Eastern Connecticut the Odd Man Out as Powerhouse Gathering in Stamford Pitches High-Speed-Rail

Gregory Stroud

STAMFORD — Eastern Connecticut was the odd man out in a powerhouse gathering of federal, state and local officials on Monday pitching faster and more frequent rail service, and billions of dollars of new investment, for the Northeast Corridor.

“It’s not partisan. It’s not even geographic, in the sense that it’s defined by only big city mayors, or any sort of specific factor — if you’re connected via a railroad, which almost every community in the United States is actually, whether they know it or not, there’s been a resurgence and focus about how rail can make a difference and be part of a community’s mobility strategy,” explained Mitch Warren, who moderated the event and serves as executive director for the quasi-public Northeast Corridor Commission.

Warren pitched a renewed focus on rail as a generational change, in a nation that still has more miles of track than any other country on earth, even if it is mostly used to move freight after passenger service was largely abandoned in the 1960s.

“I don’t think it’s a mystery, right?” Warren told the audience of about 75 people. “Aviation and flying has gotten worse. Everyone agrees with me there, right? Driving is no fun, right? I mean, how many folks have kids under the age of 30 who want to drive, who are really pumped about driving? Right? It’s just a real change, and we see a huge interest in how rail can be a part of communities.

On stage, Gov. Ned Lamont, his commissioner of transportation, Garrett Eucalitto, and Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons, were joined by Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner, Federal Railroad Administration head Amit Bose, and Metro-North President Catherine Rinaldi in notable show of power and support for improved high-speed-service through Connecticut.

At the same time, absent was any mention, or discussion, of how or why this conversation ended in frustration in 2017, with a high-speed-rail masterplan the Northeast Corridor that left unresolved an alternative to the corridor’s winding 19th-century-era route through coastal southeastern Connecticut and southern Rhode Island.

That effort, dubbed NEC Future, provides the menu of options for how roughly $16.4 billion of new federal dollars — and any other federal funding over the next three or four decades — can be spent on the corridor between Washington D.C. and Boston, except for the ninety-odd miles of unresolved corridor between New Haven to Providence.

A new study launched in November by Amtrak intends to resolve that.

Called the New Haven to Providence Capacity Planning Study, the study will recommend a new off-corridor route that meets goals for time and capacity included in the 2017 NEC Future Record of Decision. Whether that means a return to the controversial idea of a bypass through coastal southeastern Connecticut, or a direct route between Hartford and Providence is not yet clear, though a recent interview with Congressman Joe Courtney hinted that the direct inland route may already be off the table.

After the last attempt to resolve the issue with a proposed Kenyon to Old Saybrook Bypass sparked overwhelming public opposition across southeastern Connecticut and southern Rhode Island, public support for the new study may make or break any plans to significantly speed up train travel east of New Haven in the coming decades.

Gardner told the assembled audience in Stamford that high-speed rail, unlike mid-century interstates and highways, would respect the fabric of local communities.

“We already have assets in the right place. We already go mostly where folks are. So, when you think about building in a way that respects communities that builds the fabric of community, rail’s got a way to do it. The interstate era is over, we need to enunciate that probably more clearly. But we haven’t been adding lane miles, we’re not going to add a bunch of lane miles, we’re not going to do what [Interstate] 95 did, which was bulldoze through the heart of communities. We have to figure out ways to create capacity and fluidity within the fabrics of our communities. And that’s what rail is so good at doing,” said Gardner.

But on Monday in Stamford the handful of attendees from southeastern Connecticut arrived uninvited, including Old Lyme First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker, who could be seen taking notes longhand as speaker after speaker pitched the benefits of high-speed rail and praised President Joe Biden for delivering a multi-year multibillion dollar investment in the Northeast Corridor.

In 2016, Old Lyme was the epicenter of opposition in southeastern Connecticut to plans for high-speed-rail that included a rail bypass cutting across the town’s National Register historic district at a height of 40 feet.

Nine years later, John Noyes and Dini Mallory, co-chairs of the Old Lyme Historic District Commission sent off a letter on Jan. 22 seeking assurances that any outcome of the New Haven to Providence Capacity Planning Study will respect the fabric of the historic town.

In an email to CT Examiner, Mallory and Noyes warned that any attempt to revive plans for a “railway bypass through or near the Historic District would pose an existential threat to the District.”

The New Haven to Providence Capacity Planning Study is expected to conclude in 2024.

Years after its first buses rolled, CTfastrak delivering new development in West Hartford

DON STACOM 

With CTfastrak about to enter its ninth year, The Jayden mixed-use project in West Hartford is on track to be the latest instance of transit-oriented development along its route.

