STEVE JENSEN

The head of the state’s largest construction industry association said on Thursday that he has serious doubts about the Connecticut Department of Transportation’s ability to handle the expected influx of billions of dollars of federal infrastructure funding for the state’s aging roads, bridges and trains.  

Donald Schubert, president of the Connecticut Construction Industries Association, told CT Examiner that every aspect of the construction business has the potential to explode when the trillion-dollar Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding starts flowing next year – depending on the Department of Transportation’s ability to execute the program. 

“There’s some momentum growing already and now it’s going to be up to the DOT to send some very strong signals to build confidence that they will be able to get this moving,” Schubert said. “They’re telling us they will be ready to go, but we haven’t seen anything to indicate that’s true.”

State Department of Transportation Commissioner Joe Giulietti has estimated to industry groups that the agency will need to add more than 300 full-time employees and consultants to its staff of about 3,500 in order to handle the new funding, and as much as $1 billion in additional grants over the next five years from a separate federal grant program.

Schubert says the department’s hiring process and use of consultants is another sticking point for the construction industry. 

“The way the department uses consultants needs to be completely reformed,” he said. “It takes them a year to finalize a contract with a consulting firm and they should be using consultants for design and final planning, not for inspections.”

Transportation officials say that 248 bridges and over 2,100 miles of highway across the state are in poor condition.

Potential major projects to be funded include improving and widening I-95 along portions of the shoreline, realigning I-84 and I-91 through Hartford to make the roadway less intrusive for the city, and making major repairs to bridges including the Gold Star Bridge on I-95 in New London and the East Haddam Swing Bridge, as well as replacing the 114-year-old Connecticut River Rail Bridge. 

Schubert says these projects and countless smaller ones have been neglected or delayed due to departmental bureaucracy “that can’t get out of its own way.” 

“They’ve been putting up lights and signs and patching bridges and all that for years but they’re not funding the real meat-and-potatoes projects,” he said. “We’re hoping that with this funding they will break this routine of just doing the little things.” 

A spokesperson for the department told CT Examiner on Thursday that the agency has been preparing since August to handle the enormous influx of money, but would not respond directly to Schubert’s criticisms. 

“The infrastructure bill will increase our traditional base funding programs, providing us with an opportunity to go beyond current planned projects and ensure we can put equity, safety, and sustainability at the forefront of our efforts,” said agency communications director Kafi Rouse in a statement. “The agency’s capital planning process will involve the public, the legislature, and the local Metropolitan Planning Organizations in determining which programs and projects advance. As with everything we do, the safety of Connecticut residents, workers, and commuters, is at the center of our efforts.” 

Schubert’s association represents and lobbies for several hundred companies from virtually every sector of the construction industry, from large building contractors and highway and road specialists to dealers of asphalt, concrete and equipment.

He said the industry has been hobbled for more than a decade by the Department of Transportation’s unambitious project list and slow-moving approval and contracting process. 

“Our companies are going everywhere but Connecticut to find work, he said. “We have  members who are traveling to Boston and New York City every day because there is no steady work in Connecticut. As soon as somebody pulls the trigger on this funding, it’s going to resonate through the whole industry. The equipment dealers alone are going to go bonkers.”  

Still, Schubert said he and his members are cautiously optimistic.

“We are raring to get to work in our state,” he said. “With just this one bill, we have the opportunity to go from an uncertain, lackluster program for the construction industry to having that certainty for ten years or maybe more. Congress did what it’s supposed to do – now all eyes are on DOT.”

Here's what those drones over New Haven's Pearl Harbor bridge are doing

Ed Stannard

NEW HAVEN — Drivers crossing the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge recently may have seen drones flying over and under the deck, and up beside the towers.

They are taking photos of the bridge’s surfaces, including cracks first noticed in 2017, which have yet to be repaired or sealed, according to state Department of Transportation officials.

The project to repair the cracks and breaks in the concrete, which officials say do not threaten the safety of the bridge, is scheduled for 2024, according to Tim Fields, principal engineer for major structures, who oversaw the latter stages of the bridge’s design and its construction.

The drones still are being tested by the DOT, which has used them on other bridges, including the Gold Star Memorial Bridge between New London and Groton, according to Mary Baker, who oversees the DOT’s bridge inspection unit. The agency has previously used “snooper-trucks,” lifts and ropes and climbers for such inspections.

“We’re trying to develop the baseline for future inspections,” Baker said.

