DOT to reconfigure Middletown's dangerous, crash-heavy Route 9 on-ramps

Cassandra Day

MIDDLETOWN — After more than a decade of planning, the state Department of Transportation will begin work to reconfigure the Route 17 on-ramp to  northbound Route 9 to improve safety, aiming to reduce the high number of crashes at the interchange.

The project has become a priority of the agency, Mayor Ben Florsheim said, due to an “urgent need” for it to be addressed. 

According to the latest figures, from Jan. 1, 2018, to Dec. 31, 2020, there were a total of 340 crashes resulting in 40 injuries, DOT Transportation Supervising Engineer Steve Hall said Tuesday.

From Jan. 1, 2019, to Dec. 31, 2021, there were a total of 357 total crashes involving 67 injuries, he added. The agency conducts traffic studies in three-year periods, so some of the data overlaps.

From Jan. 1, 2019, to Dec. 31, 2021, there were a total of 357 total crashes involving 67 injuries, he added. The agency conducts traffic studies in three-year periods, so some of the data overlaps.

Florsheim, who formerly commuted from the city to Hartford, used the Route 17 interchange to Route 9 nearly every day. “It felt like almost every single day there was a crash at that stop sign in the morning. The statistics now bear that out,” he said.

“A much smaller portion of those have injuries, fortunately, because they typically happen at low speed,” he noted.  

The ramp was rated in poor condition based on the latest Bridge Safety Inspection Report dated March 31, 2020, according to the DOT. The design prevents proper maintenance of the bridge and has caused it to deteriorate.

At the beginning of the year, more than $40 million was delegated to the construction by the federal government. The money will enable a quicker start date and project timeframe, the mayor said.

“The construction elements of it will be a little bit destructive,” he said. “The goal is to get in and out as quickly as possible. It’s going to correct one of the worst traffic conditions in town and the state, which is the two really dangerous freeway entrances onto Route 9.”

A second lane to Route 9, at Harbor Drive, the only access road to Harbor Park, leads to a yield sign, which also contributes to issues at the site.

“People use that road as a highway on-ramp, right from where you come around the curve at Sumner Brook,” Florsheim said. “Harbor Drive does not want to be an on-ramp,” he said, paraphrasing what Hall said at the Sept. 29 meeting. “It wants to be a local access road to a park.

“The on-ramp doesn’t function well, either,” he added.

Presently, motorists merging onto the highway from the Route 17 expressway are met with a stop sign and sometimes may misjudge the speed of oncoming traffic.

This project was first shown to the public in 2014, however, there were periods of inactivity since then where it did not progress, Transportation Supervising Engineer Stephen Hall said Tuesday.

The DOT has incorporated “vociferous” feedback from the community about the project over the last few years in previous versions of the plan, the mayor said.

“This is the final iteration, with the exception of possible minor changes," Hall explained.

The agency meets with city officials monthly, who have coordinated design elements, and has met with Cooper Robertson, the firm that came up with the master plan.

Changes coincide with the city’s master plan for riverfront revitalization, which seeks to reconnect Middletown to the Connecticut River. It was altered during the construction of Route 9.

“Part of the reason why we’re going through this planning process is there was some poor infrastructure planning made with the location of the highway, (now decommissioned) water sewer treatment plant facility (on River Road)," the mayor explained.

“It’s opened their eyes a little bit to try and think outside the box a little bit more, and get creative about how we can make Harbor Park pedestrian connections at the riverfront a little bit friendlier,” the mayor explained. "It also going to be big aesthetic and functional improvements for the downtown.”

That road leading to the on-ramp at Harbor Drive will be eliminated by the DOT, Florsheim explained. These changes are expected to not only improve the flow of traffic, but “create more pleasant, park-like, pedestrian-friendly conditions” there.

“It’s multiple birds with one stone, and definitely a project we’re excited to see completed,” the mayor said.

“It’s going to be a little bit challenging, as all big construction projects are, to make sure we stay out in front of it, and communicate about when there are going to be lane closures," Florsheim said.

The stop-controlled configuration at the Route 17/South Main Street interchange to Route 9 north, at the intersection with Highland Avenue, will be replaced with a full-length acceleration lane, Hall said. The project generally was well-received by the approximately 35 attendees at the public informational meeting Sept 29, he added.

Questions addressed specific construction operations, project features, such as landscaping and congestion reduction, Hall said.

