American Bridge Company (AB) is rehabilitating the East Haddam Swing Bridge, which carries Route 82 over the Connecticut River and links the towns of Haddam and East Haddam, for the Connecticut
Department of Transportation (CTDOT). The total project cost is $78.4 million, with the AB contract valued at $55.2 million.
The bridge that was constructed in 1913 by American
see BRIDGE page 12
Over the next 10 to 15 years, Yale University will expand its School of Engineering & Applied Science (SEAS) campus presence through a construction overhaul of lower Hillhouse Avenue in New Haven, Conn.
The prestigious university intends to launch several major construction projects in the Hillhouse area, reported Yale News, the nation’s oldest college daily newspaper, on Feb. 26. Yale Provost Scott Strobel and SEAS Dean Jeffrey Brock revealed the school’s plans to the university’s engineering
faculty in a recent meeting.
The project will take place on sites already owned and occupied by Yale and will include the construction of a new SEAS quadrangle on the east side of Hillhouse Avenue. To accommodate the new facilities, the university will demolish Mason Laboratory, Helen Hadley Hall, and the southern portion of Dunham Laboratory. The scheme also will reorganize SEAS faculty offices by research focus rather than
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Ambrose Equipment has been named the Top Performing dealer in several categories by LeeBoy for 2022, including:
• Top Performing Product Support Dealer;
• Top Performing Tack Tank Sales Dealer; and
• 2022 Outstanding Dealer Award.
This is the 30th consecutive year LeeBoy has recognized Ambrose Equipment with top performance awards. Ambrose Equipment is the authorized LeeBoy dealer in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, with locations in Hooksett, N.H., and Middleborough, Mass.
Founded in 1986, Ambrose Equipment has focused exclusively on the needs of the asphalt contractor for more than 35 years. According to Brandon Lothrop, sales manager, “That single focus is largely the reason for our tremendous success with the LeeBoy product.
“Every day the only focus of our employees is asphalt and how to do a better job supporting our customers who are in the business of laying asphalt. That is very unique. Most dealers are also in the dirt moving business which puts a lot more on their plate.
“Our singleness of purpose pays off and it shows up in our numbers. We have been the number-one LeeBoy dealer in the country for many years. That single focus allows us to have the right equipment inventory, the proper parts inventory and the properly trained staff to support our customers like nobody else.”
In January 2022, Ambrose Equipment was acquired by the publicly held company, Alta Equipment Group Inc.
“This acquisition further strengthened our position in the market and has allowed us to grow exponentially,” Lothrop said. “Being a part of a publicly traded company has given us the resources to make an even greater commitment to inventory, employees, and facilities.”
According to Jeff Lothrop, vice president, “A huge part of our success is our dedicated and loyal employees who put in
the time and make the commitment to make Ambrose Equipment the top LeeBoy dealer in the United States. Some have been with us for decades, and without their dedication we would never achieve the level of success that we reach each year.”
To further support its paving contractors Ambrose Equipment also offers paving equipment from Rosco, Dynapac compaction, Roadtec, Salsco and Ray-Tech.
SES will represent Portafill USA in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island from its Meriden, Conn., location.
Simplicity Equipment & Service (SES) has been tapped by Portafill USA to represent its complete line of mobile aggregate line of heavy equipment including crushers, screeners and conveyors.
Based in Ireland, Portafill manufactures a full range of rugged mobile screening equipment that is distributed worldwide. Over the years, the Portafill brand has become synonymous with quality, reliability and durability, according to the manufacturer.
All Portafill equipment is designed to be easily transportable.
SES will represent Portafill USA in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island from its Meriden, Conn., location.
“With the addition of Portafill, we now have a full range of both compact and large aggregate equipment to offer customers,” said Joe Collazo, Simplicity’s general manager. “We are excited about this addition, which will help us broaden our customer base and allow us to establish relationships with smaller contractors and suppliers that could potentially grow into needing larger and higher volume equipment.”
Founded by Desmond Rafferty in 1993 and celebrating 25 years in business, Portafill is still a family-run and managed business now employing more than 70 employees. Focusing primarily on compact crushers and screeners, Portafill has developed a versatile range that has a superb reputation worldwide.
Simplicity Engineering, now Simplicity Equipment & Service, was founded in 1997 with Ryan Cullen acquiring ownership in 2020. The firm offers other name-brand equipment such as Komptech, R. D. Olson, Indeco Breakers, Corrosion Engineering, Dymax, and MGL Engineering. Besides also renting heavy equipment, Simplicity has beefed up its mobile service department with several new professionals and a new fleet of mobile service vehicles. SE offers service on all makes and models in its shop and on job sites.