The inspection is being done by Atane, which has an office in Wethersfield. The drones are run by Lumina Lidar, a woman-owned business in Greenwich.

Baker said the drones will continue flying through the end of the year, with two lanes of the bridge closed at times during weekends and one lane Mondays through Wednesdays.

A 2019 inspection also found spalling, areas where the concrete surface had broken, including some where rebar was exposed. Photos in the report show that the bridge has seen wear in the six to nine years since it opened (the northbound span opened in 2012, the southbound in 2015). In 2019, it had average daily traffic of more than 73,000 vehicles, 9 percent of them trucks, according to the report.

“It’s possible there might be some areas that need to be replaced, but we’re not expecting wholesale replacement,” Fields said. But he said the current inspection will determine “what action should be taken to extend the surface life as long as possible.”

Fields said the cracks and other signs of wear are not a threat to public safety.

“We’ve seen nothing here that would arouse concern about safety issues with the bridge,” he said. “We’re doing our due diligence.”

“Hopefully, we’re just going to be sealing cracks here,” Fields said. “It’s a little disappointing that we’re faced with some of the cracking that we have now. It’s really not something unexpected.”

The Q bridge, which got its nickname because it crosses the Quinnipiac River as part of Interstate 95, was the first extradosed cable-stayed bridge in the country. Two years later, an inspection found a number of small cracks in the surface, leading to a “fair” rating by HAKS, the inspector in 2017.

The ratings for the 4,600-foot-long bridge did not change from 2017 to 2019, with the condition of the deck, substructure and the channel and channel protections all given a 7. The superstructure’s condition was rated 6, or fair. The overall rating is based on the lowest component’s rating.

The girders on which the deck rests are huge, hollow concrete boxes, with a 21/2-inch-thick layer of latex-modified concrete on top of the bridge deck, which is at least 8 inches thick. During construction, as each box girder was added to the spans, the stress would cause minor cracks in the overlay, Fields said.

“It’s not considered structural. It’s the riding surface of the bridge,” he said.

“We have a few bridges around the state that have these types of overlays,” he said. “They’re generally long-lasting overlays.”

The latex-modified concrete on the Yankee Doodle Bridge in Norwalk has lasted more than 30 years, he said.

The cracks may have developed so much sooner on the Q bridge because of the construction method, Fields said.

“We used state-of-the-art specifications,” he said. “There’s challenges that go with that because excessive wind or low humidity can be associated with that.”

It also may have been the result of “how quickly curing mats were put on the concrete,” he said.

According to the 2019 inspection report for the northbound span, “Based on the 2019 crack tables, there are 70,220 linear feet of cracks. Also, there are 49 linear feet of cracks have active leakage … and require attention.”

On the southbound side, inspectors found there were 54,558 linear feet of cracks but none with active leakage. The 2019 inspection was conducted by AI Engineers of Middletown.

Repairs

Fields said there were several reasons why the timeline for the repair project has been extended out to 2024.

“We’ve experienced some delay administratively in funding the new project and preparation of scope of work with the consultant,” he said. “We are also planning some additional worker safety access and lighting improvements in the project.”

He said the crack repairs are not considered “emergency in nature.”

James Falconer, owner of JKF & Associates, an engineering firm in New Haven’s Erector Square, said “sealing the cracks is a priority.”

Falconer said there is no reason to be overly concerned about the bridge’s condition, however. Having worked with Fields in the past, he said, “he knows what he’s doing. There’s no dangers here.”

Danbury power plant permit battle previews challenge Dems face with GOP control of City Council

Rob Ryser

DANBURY - Approved plans for a high-technology campus and power plant on the west side received permission to hook into the city’s water and sewer system after Republicans on the City Council used their majority to outvote Democrats who wanted more review.

The display of Republican power, which came two days after Democrats lost two seats on the 21-member City Council in the Nov. 2 elections, was a preview of the challenge Democrats face over the next two years with a Republican mayor and a 14-to-7 GOP supermajority on the City Council.

“I don’t even know what is going on with this thing,” said Democratic City Council member Duane Perkins at a Nov. 4 meeting, referring to the approved $200 million technology and power plant project at 100 Saw Mill Road.

“Mr. Perkins, this has been vetted out through planning and zoning and all the commissions,” said Mayor Joe Cavo, a Republican who was elected to a City Council seat on Nov. 2. “Before you tonight is a water and sewer extension request.”

“I’d ask for it to be recommitted (to a working group for more study) so we can vet this whole thing out again,” Perkins said. “Most people in here don’t even know what this thing is about. Things have changed since this was first proposed, by the way.”