Hexagon New Park LLC intends to build a five-story, 70-unit apartment building on a New Park Avenue site near the busway’s Elmwood station.

The plan advanced last week when the town’s Design Review Advisory Committee gave its endorsement following months of discussions with the developer. If Town Planner Todd Dumais grants a permit, construction on The Jayden could begin later this year with an opening planned as early as the end of 2025, Tommy Li, a Hexagon partner, said in the fall.

The Jayden would become the latest of more than a half-dozen major residential and mixed-use projects that developers attribute to CTfastrak, the bus rapid transit system that links New Britain, Newington, West Hartford and Hartford. High-frequency shuttles run between those communities and link to traditional bus routes serving most other central Connecticut communities.

When the busway was built for more than $570 million, then-Gov. Dannel P. Malloy predicted it would drive new residential and commercial development along the corridor, a 9.4-mile former freight rail line that was dominated by long-vacant factories and machine shops.

Since then, investors have built or started more than a half-dozen apartment complexes along the route, mostly clustered in downtown New Britain but also in West Hartford and Newington. In all, that represents more than 600 new apartments in the region, with many marketed to retired seniors and young professionals who want semi-urban living with either less driving or even none.

The Jayden would be a key victory for transit-oriented development advocates who defended the busway against heavy political opposition, with some conservatives in the General Assembly arguing that it was an expensive boondoggle.

In 2019, state transportation planners issued an analysis concluding the New Park Avenue corridor was ripe for an overhaul. That stretch of the busway parallels the main street from West Hartford’s Elmwood section to the Parkville section of Hartford.

“This industrial band is generally sandwiched between low-density residential and large-footprint commercial strip development,” they wrote. “However, recent and forthcoming investments have positioned the corridor for transformation. The New Park Avenue corridor has the potential to become a walkable, mixed-use and transit supportive environment.”

Two communities that quickly and most heavily made use of the busway’s ridership potential were New Britain and West Hartford. Both undertook planning studies and then amended their zoning rules to encourage higher-density housing and other development within walking distance of CTfastrak stations.

“The busway undoubtedly was the catalyst that allowed me the opportunity to redevelop so many of the sites around the station,” New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart said Tuesday. “Access to public transit is important for a new generation of Connecticut residents and young people.”

The result has been a series of new housing starts in New Britain’s downtown; four of the largest projects alone — The Brit, The Highrailer, The Strand and the first phase of Columbus Commons — are creating more than 400 apartments near the CTfastrak station on Columbus Avenue.

The Jayden is being developed by a private builder, though, and will lease 80% of its one- and two-bedroom units at market rates. Mayor Shari Cantor credited the town’s new rules in 2022 that make transit-oriented development smoother and faster for the builder.

“This is the first development since we adopted our TOD ordinance which allows a development like the Jayden with 80% market rate units and 20% affordable to be approved with administrative approval,” Cantor said. “This project is exactly what we had envisioned when we adopted the ordinance.”

Cantor said town leaders expect the transit-oriented development zone will continue to attract new construction in the future, and are hoping for a local link to the CTrail Hartford Line to help. The commuter rail trucks run parallel to the busway in that section of West Hartford.

“We believe a Hartford rail line station in this corridor is consistent with the state’ goals and will only enhance the state’s investment in CTfastrak,” Cantor said.

Route 172 bridge in Southbury gets green light from inspectors

STEVE BIGHAM 

SOUTHBURY – A bridge spanning the Pomperaug River along Route 172 in South Britain received a clean bill of health following an inspection Tuesday morning, one of thousands of bridge inspections done by the state every two years.

Workers used a device called a snooper, a cranelike apparatus that allows for access to the bridge’s underside. There, inspectors applied various techniques, including a simple tap of a hammer, to determine the bridge’s structural integrity, much of it based on sound.

A state Department of Transportation engineer on scene said the inspection focuses on a bridge’s steel super structure and underside concrete decking.

The state inspects the in-water structure of all state-road bridges ever four years, a task that requires trained dive teams.

The snooper Tuesday was provided by state contractor McClain & Co. of Middletown, which specializes in the support of engineering companies and government agencies for the inspection and maintenance of bridges.

McClain’s Arvid Ericson was at the controls of the device, maneuvering the snooper’s 62-foot arm and bucket over and alongside the bridge before steering it deep into the bridge’s underbelly.

“You see a lot of strange things when you go under a bridge,” Ericson said. “A lot of dead bodies have been found during the course of a bridge inspection.”

Southbury’s inspection involved a bridge originally built in 1939 and rebuilt in 1991.

