The politics are tangled when it comes to the Trump administration’s initial decision—which still could change—not to include construction in its proposed apprenticeship rule revision. Including construction in the proposed plan could further accelerate the shrinking of the union segment by boosting open-shop training with more government support. Higher-paying union jobs can add to construction […]
Construction companies sometimes see government contracting as prohibitively competitive and believe the pay is low and the bid requirements are too time- and effort-consuming. But this is not the case, and should not hold construction companies back from bidding on a sector that offers huge growth opportunities. It’s super important for a contractor to follow […]
The Streetscape Renaissance Project could begin as soon as mid-November, when voters will have decided whether Republican Mayor Mark Boughton or Democratic challenger Chris Setaro will lead them into a new decade. On one hand, more shops and businesses have closed than have opened in recent months — including Danbury Democratic Party chairwoman Andrea Gartner’s […]
Nearly 25 top officials in the Connecticut State Building Trades Council and the state AFL-CIO asked the state House of Representatives and Senate to approve the tolls as soon as possible. The construction of tolls would be a major job-creator, and the union leaders said that the construction industry has not fully recovered from the […]
The city received six responses Tuesday from engineering firms interested in doing the design and engineering for the roundabout project, which would allow for traffic flow in all directions at Main and Franklin streets. The firms, all from Connecticut, will be reviewed by a committee that will select finalists to be interviewed before the city […]
The zoning review is part of a larger Joint Land Use Study, through the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments and funded by the Department of Defense, that is analyzing economic conditions and zoning, as well as housing and transportation needs related to Electric Boat and the sub base, according to the presentation. The town’s recently approved […]
City officials are getting close to a deal that would put a new Bassick High School on the former Harvey Hubbell property on State Street. The new $115 million project — $90 million of which will come from the state — was to be built on the current Fairfield Avenue property but issues arose with […]
Construction crews broke ground Thursday on a small portion of the $664 million border fence project in the Arizona desert that is funded through President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration. Crews plan on installing 30-foot (9-meter) steel fencing to replace older barriers on two miles in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, next to the official […]
The town’s first selectman is alerting residents of upcoming bridge construction on Cream Pot Road this fall. The latest construction schedule from Loureiro has them installing detour signs and starting work Sept. 9, closing the road to through traffic Sept. 11, and opening the road Dec. 7, https://www.middletownpress.com/news/article/Bridge-work-in-Durham-will-run-September-to-14373354.php
Mayor Elinor Carbone and several other city officials gathered in the Mayor’s Office Monday afternoon to announce the launching of the project. The project will create a “civic space” that is aiming to lure residents and others to the area and enhance the prospects of existing and potential future businesses in the immediate area and […]
The state Department of Transportation, now in the surveying and design phase of extending the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail through Plainville, has provided a timetable for three phases of construction. This will finish connecting it to the rest of the 81.2-mile trail, which goes through Connecticut and Massachusetts. http://www.bristolpress.com/BP-Plainville+News/357009/dot-timetable-takes-plainville-trail-project-through-2024
The state Department of Transportation says the report does not take population density into account, which means many of the states with the highest rankings in the report are those with the least population. The average population density of the 10 states receiving the best rankings is 81 people per square mile. Connecticut has 738 […]
The state and its offshore-wind-loving neighbors all face a year-end expiration of a federal tax credit that helps finance these projects – the first major attempts in the U.S. But in Connecticut some problems – including at least one self-inflicted one – could mean forgoing that money. https://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/ct-offshore-wind-may-face-some-rough-seas
Complete Sheet Metal has been leasing 3,600 square feet at 500 Four Rod Road since Berlin native Jeff Michaud founded the business in 2017. Now, Michaud has struck a deal with Coons’ LLC to subdivide and purchase an open 2.4-acre portion of the 22-acre property, where Michaud will construct a new 11,500-square foot building for […]
The plan announced Friday envisions design and construction savings that would reduce the new tunnel’s estimated cost from just over $11 billion to $9.5 billion. Repairing the existing century-old tunnel that was damaged in 2012’s Superstorm Sandy, and is a source of frequent delays due to crumbling infrastructure, would cost about $1.8 billion, or about […]
Norwich Public Utilities has announced the completion of its largest natural gas construction project for the 2019 construction season. During the project, 5,800 feet of natural gas main was replaced along Hamilton Avenue between East Main Street and Smith Avenue. Work on the project, which was completed entirely by NPU employees, began in April and […]
Connecticut ranked 46th overall in Reason’s 2018 highway report. On spending, Connecticut ranks 46th in total spending per mile ($209,157) and 47th in capital and bridge costs per mile ($96,956). Despite its relatively small highway system — it is the nation’s 44th-largest — Connecticut sits in the bottom five in three of Reason’s spending-per-mile categories […]
The Newington Planning and Zoning Commission has approved regulations to allow for a Blue Back Square-type development near the site of a proposed train station on Cedar Street. The commission Aug. 14 approved a zoning code for a Transit Village Design District that covers approximately 64 acres near the proposed train station at 565 Cedar […]