For more information, call 800/553-6190 or visit www.SimplicityNE.com.
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YALE from page 1
department.
The news follows Yale’s announcement last year to establish SEAS as an autonomous faculty body with 30 new faculty members. The expansion, which will raise the SEAS faculty size to 122, chiefly aims to add faculty in computer science — the most popular major among engineering undergraduates and an area that has historically lacked institutional support — and materials science.
“We envision something that reflects both the history and heritage of Yale’s campus but also makes a bold statement about modern, forward-looking engineering for the future,” Brock told the News. “We’ll see spaces that are organized around new centers of activity, initiatives and research directions, in addition to things like collaborative spaces and [room] for innovation, makerspaces and entrepreneurship.”
Brock said the plan was guided by the 2021 SEAS strategic vision report, which recommended that the university organize campus space by “research and teaching priorities rather than by department.” Yale has taken this organizational approach in several other recent facilities projects, including Kline Tower and 100 College Street.
The benefits of reorganization extend beyond facilitating research, biomedical engineering professor James Duncan told the News, in that it may also help SEAS recruit new faculty members.
“The construction/renovation plans will create new and updated space that will greatly enhance both our teaching and our research activities,” Duncan wrote in email to the News. “As noted in the announcement, the new lower
Hillhouse space will be organized around research priorities, which will help us when recruiting new faculty and working with colleagues across SEAS.”
A prominent feature of the plan is the new SEAS quad, which will be constructed on the eastern side of lower Hillhouse Avenue, where 17 Hillhouse Ave., Mason Laboratory and Helen Hadley Hall now stand. The quad, Strobel explained, will be open to Hillhouse Avenue and ringed by modern lab spaces.
The building project also seeks to modernize existing engineering buildings, including the Becton Center, Dunham Laboratory and Arthur K. Watson Hall, he added. Many such buildings are over a century old and were not designed for engineering teaching or research. For example, 17 Hillhouse Ave. was built to be Yale’s health center.
Strobel said that the choice to build engineering facilities in the heart of the campus was not an accident. Rather, it reflects Yale’s plan to make SEAS “the engineering school that’s most integrated with the rest of its university.”
The first step of the plan, which will begin this summer, is to convert Kirtland Hall into flexible classroom space to accommodate classes that would have taken place in the buildings being renovated or demolished. The structure currently houses the psychology department, which will move to 100 College Street.
Next will be to design two new buildings: one at the corner of Trumbull Street and Hillhouse Avenue, the other at the current site of Helen Hadley Hall. Strobel said these projects are “probably still a year or two out.”
In addition to the lower Hillhouse construction, the uni-
versity will simultaneously begin construction of the new physical sciences and engineering building at the north end of campus.
“I would say the motivation is not merely to accommodate growth,” Brock told the campus news source. “We’ve seen a huge increase in [student] demand [for engineering], and, as we’ve moved to accommodate that, we’ve realized that we really need state-of-the-art facilities to recruit top faculty and sort of signal to the world that Yale is ready to lead in this area.”
He noted that facilities are absolutely central to the recruiting process.
“Being able to bring in top faculty from other institutions or … faculty that are new PhDs requires that we offer them first-rate [labs] that are integrated with the campus.”
Students and faculty in Yale’s computer science program have long called for upgrades to the “outdated” Arthur K. Watson Hall, which currently houses the department. Several professors have said that the department’s sub-par facilities greatly impact its ability to attract world-class researchers and faculty members.
Yale’s decision to build the new School of Engineering & Applied Science quad will, it claimed, aid the university’s “broad effort to address grand challenges of the 21st century,” like climate change and sustainable development.
“To support a generation of researchers focused on mitigating climate change, the growth of the SEAS department[s] must align with more rigorous sustainability goals and designs for infrastructural development,” Saachi Grewal, an applied physics student, told the Yale News.
Sugarloaf, the popular ski area in westcentral Maine’s Carrabassett Valley, is starting work on what is being called the largest development project on the resort’s properties in 25 years, Mainebiz reported Feb. 16.
An estimated $104 million expansion of Sugarloaf’s West Mountain is designed to increase the resort’s skiable acreage by 10 percent. Logging already is under way for a new lift and an additional 12 alpine trails covering 120 acres.
The picturesque ski area, which is owned
by Michigan-based Boyne Resorts, has received a provisional notification from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to start logging on the 450-acre West Mountain site. It also has received approvals from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.