$16.5M Danbury High School science lab renovations advances on state's priority list

Michael Gagne

DANBURY — Local leaders’ plan to upgrade Danbury High School’s science labs, now more than two years in the making, is a few more steps away from becoming a reality. 

The $16.5 million plan is among the projects that made the School Construction Project Priority List put forth by the state Department of Administrative Services, according to an announcement issued by State Sen. Julie Kushner, D-Danbury. DAS’ School Construction Project Priority List Review Committee approved the project’s consideration last week.

"Making it on to the 2024 priority list is the first step in a multi-step process to getting these upgrades over the finish line," Kushner said in prepared remarks. "I am committed to working with my colleagues on the Education and Finance Committees to ensuring that the students at Danbury High School will benefit from these science lab upgrades, even as we transition into the future to the Danbury Career Academy and the tens of millions of dollars in state support for that project as well. We're certainly moving in a good direction." 

Kushner’s office stated the project will update and reconfigure 28,400 square feet of science labs, located on the fourth and fifth floors of Danbury High School’s C Building. The project will also affect other interior spaces, including the labs’ prep rooms, work rooms and storage areas. The labs themselves will receive new doors and equipment, and classroom doors will be modified for building code compliance.

Before the project priority list is adopted by state lawmakers, it will be reviewed by the legislature’s Education and Finance Committees.  

The state is expected to cover nearly $10.43 million, or 63.21 percent of the project’s total $16.5 million cost. A timeline for when the project would be completed wasn’t immediately available. 

Last fall, then-mayoral candidate Roberto Alves often referenced the need to update Danbury High School’s science labs while on the campaign trail. 

Alves, now the city’s mayor, said he is “grateful to the School Construction Project Priority List Review Committee for choosing this important project at Danbury High School so we can fix and upgrade science labs that haven’t been operational for a long time, and I thank Senator Kushner and Danbury’s entire legislative delegation for their continued hard work, collaboration, and dedication to delivering for Danbury schools.”

Ten rural CT communities to receive portion of over $9M for transportation, safety upgrades

Eric Bedner

The grants — released through the Transportation Rural Improvement Program, or TRIP — are designed to direct funding to rural towns that are often ineligible for many federal transportation programs, according to the office of Gov. Ned Lamont.

Among the recipients is Coventry, which will get $498,000 for pedestrian safety improvements.

Hebron is slated to receive about $985,000 for improvements to Jones Street, and Stafford will get about $884,000 for the construction of the Levinthal Run multi-use path.

The largest grant is going to Salisbury, which will receive about $1.15 million for sidewalk construction on Main Street.

Mathewson Mill Road rehabilitation in Preston will be helped by about a $1 million grant, with roughly the same amount allocated to Sharon for sidewalks on routes 41 and 361.

Cornwall will receive $868,000 for sidewalks on the West Cornwall Bridge, Haddam Center is getting nearly $783,000 for sidewalks there, and the Air Line Trail in Hampton will get about $822,000 for resurfacing.

Finally, Voluntown Village will receive roughly $950,500 for sidewalk extensions.

"Right now, we are in an era in which we are making some of the largest investments in transportation infrastructure improvements in our lifetime, and we want to make sure Connecticut's rural communities are also supported," Lamont said. "Small towns across Connecticut support families and play a vital role in growing the agriculture, tourism, and manufacturing sectors. We're providing state grants to help ensure these smaller communities remain safe and connected for future generations."

The TRIP program is a new competitive grant program funded through state bonding. Last year, towns with half of their population living in rural areas were eligible to apply for the funding.

While the Department of Transportation will cover the entirety of construction costs, municipalities are required to cover the cost of designs.

"I am proud of the work our team at CTDOT has made in coordination with local leaders to review submissions and select projects that will improve safety and mobility," DOT Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto said. "These investments will go a long way toward improving safety and building a stronger transportation network throughout rural Connecticut."

After death of worker, CT utility should step up certain safety precautions, state report finds

KENNETH R. GOSSELIN

State utilities regulators urged Connecticut’s second largest electricity provider to use the same safety precautions for work at office buildings as a public street or highway after a land surveyor was struck and killed in Fairfield last year.

The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority issued its recommendation in a recent decision, following an investigation into the death of 59-year-old Stephen Brynn, a Colchester contractor hired by United Illuminating Co.

The ruling is likely to draw attention to safety procedures for work done on entrances and exits on commercial properties.

According to the decision, Brynn, who worked for BL Cos., was not visible on a driveway leading to parking lot when he was struck May 17 at an office building on the Post Road.

In the report, PURA acknowledged the safety procedures for public roads do not apply to parking lots. But they do apply to “site roadways open to public travel” and may apply to the driveway of a commercial building.