Florsheim recommended people watch the meeting video at youtu.be/470EBclClP0 to see the 45-minute DOT presentation. “These projects are so visual in nature,” he said. “The visuals go a long way to help explain what the traffic flow is going to look like, and why this is going to be a big improvement.”

The federal government is trying to use the recently approved infrastructure bill fund to reconnect communities disconnected from the waterfront, Florsheim said: “It’s all one, big project we have to look at holistically and try to get it right.”

Construction is expected to begin in February 2023 and last four seasons, the DOT said.

On-ramp work has been sped up ahead of a separate project from the removal of traffic signals on Route 9 and Main Street.  The two projects initially were wrapped into one; the latter, however, is in the process of being redesigned, Florsheim said.

The DOT will be scheduling a public comment session on the matter this winter, Hall said.People can submit comments and questions on the project through Oct. 13 by emailing DOTProject82-316@ct.gov. For details, visit portal.ct.gov.

Boughton Guides Infrastructure $$$ Flow

KEVIN MALONEY

Applying for federal money can be a complicated business. Mark Boughton has some ideas up his sleeve. 

In his role as commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services, he is charged with making sure that Connecticut’s towns and cities have the best chance at Infrastructure Investment and Job Acts (IIJA) monies for infrastructure projects across the state. He discussed the transformative implications on the Municipal Voice, a co-production of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities and WNHH 103.5 FM. 

Boughton, who served as the mayor of Danbury for nearly 20 years before taking on his role, acknowledged the complications of his new work.

“As a mayor,” he said, “I’d have a couple of concerns about the program.” 

For one, he said the guidebook for implementing IIJA is 440 pages, making it difficult for mayors or first selectpersons to figure out if they’re eligible for a program or not. 

Then on top of that, local governments sometimes have to contend with the “local match” for certain projects. Towns and cities might have to put up 10 to 20% of any given project. Boughton recognizes from his time as mayor that neither Danbury or Bethel or Hartford has those millions and millions of dollars to spare. 

But as Commissioner, he is preparing bills for the next legislative session that are going to help towns and cities secure these grants as well as walk them through the process in partnership with the Councils of Governments. 

As opposed to the ARPA funds, which were meant as relief funds, IIJA funds are about opportunities: selling a story about how a project or opportunity will help that municipality. 

Boughton said getting these funds to Connecticut municipalities is a priority of his and Governor Lamont’s. Once IIJA was signed, President Biden asked that each state create a “single point of entry” so that the 400 programs over 19 federal agencies would know who to contact and get the ball rolling. 

Fortunately, Governor Lamont put together a budget for Boughton to build a small team to help the towns and cities tell those stories, apply for grants, and leverage some of the things they’re already doing. 

And while some road projects that you see on your daily commute are already using IIJA funds, Boughton says that there’s still more to come, and that these funds can be used for so much more. 

Electric vehicle charging stations and broadband internet will all be part of Connecticut’s future, as will sustainable energy grids that can quickly bounce back from outages and storms. Water recovery and sewage plants that will aid towards protecting Long Island Sound are also likely to be included. 

Perhaps that’s why Boughton has reason to be “bullish” on Connecticut. 

“You know, we are uniquely positioned for success here,” Boughton said, “The last two years on my tax side, I like the revenue numbers, I like where we are in terms of fiscal security.

“I know it’s boring people, but it’s a big deal.” 

Austin Mirmina

CROMWELL — The Inland Wetlands and Watercourses agency on Wednesday narrowly voted to deny a developer's proposal to build a 1 million-square-foot warehouse on 250 acres in the Mattabesset watershed.

Chair John Whitney, and agency members Wynne Muller, Stacy Dabrowski and Joseph Corlis voted against the application. William Yeske, Robert Donohue, and Peter Omicioli voted in favor.

In stating his opposition, Muller said the size and scope of the building's infrastructure doesn't represent a balance between economic growth and the need to protect the surrounding environment.

Many residents who live near the site of the proposed facility have strongly opposed its construction, arguing that the warehouse would negatively impact the environment and harm the species that live there. Residents once again packed the Town Hall Council Chambers for Wednesday night's meeting.

"The turnout of the numerous citizens in opposition to this application further confirms the validity of this decision," Muller said.

Dabrowski also voiced her opposition, saying that the large warehouse wouldn't be a suitable use for the land, which is situated east of Shunpike Road, north of Geer Street and south of the Rocky Hill line.

"Based on (regulations), it's just not appropriate," Dabrowski said.

