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Supercharger - Greenwich CT - Merritt Parkway
- Thread starter aaron.s
- Start date
Update 1/14. I stopped by the Northbound Service Plaza yesterday. i spoke with some reps from the town of greenwich. The current plan is to reopen the service plaza this Friday or Monday. He did not know if the SC would be activated at that time or not. I will say that the SC looks complete so I am hopeful that they will be opened simultaneously with the opening of the Plaza. On the flip side... literally, the south side plazas will not be opened for at least 3 weeks.
Hey everyone,
I found this this thread after doing a google search, and thought it was interesting that people were even aware this existed during its infancy. I also thought you all might appreciate some inside information.
I am the superintendent/project manager for the construction company that is redeveloping these service plazas. Let me tell you--construction on the parkway is not easy. Along with the perils of working on a highway that is not friendly to transporting typical construction equipment and trucks, we were also bound by historical requirements, LEED standards, DOT jurisdiction, environmental remediation, and a perpetually changing design. One such wrinkle was the inclusion of the Tesla charging stations, which were included into the project scope about six months into construction, with the design being finalized somewhere around September of 2013. Generally, this would not be a monumental task, except for--granite.
Greenwich is 100% rock, anywhere from 2-5 feet below grade. Along with the difficulty of trenching through rock (for storm drainage, electrical, water, etc.), the NB plaza electrical service also feeds the the SB plaza. The gas station product tanks for both sides are also located on NB. Typically the feeds would be pulled through directional borings, which are trenchless drillings underneath the highway, about 8' below grade. However, the rock caused the price of these operations to skyrocket, and created a myriad of safety issues for travelers on the highway. From May of 2013 to October of 2013, we developed an alternative method, which uses custom spacers to utilize an existing duct under the highway. The custom spacers racked the communications lines, high voltage power, and gas lines in the same duct with explosion proof fittings, and full interior grouting. Long story short, it took a tremendous amount of time to approve and complete this work, and it delayed a lot of exterior site work (paving, concrete, fueling, etc.).
I'll spare you the rest of the minutia, but the charging stations and superchargers are now 100% complete, operate on a dedicated transformer, and will be commissioned on Monday, 1/20/2014. The NB service plaza opened yesterday at noon, so Tesla users should be able to charge later next week on the NB side. The SB service plaza will be opening at the end of January, so hang on a little longer!
Hope that didn't bore everyone too much
I found this this thread after doing a google search, and thought it was interesting that people were even aware this existed during its infancy. I also thought you all might appreciate some inside information.
I am the superintendent/project manager for the construction company that is redeveloping these service plazas. Let me tell you--construction on the parkway is not easy. Along with the perils of working on a highway that is not friendly to transporting typical construction equipment and trucks, we were also bound by historical requirements, LEED standards, DOT jurisdiction, environmental remediation, and a perpetually changing design. One such wrinkle was the inclusion of the Tesla charging stations, which were included into the project scope about six months into construction, with the design being finalized somewhere around September of 2013. Generally, this would not be a monumental task, except for--granite.
Greenwich is 100% rock, anywhere from 2-5 feet below grade. Along with the difficulty of trenching through rock (for storm drainage, electrical, water, etc.), the NB plaza electrical service also feeds the the SB plaza. The gas station product tanks for both sides are also located on NB. Typically the feeds would be pulled through directional borings, which are trenchless drillings underneath the highway, about 8' below grade. However, the rock caused the price of these operations to skyrocket, and created a myriad of safety issues for travelers on the highway. From May of 2013 to October of 2013, we developed an alternative method, which uses custom spacers to utilize an existing duct under the highway. The custom spacers racked the communications lines, high voltage power, and gas lines in the same duct with explosion proof fittings, and full interior grouting. Long story short, it took a tremendous amount of time to approve and complete this work, and it delayed a lot of exterior site work (paving, concrete, fueling, etc.).
I'll spare you the rest of the minutia, but the charging stations and superchargers are now 100% complete, operate on a dedicated transformer, and will be commissioned on Monday, 1/20/2014. The NB service plaza opened yesterday at noon, so Tesla users should be able to charge later next week on the NB side. The SB service plaza will be opening at the end of January, so hang on a little longer!
Hope that didn't bore everyone too much
Thank you, and welcome to TMC! Fascinating read -- I'm always interested in learning how things work and to appreciate the high level of craft it requires to "make it so". Your team's work will be a great service to all New England Tesla drivers.
juliusa
Active Member
Rest area looks great! 2 chargers/4 stalls. Solar on canopy over 8 gas pumps. Traffic flow and parking much improved.
Another thing that is very nice is the charging spots are at the far end of the parking lot - away from the gas pumps and convenience store. Thank you!!! Less chance of getting ICEd, and won't piss off other customers by having them walk past empty proprietary charging spots and the way to take a leak. Probably meant more trenching through granite, but I like this much better.
I'll be passing through again on Tuesday or Wednesday, and I'll try out the charging then.
Another thing that is very nice is the charging spots are at the far end of the parking lot - away from the gas pumps and convenience store. Thank you!!! Less chance of getting ICEd, and won't piss off other customers by having them walk past empty proprietary charging spots and the way to take a leak. Probably meant more trenching through granite, but I like this much better.