Sugarloaf officials said the expansion will be ready by the latter half of the 2023-24 season.
Sugarloaf General Manager Karl Strand called the expansion “a transformative project.”
“This is the most significant development project at Sugarloaf since the SuperQuad was built in the mid-1990s,” he said.
For many ski areas, there is a growing premium on getting people to the top in an efficient way, Mainebiz noted.
Sugarloaf officials hope they have found a better way to get snow enthusiasts up its slopes more quickly and safely.
The added trails will be served by a new Bucksaw Express high-speed chairlift. The quad lift will transport skiers and snowboarders from the base near West Mountain Road up to Bullwinkle’s Restaurant.
The Bucksaw Express, built by the Austrian company Doppelmayr, is a highspeed detachable quad that will span 6,574 ft., and rise 1,433 vertical feet up the mountain. In addition, it will feature a 775-hp engine capable of running at an expected speed of 1,000 ft. per minute and serve a capacity of 2,400 skiers per hour. According to Sugarloaf, the estimated ride time on the new lift is six minutes, 53 seconds.
The new trails will mix beginner and intermediate terrain; in all, the West Mountain will have some 300 acres of
developed trails and glades.
Work on the ski trails will last into the middle of this year, Sugarloaf announced. Snowmaking infrastructure will be installed on most of the new trails this summer, with the remaining infrastructure to be installed in summer 2024.
But Sugarloaf’s West Mountain expansion would not be complete without housing, Mainebiz noted.
The project approvals also clear the way for residential real estate development on the mountain, and the resort expects to soon begin the sales process of the first residential lots. The new development will be the first opportunity for buyers to design their own ski-in/ski-out home at Sugarloaf in nearly 20 years, according to the resort.
The proposed development could include up to 224 new housing units, with a mix of single-family lots, duplex townhomes and condominiums.
West Mountain’s new properties will be developed and listed exclusively by Mountainside Real Estate, the official realty agency of Sugarloaf.
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Bridge is a four-span structure with a west-east orientation. It consists of a fixed deck truss in Span 1, a fixed through truss in Span 2 and a moveable through truss swing span (Spans 3 and 4).
“This project involves a major rehabilitation of the structural, mechanical and electrical components of the bridge,” said Josh Morgan, CTDOT spokesperson. “A cantilevered sidewalk is being added to the south side of the bridge and approach sidewalks are being constructed, as requested by the towns. Once the bridge rehabilitation is completed, it will provide safety, access and operations for vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists; a safe crossing of the Connecticut River for vehicles and pedestrians traveling on Route 82; and extend service life and improve swing operation reliability.
“The bridge was rehabilitated in 1988, 1998, 1999 and 2007,” he added. “Due to significant swing-span operation problems, an emergency repair project was completed in 2016. Inspections by CTDOT’s bridge safety and evaluation unit determined that the bridge is in poor condition, primarily due to the deterioration of its superstructure.”
The project includes the replacement of Span 1 deck stringer and Span 2 deck and floor system, truss strengthening repairs on all spans, substructure modifications and patching, new bridge and approach rails that meet standards, operator house repairs, replacement of the generator house roof, major mechanical system upgrades, full replacement of the electrical system (including replacement of power, control and operator house telecommunication submarine cables).
A cantilevered 6-ft.-wide fiber reinforced polymer deck sidewalk structure attached to the south side of the bridge is proposed. It will connect to approach sidewalks that will extend on the west side to Little Meadow Road and on the east side to the delivery driveway at the Goodspeed Opera House.
Planning for the project goes back several years and CTDOT has held several public meetings to discuss the project. State and federal funds are financing the project.
The design was completed in 2021. Construction began in fall 2022 and should be completed in spring 2025. The project was designed by CTDOT and Hardesty & Hanover.
Some challenges include the environment surrounding the swing bridge. The Connecticut River is a natural habitat for marine life and osprey nests on the bridge truss. There are limited access points to the structure, plus marine access and vehicular traffic needs to be maintained to minimize impacts. After the project is completed, the service life of the bridge is extended 30 years.
To complete the work, 25 63-hour road closure periods with a detour of traffic have been proposed to facilitate deck and floor beam replacement in Spans 1 and 2. The signed detour route is 30 mi. long and uses the Baldwin Bridge on I-95. Overnight road closures and alternating one-way traffic patterns are helping the construction effort.
Measures also include signalized alternating one-way traffic patterns for approximately 23 weeks over the course of the three years of construction. For certain periods, the swing bridge will not be operational.
