A draft of a new study by the Capitol Region Council of Governments, a regional planning agency, is breaking new ground in the decades-old debate over the long-term future of the state-owned Griffin Line. The study concludes that a trail system could safely and logistically run along one side of the active, single-track rail line, […]
Concerns about the future of Norwalk Harbor have arisen since O&G Industries proposed expanding its use of barges to transport construction supplies in the area. But the rowing community along with environmental activists have protested the pending change, which, if allowed, would mean more barges in Norwalk Harbor. Several rowing clubs also protested the proposed […]
Train schedules for the Hartford Line will be disrupted from May 28 to Nov. 1 due to several planned construction projects. According to the state Department of Transportation, construction is set to take place weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., with further details on schedule changes expected to be released next month on its […]
The state Department of Transportation is encouraging people to share their feedback during a meeting on the rehabilitation of the northbound span of the Gold Star Memorial Bridge, scheduled for Tuesday at 7 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Groton Municipal Building at 295 Meridian St. and on Zoom. The meeting will be […]
Town officials have approved the school district’s plans for major field upgrades at South Windsor High School. The $7.5 million needed for the project must now be approved in a town-wide referendum for it go forward, though the Town Council declined to set a date for that public vote when the matter arose at a […]
The Board of Representatives committee in charge of reviewing the budgets for the city and public schools has recommended that the full board approve them without any more cuts. However, the recommendation comes with an understanding that the Board of Finance will reduce the amount of money that will be raised through taxes for Stamford’s […]
UConn expects word out of the State Capitol by May 8, the day the General Assembly adjourns, on whether the state will fund a proposed Gampel Pavilion renovation of about $100 million. Already, $10 million in state bonding has been allocated toward more immediate improvements (scoreboard, court-level digital infrastructure, lower-bowl seating) to the Huskies’ on-campus […]
The town is preparing to replace four deteriorating bridges in the coming years. Town officials said construction crews will rebuild a Commerce Drive bridge over Ash Creek this summer, two more over Sasco Brook next year and a fourth over Pine Creek on Oldfield Road from 2027 to 2028. The bridges running over Ash and […]
UConn’s 10-year, $1.5 billion Next Generation Connecticut (NextGenCT) initiative, which targeted investments in facilities, faculty and enrollment, was touted as “one of the most ambitious state investments in economic development, higher education and research in the nation.” However, some shortfalls in initial funding expectations have hindered UConn’s ability to achieve some NextGenCT goals, particularly around […]
Cracks about 60 feet long on Interstate 95 north between exits 74 and 75 closed the right lane Thursday afternoon for several hours while crews investigated the integrity of the road and worked to resolve the problem. The fissures were due to settling caused by the failure of a temporary retaining wall designed to support […]
The vacant Regal Cinemas building may stay that way for some time after developers shelved plans to redevelop the site at one of the town’s busiest intersections. CP Branford LLC withdrew its application at the Planning and Zoning Commission’s April 18 meeting. Developers were seeking to have the parcel rezoned as a Planned Development District […]
The former Cartus Corp. building would be used solely as a high school and not for grades 6-8, if the Board of Education adopts school officials’ new plan for the building. The building that formerly housed the Cartus Corp. is slated to open in the 2025-26 school year, three years after city voters approved a […]
Reggaeton star Bad Bunny not only brought 14,000 fans and a financial windfall to Hartford’s XL Center early this month — he also brought 33 trucks of gear. Those trucks had to navigate Asylum Street and the XL Center’s out-of-date loading docks, highlighting the need for a $100-million-plus upgrade of the arena’s infrastructure so it […]
While Norwich Public Utilities General Manager Chris LaRose is glad to receive any money from the government, he was ecstatic that it it’s enough to complete a large project in the city. Norwich Public Utilities announced Monday it will receive $10.9 million from the federal government to replace aging natural gas lines. Last year, NPU […]
The EPA announced Tuesday that it had taken action against WestFair Painting Corp., requiring the Bethel-based CertaPro franchise to come into compliance with the RRP Rule, which aims to protect the public from lead-based paint hazards associated with renovation, repair and painting activities. As a result of EPA’s action, the company will pay a penalty […]
A report commissioned by the city in 2018 recommended relocating the HARTransit Pulse Point station now on Kennedy Avenue to a new location closer to the Metro-North Railroad station at 1 Patriot Drive. The proposed bus station could be built across the tracks from the train station along what is now an unused 5-acre commercial […]
