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Bonding Commission OKs $750K For Hartford Street Work

By JENNA CARLESSO

September 04, 2012

HARTFORD —— The state bond commission has allocated $750,000 for the city to help fund streetscape improvements on Wethersfield Avenue.

The money will fund the first phase of the project, which will renovate a stretch of Wethersfield Avenue between Eaton Street and Victoria Road. It was unclear Tuesday when the construction would begin.

The renovations include new granite curbing, new sidewalks and crosswalks, minor drainage improvements, pavement markings and roadway patches. It also will include the installation of parking bays and curb extensions, or "bulb-outs," which are used to slow traffic and improve pedestrian crossings by widening the sidewalks.

City officials said the project will be done in coordination with the Metropolitan District Commission's sewer separation project. The MDC has pledged to contribute $420,950 toward the Wethersfield Avenue work.

"Improvements to the streetscape of Wethersfield Avenue will not only make the neighborhood more appealing to residents, it will also help the neighborhood's small businesses by bringing in more customers who will support local merchants," Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said in a prepared statement. "With the right investments like this, we can ensure that the revitalization of neighborhoods will also lead to economic growth and job creation."

State Sen. John Fonfara, D-Hartford, said the project would bring several construction jobs to the area while "making the neighborhood more attractive and appealing for residents, merchants and customers."

"In working toward this project, we knew that MDC already planned to tear up Wethersfield Avenue as part of the ongoing city-wide sewer separation effort," Fonfara said. "The timing couldn't be better to make additional improvements to the road."