Construction on the building at 8 Linsley St. is finished and the department is fully operational in the renovated building. The renovation of the building cost about $14 million and a new townwide communications project, which included a network built in to the school district, cost roughly $4 million. The renovation will meet the department’s […]
The 24th Annual Highway Report, based on data that states submitted to the federal government, ranks each state’s highway system in 13 categories, including traffic fatalities, pavement condition, congestion, spending per mile, administrative costs and more. Traffic congestion remains about the same from the previous report, with Americans spending an average of 35 hours a […]
Officials are rushing to test Fairfield school and park property for contaminants in connection with an investigation of the town public works yard and the company contracted to run it. But records show that suspected asbestos and broken glass were reported at some of the testing sites as many as five years ago, and no […]
During the demolition process, when the auditorium, music rooms, main office and guidance department areas were knocked down, workers discovered asbestos between the exterior wall of the building and cinder blocks, Gaylord said. Another unforeseen complication arose when the aging electrical wiring for the security and fire systems had to be redone in the “main […]
It’s time for the Democratic leaders of the General Assembly to demonstrate courage, call the Legislature into special session, and enact tolls. They need to stop dithering, and pretending that they need Republican votes. It’s clear that we need to return tolls to Connecticut. It’s time for Democratic leaders to stiffen their spines and get […]
Connecticut officials are looking to bolster the state’s renewable energy portfolio, and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has released a request for proposals seeking up to 2,000 megawatts of offshore wind power. The state already has committed to purchasing 304 megawatts of electricity from the Revolution Wind project, one of the bidders selected […]
Lamont said the two Democrats jumped quickly into the important issues of the day and how they could work collaboratively together to solve mutual problems. The topics included improvements to the Metro-North Commuter Railroad, which connects Connecticut to midtown Manhattan. They also discussed Cuomo’s recent push for “congestion pricing” in Manhattan that allows higher prices […]
Attendees began to gather at around 1 p.m. on Woodland Avenue in what turned out to be a hot, sunny day with clear skies. Michel lead the group down to developer Building and Land Technology headquarters on Elmcroft Road with a Stamford police patrol monitoring nearby. An appeal from the NRZ petitioned the Board of […]
After sparring with legislators for much of the summer, the Lamont administration is sending lawmakers a clear message: Until lawmakers settle on even a short-term plan upgrading Connecticut’s aging infrastructure, other projects will have to wait. Ryan Drajewicz, the governor’s chief of staff, said the governor is standing firm on limiting borrowing for a priority […]
Prevailing wages do not increase the cost of publicly funded construction projects. In those states that have repealed prevailing wage laws, the promise of lower-cost public construction projects never materialized. Casually concluding that eliminating prevailing wage requirements will automatically reduce construction costs is an out-of-touch misconception of today’s economic environment. Prevailing wages create a level […]
At issue is a deal gone bad between Trump and North America’s Building Trades Unions over a Labor Department apprenticeship initiative, the politics of which have grown more complicated since last month’s ouster of Secretary Alexander Acosta. Leaders of the union federation worry that the final version will undermine their own job-training programs and create […]
The replacement of a retaining wall on South Main Street may not actually start until the spring of 2021. The need to replace the wall is due to the collapse of a 15-foot-by-10 foot section of the original stone wall in November 2018. A temporary cinder block wall was installed for safety. DOT officials said […]
When the $92 million Rentschler Field in East Harford opened in 2003, the future seemed bright for the state owned, 40,000-seat football stadium. Today, the stadium is perhaps the state’s most visible example of good intentions gone awry. The building runs deficits most years and this year — for the first time — the state […]
Research shows the zipper — which is a late merge, using both lanes as long as possible, not moving over right away — is often safer and will keep traffic flowing. The problem is, among your fellow drivers, it’s not the most popular move. Traffic engineers recommend the zipper merge not just on super highways, […]
Developers of the 800-MW Vineyard Wind offshore wind project in Massachusetts, set to be the first such utility-scale project in the U.S. and the country’s largest, say they are committed to push through on its $2.8 billion in construction despite a sudden Trump Administration permitting setback. On Aug. 9, the department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy […]
A development project on Franklin Street inched closer to city approval Thursday after the Architectural Review Committee unanimously green-lighted the 60-unit, mixed-use complex. A hearing is set for Sept. 11 during the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. Pennrose wants to have most of the design work completed before the fall deadlines to apply for tax […]
The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) has recaptured $6 million of wages that were illegally withheld from ironworkers and welders from November 2013 to December 2017 by their former employer, Maspeth, New York-based AGL Industries, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Tuesday. This is NYSDOL’s largest wage-theft recovery ever. AGL pleaded guilty to third-degree grand […]
Crashes occur here around the rush hours, as drivers trying to take a right turn from Fenn onto Ella Grasso and others head straight from or onto Holly Drive, where several factories are located. A traffic signal in the intersection has failed to prevent traffic jams and accidents, according to the state Department of Transportation. […]