Hartford planning officials this week will discuss plans to authorize a pedestrian bridge over Washington Street that would connect a new tower wing of the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center with a new parking garage. During a meeting scheduled for Tuesday at 6 p.m., the city Planning & Zoning Commission and Inland Wetlands Commissions will review […]
A segment of the $1.2 trillion 2021 federal infrastructure law seemed written with Norwich in mind: replace century-old natural gas pipelines in financially distressed communities with city-owned gas companies. Norwich Public Utilities natural gas division will receive $10.9 million this year, added to the $10 million received last year, through the program, federal officials announced […]
For more than 50 years, Route 11 has earned the nicknames of “Route 5 ½” and “highway to nowhere” due to its notoriety of being an unfinished highway. While construction for building the highway began in the ’60s, plans to finish the highway have started and stalled on numerous occasions. Currently operational, Route 11 measures […]
An Avon-based developer wants to build a solar farm in Hamden that would zap West Haven’s energy bill by a total of $500,000 over the next two decades, officials said. Lodestar Energy is seeking approval to build a 1.5-megawatt solar farm on about eight acres of undeveloped, wooded land on Denslow Hill Road, according to […]
With demolition complete and excavation underway at the incoming South Norwalk School, the city is working through acquiring the six properties abutting the construction site. Contractors are nearly halfway done with the process of controlled blasting to more easily excavate, Lo said. Following the completion of excavation, Newfield Construction, the project’s contractor, will begin setting […]
A Massachusetts food manufacturer is planning to expand to South Windsor, with a proposed $71 million upgrade to the sprawling Carla’s Pasta facility, which is slated to close “imminently,” a town official said. The company is planning a 28,000-square-foot addition to Carla’s Pasta’s 148,083-square-foot food production plant at 50 Talbot Lane. The Town Council on […]
Eversource said it is hoping to improve the capacity at three of its junctures under Greenwich Avenue this summer, which will mean some night time road closures. Company representatives told the Board of Selectmen that they’d like permission for three intermittent nighttime lane closures between May and August to complete the work. A specific timeline […]
Driving directions, package deliveries and emergency calls could get confusing if a shopping center under construction in the town’s north end — future home of Whole Foods, TJ Maxx and other destinations — uses the same Cheshire Crossing moniker. That warning came in a cease-and-desist letter this week from the homeowners’ association that represents Cheshire […]
The final few weeks of the legislative session isn’t an optimal time for elevators, escalators and the moving floor between the State Capitol and adjacent Legislative Office to break down, but that is what has happened as the equipment recently reached its lifetime, and the public and lawmakers gingerly navigate the historic halls. The estimated […]
After hours of debate about what West Hartford should be in the future, town officials in a bipartisan vote cleared the way for 322 new apartments in five-story buildings on part of the former University of Connecticut campus in West Hartford. Creating new housing on the blighted 1700 Asylum Ave. property will be a massive […]
The town’s planned expansion of Charter Oak Park has taken another step forward after securing a pair of approvals to build a new skate park, artificial turf field, and parking area on an underused lot. The 7.4-acre lot at 30 Charter Oak St. currently contains municipal soccer fields, an abandoned softball diamond, and part of […]
As work begins here later this month on the next wind-turbine project called Revolution Wind, the new clean-energy industry based at State Pier is transitioning from wobbly baby steps to confident strides, a panel of experts said Wednesday at the Holiday Inn. The state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Katie Dykes told the […]
Construction of the East Haddam swing bridge, which carries Route 82 over the Connecticut River, began in fall 2022 and work is continuing on the project with a completion date of Feb. 25, 2025, according to CTDOT. The American Bridge Co., headquartered in Coraopolis, Pa., is the lead contractor on the project, which was awarded […]
Voters in Lyme and Old Lyme on Monday decisively approved spending $880,000 more than the $5.3 already approved for the Lymes’ Senior Center renovation project. Old Lyme is responsible for $660,000 of the supplemental cost, while the smaller town of Lyme is responsible for $220,000. Officials in the two towns were scrambling earlier this year […]
The Connecticut Department of Transportation has been installing a new bridge and wider culvert just slightly east of the Old Gate Lane intersection as part of a $3.93 million project. One of Milford’s busier roads, New Haven Avenue gets funneled from two lanes to one with the construction and backs up regularly, but especially at […]
After a five-hour public hearing and another hour of discussion Monday night, the West Hartford Town Council granted final approval to a controversial four-building, 322-unit apartment complex on Trout Brook Drive and Asylum Avenue. The council voted 8-1 to approve the project, which will transform a massive parking lot across the street from a former […]
