Union Station’s massive arched windows and soaring waiting room have greeted generations of travelers arriving in New Haven. Now, more than a century after the current building opened, a transformation is underway. The initiative Union Station Partnership is pursuing renovations to the building alongside a broader plan of development for the surrounding area. As part of the $24.8 million state-funded refurbishment, Union Station will get renovated restrooms and retail spaces, a new central atrium and exterior repairs. City officials see the transit hub as an anchor for New Haven’s growth, while preservation advocates are asking to save some crucial elements of the station. Shared between both visions is Union Station’s role as a gateway to the city. “It’s the front door to New Haven, but it’s also, for New Haven, the front door to the world,” Christopher Wigren, the deputy director of local nonprofit Preservation Connecticut, said in a video interview. Union Station’s current building opened in 1920 after the previous train hall burned in 1918. Architect Cass Gilbert designed the building for the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, which wanted its New Haven station to embody the importance of rail travel in the region.

https://yaledailynews.com/articles/with-redevelopment-city-leaders-hope-for-a-more-connected-union-station

East Lyme — The town is moving forward with the Colony Road bridge replacement project after a two-month delay due to rocks found in the work zone. In July, the towns said Public Works Department employees discovered an unexpected amount of rock where the west abutment was supposed to be built. Construction on the $6 million replacement project between 16 and 22 Colony Road, over Latimer Brook, was then paused as the town decided what to do. Construction began in April and was expected to be complete by Nov. 30. The project is fully funded with state and federal grants. On Monday, the Public Works Department posted on Facebook that the town decided to redesign the project and work with and around the rocks rather than drill through the rock which they said would have placed a “serious noise burden” on the surrounding neighborhood. The department said that construction will resume this month but is unsure when it will be complete. Right now, the new bridge is expected to reopen sometime next summer.

https://theday.com/news/928791/rocks-slow-down-east-lyme-bridge-replacement/

Killingly — The Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission again continued its public hearing on a nearly 1.3 million-square-foot Amazon warehouse distribution center to Nov. 2. Several residents, who have opposed the Westcott Road project since it was first submitted several months ago, continued to do so during Monday night’s three-hour hearing. The group has now hired engineer Steven Trinkaus as their expert witness in an effort to gain intervenor status. The commission is expected to grant the status on Nov. 2. If intervention status is granted, intervenors become a party in the proceeding and have a seat at the table when the commission meets with the applicant as opposed to just being part of public comment. Trinkaus raised numerous issues with the project’s engineering in regard to stormwater management, sewage disposal and wetland impacts. Trinkaus claims that the proposed stormwater system will not meet the pollutant load reductions set by the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, which “will adversely affect the water quality in these systems over time.” He also claims that no viable feasible and prudent alternatives have been provided for the development that would reduce the impact on wetlands on the site. Before Trinkaus spoke Monday night, Evan Seeman, an attorney who represents Ryan Companies, the developer, tried to discredit Trinkaus arguments, claiming they are not factual. Seeman told the commission that Trinkaus has been found to be not a credible witness by the Connecticut Superior Court’s land use litigation docket on four occasions over the last two years.

https://theday.com/news/928711/wetlands-hearing-on-massive-amazon-project-in-killingly-grinds-on/

NORTH HAVEN — Residents will decide whether to use up to $19.8 million in bond appropriations for a variety of road upgrades, including pedestrian and cyclist safety improvements and paving. A vote on the projects will take place at an Oct. 20 town meeting. This comes after the North Haven Board of Selectmen approved five separate items related to road improvements at its Thursday meeting, including upgrades to Sackett Point Road, Church Street and Pool Road. First Selectman Michael Freda said four of those five items are eligible for state reimbursement and only one proposal, a $7 million bond authorization for milling, paving and other road improvements between the months of April and September 2027, will be fully encumbered by the town’s debt service. Freda said in an emailed comment Friday that the list of roads that would be repaved under that $7 million bond is “under discussion but not finalized for next year.” All five of the items will be up for a vote at the Oct. 20 meeting, and they will be grouped together as one question. Residents will vote on a total of three questions at the meeting. One of the other two is a tax cut for veterans with disabilities connected to their services and the spouses of those killed in action. The last item is a grouping of various budget line item transfers from the 2025-26 fiscal year.

https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/north-haven-road-improvements-bond-vote-22459887.php

