NAUGATUCK — The borough will receive more than $2 million to enhance pedestrian walkability downtown as its the transit-oriented development continues to move forward. U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District, announced at a news conference Monday morning at Naugatuck Town Hall that she secured $2.5 million in federal Community Project Funding to support the downtown project. She was joined by Mayor N. Warren “Pete” Hess and other local and state officials. The funding will support improvements for multiple modes of transportation in the downtown area — including the construction of a pedestrian bridge, streetscaping, and development of a greenway along the Naugatuck River — as work continues on a new train station. DeLauro and Hess said they are excited about securing the funding. “It’s about connectivity and about vibrancy of a community,” DeLauro said. “It came at exactly the right time because we’re in the process right now of designing a pedestrian bridge that connects the west side of Naugatuck and the train station to the east side of Naugatuck, across the river, where we have parking right off the Route 8 on/off ramp,” Hess said. Hess said the borough is grateful for the funding, while DeLauro praised local officials for their vision to revitalize downtown. The proposed bridge would extend from the Hotchkiss Street area, where school buses park, to the site of the new train station. “It also enhances our greenway on the east side of the river,” Hess said. “So it connects the east and the west. It gives us more parking for downtown. It helps us with our greenway project for more walkability, and it’s just sort of the next big piece in where we’re going.”
Naugatuck secures $2.5M for pedestrian bridge, downtown improvements
