new tourist and economic boon for both sides of the river, Wethersfield Mayor Michael Rell said.

“Obviously it’s no stranger to us that COVID has an impact on all of our daily lives and probably the No. 1 thing we realized from COVID is outdoor recreation is a good peace to come to body, mind and soul,” Rell said. “We have a lovely Old Wethersfield, lots of new restaurants, coffee shops. If you’re on that side of the river and want to come have coffee over here and vice versa, see the great shops Glastonbury and beyond have to offer, this is a great way to connect the two towns that’s different than just driving 55 mph and quickly going by it.”

Grant could bring millions to infrastructure, development improvement along Riverside Avenue

Dean Wright

BRISTOL – City Council approved a motion to allow the mayor to move forward in applying for a state grant which could potentially bring millions to infrastructure and development improvement along Riverside Avenue.

“This is basically state grant money that has been bonded to help communities of need and that’s defined by a lot of things,” said Mayor Jeff Caggiano. “Bristol is in there because we are a diverse community, an underserved community. We’re one of, I think, 37 communities that are eligible for not only the municipality to look for funds but also the nonprofit groups.”

The mayor said state officials encouraged Bristol to apply for up to $30 million in grant funding because the state’s economic and community development officials are looking for “transformational projects that can be linked together.” He likened it to processes the Bristol ARPA Task Force was using in its oversight of federal fund administration to local initiatives.

The mayor noted any nonprofit organization could apply for the grant on its own. 

“We realized that the people running this grant have suggested that we could have a potential transformational project on Riverside Avenue that brings in these different organizations,” said Caggiano. “That is a corridor that brings us into downtown Bristol, a very important corridor for us.”

The mayor said the city has been planning to make a new Riverside Avenue streetscape and the grant would be a “golden opportunity for us to take advantage of once in a lifetime-type funds.”

The application is due July 25.

According to city documents, the application intends to request “$7 million for Riverside Avenue streetscape improvements; $6.5 million for the Sessions Factory housing development by BHA Vesta Sessions LLC (273 Riverside); $15 million to correct infrastructure deficiencies at the New England Carousel Museum (95 Riverside) and to construct a new building housing a working carousel; $1.5 million for expansion and enhancement of facilities at the American Legion (22 Hooker Court) to include an emergency shelter at that location; $250,000 for landscaping and facilities improvements to the Disabled American Veterans building (191 Riverside); and additional funds for grants administration.”

The mayor said project submissions would be considered by a committee and potentially rejected but there would still be opportunities in the future to resubmit.

“There’s no risk here,” he said.

Bristol Economic and Community Development Director Justin Malley said many of the Riverside Avenue organizations were going to apply to the grant opportunity on their own. The city would apply for its own grant but also provide a reference to the other projects to make a package presentation for Riverside Avenue.

Councilwoman Cheryl Thibeault expressed concern with what she felt may be unwise fiscal spending priorities from the state when she noticed other entities in need in town and the quick time needed to make a decision about an application. However, if the money was going to be spent regardless, she felt Bristol should apply for what funding it could.

Councilwoman Sue Tyler expressed concern with not being able to learn more information about the Sessions project piece of the grant applications before needing to vote.

Fired Dunkin’ Donuts Park developer says it has legal right to develop around stadium

Andrew Larson

Centerplan Construction, the developer at the center of a legal dispute over Dunkin’ Donuts Park, has filed an amended complaint against the city and is seeking to add a prominent developer as an additional defendant.

Centerplan is asking the court for permission to cite RMS DoNo I LLC – controlled by Randy Salvatore, founder and CEO of RMS Companies – as a defendant. RMS has built 270 apartment units on property next to the stadium that it leases from the city.

RMS is also planning to build 550 apartments and a 530-space garage built on a vacant 5-acre lot at 1139 Main St.

In the amended complaint, filed Wednesday, Centerplan seeks a declaratory judgment stating that its termination was wrongful and unjustified, and that it retains the right to develop the parcels.

Also, Centerplan is seeking a court order prohibiting the city from permitting any further development by RMS or another entity.

The amended complaint, filed Wednesday in Hartford Superior Court, follows a decision last month by the state Supreme Court ordering a new trial. In a 5-0 decision, the high court overturned the trial court’s ruling that the parties’ contracts “did not unambiguously grant the plaintiffs legal control of the architect and the stadium's design across all relevant time periods.”