The application has been stuck in the agency’s review process since it was first submitted by Indiana-based developer Scannell Properties in November 2021. Public hearings have been extended multiple times, and last month, the agency voted to table its vote on the issue until Wednesday.

"While we appreciate the hard work of the commission, we are disappointed with tonight's decision," Thomas Cody, the developer's attorney, said in a statement. "We believe we addressed all of the commission's wetlands concerns, as well as the permit requirements and regulations."

Fairfield school roof projects expected to cost $3.5 million

Josh LaBella

FAIRFIELD — The Board of Selectmen have approved millions of dollars to replace the roofs at two elementary schools.

The schools need $3.48 million to replace the roofs at Sherman Elemenary School and Riverfield Elementary School, which are reaching the end of their lives, school officials told the selectmen at a recent meeting. Angelus Papageorge, the school district's executive director of operations, said both roofs were in the district's capital plan.

Sherman's replacement is expected to cost nearly $1.92 million and Riverfield's project is expected to cost more than $1.56 million, Papageorge said.

The estimates for each project are recent, though officials are taking rising costs into account, said Sal Morabito, the school district's manager of construction, security and safety. He added the goal is to replace the roofs next summer. 

Papageorge said the selectmen already approved funding for the design portion of the project at Sherman. Riverfield's roof replacement was originally planned for the summer of 2024 so the $14,000 or so needed for the design portion of the project came out of the operating budget.

"We had some concerns with the Riverfield roof so we swapped the Riverfield Elementary School roof with the Holland Hill Elementary School roof," he said. "That's why you're seeing Riverfield instead of Holland Hill today."

Papageorge said the school district is ready to go out to bid for both of the projects once the funding is approved. 

Morabito said Sherman's roof replacement was originally part of a set of renovations at the building, but became its own project, as it needed to be done. 

"We pulled that forward while the rest of the needed items at the school were discussed," he said. 

Sherman Elementary's roof was restored by the manufacturer in 2012 under an extended warranty, Morabito said, but it was originally installed in 1991 and is "getting rather old right now."

"It's time to do this roof," he said. "We wrung every bit out of it."

Selectman Thomas Flynn said he was surprised that Riverfield needed a new roof, as the town spent millions of dollars in renovations on the school about a decade ago.

Morabito said that project was also a roof renovation, not replacement, before an addition was added to the school. He noted that roof was also installed in the early 1990s.

"We had a substantial repair that we needed to do last summer, so it's aging a bit more rapidly than we had expected," he said.

The selectmen unanimously approved the funding for the projects, as well as authorized school officials to apply for grants to help cover the cost. It also assigned the project to the Special Projects Standing Building Committee.

The finance board and Representative Town Meeting will also have to approve the funding request.

New London applies for $10 million more in state funding to upgrade downtown buildings

Johana Vazquez

New London ― The city is requesting almost $10 million in state funding as it works to improve infrastructure for downtown buildings as part of its Downtown Revitalization Project.

In April, the state Department of Economic and Community Development awarded the city $5.9 million through its CT Community Challenge grant. The grant aims to improve the vibrancy of communities across the state.

On Monday, the City Council authorized the mayor to apply for $10 million more in funding in a second round of grants. The application proposals include a student resource center for the local colleges, a laboratory for a company planning to move downtown, and additional funding for the proposed community center.

Elizabeth Nocera, the city’s economic development coordinator, said the city will submit the application Friday.

The grant has a match requirement, meaning the developers will provide at least a 25% match of the overall project costs.

The city’s Downtown Revitalization Project so far totals $27.1 million in state, city and privately-funded redevelopment costs and includes five private properties: 46 Bank St., 3 South Water St., 123 Bank St., 133 Bank St. and the Garde Arts Center.

Apart from the Garde, the properties will be redeveloped commercial spaces, mixed residential and commercial buildings and a boutique hotel.

The Manwaring Building at 223 State St. is also a part of the revitalization project but has not received state grant funding. The building, leased by Connecticut College for the next five years, reopened in late August to house 60 students in its upper levels.

With the new round of applications, the city is looking for approximately $1 million dollars from the state to make the lower levels of the Manwaring Building a “Tri-College Hub,” or a student resource center, for Connecticut College, Mitchell College and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

The city’s Director of Economic Development & Planning Felix Reyes on Monday said the city has failed to create a college town. He said the downtown student center would put all the colleges in one center.

Nocera said the space was gutted during construction and needs improvements.

She said the grant application proposes to develop the right side of the first floor and the basement floor into a retail souvenir store, café, multi-purpose classroom, tech room and office space opportunities for students and the general public.

