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Bridge work to bring extended lane closures on part of busy CT highway. See where and when.
Drivers can expect lane closures beginning today, Monday Oct. 6 on a very busy Connecticut bridge. The land closures are due to road work that includes repairs to the Commodore Hull Bridge, which carries Route 8 over the Housatonic River and connects Route 110 in Shelton and Route 34 in Derby, according to the Connecticut Department of Transportation. There will be lane closures on Route 8 northbound and southbound between Exit 12A and Exit 12B from Monday, Oct. 6 to Nov. 21. Two lanes will be maintained during daytime hours, and one lane of traffic will be open at night, according to the DOT. The bridge remains safe to use, according to DOT. The project will be performed by Mohawk Northeast Inc.
Bushnell Park pond restoration nears completion, reopens ahead of Hartford Marathon
A six-month, $3 million restoration of the pond at Bushnell Park has wrapped up just in time for one of downtown Hartford’s biggest annual events. The Bushnell Park Conservancy announced this week that fencing around the pond has been removed and the restoration work is nearly complete, with the area now accessible to the public ahead of Saturday’s Eversource Hartford Marathon. The project, which began in May, addressed decades of sediment accumulation that had compromised the pond’s depth and water quality. Torrington-based Yield Industries completed the work under a $2.94 million contract with the city of Hartford. The reopening comes as Bushnell Park prepares for a series of major events that draw thousands of visitors to downtown Hartford. The marathon on Saturday will showcase the restored pond to participants and spectators from across the region. The park also recently hosted a wedding and the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk on Sunday.
$11M Connecticut Port Authority settlement will close out State Pier project
The Connecticut Port Authority agreed Friday to pay a construction management firm $11.3 million to both close out the $311 million State Pier reconstruction project and settle additional cost disputes at the New London-based heavy-lift port facility. The agreement, which has not been finalized, calls for the authority to release its final payment of $7.3 million to the Kiewit Infrastructure Co., which oversaw the transformation of State Pier into a staging area currently being used to assemble components for offshore wind farms. The authority argued Kiewit was responsible for the cost of project delays related to retaining-wall alignment, heavy-lift platform installation and work on the pier’s south wall. The settlement, once finalized, will prevent any further claims from being filed by either party related to the State Pier work. The settlement does not cover or affect an ongoing civil suit filed by Kiewit subcontractor Blakeslee Arpaia Chapman against both the authority and Kiewit alleging breach of contract, unfair trade practices and other claims. Under Friday’s agreement, Kiewit is set to receive a total of $278.7 million for its State Pier work.
Coast Guard museum bridge bid comes in ‘significantly higher’ than expected
The lone bid package for construction of a pedestrian bridge envisioned to connect a city garage to the incoming National Coast Guard Museum came in “significantly higher” than previously estimated and with a longer-than-anticipated building timeline, project officials said Friday. Plainville-based Manafort Brothers Inc. was the only firm last month to submit a bid for construction of a 400-foot, glass-enclosed walking bridge proposed to run from the Water Street garage to the museum with several entrance and exit towers along its length. The bridge will be turned over to the city once it is complete. The cost of the bridge is not part of the main museum project’s $150 million price tag, which is to be paid with a combination of state and private funding, though association officials are still trying to close a shortfall of up to $48 million. Work on the 89,000-square-foot, six-story building, which continues to rise on the city’s downtown waterfront, is slated to be complete next year.
Government shutdown threatens to stall federal construction projects
Contractors across the country are measuring the potential impact of a government shutdown. A meeting Monday between President Donald Trump and congressional leaders didn’t result in an agreement between the parties. The federal government will shut down Wednesday, Oct. 1, if Congress fails to reach a funding deal. Such a stoppage will freeze construction activity immediately on certain sites, both temporarily and in some cases permanently. The first pain point will be on projects that rely entirely on federal dollars, said Marsia Geldert-Murphey, a former president of the American Society of Civil Engineers and current senior associate at GBA, a Lenexa, Kansas-based AEC firm. Being in a state of limbo would have immediate effects on contracts and supply chains. Prices are locked for only so long, and prolonged delays force suppliers to reprice bids and contractors to remobilize crews at added cost, said Geldert-Murphy. “A prolonged shutdown lasting several months could potentially stunt progress for planning and development of future projects, leading to a disruption to the flow of work on a longer-term horizon,” Richter, the operations vice president, told Construction Dive.