By changes Perkins was referring to plans by the city to build a $99 million career academy for 1,400 upper grade students at the sprawling office park complex called The Summit just north of the power plant site.

Paul Rotello, the City Council’s Democratic Minority Leader who was re-elected along with Perkins, said the council was “not simply looking at a simple request for water and sewer.”

“I think there is a larger issue here … where we have a school and then someone builds a power plant powered by forced natural gas with 250 megawatts - which is far beyond the needs of the office building,” Rotello said. “This is going to be power that is sent back out to the grid. It is not just going to supply the buildings themselves.”

Vinnie DiGilio, the City Council President, spoke for the 12 member GOP majority, reasoning that the request had been thoroughly reviewed in September by a working group of elected officials and department heads, and questions outside of the water and sewer request itself were out of the City Council’s purview.

“All of these questions were answered in the (September meeting) and the (water usage) is the equivalent of six or seven faucets being on,” DiGilio said. “The petitioner shouldn’t be put out any longer.”

When Perkins pressed for a vote to study the proposal further, Republicans voted it down on party lines, 12-to-8. One Democrat missed the vote because he was out sick.

At that point, it was a simple matter of a second vote to approve the water and sewer extension. The approval passed 14-to-6, with two Democrats joining the Republicans. One of those Democrats joining the GOP for the second vote was City Council member Roberto Alves, who lost the mayoral election to Republican Dean Esposito.

The Nov. 2 results reversed progress Democrats had been making in recent years to gain control of the City Council. Leading up the election, Democrats held 10 seats, but Democrat John Esposito III switched parties, reducing the Democrats to nine seats.

In addition to John Esposito III, who was not re-elected as a Republican, Democrats Frank Salvatore Jr. and Robert Taborsak lost their seats.

Republican City Council member Warren Levy said granting the permit was the right thing to do.

“[O]ther departments within the city of Danbury have reviewed this along with the state of Connecticut, and all have permitted it,” Levy said. “I don’t think that we should get in there and start micromanaging what the experts have already looked at.”

New London to hold public meetings on community recreation center

Greg Smith

New London — The city has scheduled two forums to allow for public input on plans for the regional community recreation center planned for construction at Fort Trumbull.

The meetings will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 16 and Wednesday, Nov. 17 at the Multi-Magnet Secondary School lecture hall on the campus of New London High School, 490 Jefferson Ave.

The City Council has approved $30 million in bonding for the project and a community center task force last month reviewed options for the facility presented by Silver/Petrucelli + Associates, the architects for the project. Silver/Petrucelli has recommended a two-story, 62,000-square-foot building to be constructed on nearly 7 acres at Fort Trumbull.

The community center is expected to contain a two-court gymnasium, six-lane indoor pool, lounge, workout and game rooms, six multi-purpose rooms and administrative offices to accommodate the new home of the city’s Recreation Department and its programs.

Mayor Michael Passero, a longtime champion of developing a community center, said the project is the most significant for the city in many years.

“In keeping with the true sense of a community center, we want residents to be part of the planning as we begin to bring the long-awaited community asset to life in the coming months,” he said in a statement.

In 2016, not long after taking office, Passero had pushed for the purchase of the vacant former Edgerton School property for future development of a community center. The City Council at the time declined to approve the purchase. The Edgerton School property and Bates Woods were some of the sites explored for development of the community center prior to a recommendation that it be located at Fort Trumbull.

The need for a community center was amplified after the city sold the Richard R. Martin Center, which had a basketball court and had been home to city-sponsored recreational programs.

City officials have said operational costs for the new community center, estimated to be $2.1 million per year, would be funded in part through membership fees and rental income. Membership fees are expected to be based on a sliding scale to allow access to lower-income residents.

“A Community Center adds so much to the quality of life by serving as a venue for recreational and cultural activities, for educational opportunities, and for meeting space for organizations representing our diverse city,” Felix Reyes, director of the city’s Office of Development and Planning, said in a statement. “We want to work with residents so we can include as many ideas as possible at the outset.”

Norwich school renovation committee, architect to seek public input Tuesday

Claire Bessette 

Norwich — The committee designing a planned overhaul of city schools and the recently hired architectural firm for the project are ready to hear ideas from parents and the public before delving into the work.

The School Building Committee will host a combined in-person and online Zoom presentation and public forum at 6:30 Tuesday, with the in-person session in the community room at Kelly Middle School, 25 Mahan Drive, Norwich. Masks are required for all attendees. The forum is the first of at least three planned public presentations as the project progresses.

