Work Begins On Replacing Two Aging Bridges Over I-95 in West Haven, Conn.
Gov. Ned Lamont announced in April that the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) had begun construction on a major project along Interstate 95 in West Haven to replace two aging bridges and improve traffic flow in the area.
The bridges, which are each more than 70 years old, carry I-95 over 1st Avenue and the Metro-North Railroad train tracks. The new structures are designed to have a minimum
service life of 75 years, significantly improving long-term safety and reliability.
In addition to replacing the bridges, the project includes extending the southbound lane from I-95 Exit 44 to create a continuous travel lane, which will ultimately serve as an exitonly lane for Exit 43. The goal of these improvements is to reduce congestion, enhance traffic flow and improve safety
Portland’s Proposed Old Port Square
Work
Would Include Maine’s Tallest Building
A project that combines significant construction with revitalization already under way on existing structures is envisioned under a unified brand in Portland, Maine’s Old Port neighborhood.
Dubbed Old Port Square, the project is led by East Brown Cow, a Portland developer; and Boston’s Safdie Architects, according to a May 7, 2025, report by Mainebiz.
The four-acre site is bounded by Middle, Union,
Sales Auction Company Holds Spring Sale in Windsor Locks
Sales Auction Company held its 16th annual Spring two-day sale in Windsor Locks, Conn., May 2 and 3, 2025.
Due to an extremely large number of consignments, Day 1 featured two simultaneous timed auction rings, providing bidders with the opportunity to secure deals on a wide range of heavy machinery and equipment, including wheel load-
ers, excavators, skid steers, aerial lifts, lawn mowers and more.
Day 2 hosted a live auction with 441 lots, accommodating the massive inventory.
The auction was the largest to date at the company’s Windsor Locks facility. Highlights of the auction included a 2018 Wirtgen 220i tracked cold planer that sold for
The auction featured an extensive selection of heavy equipment in a variety of sizes, catering to the needs of contractors across all industries.
Auctioneers Andy White (in truck) and Kevin Teets keep the suction moving quickly and smoothly.
$370,000 and a 2017 Cat 938M wheel loader that went for $90,000.
Sales Auction Company’s next two-day sale will be held on June 12 and 13, 2025, at 51 Lawnacre Road in Windsor Locks, Conn. CEG
(All photographs in this article are Copyright 2025 Construction Equipment Guide. All Rights Reserved.)
The event drew a record-breaking crowd, with attendees traveling from all over the Northeast.
(L-R): Thomas Silva, Joseph Clough and Robert Bernier, all of R&D Towing, are ready to bid on equipment.
Terry Stacy (L), owner of Stacy’s Excavating in Vermont, and Bob Butler, owner of Butler Company in Windsor, Conn., check out equipment during the Sales Auction Company Spring sale.
(L-R) are Sergiy of Alliance Home Improvement in Chicopee, Mass.; Vinney of J.R. & Sons; and David Raposo of J.R. & Sons in Westport, Mass.
Casey Kurtz (L) and Josh Kurtz, both of Kurtz Excavating in Charlestown, N.H., are looking for some deals at the auction.
Brendan Gillespi (L), truck driver of Correia Excavators in Manchester, Conn., and Tyler Fricke, owner/operator of Fricke’s Field Services in East Granby, Conn.
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Ayer Voters to Consider Funding for $13M Senior Center
A brand new senior center could be in near future for the small town of Ayer, Mass., if voters support it.
According to a project proposal headed for town meeting this fall, the plans call for construction of a 14,000-sq.-ft., farmhousestyle building with senior-friendly features and fixtures.
The new center is slated to be built on a 3-acre site on Bishop Road in Ayer, northwest of Boston.
If the measure passes at the town meeting and voters back it at the ballot box in late October 2025, taxpayers will pay part of the bill for the estimated $13 million project, covered in part by a $10 million municipal bond, the Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise reported April 10, 2025.
Katie Petrossi, who serves as the town’s council on aging director, sketched out the projected scenario if the plan is approved. Based on the bond amount, she said, the average tax bill would go up by about $145 annually for the 20-year loan period. Contributions from other sources are expected to close the funding gap.