According to the complaint, the city hired Centerplan in 2015 to develop the ballpark for $56 million, along with four parcels around it. The following year, the city terminated Centerplan and Dono Hartford LLC -- both controlled by Robert Landino -- saying they were at fault for stadium-construction delays.

Centerplan sued the city for wrongful termination and breach of contract, claiming it was owed $6 million by the city. 

According to the amended complaint, Centerplan and its affiliates were “at all relevant times … ready, willing and able to develop the parcels … to include commercial, manufacturing, retail, office and residential improvements.” 

The complaint accuses the city of going on a “rampage” against Centerplan and “devis[ing] a secret and sinister plan to escape its obligations” by contacting Centerplan’s bonding company, Arch Insurance Co., and claiming Centerplan was in default of its contractual obligations. 

“The City resolved its dilemma by falsely accusing Centerplan of a default and wrongly terminating DoNo and Centerplan,” the suit says.

Also, the suit blames the city for failing to provide contractually required notice of default and says the city did not give Centerplan an opportunity to cure alleged deficiencies.

After Centerplan’s termination, the city issued an RFP for a new developer to build the stadium and to develop four surrounding parcels. It ultimately selected RMS as the developer.

Hartford Corporation Counsel Howard Rifkin said the complaint was the expected next step after the Supreme Court sent the case back to the trial court.

“The city remains confident that, at the end of the day, the result will be the same as it was the first time – a jury verdict in favor of the city,” Rifkin said. “As for Centerplan’s irresponsible effort to stop the development of the parcels adjacent to the stadium, which was already decided in both Superior Court and Appellate Court, we will be filing a motion to dismiss as quickly as possible.”

In 2019, after the order allowing the city to move forward with the development came out, Centerplan filed a motion with the State Appellate Court and lost. The city said the order allowing it to move forward with development on the parcels surrounding Dunkin’ Donuts Park remains in effect.

Salvatore said his attorneys are reviewing the matter.

Biden PLAs, Apprenticeship Mandates Meet Industry Opposition

LUCY PERRY

The Biden administration has a plan to create a highly skilled diverse workforce to complete infrastructure projects over the next decade. It involves diverting federal funds toward contractors and grant applicants who partner with labor organizations. Industry groups and labor unions can't see eye to eye on how that will happen.

Biden's idea is to encourage job training programs in certain sectors in order to benefit communities and groups lagging in male-dominated trade industries.

Professional organizations such as AGC and ABC have been vocal in their opposition to the concept. They believe some of the methods Biden plans to achieve his goals will actually limit access for women- and minority-owned businesses.

Unions maintain workers already have access to training as well as representation in negotiating benefits such as childcare through registered apprenticeships.

Melissa Wells of the North America's Building Trades Unions (NABTU) believes industry needs to "get serious" about supporting groups who have traditionally been overlooked.

"Whether it's historically marginalized communities, people of color, women or individuals that have been in contact with the justice system, we have to provide them support," said Wells, head of diversity for the unions.

A Biden executive order seeks to impose project labor agreements (PLAs) on all federal construction projects worth at least $35 million as a means to do that.

Responding to an AGC survey, 73 percent of contractors are currently bidding on federal construction projects in that category.

Yet, the same number report they would not bid on those projects if a PLA were required.

"The use of a PLA can provide structure and stability to large construction projects," said the White House. "PLAs also help ensure compliance with laws and regulations governing workplace safety and health, equal employment opportunity and labor and employment standards."

AGC survey respondents see it differently.

"PLAs require every general contractor or subcontractor to negotiate with or become a party to an agreement with one or more union," said the AGC.

This mandate will make it harder for general contractors to subcontract with small, disadvantaged businesses, said 82 percent of firms surveyed.

"These groups typically are not accustomed or prepared to operate on a union basis," the association maintains.

Seeking Labor Solutions

The Trump administration wanted to raise the numbers in the talent pool, said former head of the DOL's training division, according to a Bloomberg article. "We were trying to move away from the idea that you had to be a registered apprentice in order to get into an apprenticeship program," said John Pallasch. "We just wanted to get more qualified people into the talent pipeline so that business and industry had the skilled labor that it needs."

The Biden administration will focus on bolstering DOL's 80-year-old registered apprenticeship programs, which has tougher standards for participants.

Building trades unions and the Biden administration thought the industry-led IRAPs programs would undercut their registered apprenticeships.

They believed workers could claim to be apprentices, but not have the full, complete safety and skills training or guaranteed wages provided by registered programs.

"The problem with IRAPs is no safety standards, no progressive wages," said Tom Kriger, NABTU director of education and research. "It was kind of very loose and very ill-defined."