The building committee in May hired the firm Drummey Rosane Anderson Inc., also called DRA Architects, for $132,800 split over the previous and current fiscal years for “school construction strategic planning services,” according to city Comptroller Josh Pothier. The city signed a contract with the firm in June.

In September, representatives from the firm visited all 14 city school buildings and have been collecting information on the buildings’ conditions, size, layout, school enrollment, demographics and enrollment projections. The representatives reported to the School Building Committee that the buildings are in good condition for their age and daily use but have deficiencies, especially with handicapped accessibility, according to the committee’s Sept. 21 meeting.

DRA representatives told the building committee the primary goal of the first public forum is to listen to community concerns about the school renovation project. A second workshop later in the process will focus on specific options, and a third session is planned shortly before the architects present their final plan to the School Building Committee and Board of Education.

The firm and building committee started their work with the August 2019 report and recommendations of the School Facilities Review Committee. The plan called for renovating as new the John B. Stanton, John Moriarty and Uncas elementary schools and building a fourth new elementary school, all to house preschool through fifth grade students. The proposed new school building would accommodate 300 to 600 students, preferably in a Greeneville, Laurel Hill or East Side neighborhood.

The Teachers’ Memorial Middle School would be renovated as new for grades six through eight, as would the recently renovated Kelly Middle School.

Parts of that plan already are obsolete, however, as it called for closing and selling the city’s then-two preschool centers. But in spring, one of those centers, the former Deborah Tenant-Zinewicz School on Case Street was converted into the Norwich Transition Academy, a vocational training program for post-high school special education students.

The plan called for moving district administrative offices into the Samuel Huntington School, which would close as an elementary school. The Thomas Mahan Elementary School, located in a prime commercial area off Route 82, would be closed and listed for sale.

The central office building, the historic 1895 former John Mason School at the Norwichtown Green, also would be closed and listed for sale. The Hickory Street School, which formerly housed the Norwich Transition Academy, also would be listed for sale.

TCI a Needed Source of Matching Dollars for Infrastructure, Says Environmental Watchdog

ANNA ELIZABETH

Heading into next year’s state legislative session, Lori Brown, executive director of Connecticut’s League of Conservation Voters, told CT Examiner that far from eclipsing the Transportation Climate Initiative, the billions of dollars of announced federal infrastructure spending for Connecticut means that the proposed fee on fuel wholesalers is more important than ever.

“Connecticut will have to apply for competitive funds from Build Back Better, and we tend to do well applying for competitive funds, but a lot of that will be money our state has to match,” Brown explained. “For anyone who says, we’re getting all of this money now, why would we need TCI … to be competitive for that money, we need matching funds, and if we don’t have TCI, the money to match Build Back Better funds will have to come out of municipal budgets or bonding.” 

The environmental nonprofit is a self-described “legislative watchdog” for bills “impacting our air, water, wildlife, open space, and our health.”

According to a report compiled by Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the state may need a billion dollars in matching funds to qualify for federal funding for low-emission rail and bus infrastructure, highway and road upgrades to reduce crashes, and electric vehicle charging.

“Rather than reducing the need for TCI-P, this federal spending will make TCI-P even more critical as a source of state or local matching funds for federal grant programs,” according to the analysis.

TCI was not brought to a vote last session — which State Senate President Martin Looney, D-New Haven, says was simply due to lack of support — but advocates claim the votes were there to pass the legislation.  

The proposal faced stiff opposition from Republican legislators and industry officials, who argued that the costs to wholesalers would be passed onto consumers through increased gas prices, and amounted to a gas tax. Advocates disagreed, arguing that the cost to wholesalers will incentivize lower-carbon biofuels. 

“The cry is still going to be tax, tax, tax, but it’s an investment, and the return on that investment is immense,” Brown said. “Lawmakers are timid and almost captive to every next election and who’s going to beat them up over what, but they know that this is the right thing to do, especially considering all of the money that could be used to match funding at the federal level.” 

Brown said that conversations with legislators like State Sen. Will Haskell, D-Westport, who serves on the Environment Committee, have given her hope for the future of TCI. 

Brown said that Republican legislators come to Haskell to help finance transportation projects in their districts that they know could be fundable through Build Back Better with some matching required.  

“They want to be able to fund these projects,” Brown said. “So TCI is not dead, it’s still very real and very much alive, and we’re gung ho to get it passed.”