Union, DOT battle over proposed labor bill

Friction has been building for years inside the the state Department of Transportation between top administrators and unionized DOT engineers over the DOT’s increasing use of outside consultants, instead of in-house state-employed engineers, for highway and bridge construction projects.

Now it has burst into public confrontation, ignited by two sparks.

One is a legislative proposal backed by the union for DOT engineers whose ranks have shrunk with state budget cuts. It’s House Bill 5261, the official purpose of which is to “require engineers employed by the Department of Transportation on a full-time basis to inspect highway and bridge construction projects.”

The other igniting element is the distribution by the union (CSEA/SEIU Local 2001) of a flyer supporting H. B. 5261 that features side-by-side pictures: One shows the soon-to-be-renovated Arrigoni Bridge, between Middletown and Portland. The other shows the horrific scene of a pedestrian bridge that collapsed in 2018 at Florida International University in Miami, killing six.

What the two projects have in common, the flyer says, is the Florida-based FIGG Engineering Group.

FIGG Bridge Engineers designed the ill-fated Florida bridge, and has been saddled with major blame in the tragedy by the National Transportation Safety Board.

And FIGG Bridge Inspection has been hired by the state DOT to provide “construction engineering and inspection (CEI) services” for a two-year, $46million renovation of the landmark Arrigoni suspension span over the Connecticut River.

“In Florida, they couldn’t handle the design of this,” the flyer says above the shot of the collapsed bridge. “So Connecticut put them in charge of this,” goes the printing above the Arrigoni Bridge picture.

The flyer dramatized the union’s point.

But the DOT didn’t appreciate the drama.

“To generally advocate for more agency staffing is something we would expect and anticipate [from the union], but this flyer image portrays a false, fearmongering and utterly misleading representation to the public. It needs to be called for what it is — shameful, irresponsible, and just plain wrong,” DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick said Thursday.

According to Nursick, FIGG’s role on the local job is different than on the Florida project. Instead of doing design work, FIGG will provide CEI services including overall quality assurance such as verifying that the construction methods and materials conform with DOT specifications. FIGG’s CEI team for the

KASSI JACKSON PHOTOS/HARTFORD COURANT The Manchester Mall at 811 Main Street has added six businesses recently.

Brandon Farr stands in his shop, “Retro Junk,” while holding a vintage 1989 Donatello Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle at the Manchester Mall. Farr has been leading the charge to try to grow the mall’s appeal.