PURA urged UI to apply to same procedures for “the placement and operation of traffic control devices while in similar high-traffic driveways or any similar area where vehicles pass through.”

“The fatal accident examined in this investigation, like most accidents, was avoidable,” the PURA document says. “The purpose of this investigation was to understand the causes and  circumstances of the accident in order to identify safety improvements that will reduce the risk of similar accidents. The investigation did not evaluate liability or fault associated with the accident.”

During the investigation, UI told PURA that no matter the location, risks to workers must be fully assessed and safety measures put in place. Some measures could include signage, a barricade protecting the worker or assigning a second person as a “spotter.”

PURA noted that Brynn was laying down above a storm drain with an orange traffic cone placed behind him when he was struck. The report explained: “Part of the work involved measuring the depths of certain pipes located under the  manholes and storm drains to these two properties and to also document in the direction  the pipes travel relative to the UI wires on the Metro North property.”

A report from police in Fairfield concluded that Brynn “should not have conducted his surveying duties at the location without proper safety measures in place, and that the operator of the vehicle that struck him could not have seen Mr. Brynn laying on the ground in front of her vehicle as she moved forward.”

In a statement, UI spokesman Sarah Wall Fliotsos said: “Safety for all our workers is our number-one priority at UI, and we appreciate PURA’s attention to worker safety reflected in their decision last week.”

The report noted that “BL Companies was hired to conduct field surveys for the Fairfield Congress Project, which involved the rebuild and relocation of UI’s 115-kV transmission line from atop the CT Department of Transportation/MetroNorth catenary structures onto single and  double circuit monopoles” from Bridgeport to Fairfield.

OSHA, CCO, NCCCO Foundation Partner to Reduce Risks for Workers

LUCY PERRY

The construction crane industry is shoring up safety efforts to prevent accidents like those that have brought negative visibility to the market sector in the past few years.

CCO and the NCCCO Foundation have formed an alliance with OSHA to keep the industry informed about OSHA's safety initiatives. That bodes well for contractors and crew members working around the machines every day.

In November, the three organizations signed a formal agreement to collaborate in providing information, guidance and resources. The goal is to promote workplace safety and health and awareness of workers' rights and employers' responsibilities under OSHA.

"Workers … can face serious and potentially life-threatening hazards if they are not properly trained or protected," said Doug Parker, OSHA assistant secretary. "Our alliance with these industry leaders focuses on training workers and working with employers to make safety and health a core value."

Parker said this will be accomplished through the implementation of best industry practices to ensure workers' safety.

"We look forward to making our industry safer," Thom Sicklesteel, CCO chief executive, said at the signing in Washington, D.C.

Haste Makes Waste, Risk

In Aubrey, Texas, last year, OSHA found the death of a crew member could have been prevented if required mobile crane safety procedures had been followed.

According to DOL, OSHA investigators learned the 23-year-old and other workers were constructing a metal building when the crane collapsed. The agency determined the company exposed its employees to struck-by hazards by overloading the crane beyond its weight limitations.

OSHA cited the company for not using temporary alternative measures when the load and radius cell did not work. The agency also cited the employer for the operation of a mobile crane in excess of rated capacity and operation in a matter that exceeded rated capacity.

The company also was cited for failure to create and employ an accident prevention program; perform regular work site inspections; and meet federal standards for crane and wire rope inspections.

OSHA proposed a fine of nearly $263,000, saying the employer disregarded the safety of its crew, "willfully ignoring required safety standards."

"And one worker suffered the deadly consequences of the company's failures," said Timothy Minor, OSHA area director.

In Arizona, a crane crew member suffered electrocution during the installation of an air conditioner. A state workplace safety inspection determined the employer violated multiple safety regulations in the accident.

Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health (ADOSH) said following safety and electrical precautions could have prevented the death. The inspection found the crane's cable was too close to electrical lines without shutting off power, according to television station abc15 in Tucson.

"There was no documentation the 26-ton crane had been inspected annually as required," said Anne Ryman, reporter. "In addition, the sling used to lift the 681-pound air conditioning unit was frayed and should not have been used," the inspection said.

The crane company was fined more than $32,000, and one citation was classified as "willful serious."

This designation is the most serious worker-safety violation, levied only where the inspector says employers knowingly failed to follow safety regulations.

Last summer, the crane and operator were hired to lift and set the air-conditioning unit into place. The crane operator lowered the unit with the cable coming within 2 ft. of electrical lines, according to the ADOSH report. The operator ordered the unit to be pushed where it was supposed to go on the roof. The cable hit the power lines, electrocuting the 23-year-old worker.

