CT Construction Digest Tuesday July 2, 2024
Developers of Connecticut's first offshore wind farm invest $150,000 to support BTTI’s launch of Eastern Connecticut Cohort
NEW LONDON, Conn. (July 1, 2024) – Ørsted and Eversource, developers of Connecticut's first offshore wind farm, Revolution Wind, and the Connecticut State Building Trades Training Institute (CSBTTI), today announced the launch of a collaborative, pre-apprenticeship training program for 15 Eastern Connecticut residents.
The upcoming cohort will include 15 trainees from the New London area, where workers at the State Pier are supporting construction of the South Fork Wind, Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind projects. Students will undergo pre-apprenticeship training for union construction careers, which are essential to the nation’s clean energy transition.
Revolution Wind has committed $150,000 to the program, which will provide participants with training from skilled union instructors, stipends, transportation, and housing support, along with direct placement into the apprenticeship that most fits them upon completion. The apprenticeship readiness training program will be conducted by the Laborers Union at their training facility located in Pomfret, CT. Those interested in applying can find more information here.
“CSBTTI recruited and will now help prepare local workers for high-quality unionized construction apprenticeships while helping diversify the state’s building trades,” said Keith Brothers, President of New London/Norwich Building and Construction Trades Council. “We applaud Ørsted and Eversource’s commitment to ensuring Connecticut workers benefit from family-sustaining wages and benefits, while also connecting the state’s union tradespeople to Connecticut’s clean energy future and the economic opportunity presented by offshore wind. We hope to see a diverse pool of applicants, and we encourage women and People of Color to apply.”
“As we continue building clean energy infrastructure and creating American energy jobs, it is critical to our mission that we drive workforce development opportunities and support economic mobility for underrepresented Connecticut residents through union construction careers," said Allison Ziogas, Ørsted Head of Labor Relations, Region Americas. “A new domestic supply chain and a local workforce are imperative to the success of the American offshore wind industry. We look forward to working with the Connecticut State Building Trades Training Institute to ensure more local workers—especially those from disadvantaged communities—have the training they need to earn a living wage while helping the state and the region meet its clean energy goals.”
“Our partnership with the Connecticut State Building Trades Training Institute further cements our commitment to bolstering local job training opportunities and providing access to career pathways for Connecticut residents in a clean energy future,” said Ray Collins, Manager of Government Affairs at Eversource. “The clean energy transition provides many great opportunities to strengthen the local workforce, and we are excited about this partnership and about empowering New London workers to gain the training and experience needed to successfully navigate a union construction apprenticeship program. It will put them on the track to a future career where they will have the skills to build all kinds of critical infrastructure, including offshore wind.”
Program graduates will be placed in registered apprenticeship programs of their choice by the end of 2024, where they will continue to receive support and retention services through the program for a period of two years. Registered apprenticeship programs in the construction industry come with the promise of high-quality career pathways with family-sustaining salaries.
Revolution Wind recently achieved its “steel in the water” milestone with the installation of the project’s first turbine foundation, a momentous milestone for Rhode Island and Connecticut's first utility-scale offshore wind farm. Once in operation, it will generate 400 megawatts of clean, affordable offshore wind power for Rhode Island and 304 megawatts of the same for Connecticut, enough clean energy to power more than 350,000 homes across both states and bring each closer to reaching their ambitious climate targets.
The first multi-state offshore wind project and a centerpiece of the region’s blue economy, Revolution Wind is directly creating roughly 1,200 jobs across Rhode Island and Connecticut and accelerating the states’ clean energy sectors with significant investments in workforce development, union partnerships, shipbuilding, and port infrastructure. The first of Revolution Wind’s turbine components have started arriving at State Pier, the staging and marshaling port for the project, where they will be assembled by local union labor.
For more information on Revolution Wind, visit www.revolution-wind.com.
About Connecticut State Building Trades Training Institute
Founded by the CT State Building Trades Council in 2022, the CT State Building Trades Training Institute (BTT) is a feeder to the unionized registered apprenticeship training programs. BTTI provides apprenticeship readiness training to CT residents interested in entering careers in the construction field by applying into registered apprenticeship training programs. BTTI’s service delivery model consists of outreach/recruitment, assessment, case management, construction readiness training, assistance with placement into registered apprenticeship training, retention, and support services. Depending on funding sources supportive services are provided and may include one or more of the following: stipends, bus passes, gas cards, childcare assistance, work gear and tools. To learn more about CSBTTI, please visit our website at www.csbtti.org or our Facebook page.