The city is asking for an estimated $1.7 million to develop a $2.7 million drug testing laboratory at 224 Bank St. Genesys Diagnostics, a lab that provides diagnostic services such as COVID-19 testing to health care providers, purchased an office complex of four buildings in February, moving its headquarters from Montville to New London.

The city is requesting about $1 million for the former Metropolitan Hotel at 27 Bank St., owned by Brandt Gentry and Creative Property Concepts, LLC. Nocera said the building has been vacant for almost two decades and is to be developed into nine market rate apartments with retail on the first floor.

The developer has proposed to match the grant with $315,000.

Another application is centered on using $1 million to bolster the arts, culture and tourism in the downtown. Nocera said this includes fixing or repainting several murals and adding way-finding signs, electronic kiosks and gateways.

With a part of the city now established as a cultural district, Nocera said the district is required to have a minimum of two gateways to welcome visitors. She said the grant is matched with $175,000 of funds from the American Rescue Plan Act and the Cultural District Commission.

The same application also proposes helping transform the former Apostolic Cathedral of Hope on 157 Green St into the Stone Temple Venue, a place for future events. Downtown restaurateur Rod Cornish purchased the property for $315,000 in April, and has proposed to match the grant with $75,000.

Lastly, the city is asking the DECD for $5 million to go towards the construction of the city’s community center in Fort Trumbull. The city would match the grant with its $30 million bond and a nearly $1.2 million DECD’s brownfield grant.

Nocera said the $5 million would be for “anticipated gap funding” to cover inflation, construction supplies and labor shortages.

The construction for the center is currently out to bid. At Monday’s council meeting, Mayor Michael Passero said he can’t speculate what the results will be. He said the market has changed in the past two years.

Unlike the other applications, the grant money would go to construct a building, not redevelop an existing property.

Report: Poor CT cities should get $76.5 million in state investments

Keith M. Phaneuf

A new state panel tasked with revitalizing Connecticut’s poor urban centers is recommending $76.5 million in financing for more than two dozen economic development projects in 12 communities.

The initial report from the Community Investment Fund advisory board, which includes brownfield remediation along the Connecticut River in Middletown and an expansion of Waterbury’s downtown district, now must be reviewed by Gov. Ned Lamont’s budget office.

But the report — which stems from a complicated political compromise on taxes and borrowing — already boasts an impressive list of backers, including Lamont’s top economic development officials and key legislative leaders from both parties.

“I think it has exceeded all of our expectations,” said House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, whose home community would also benefit greatly from the first report. “For the doubters who said this could never work … you could not have been proven more wrong.”

Ritter was referring to complex negotiations that surrounded the state budget in May and June of the 2021 legislative session.

Progressive Democrats wanted to impose hundreds of millions of dollars in new taxes on Connecticut’s wealthiest households and large digital media companies and then dedicate all of those revenues to poor urban centers.

Lamont, other moderate Democrats and most Republican lawmakers opposed those increases. The principal argument against the plan was that boosting state taxes solely on the wealthy would prompt them to flee the state.

Lamont also advocated for a “debt diet” since he took office in 2019. Connecticut has roughly $27 billion in bonded debt and ranks as one of the most indebted states per capita in the nation.

But a significant portion of the Democratic majority in the House and Senate counter that Connecticut is home to some of the most extreme income and wealth inequality in the nation. The top margin income tax rates here are lower than those in neighboring New York and New Jersey, and progressives say Connecticut’s heavy reliance on a regressive property tax system to fund local education and municipal government excessively burdens many low- and middle-income families.

Ritter brokered a compromise that abandoned the tax hikes on wealthy households and digital media companies but authorized $175 million in annual bonding, starting in the 2022-23 fiscal year and running through 2026-27, for poor communities.

Equally important, it also created a mechanism to fast-track this financing.

Legislative authorization alone isn’t sufficient for the state to borrow funds. It also needs approval from the State Bond Commission, a 10-member panel heavily controlled by the governor. The chief executive serves as chair, has two commissioners serving on the bond commission and has sole authority to set the panel’s agenda.

But under the compromise approved by the 2021 legislature and Lamont, the governor must identify relatively quickly any objections to projects endorsed by the Community Investment Fund board. Otherwise they must be placed on the bond commission’s agenda for action within 60 days.

Ritter said the board, which adopted its first report last week, would submit its plan to Lamont by mid-October, in time for action at the bond commission meeting set for Dec. 9.