https://www.constructiondive.com/news/government-shutdown-federal-construction-projects/761465/
Trump administration puts on hold $18 billion in funding for New York City infrastructure projects
President Donald Trump ‘s administration, citing the government shutdown, said Wednesday it was putting a hold on roughly $18 billion to fund a new rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey and an extension of the city’s Second Avenue subway. The White House budget director, Russ Vought, said on X that the step was taken due to the Republican administration’s belief the spending was based on unconstitutional diversity, equity and inclusion principles. Amtrak and the NJ Transit commuter rail system referred questions about the White House’s announcement to the Gateway Development Commission, which is overseeing the tunnel project. Commission CEO Thomas Prendergast said the agency remains “focused on keeping the project on scope, schedule and budget.” The Second Avenue subway was first envisioned in the 1920s. The subway line along Manhattan’s Second Avenue was an on-again, off-again grail until the first section opened on Jan. 1, 2017. The MTA is working toward building the line’s second phase, which is to extend into East Harlem.
CT DOT pushes Middletown Route 9 signal project to 2032 amid permit delays
The state Department of Transportation has pushed back the completion date of the Route 9 traffic signal project because of a delay in getting work permits for a roundabout on River Road. Mayor Gene Nocera told the Common Council last month the signal project, originally set to be done in 2027-28, now won’t be completed until 2032. A state Department of Transportation spokesperson said that while the department is aware of the delays in permitting for the roundabout, the design phase for the signal project is on track. The Route 9 signal project is being designed to eliminate dangerous interruptions and confusing entrances and exits onto the highway, DOT officials have said. The plans call for improved access to the city’s waterfront and work to reduce traffic jams from Route 17 to the city’s north end up to the Arrigoni Bridge. Department of Transportation Project Manager Stephen Hall delivered a presentation April 30 on the draft proposal to reconfigure exits. The redesign is estimated to cost $143 million with 80% funded by the federal government and 20% by the state.
Under construction: Tens of millions being invested in downtown Waterbury revival
A transfusion of tens of millions in public and private dollars is being pumped into the historic heart of Waterbury to revitalize the city center as a thriving, desirable place to live, do business and visit for arts, culture and entertainment. The major focus is the Central Business District that encompasses historic downtown Waterbury and the new Freight Street District. It is bounded by the Metro-North Railroad station on Meadow Street and the Freight Street corridor to the west, Interstate 84 to the south, Saint Mary’s Hospital to the east, and to the buildings north of Waterbury Green. The Board of Aldermen approved a $18 million bond issue to support a $28.9 million project to redevelop West Main Street between Route 8 and Riverside Street along the Naugatuck River and the Waterbury Green in the center of downtown. Once the underground utility work is completed, then work can start on a streetscaping project using $9.8 million in federal funding to complete the makeover of West Main Street from Route 8 and Riverside Drive to Waterbury Green, including enhancements to sidewalks, lighting, and roadways. The complete streetscape project is under design and construction is expected to begin in November 2026 and conclude the following year.
Developer to outline $25M redevelopment plan for former Thompson mill site
Robert Letskus of New Haven-based Refined Living LLC has drawn up conceptual plans for a $25 million development including new-construction townhouse condominiums, ground-level commercial units and recreational space on the 33-acre site at 630 Riverside Drive. According to a tax incentive agreement proposed by the town, the development would include 116 residential units, 10% of which would be deemed affordable housing. In addition there would be 9,240 sq. ft. of mixed-used neighborhood commercial units and 5,000 sq. ft. of restaurant or hospitality units. The mill site is one of two former industrial sites that bookend the town. At 929 Riverside Drive, the 750,000-square-foot River Mill has been earmarked for redevelopment into 300 housing units as well as commercial space.
Bridge, tunnel or both? The 90-year struggle to connect Long Island and Connecticut
Several proposals have favored a bridge, dismissing the tunnel concept as too costly to build and maintain. Others have backed a tunnel-only or hybrid design, including a 2017 feasibility study launched by then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Despite the time and effort spent researching the plans, none of them have advanced to the point of construction, hampered by concerns over cost (about $50 billion, according to the 2017 study), environmental harm and a lack of political support. It remains to be seen whether Steven Shapiro, the Easton developer and project’s latest steward, can bring it to fruition. For a Sound crossing, Perez said he envisions crews working from barges to drive pre-assembled concrete piles into the seafloor at shallower depths, since deeper foundations are typically more complex and costly. Another option is to build an underwater tunnel using a tunnel boring machine. Sometimes called a “worm” or a “mole,” these massive cylindrical machines would eat through soil and rock beneath the Sound’s floor and spit it out through a pipe on the other side, where it would be transported to the surface on a conveyor belt. As it excavates, the machine would install pre-cast concrete sections to form the tunnel’s lining.
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