About Ørsted
A global clean energy leader, Ørsted develops, constructs, and operates offshore and land-based wind farms, solar farms, energy storage facilities, and bioenergy plants. Ørsted was the first energy company in the world to have its science-based net-zero emissions target validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and is recognized as the world’s most sustainable energy developer in the Corporate Knights Global 100 index. In the United States, the company has approximately 700 employees and a portfolio of clean energy assets and partnerships that includes offshore wind energy, land-based wind energy, solar, battery storage and e-fuels. Ørsted is a U.S. leader in offshore wind energy with approximately 3 gigawatts in development and operates both America’s first offshore wind farm, located off the coast of Block Island, and the country’s first utility-scale offshore wind farm, South Fork Wind. Ørsted has a total U.S. land-based capacity of 5 gigawatts across wind, solar, storage technologies and e-fuels. To learn more about the Ørsted U.S. business, visit us.orsted.com or follow the company on X (@OrstedUS), Instagram, and Facebook.
About Eversource
Eversource (NYSE: ES), celebrated as a national leader for its corporate citizenship, is the #1 energy company in Newsweek’s list of America’s Most Responsible Companies for 2024 and recognized as a Five-Year Champion, appearing in every edition of the list. Eversource transmits and delivers electricity and natural gas and supplies water to approximately 4.4 million customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The #1 energy efficiency provider in the nation, Eversource harnesses the commitment of approximately 9,900 employees across three states to build a single, united company around the mission of safely delivering reliable energy and water with superior customer service. The company is empowering a clean energy future in the Northeast, with nationally recognized energy efficiency solutions and successful programs to integrate new clean energy resources like a first-in-the-nation networked geothermal pilot project, solar, offshore wind, electric vehicles and battery storage, into the electric system. For more information, please visit eversource.com, and follow us on X, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. For more information on our water services, visit aquarionwater.com.
Construction bid awarded for Connecticut River railroad bridge replacement
Elizabeth Regan
Old Lyme ― Amtrak has announced the award of a construction contract on the $1.3 billion project to modernize the 116-year-old Connecticut River Bridge.
Amtrak in a press release said the bridge replacement contract was awarded to a joint venture between Sylmar, Calif.-based Tutor Perini Corp. and Torrington, Conn.-based O&G Industries.
The new two-track bridge will replace the existing structure between Old Saybrook and Old Lyme to accommodate maximum train speeds of 70 mph, according to Amtrak. That’s up from 45 mph today.
Work is scheduled to begin in the late summer/early fall of 2024.
The 1,500-foot-long serves more than 50 daily Amtrak trains, CTrail Shore Line East service and various freight trains, the company said. The new bridge will provide additional vertical clearance for maritime passage underneath.
The project was recently approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto positioned the project as a boon for passengers from Boston, Mass. to Washington, D.C.
“The new structure, built by Connecticut’s building trades, will improve safety, reliability, and increase operating speeds along the line,” he said. “CTDOT is grateful for the continued support of the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Railroad Administration, the advocacy of our Congressional Delegation, and collaboration of our partners at Amtrak.”
$40M approved for next phase of New London Coast Guard museum project
John Penney
New London ― A recent funding approval will keep the planned National Coast Guard Museum on track for a 2026 opening on the city’s waterfront, project officials said on Thursday.
The National Coast Guard Museum Association Board of Directors on June 12 approved allotting $40 million for the next phase of construction on the 89,000-square-foot, six-story museum behind Union Station, said Wes Pulver, association president and a retired Coast Guard captain.
The money will pay for final foundation work, as well as “getting steel out of the ground” later this year, Pulver said.
“You’re going to see a lot of work this summer with concrete pile caps finished to distribute the weight of the building,” he said. “Then this fall, we’ll have a mock-up of the structure put up in October with that steel work continuing over the winter. This is all with the goal of finishing the work in late 2025.”
Once complete, the building will be turned over to Coast Guard officials who will set a formal opening date. Construction is being overseen by the North Stonington-based A/Z Corp.
The project’s $150 million price tag – about 70% of which will go to construction costs ― includes the creation of a pedestrian bridge connecting the museum to the Water Street parking garage.
The project at 1790 Waterfront Drive will be funded through a combination of federal, state and privately raised funds. Pulver said the project’s approximately 6,000 donors have so far raised roughly $47 million toward a $50 million capital campaign goal.
Pulver said he’s amazed by the generosity of museum donors, including a World War II veteran who mailed in a letter complete with a $15 check.
“That means the world to us and motivates us,” Pulver said.
The Coast Guard is the only one of the five military branches without a national museum.