For example, Ayer municipal officials have agreed to kick in cash from existing accounts and the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) — which oversees the town’s community preservation act nest egg and recommends projects for funding — has also pledged support.
Petrossi told the Fitchburg news outlet that the CPC also has agreed “verbally” to bankroll the installation of pickle board courts outside the building.
Additional funding sources include Community Development Block grant funds and state budget earmarks. The newly-formed Friends of the Ayer Senior Center has launched a fundraising effort as well.
New Senior Center to Be Much More Spacious Than Old
Designed by Catlin Architecture, the proposed building promises an array of amenities, programs and activities for Ayer’s senior citizens, a group that Petrossi said is projected to total 35 percent of the community’s population in 10 years.
“America is aging … [the] turnouts at senior centers are larger” she said.
The envisioned Ayer Senior Center construction, while still a couple of years in the future if voters greenlight the project, would be a giant step up from the center’s current quarters, a 1,700-sq.-ft. rented space in the basement of a senior apartment complex near Pirone Park that consists of one room divided into sections, according to the Sentinel & Enterprise.
In a recent interview with the newspaper, Petrossi traced the project’s trajectory thus
• Senior-friendly stairs with modified risers, designed to ease stress on joints.
• Color contrasts are to be applied inside that people with low vision will appreciate.
• A coffee bar and seating areas, a monitor wall, a seethru and a two-sided fireplace in a quiet, parlor-like area, as well as a lounge, recreation room and a glass divider that allows newcomers to scope out what is going on next door before venturing in.
• Meeting rooms that can accommodate local boards and committees after hours.
• One hundred parking spaces and an eye-pleasing exterior that makes the senior center look more like a house than a facility.
far and highlighted the value-added benefits of the proposed new building.
Without a full “commercial” kitchen and no space to add one in the current facility, meals cannot be prepared in the office for the director and staff at the senior center. The daily lunch menu is mostly take-out delivered from local restaurants. While the service is convenient and the food is good, Petrossi said, cooking in versus ordering out is more economical and can offer healthier choices.
Space also is a big issue at the present. In a large, dedicated building, though, offices could be sized and situated to fit the senior center’s uses and different activities could go on at the same time — meditation in one room, for example, Zumba in another.
Renovated and redecorated a couple of
years ago, Petrossi said, the space that the center has rented since the 1980s cannot accommodate a full house or the expanded roster of programs, activities and services the proposed new building could offer. Parking is also limited at the current location.
Besides a kitchen, the proposed new Ayer Senior Center’s specialized features include:
• A “hearing loop” under the floor in the main activity room for folks with hearing aids. The technology is designed to link with hearing devices so wearers do not need to turn up the volume while in the room.
• A hub and spoke design will be applied to the new building to assist with mobility and make the space “more inviting,” Petrossi said.
In looking for a plot of land to build upon, Ayer officials narrowed their list of choices to a pair of town-owned sites — an Ayer-Shirley Regional High School parcel on Washington Street and municipal land on Bishop Road. In the end, the search committee chose the latter, a 3-acre, wooded lot across from the Ayer department of public works’ brush disposal area, part of a much larger parcel owned by the town.
The project’s architectural plan has already been vetted by town officials, reviewed by town boards and presented at several public forums, Petrossi said. Beyond the initial costs for design and construction, she acknowledged that with more staff and building maintenance, the operating budget will increase; however, she added that that has been accounted for and figured into the overall project.
Town of Ayer render
A brand new senior center could be built in the near future for the small town of Ayer, Mass.
Town of Ayer render
According to a project proposal headed for a town meeting this fall, the plans call for construction of a 14,000-sq.-ft., farmhouse-style building with senior-friendly features and fixtures.
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New Hampshire Good Roads Assoc. Elects Board of Directors
The New Hampshire Good Roads Association, a statewide nonprofit association founded in 1904 to represent individuals and businesses involved in the state’s transportation infrastructure, announced the results of the election of officers and directors for 2025-’26. The election was held at the organization’s annual meeting on April 10, 2025, at the Grappone Conference Center, Concord, N.H.