It’s a $591.9 million, multi-year project on a Connecticut interstate. The northbound deck of the Gold Star Memorial Bridge needs to be replaced, and a public information meeting will be held April 30 to provide the details and offer an opportunity for questions. The bridge links New London and Groton across the Thames River on […]
The mysterious “Project Fin” development could take a major step forward Monday, as the Town Council will vote on a proposed seven-year tax abatement for a $71 million renovation of a Talbot Lane facility. A previous Town Council agenda listed the location of “Project Fin” as 30 Talbot Lane, but the final resolution to be […]
State lawmakers later this month will act on a request from the local legislative delegation to provide grant funds that would support a series of school infrastructure improvements, including new classroom walls at King Street Primary, air conditioning system upgrades at multiple schools and a partial roof replacement at one building. The funds, if approved, […]
As both AMS Acquisitions and Fuller Development refine their plans, they are approaching the final approval stage, promising a future with more housing options in Wilton. The projects are among a handful of developments proposed or underway in the area that would add hundreds of apartments. At 64 Danbury Road, Fuller Development, LLC, is proposing […]
When Route 9, a high-speed freeway, hits the center of Middletown, drivers can suddenly run into two red lights. “We don’t have any others on any freeways in the state,” said Stephen Hall, the state Department of Transportation’s project manager for the project that will remove the signals. “It’s a very surprising situation if you’re […]
The borough was awarded last month a $5.7 million in a Community Investment Fund grant to improve a section of Rubber Avenue. The CIF grant will be used for the Scott Street and Nettleton Avenue area to address stormwater issues and improve the development of the Risdon property, a 12-acre former manufacturing site at 0 […]
There is a need for a sustained commitment to the pandemic-era improvements in public school air quality, the group said during a press conference in the Legislative Office Building, particularly with the inevitable end of federal funding for upgrades to heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems in both suburban and urban districts. They called for […]
Players in and observers of U.S. offshore wind energy say the sector is showing encouraging signs of recovery and progress after in the past year producing a series of headlines about investment write-downs, project exits and attempts to secure higher future prices. Lots of work remains to be done to complete those plans but it […]
To extend the lifespan of the pavement on the Merritt Parkway and Interstate 95, the state Department of Transportation is conducting an $18.8 million preservation project on those roadways in Norwalk, Darien and other municipalities. “The Connecticut Department of Transportation is announcing the start of a pavement preservation program to improve the existing wearing surface […]
The proposed Uline warehouse in Plainfield was approved by the Plainfield Planning and Zoning Commission at its meeting Tuesday night. This project was approved with conditions that Uline needs to handle before beginning construction. The project calls for the construction of a 1.25 million-square-foot commercial warehouse as well as associated parking and drainage on property […]
A controversial plan to create a quarry operation at Mount Decatur has been resubmitted by Gales Ferry Intermodal LLC, this time offering some financial incentives to the town while claiming the operation wouldn’t create “any objectionable impacts either from noise or dust.” The application for a special use permit at the former Dow Chemical plant […]
The town’s Planning and Zoning Commission Wednesday approved a proposal by the Raytheon Technologies Group to build a new, five-story, 313,000-square-foot office building on 16.6 acres of the Pratt & Whitney campus off of Silver Lane. In a statement from the company, the official also said the proposal presented Wednesday did not signal that demolition […]
The U.S. General Services Administration awarded a $32.2 million contract for architectural and engineering services for a federal courthouse planned for Hartford, the agency announced Thursday. The proposed courthouse will provide 11 courtrooms, 18 judge chambers and offices for court-related agencies, along with 66 secured parking spaces. It is supposed to replace the existing courthouse […]
With climate change in mind, a New Haven aldermanic committee advanced a zoning proposal that would allow as-of-right restaurants, supermarkets, and offices — but not housing — along the Union Station railroad tracks. The vote that followed marked progress in the New Haven Parking Authority’s long-brewing effort to redevelop vacant lots around Union Station, an area currently zoned for […]
The Federal Highway Administration has not completed guidance that state transportation departments need to administer programs supported by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and other federal funds, according to an audit released Monday by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General. The FHWA oversees approximately $350 billion in funding from the IIJA. […]
Aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney plans to build a new 313,000-square-foot office building on its East Hartford campus, according to an application before the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission. The new building is part of a longer-term renovation to Pratt & Whitney’s headquarters, which includes 4.8 million square feet of manufacturing, warehouse, laboratory, office and […]
The bridge carries Sugar Hollow Road over the Norwalk River in the Georgetown section of northern Wilton near the Ridgefield border. The federal funds were released under the Federal Local Bridge Program, administered by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. Preliminary design work is expected to begin this spring, with construction likely starting in 2028, Boucher […]
The city of New Haven is well on its way to completing a design that will connect the still-unfinished New Haven stretch of the 84-mile Farmington Canal Heritage Trail to the 25 miles of the Shoreline Greenway that could make this trek a reality. The 4.4 mile link, which includes the long-awaited New Haven stretch […]
Construction has officially begun at what will become the first school in the South Norwalk neighborhood in over 40 years, mending a long overdue inequity for local students. The new state-of-the-art school will fill a whole in the South Norwalk community that has existed since the late 1970s, when Norwalk Public Schools shuttered Nathaniel Ely […]
More than two dozen contractors hoping to take part in the construction of the National U.S. Coast Guard Museum attended a “robust” bid opening event earlier this month, museum association leaders said Monday. Pulver said 70% of the project’s anticipated $150 million price tag ― which includes the creation of a pedestrian bridge projected to […]
Thomas Quinn wants to build a hyperscale data center — what would be the single largest user of electricity in Connecticut — next to the Millstone Nuclear Power plant in Waterford. A few weeks ago, Quinn, president of NE Edge, and his partners Christopher Regan and William DiBella spoke with CT Examiner about the project. […]
The Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments, which serves as a transportation planning organization for the region, has published the draft document, called the Transportation Improvement Program FY 2024-2028, and is seeking comments from the public. The plan is described as “a four-year program that prioritizes and documents the funding of federally funded transportation improvement projects […]
At last Wednesday’s meeting, the Planning and Zoning Commission approved plans for 35 condos, 110 apartments, a restaurant, a medical office building and boat storage along the Housatonic River. All of this has been in the works in some form for roughly 17 years. These latest plans were filed early last year. Ricar, LLC and […]
Andrew Borgia of Fast Track Realty is planning to develop the former MassMutual property at 85 and 100 Bright Meadow Boulevard for a sports complex. All Sports Village, as the project is called, would have outdoor fields, a basketball building, along with a hotel, restaurant, additional retail space, and a family entertainment center. The complex […]
Vineyard Offshore, an offshore wind development company, has submitted a proposal, Vineyard Wind 2, for a 1,200 MW offshore wind project to Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island responding to the New England states’ solicitation for up to 6,800 MW of offshore wind capacity. The proposed project will deliver 1,200 MW of clean, reliable energy to […]
Hartford HealthCare will use up to $150 million in new debt financing to fund significant upgrades at its various hospitals and a new proton therapy center it’s developing in Wallingford in partnership with Yale New Haven Health. The debt is being issued through the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority (CHEFA), a quasi-public state agency […]
Mayor Harry Rilling and Superintendent of Schools Alexandra Estrella both described the high level of reimbursement as “unheard of” as they stood amid large excavators, mounds of dirt and metal beams at the rear of Norwalk High School, next to the turf field. With that reimbursement rate, Norwalk’s taxpayers will be responsible for $47.8 million […]
Connecticut energy officials and their counterparts in Massachusetts and Rhode Island have received offshore wind project proposals from four developers: Avangrid Renewables, Orsted, SouthCoast Wind and Vineyard Offshore. The developers submitted their bids on Wednesday, and Connecticut officials say they are reviewing the proposals. Details of the plans were not immediately available. The first project […]
A developer who sought to increase the size of an already approved apartment building planned for Lordship Boulevard has agreed to keep the structure at 100 units, but has been allowed to tweak the number of affordable apartments. The Stratford Zoning Commission on Wednesday voted unanimously to approve updated plans from Stamford-based Empire Residential to […]
The federal government is expected to bail out a delayed, over-budget South End flood control initiative, but the release of the dollars, and actual construction, are still months away. The massive coastal flood risk reduction initiative was launched locally after the destruction Hurricane Sandy caused in the South End in 2012. Once installed, the infrastructure […]