The spokesman for Lamont’s budget office, Chris Collibee, said the administration expects to finalize which projects will be placed on the bond commission agenda in the next few weeks.

But the Ritter also said he doesn’t expect much pushback.

The investment board not only includes legislators from both parties, representatives from the treasurer and comptroller’s offices, but also key officials from the governor’s budget and economic development staff.

Every key player in the decision-making process was involved in reviewing the applications for funding, Ritter said, adding that cities and towns submitted roughly 140 applications that passed initial screening. Any objections or concerns were addressed early in the process.

“That’s such a sea change in the approach to bonding,” he said.

House Minority Leader Vincent J. Candelora, R-North Branford, agreed.

“It’s sort of the pattern of the way we should be doing all of our bond allocations,” he said. “It de-politicizes the process.”

Alexandra Baum, Lamont’s deputy economic development commissioner and a member of the Community Investment Fund board, noted that all projects were endorsed unanimously by the panel.

“The Department [of Economic and Community Development] looks forward to working with each community as they utilize this funding to unlock transformative development opportunities,” said Baum, who specializes in local economic development projects and urban revitalization zones.

The legislature’s Black and Puerto Rican Caucus has strongly supported higher income tax rates on Connecticut’s wealthiest households to help poor communities. But Rep. Gerardo Reyes, D-Waterbury, who chairs the BPRC, said so far the compromise is working.

“I think it’s going to play out well for us over the years,” he said, adding that cities and towns deserve much of the credit for developing thorough, detailed applications.

“The people who prepared the data really did their homework,” he said, “so we can actually compare and see where the dollars really are needed.”

The investment fund panel put a hefty share of the first wave of funds, about 40%, toward the state’s three largest cities.

The most, almost $19.5 million, was designated for New Haven and spread across five projects, including $10 million for housing, child care services and commercial development in New Haven’s Dixwell Plaza.

Hartford received $10.6 million for four projects, including $3.7 million to develop 155 new housing units in the Sheldon Charter Oak neighborhood.

And $2.5 million is earmarked for a total of two projects in Bridgeport, including 50 units of affordable housing on the site of the former Marina Village Apartments.

The largest grant, $12 million, is designated for Middletown brownfield remediation, the first step in developing 200 acres along the Connecticut riverfront.

Waterbury’s central business district expansion will be supported with $10 million.

Construction spending dips, but contractors remain optimistic

Sebastian Obando

Nonresidential construction spending decreased 0.4% in August due to rising costs of both financing and delivering construction services, reflecting a persistent disparity between high contractor confidence and gloomy macroeconomic trends.

Spending shrunk on a monthly basis in 10 0f 16 nonresidential subcategories in August, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published Monday by the U.S. Census Bureau. 

Highway and water supply spending both fell 1.2% on a monthly basis, while public safety spending dropped 1.3%. Lodging and sewage were the biggest gainers, growing 1.6% and 1.4%, respectively.

Nonresidential spending totaled $859.3 billion in August on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, as private nonresidential spending ticked down 0.1%, while public nonresidential construction spending decreased 0.8%. 

Residential spending fell 1% over the last month, while total construction spending dipped 0.7% in August, the biggest decrease since February 2021, according to the data. 

But compared with a year ago, spending on water projects was up 23.3%, the biggest 12-month gain of any sector. Spending on commercial construction jumped 19.1% from a year ago, while spending on manufacturing increased 21.5% from a year earlier.

ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu said many contractors still remain in expansion mode and expect to experience rising sales, profit margins and employment levels in the next six months.

“The disparity between high contractor confidence and worrisome macroeconomic outcomes persists,” Basu said in a statement.

The sector gains and slumps, like the impact of the pandemic itself, were uneven.

“While some segments… continue to struggle in the context of behavioral shifts wrought by the pandemic, other segments are showing significant momentum,” said Basu. “This is especially apparent in certain public construction segments like water and sewer, highway and street, and flood control.”

Spending on sewage and waste disposal projects ticked up 1.4% in August, posting an increase of 11.9% over the last year. On the other hand, spending on office projects fell 0.5% in August, and dropped 0.9% from a year ago.

But total nonresidential construction indicates that consistent spending growth remains elusive. For example, the slump in August came after nonresidential construction spending ticked up by 0.8% in July.

“Given the rising costs of project financing and delivering construction services, [the spending growth decrease] is not surprising,” said Basu. “Arguably, it is the contractor confidence that is counterintuitive.”