“We’re ensuring that residents and business owners are informed of construction schedules and potential impacts in advance of any closures through the project website, e-mail communication, text alerts and social media posts,” said Morgan. “Through live traffic cameras on the project website, the public can also see construction and traffic impacts
in real time.”
The construction zone runs from Little Meadow Road, continues over the ridge, and ends west of the Goodspeed Opera House.
In early February, road work took place in Haddam with American Bridge crews continuing with retaining wall construction along the southside of Route 82 and bridge abutment rehabilitation. Bridge work-wise, west abutment and Pier 1 repairs are ongoing, as well as containment setup, followed by surface prep and priming on Spans 1 and 2; installation of an overhead moveable crane on Span 2; steel priority repairs on Span 1 and 2; and repair work of the swing span mechanical system to return full functionality to swing operations.
The work is presenting many challenges.
“There is a lot of work to get done in a short amount of time” said Davin Hazirjian, AB’s project manager. “Getting the initial submittals in early on was important to avoid problems with long lead time items like submarine cable and many of the mechanical components, which are forged and then machined. We are on schedule and staying ahead on our planning and procurement. We’re happy with the progress and it has been a very collaborative relationship with CTDOT and their design team.
“We are about 30 miles inland from the coast, so the soil is mostly sand, but this has not presented any issues,” he added. “Utilities are always a challenge, both overhead and underground, but the providers here in Connecticut have been very good to work with, and responsive in getting things moved as needed on occasion. As is typical with a rehabilitation project on an old steel bridge, lead in the paint is a factor. All the proper precautions and measures are being undertaken as part of our Lead Health and Safety Plan (LHASP) to protect our workers while they abate this hazard.
Crews were working throughout the winter.
“Temperatures don’t get too extreme in Connecticut, and our union labor force is used to working in the elements all year round,” said Hazirjian. “Ice flows in the river are the biggest weather-related impact we will need to plan for in the winter. We’ve planned our work to utilize a top-down approach where we have very little need for marine equipment, which minimizes our exposure. It’s a two-lane bridge that carries vehicles in 12-foot lanes, which will be squeezed down to 6-inch shoulders when the temporary bridge rails are up. Working in single-lane closures is tight. Off the bridge, on the east approach, is tight due to the sharp curve and the proximity of the bridge to an Opera House situated on the banks of the river. Besides that, we have been fortunate to procure two decent-sized laydown yards for materials, equipment and offices.
“Our relationship with the client has been top notch,” he added. “Open lines of communication have been steady since the award date. They coordinate conference calls and meetings to help resolve technical issues with their design engineers. And commercial-related items are handled very professionally and timely. It’s been a pleasure.”
The plan of attack for the road and bridge work is a topdown approach.
“All bridge work will be accomplished with equipment either on land or on the bridge, with nothing in the water with the exception of the dredging for submarine cables,” said Hazirjian. “Laborers are working on the earthwork along both approaches, as well as substructure concrete work with
Home-improvement
giant Lowe’s and online home-goods retailer Wayfair will occupy two massive warehouses, totaling 2.5 million sq. ft., already under construction in East Hartford, Conn., various sources confirmed to the Hartford Business Journal (HBJ).
Newton, Mass.-based National Development bought 300 acres at the former Rentschler Field airport property from Raytheon Technologies in a $78.47 million deal sealed in January.
Ground was broken at the building site March 6.
HBJ reported that the developer spent more than a year working with local officials to design and obtain permitting for the two logistics properties and two,
100,000-sq.-ft. advanced manufacturing buildings.
Wayfair confirmed it is planning to occupy a 1.2million-sq.-ft. facility in the East Hartford business park in late 2024. The retailer told HBJ its new distribution center will help the company scale its fulfillment offerings for suppliers and strengthen the shopping experience for customers in greater New England.
Lowe’s recently issued a statement confirming it will occupy a 1.3-million-sq.-ft. bulk distribution center at the Rentschler Field site by fall 2024. It is the company’s latest in a series of distribution network expansions announced since 2020. The warehouse space will make daily shipments of bulky items, like riding mowers, and replenish more than 119 stores across the Northeast, Lowe’s said.
Ed Marsteiner confirmed the two companies have signed long-term leases at the Rentschler Field site. The logistics buildings are part of the project’s up to $300 million first phase. The developer is still wooing hightech or specialty manufacturing tenants for the project’s second phase, he told HBJ.
Construction of those smaller, but more complex properties, could cost
between $40 million to $50 million, Marsteiner estimated.
