Explosives engineer Mike Rodriguez was in a bright orange sweatshirt and a hard hat as he led a group of 14 aspiring engineers through the blasting site on the northbound side of Interstate 95 that has eroded 800 feet of ledge over the past three months. The site is part of a four-and-a-half year highway reconstruction project being pitched Wednesday to the East Lyme High School engineering class as a $148 million project generating more than $30 million annually. It’s overseen by Plainville-based general contractor Manafort Brothers of Plainville and engineering firm GM2 of Glastonbury. Resident Engineer Robert Obey, of GM2, said as many as 60 contractors and subcontractors work daily in multiple areas across the 1.3-mile project span from Exit 73 to just south of Exit 75. Inspection staff account for another 15 jobs. Obey said the initial blasting project, estimated at six-to-eight weeks when it began on Aug. 1, took down a looming wall of ledge to make room for a wider highway.
https://www.theday.com/local-news/20231101/i-95-blasting-engineer-turns-over-detonator-to-next-generation-in-east-lyme/