Officers elected were:
President — Will Hess, Hess Engineering & Construction Consultants, Ashland; Vice President — Brett Merrill, Hews Company, Bow; Treasurer — Ron Ciotti, Hinckley Allen, Manchester; and Past President — Adam Bates, Weaver Brothers Construction Co., Bow.
Directors elected were:
Marisa DiBiaso, Hoyle Tanner, Portsmouth; Andy Key, D.R. Key Corp., Lebanon; Patrick L’Heureux, Severino Trucking Company, Candia; Chris Robert, E.D. Swett, Inc., Concord; Doug Seyler, B2W Software, Portsmouth; Meghan Theriault, Town of Gilford, Gilford; and Bill Wright, Camerota Truck Parts, Bow.
The New Hampshire Good Roads Association encourages the development of a safe, efficient and environmentally sound highway transportation system in New Hampshire.
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Construction Work Begins On New Bridge in Jaffrey, N.H.
Work has officially begun on what is expected to be a multiyear project to connect the two halves of U.S. Highway 202 through the southern New Hampshire town of Jaffrey.
The municipal parking lot on Blake Street is now empty of cars to make way for heavy-duty construction equipment as crews work on creating the abutments for the new bridge to span the Contoocook River.
The Ledger-Transcript in nearby Peterborough, N.H., reported on May 6, 2025, that the total project includes the construction of two new roundabouts, one at the five-way intersection of N.H. Highway 124, U.S. 202/Peterborough Street, Stratton Road, Blake Street and Main Street, connected by a newly constructed bridge over the Contoocook River to a second roundabout that will be built at U.S. 202/River Street.
The bridge makes up the first phase of the construction, which began in April 2025. The entire project is expected to take approximately three years, concluding in May 2028.
Jo Anne Carr, Jaffrey’s planning and economic development director, told the Ledger-Transcript that work on the new bridge will mainly take place weekdays between the hours of 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., with the possibility of some weekend activity.
The Blake Street parking lot is a former brownfield site, where Carr said construction will include the removal of soil, meaning residents will likely see trucks hauling dirt from the site.
Jaffrey municipal officials are providing up-to-date information about the project on the town’s Facebook page.
In the most-recent update on April 25, work was ongoing to build the support frame for the bridge, with drilling for abutments expected to start in the first week of May.
“I’m pretty excited about it,” said Carr about the start of the street and bridge project, which has been in the planning phases for several years.
Transforming Beautiful Downtown Jaffrey
The purpose of the project is to address the traffic congestion and safety related deficiencies associated with the current configuration of the U.S. 202 dogleg intersections of Main Street with Peterborough Street and Main Street with River Street, while enhanc-
ing pedestrian mobility and supporting the quality of life and the economic vitality of Jaffrey’s downtown.
The town has been working with Toole Design in Boston and the New Hampshire Division of Historic Resources to create a number of aesthetic improvements to the downtown — to occur at the same time as the roadway construction — and to plan some new signage, including those with historical information about Jaffrey.
Among the other goals are creating a “welcome park” in the former location of the Lab n’ Lager to serve as a gathering space.
“It’s coming along nicely, and really will be transformative for the downtown,” said Carr.
One of the new bridge’s origins is on Blake Street at what is now is a municipal parking lot. The lot is closed in order to serve as a staging area for the construction, the Peterborough news source noted.
The bridge is to be made of concrete, with a black rail to match the current downtown aesthetics, as well as ornamental lights. In addition, it will include a sidewalk and a bike lane on each of its sides, along with two vehicle travel lanes.
The first phase also includes improvements to the three-block-long Blake Street. Construction of the bridge is expected to be complete in June 2025, along with work to improve the U.S. 202/River Street side of the structure.
Those efforts will be the extent of 2025’s construction, with upgrades to the River Street roundabout and improvements to Stratton Road slated for 2026. The five-way roundabout and Turnpike Road improvements should start at the end of 2026 before finishing in June 2027, according to the Ledger-Transcript.
Final roundabout improvements, landscaping, paving and striping would wrap up in the spring of 2028.
Also, as part of the project, the town of Jaffrey expects to move forward with some municipal pedestrian repairs to sidewalks, including on Peterborough Street.
Town of Jaffrey map