The construction area, tucked-in between the downtown ferry port, City Pier and the Thames River, was quiet Thursday, as passengers from a nearby docked cruise ship walked past a perimeter fence marking off the work site.
Orange cones on the dirt foundation mark the spots where concrete pads will be sunk to shore up the soft ground before tons of metal are erected atop the site.
Two construction bid events were held in April attracting dozens of prospective contractors hoping to be awarded jobs related to the concrete foundation, skeletal steel and flooring, as well as the exterior metal panels, glass curtain wall and roofing work. Companies were also invited to bid on elevator, fireproofing, plumbing and electrical work.
Pulver said the bid submissions are still being assessed but will likely be awarded sometime this month.
Several of the museum’s completed floors, or “decks” will each be dedicated to a specific Coast Guard theme, including safety, security and stewardship.
A Sikorsky MH-60T Jayhawk, the helicopter used by the Coast Guard for search and rescue operations, will be displayed in the museum’s atrium, while a top-level deck will feature a memorial terrace, simulation center and event space.
The Eagle, a training vessel for cadets at the Coast Guard Academy, is expected to be a main feature of the museum and will be docked at nearby City Pier when the ship is in New London.
Museum boosters, including city officials, are touting the facility as a tourism generator estimated to bring 300,000 annual visitors to the region along with up to $20 million in associated tourism revenue.
Norwalk secures $14M for bike, pedestrian improvements on MLK Drive, near SoNo train station
NORWALK — The efforts to revitalize South Norwalk and improve pedestrian safety continue with the city receiving $14 million from a U.S. Department of Transportation program.
“This monumental federal investment will be a seismic boost for key Connecticut communities,” said U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.
He praised a combined $21.7 million going to Norwalk, Naugatuck and the Hartford region from the 2024 Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant program. The funds will reduce pedestrian and bicycle crashes and improve driver safety, Blumenthal said.
Norwalk’s MLK Corridor Equitable Mobility Enhancement Project is receiving $14 million to fund improvements on 2 miles of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and six other roadways surrounding the South Norwalk Train Station. In all, 33 acres will be improved.
“This $14 million will be transformational for Southwestern Connecticut — creating safer, cleaner, and more accessible thoroughfares for the people of Norwalk,” said U.S. Rep Jim Himes, D-4. “The MLK Corridor Equitable Mobility Enhancement Project is the exact type of endeavor we hoped to support when we passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law last year, and I look forward to continued work with the federal and state delegations to make travel through our communities easier for drivers, bikers, and pedestrians.”
This is the latest grant for the Norwalk Redevelopment Agency projects in South Norwalk, focusing on improving safety and connectivity.
“This funding will help transform the South Norwalk Train Station and the area that surrounds it,"said state Rep. Kadeem Roberts D-Norwalk. “The changes will make the station safer, more accessible, and easier to navigate. I am thrilled that our city will receive this funding and am thankful for those who worked tirelessly to secure it.”
This grant will reconfigure a network of roads in South Norwalk to include bicycles and pedestrians, improved signage updated with real-time transit data, and advanced drainage and landscaping.
“RAISE grants are a great way for the federal government to help towns fund big infrastructure investments that transform our communities for the better,” said U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, D-Conn.
This project will provide bicycle and pedestrian improvements around the South Norwalk Train Station.
“These past few years have been among the most dangerous on record for walkers and bike riders, with heightened numbers of injuries and fatalities. Road safety is a crisis in Connecticut and countrywide,” Blumenthal said. “This investment will save lives and lead to more vibrant connected communities.”
Norwalk already has a $6 million grant to improve the Transit-Oriented District in South Norwalk around a new 200-unit apartment complex that is being developed. The state allocated a $1.3 million grant to remediate the brownfield site where the apartments are slated to be built by Spinnaker.
“This grant directly ties into significant state funding in the area,” said state Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk. “By investing at all three levels of government directly where people live, we can benefit thousands of lives, beautify our city, and support our community, continuing to focus on advancing safety, housing, business and education.”
The Naugatuck Valley Council of Government is receiving $5.7 million to fund the environmental, engineering design, and pre-construction activities necessary for closing a 16.3-mile gap in the Naugatuck River Greenway Trail between Naugatuck and Thomaston.
And $2 million was allocated to Capitol Region Council of Governments to conduct a comprehensive study of the Berlin Turnpike to identify a feasible route and develop a conceptual plan to accommodate bicycle, pedestrian, and transit users along the corridor.
“The Berlin Turnpike Corridor supports jobs, services, and housing for thousands of Capitol Region residents, yet it remains one of our state’s dangerous roads, with thousands of crashes and accidents over the last five years,” said U.S. John Larson, D-1.