Site work on the Rentschler Field logistics properties began shortly after National Development’s land purchase, he noted, and that the construction of both buildings is expected to be completed in summer 2024.
Missouri-based ARCO National Construction was hired to build the first phase of the development. Foundations will be poured in March, with vertical construction likely beginning in May or June, according to Marsteiner.
National Development predicts the building project’s first phase will support up to 400 construction jobs, while the Wayfair and Lowe’s facilities will eventually employ more than 1,000 people.
“This project from day one has been a catalyst for economic development and really the rebuilding of an ecosystem out here for the town of East Hartford,” Marsteiner explained. “You need an employment center to encourage residential development, to support amenities.”
In speaking with HBJ, he praised East Hartford Mayor
Michael Walsh, along with local and state officials who welcomed the project, adding that the trust created during the planning process has primed National Development to seek other projects in the area.
“It’s been a great experience for us down here,” Marsteiner said. “Once you establish that trust, it sets the stage for it being easier to accomplish future projects. So, our goal would be to find opportunities, certainly in East Hartford, and the surrounding area.”
Walsh said recently he had long been confident in the project.
“I was certain of this development in March of 2022,” he explained to HBJ. “Not everything that gets sketched out on paper comes true but this one makes sense to me and we welcomed it with open arms.”
Originally a military airfield built in 1933, Rentschler Field later became a private corporate airport until its decommissioning in 1999. Shortly afterward, part of the site was used to build the University of Connecticut’s football facility, Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field. In late 2021, it was announced that the undeveloped remainder of Rentschler Field, was acquired from Raytheon Technologies by National Development.
the carpenters. Painters are on the bridge abating the steel by blasting and painting. The Ironworkers are right behind them doing steel repairs. The electricians have work all over the bridge and are able to bounce around un-interrupted due to the Safespan access below deck.”
Safespan is a proprietary/brand name suspended scaffold system.
Equipment-wise, crews are using a Caterpillar 322 wheeled excavator, a Volvo L60H wheeled loader, a Liebherr LTM 1055-3.2 mobile crane, a custom built 25-ton gantry crane built by Moye Handling and telehandlers — a JLG 450AJ and a Genie Z45. Add to this a Tadano GR-150XL hydraulic crane.
Planning is ongoing for upcoming work.
“Our team is constantly planning ahead so that we maintain our schedule and can proactively identify any potential challenges that may arise,” said Hazirjian. “Again, we’re working closely with the owner, which has been a very collaborative, positive experience for us.”
Supply chain issues were factored into the planning.
“The biggest concern was procuring submarine cable and machinery components, but those seem to be in the rear-view mirror now,” said Hazirjian. “There doesn’t seem to be supply issues with fiberglass reinforced polymer [FRP], though we do see some volatility in that market. Paint may be in issue, specifically with the zinc-based primers and then also with the pigments for the color in the topcoat finishes.”
The AB management team includes a project manager, a project superintendent, project engineers, field engineers, a quality control manager, a safety representative and office manager, and interns/co-ops.
“The team is hard working and supportive,” said Hazirjian. “We put in a lot of hours, and that won’t be slowing down for a
while. But in those hours, there is plenty of laughing and camaraderie with one another. You have to keep it light when you can, especially when you’re spending more time at work with your team than you are at home with family. You can tell the surrounding community is close-knit and while we know this project is a big change for them, the community has been really welcoming to our team.
“We brought in some key foreman from previous projects to head up the first few crews,” he added. “Everyone else has come from the local union halls, which has turned into a great group that are performing well and in a very safe and professional manner.”
On busy days, there are approximately 13 AB employees and about six to 10 subcontractor employees on site. Regional and local subcontractors are aiding the effort.
Demolition and excavation activities should generate concrete, 500 tons of steel, asphalt, earth and rock.
New materials consist of structural steel, grid deck, soldier piles, micropiles, UHPC, bridge machinery/mechanical components, submarine cable, bridge rail (four-rail), FRP deck panels, and bridge balance blocks.
Thus far, maintenance issues have been minimal.
AB is renting all the equipment being used, which is being supplied by H.O. Penn, Sunbelt Rentals, United Rentals and Bay Crane.
“The dealerships have all been very helpful,” said Hazirjian. “They have some great sales reps up here. We have corporate accounts with just about all of the dealerships mentioned, so it’s just a matter of meeting the local rep when we come on to a project in a new market. They make it very easy because they are always willing to go above and beyond to get our business and keep us calling back the next time.” CEG