"The crane operator told us right up front that he knew he wasn't supposed to be that close to the line," said Mark Norton, ADOSH director.

The state then fined the crane company an additional $25,000 for the willful citation resulting in a worker death. The money goes to the worker's family.

Crane operators in Atlanta say the fast pace of construction is raising risk levels when safety concerns on the job are ignored.

Ashli Lincoln with wsbtv.com in Atlanta reported that operators attribute the situation to pressure to build quickly and move on.

"When we get a job, we hit the ball running," according to one crane operator who said the fast pace comes with a list of ignored safety concerns.

"I recently had to walk off a job because it was so unsafe," one operator said.

Operators said they've been asked to operate in high wind conditions, carry excessively heavy loads, work 80-hour weeks, and rely on inexperienced riggers.

One crane operator recalled a project where none of the riggers spoke clear English, adding that that itself is a major safety concern.

Policy of Doing It Right

Fortunately, the incident-free construction jobs outweigh the sites that log accidents and incidents. The contractors who believe in best practices do it right.

Alamo Crane Service Inc. (ACS), selected to receive a subcontractors association safety award, is one of those contractors.

American Subcontractors Association (ASA) awarded Alamo a 2022 National Safety Award last spring. The annual program recognizes member companies instrumental in making safety and safety education a priority in their companies.

These companies go "above and beyond to ensure their employees and everyone on the job site go home to their families after every workday," said ASA.

Only nine companies from across the country were selected to receive the national safety award. Of those, Alamo Crane Service was the only crane company to receive this award.

"This is a big deal," said Marvin Ohlenbusch, Alamo Crane COO. "To be recognized nationally for this award says a lot."

He said a safety culture focused on risk management, engaged by every team member, ensures the company is doing its best to keep employees and customers safe.

In 2017, the company was awarded Texas Mutual's Platinum Safety Award. The company was recognized for its outstanding safety record.

OSHA has long tried to make construction work sites safer, through policies that include certification, education and inspection.

After a crane-related death on the island of Guam in late 2022, OSHA released a statement urging employers to enhance safety measures.

Falls, tip-overs, struck-bys, electrocutions, being caught between a crane and other structures and unqualified operators as the most common hazards.

After the Guam job site death, OSHA recommended the following safety measures where crane operations take place:

Use your experience, knowledge and training to assess risks and follow crane procedures.

Do not operate a crane or hoist that is damaged or has any actual or suspected mechanical or electrical malfunction.

Do not attempt to lengthen wire rope or repair damaged wire rope.

Do not use the wire rope, any part of the crane, hoist, or the load block and hook as a ground for welding.

Do not allow a welding electrode to touch the wire rope.

Do not remove or obscure any warning labels on the crane or hoist.

Do not walk under a suspended load or allow anyone to walk under a suspended load.

Do not perform or allow anyone to perform any work on a suspended load that requires a worker to be positioned under the suspended load

Always use personal protective equipment, such as gloves, hard hats, hearing, foot and eye protection.

"Injuries and fatalities related to crane operations are preventable with training and proper attention to safety controls," said Roger Forstner, OSHA area director. "Employers need to take all necessary steps to reduce incidents involving crane operations and improve the workplace safety where cranes are in use."

Over the years, the agency and the construction industry have seen the benefits of partnering to reduce risk on construction job sites.

In announcing the alliance with CCO and NCCO, Scott Ketcham, OSHA director, thanked the organizations for working to reach this significant milestone.

He also appreciated their efforts build upon the agency-industry relationship that was built over the past two decades.

The principal goal of the alliance is to provide employers and workers tools and guidance to help eliminate and/or prevent workplace health and safety hazards.

According to OSHA, under this agreement, the three will team up on numerous initiatives to improve safety in the load handling industry, including:

Sharing industry alerts,

Encouraging industry participation in and support of OSHA events and programs,

Convening roundtable discussions and stakeholder meetings on crane industry safety,

Providing opportunities for OSHA to speak and participate in industry meetings and events,

Raising awareness of resources and tools that will assist operators in complying with OSHA regulations,

Sharing information on updates to OSHA load handling regulations and enforcement such as certification and evaluation requirements,

Developing surveys for candidate base segments and sharing survey results, and

Encouraging key CCO test sites to build relationships with OSHA's regional and area offices to promote safety and awareness.

The trio also will coordinate opportunities for training of OSHA staff focused on operator qualification and certification standards. The training also will cover jobsite responsibilities and equipment demonstrations or innovations.

The member organizations will encourage worker participation in workplace safety and health by engaging with industry experts. The goal is to ensure resources and training materials/programs developed and offered are available to meet the needs of stakeholders.