Industry-run programs typically only provide training for a specific skill, limiting a worker's ability to find future jobs, he added.

Registered apprenticeships shouldn't be the only pathway for job training, said the ABC. The registered system can be overly competitive, making it difficult for workers with other responsibilities to prepare for the testing required to qualify. And it can have too many requirements to attract businesses to participate, according to Greg Sizemore, ABC vice president of health, safety, environment and workforce development.

The organization found that fewer than 25,000 workers completed construction job training under DOL's multi-year registered apprenticeship programs in fiscal 2021.

"Clearly, the government-registered apprenticeship system is not meeting the industry's need for skilled labor," said Ben Brubec, ABC vice president of regulatory, labor and state affairs.

The system "cannot be the only solution supported by government to meet industry demands and build a diverse workforce," he added

PLAs guarantee a contractor will enter into collective bargaining agreements with at least one union covering the duration of the project.

Biden's February executive order directed federal agencies to use such agreements on construction projects above $35 million.

Unions and Democrats hold up PLAs as a way to negotiate well-paying jobs and secure benefits to support workers who are underrepresented in the trades, like women.

"There's PLAs that have language around helping support, and fund childcare," NABTU's Wells said. "I think there's more room for growth using that pathway."

But industry groups and Republicans say that PLAs favor unions and make it difficult for smaller, local and minority-owned businesses that don't have strong ties to unions or are unable to meet the requirements outlined in the agreement.

"And by the time they do, the truth of the matter is, the project will be left with somebody else," ABC's Sizemore said. "Would a government-mandated PLA result in a decrease in hiring of minority and women owned businesses, veteran owned businesses? We're saying absolutely, it would."

Reasons to Doubt

The Department of Labor announced a summer-long "Talent Pipeline Challenge" calling on employers and local governments to work with organizations that offer job training, like unions and seek out women and workers of color.

The DOL also is rescinding the Trump administration's Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Program or IRAP.

The program allowed companies to create their own training programs that could be monitored by third parties,

The Trump DOL believed this would expand apprenticeships in under-represented fields not a part of the DOL's traditional registered apprenticeship model.

The construction industry believes rolling back a Trump administration industry-based training model will tilt funding in favor of labor organizations and exclude a large share of the trades workforce that isn't unionized.

Only 12.6 percent of construction workers were union members in 2021, BLS data shows.

"There's a large push by the administration and it's very clear that they they want to grow the union workforce," said Sizemore. "The vast majority of Americans working in the construction industry say, ‘I choose to work in a merit shop environment that allows me to get paid based upon what I know or the value that I bring to the industry, as opposed to what somebody has negotiated for me in a contract.'"

Nearly three-quarters of federal contractors said they will stop bidding on federal projects if the Biden administration were to impose PLAs.

The AGC's survey also indicated the federal mandate will make it harder for contractors to partner with small, veteran, minority or disabled-owned firms.

The survey found that in addition to limiting competition for federal projects, imposing PLAs will challenge firms to find enough workers to hire.

Nearly 40 percent of the survey respondents operate under a collective bargaining agreement, and 83 percent said there are not enough union workers to guarantee completion of the project on time and on budget.

Among firms that have worked on a project that involved a government-mandated PLA, 67 percent said the agreement made it harder to find workers.

"Having fewer firms competing for federal projects undermines the president's claim that his executive order will make federal construction more efficient and cost-effective," said Stephen E. Sandherr, CEO of the AGC. "Worse, these PLAs will hurt minority, disadvantaged and veteran-owned businesses at a time when many of them are still recovering from the economic impacts of the pandemic."

Association officials are urging the Biden administration to abandon imposition of PLAs on most federal construction projects.

They are sharing details from the survey with the administration as they outline details for how the president's executive order will limit competition, impede efficiency in federal procurement, and harm disadvantaged business enterprises.

"This executive order will turn Build Back Better into build back fewer: fewer firms, hiring fewer people to build fewer projects," Sandherr added.

Ultimately, Biden wants to see his promise for an equitable recovery, while repairing infrastructure, delivered. Industry wants that as well, but the two sides disagree on how to get there.

"Hardworking taxpayers deserve efficient and effective policies that will encourage all qualified contractors to compete to build long-lasting, quality projects at the best price," said ABC. "Government-mandated project labor agreements discourage quality contractors and the more than 87 percent of U.S. construction workers who choose to not join a union from bidding and working on projects in their own communities." CEG