Inspectors with the Connecticut Department of Labor last week ordered two contractors, ASF Construction of Tarrytown, N.Y., and NB General Construction of Brewster, N.Y., to stop work on Atlantic Station at 405 Atlantic St., where the second of two big apartment towers is going up. Both companies were charged Aug. 7 with failing to provide […]
Gov. Ned Lamont and Democratic legislative leaders repeatedly trumpeted their adoption of a new state budget “on time” in June, noting it gave cities and towns certainty about the grants they could expect. But for the second time in three years, Connecticut cities and towns haven’t received state funding crucial for scheduled summer road repaving […]
Hospital leaders broke ground on the Robert R. Rosenheim Foundation Dialysis Center on the fourth floor of Connecticut Children’s Tuesday morning. They expect to finish construction in six months and soon after begin treating young patients from across the state and region in need of dialysis for kidney failure. The Rosenheim Foundation donated $1.5 million […]
Union Station could be more than it is — a transportation center with a few fast-food shops — with downtown businesses such as Atticus Bookstore Cafe and Crêpes Choupette opening outlets and possibly a boutique hotel operating overhead, according to plans announced Tuesday by city and state officials. The idea is to show off the […]
With groundbreaking scheduled for this fall, the Norwalk Redevelopment Agency approved updated recommendations for phase three of the Washington Village replacement project. Phase one, which is fully occupied according to officials, consisted of 80 apartments split between two buildings, of which 40 are public housing replacement units. Phase two, which is under construction, calls for […]
Crews from Burns Construction have already started this weeks work on New Canaan, Connecticut’s gas expansion construction project to install, and improve the town’s natural gas distribution system, and will continue construction on the project through Friday, Aug. 16, 2019. No work will be done on Saturday. Traffic flow will be maintained where it is […]
The Trump Organization, according to The Washington Post, has used undocumented workers through its Mobile Construction Payroll LLC business unit to perform construction work at its winery and East Coast golf resorts for the last 20 years. The workers in question are from Latin American countries, and one told The Post that his supervisor encouraged […]
Larson said his carbon tax idea would raise more than double the amount of money needed for his proposed ten-year investment. In addition to fixing roads and bridges, carbon-tax money from Larson’s federal proposal would also be spent on energy research, community support, and rebates to low-and-middle class Americans. https://www.wnpr.org/post/larson-continues-push-carbon-tax-congress-massive-tunnel-hartford
The National Coast Guard Museum project planned for the city’s downtown waterfront is expected to enter the first phase of construction early next year. The final design, which was approved by the board earlier this year, features an 80,000-square-foot, five-story, interactive museum that is certified through Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, a widely recognized […]
Workplace injury significantly raises a person’s risk of overdose death or suicide, according to a study co-authored by Boston University researchers and published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine. An injury serious enough to trigger at least one week off from work almost tripled the combined risk of suicide and overdose death among women […]
The city moved swiftly in urging the courts to return control of the land around Dunkin’ Donuts Park to Hartford after a jury last month decided the city was justified in firing the previous builder of the ballpark and the surrounding area, known as Downtown North. The former development partners of Centerplan Construction Co. and […]
While potentially taking years to litigate, the lawsuit is likely to have an immediate political impact in Hartford. It appears geared to raise doubts about the tribes’ ability to legally develop off-reservation casinos or compete for exclusive rights to sports betting in the state. But the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribal nations, the respective owners […]
Mayor Neil M. O’Leary has agreed to sell Green Hub Development the roughly 60,000-square-foot, five-story, “Odd Fellows” building at 36 North Main St. The city claimed it from a New York investor in 2013 for unpaid taxes and utilities. It’s been empty for more than a decade and is in rough shape. At the request […]
Superintendent of Public Works Scott Bartlett and Director of Public Works Joseph Michelangelo were arrested Monday. Bartlett is accused of accepting bribes to allow Julian Enterprises to dump truckloads of material containing lead and PCBs on property adjoining the town’s public works garage on Richard White Way. Jason Julian, co-owner of Julian Enterprises, was arrested […]
An overabundance of surface parking lots in Connecticut’s Capital City has for decades been a drag on development, said Hartford Planning and Zoning Commission Chair Sara Bronin, one of the main proponents of no longer requiring developers to offer parking for newly built projects. Hartford’s high property tax rate — 74.29 mills, by far the […]
The entire rehabilitation project is expected to cost $8.6 million and is fully covered with state bond funding. It is expected to be completed in September, said DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick. The bridges are all classified as poor or serious condition, though only one of the projects is a traditional bridge, according to the state […]
Lamont is calling for Connecticut’s two federally recognized Indian tribes to drop longstanding plans for an East Windsor casino in exchange for sports betting and other enticements, officials said. A source close to the negotiations said the state has discussed selling the troubled XL Center in downtown Hartford to the tribes, who would renovate and […]
Key players in the $93 million public-private investment to establish an offshore wind hub here say the deal has not been delayed by recent shakeups in Connecticut Port Authority leadership. Three months after Gov. Ned Lamont’s May 2 announcement of the deal, state and local officials, State Pier operator Gateway and Danish offshore wind giant […]