I'll be passing through again on Tuesday or Wednesday, and I'll try out the charging then.
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All -
Stopped by the Northbound Greenwich rest area on Friday and met a contractor for Tesla that is in charge of the many Supercharger installations in the Northeast. He indicated that testing of the Supercharger there will happen on Monday with a car from the White Plains service center and then will be officially turned on!
They will also be testing the charger on the Southbound side at the same time and certify it. That Service Plaza is scheduled to open on January 27th (about) and when it does the Supercharger will already be operational.
Did speak to him about other locations... Sturbridge (nearby at a Service Plaza north of the I84/I90 interchange) WILL BE HAPPENING. They are still sorting out through the leasing and permits - but it will happen in the not too distant future!
Aaron
Stopped by the Northbound Greenwich rest area on Friday and met a contractor for Tesla that is in charge of the many Supercharger installations in the Northeast. He indicated that testing of the Supercharger there will happen on Monday with a car from the White Plains service center and then will be officially turned on!
They will also be testing the charger on the Southbound side at the same time and certify it. That Service Plaza is scheduled to open on January 27th (about) and when it does the Supercharger will already be operational.
Did speak to him about other locations... Sturbridge (nearby at a Service Plaza north of the I84/I90 interchange) WILL BE HAPPENING. They are still sorting out through the leasing and permits - but it will happen in the not too distant future!
Aaron
juliusa
Active Member
Aaron - would that be the Charleton Service Plaza on I-90? Will they be putting one on each side, or just Eastbound?
https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&...plaza&ei=28naUvrqIcLNsQSmr4LYCw&ved=0CKYBELYD
https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&...plaza&ei=28naUvrqIcLNsQSmr4LYCw&ved=0CKYBELYD
Super news, Aaron; thanks for passing this along. Sturbridge and West Lebanon/White River Junction are the two most important points on the New England map.
HankLloydRight
No Roads
Sturbridge is a key location. So glad they're putting one there. I never take 95, so those two SC locations don't really help. I stop for food and fuel at Sturbridge going both ways between Greenwich and Boston in my ICE. It's a great location for a SC.
David Rhee
Member
@KButler, thanks for a great insight! Who would've thought? Delays and cost overruns all because of granite!!! Looking forward to visiting the Greenwich SC Soon!
Mike_Schlechter
Model S - P457
I'm so happy about the northbound SC on the Merrit I could dance. I generally go via 95 so I can charge, but traffic can be terrible. Having the Merrit as an option is a game changer for me, especially on days where I'm pushing the range limit heading home.
Boring? Are you kidding? "This here" information is golden for many Tesla owners and enthusiastic followers of Supercharger progress.
Thank you for posting.
The only thing boring was your directional driller tunneling under the Merritt.
So: if just Fairfield COUNTY by itself can have SIX SpCs right off the bat, including two perched atop bedrock, I would say us poooor Alaskans ought to be thrown a bone or two. Or SpC or two.....we're now up to one out of every two households in Paxson own a Model S.....
:smile::smile::smile::smile::smile::cursing:
My impression is that the State of Connecticut Dept. of Transportation has been very supportive of Tesla, as all three (or six, depending on how you count) facilities are in state-owned and -operated facilities and, apparently, the state is covering a lot of the installation costs (probably not the equipment cost, but the labor). And, too, Connecticut highways carry a LOT of traffic. Finally, Fairfield County is one of the richest in the country, prime sales territory for Tesla.
juliusa
Active Member
The state owns the land for the CT service areas, but my understanding is it is leased to a private operator that rebuilt the service areas and is operating them. I think they got put in there because the rest areas were being completely rebuilt, and the operator wanted (or was required by the state in their contract?) to meet certain LEED criteria.
I live within 35 miles of all 3 (or 6, depending on how you count) superchargers in Fairfield County. They do me little good, other than to charge periodically to meet some other Tesla owners - though if I am limping home from the south the Greenwich supercharger is 15 miles closer than my house. I would much rather see all 6 of those superchargers about 150 miles away from my house (none in CT) to help me make trips. Edison NJ, Sturbridge MA, Binghampton NY, Allentown PA, Plymouth Meeting PA would be AWESOME.
Building superchargers in target markets is not a good strategy.
I live within 35 miles of all 3 (or 6, depending on how you count) superchargers in Fairfield County. They do me little good, other than to charge periodically to meet some other Tesla owners - though if I am limping home from the south the Greenwich supercharger is 15 miles closer than my house. I would much rather see all 6 of those superchargers about 150 miles away from my house (none in CT) to help me make trips. Edison NJ, Sturbridge MA, Binghampton NY, Allentown PA, Plymouth Meeting PA would be AWESOME.
Building superchargers in target markets is not a good strategy.
HankLloydRight
No Roads
I really don't think Tesla is building these SCs in Fairfield county because it's a target market. I think the overriding decision factor is that they are all strategic travel points for people traveling through CT, either heading north up 95 (Darien, CT) or down from Boston (Rhode Island or Milford, CT), or taking a northern route via the Merritt (Greenwich). I live in Greenwich, and the proximity of the SCs really don't help me much, unless as mentioned above, you're limping home and they are slightly more convenient than running down the battery very low.
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