Norwich — Nearly three years into a $200 million project to build a new wastewater treatment plant, Norwich Public Utilities says the project is about 80% complete. Construction began in November 2023, and is expected to complete in 2028. Both plants are on Hollyhock Island, and the current one continues to operate during construction of the new one. “The analogy we use is changing a flat tire without stopping the car,” said NPU spokesperson Chris Riley, one of several NPU officials who offered a tour of the facility last week. The current wastewater plant has served the city for nearly 100 years. It was upgraded in 1955 and again in 1973. NPU says each of the upgrades was designed to give the plant another 25 years of use. Construction workers were working Friday while NPU workers carried out regular plant operations. Plant Operator Dave Grundwalski said the construction constantly changed the path plant workers take in and out of the facility. Water/Wastewater Utility Project Engineer Matt Hross began the tour showing a new concrete “influent junction chamber” — where the three wastewater pipes carrying sewage and storm water to the plant will meet. The three pipes are the Cove Street Force Main, the Rose Alley Force Main and the Yantic Interceptor, a gravity line that brings sewage to the plant from homes and businesses along the Yantic River. A gravity line uses a downward slope to bring the wastewater in, while a force main uses a series of pumps to push the wastewater through.

https://theday.com/news/928417/new-npu-wastewater-treatment-plant-80-complete/

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators from both parties said Wednesday they have reached a deal on legislation aimed at speeding up permitting reviews for new energy and infrastructure projects that now face yearslong delays, as lawmakers seek to meet growing demand for electricity and other forms of energy. The bill, proponents argue, would cut down the arduous timeline for getting big energy projects off the ground at a time when demand is rising because of mushrooming data centers for artificial intelligence. The bill would ensure AI data centers are forced to pay for the increased electricity they use and would mark a significant change to a landmark environmental law that critics say slows the process of building energy projects. Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, called the bill “a major step toward making it faster and more efficient and easier to build infrastructure projects” of all types while maintaining important environmental protections. “The American people sent us here to do big things. This is a big thing. It’s monumental and it’s legacy-setting,” Capito said at a news conference at the Capitol where she was joined by Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and Democratic Sens. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island. The four senators lead the chamber’s energy and environment panels.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/business/article/senate-reaches-bipartisan-deal-on-permitting-bill-22456629.php

New London — Federal Highway Administrator Sean McMaster visited the Gold Star Memorial Bridge on Wednesday and said he hopes other states follow Connecticut’s lead in rehabilitating and enhancing infrastructure critical to the local and national economy. During a news conference with views of the bridge, McMaster said the project has tremendous value, not just locally and regionally, but nationally due to daily freight and car traffic on Interstate 95. He said he “couldn’t be happier” about the progress that’s been made so far. McMaster said the project will support local commuters, as the region sees growth from Electric Boat, as well as help with the flow of traffic through the state. The approximately $900 million project to rehabilitate the northbound span between New London and Groton is the largest project in the state, said state Department of Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto. Slated for completion at the end of 2030, it includes replacing the bridge deck, bearings, approach slabs, signs and lighting, repairing and strengthening steel in the girder spans, repairing concrete and upgrading barriers and fencing.

https://theday.com/news/927168/federal-highway-administrator-visits-gold-star-bridge-project/

New London — Expanding Shore Line East rail service to Westerly, adding a second train station in New London, and providing better accommodations for bicycles on trains were among the suggestions residents and officials offered Tuesday on the state’s updated rail plan. More than 65 people attended the state Department of Transportation’s open house at the Public Library of New London on the long-range plan. The updated plan, anticipated to be finished in the winter of 2027, “provides an overview of the existing rail systems, a vision and goals for future improvements, and near and long-term investment priorities for passenger and freight rail,” according to the project website. Westerly Rail Advocates group members voiced support for extending Shore Line East, a commuter rail line that runs from New Haven to New London. Doug Brockway, the chairman of Westerly’s Economic Development Commission and a Westerly Rail Advocates member, said he supports raising the platforms at the Westerly station and doubling the five Amtrak trains that stop daily in Westerly and extending commuter rail there and farther in Rhode Island. He said the commuter rail extension would help the many Westerly residents who commute to Electric Boat in Groton, New London or Quonset Point to save money and have a less stressful commute, while Electric Boat also would not have to build parking lots.

https://theday.com/news/926849/residents-officials-advocate-for-rail-line-extension/

COLCHESTER — A local developer wants to pair 10 megawatts of approved fuel cell power generation with a “sustainable” data center project on Old Amston Road. Colchester-based ReNew Developers is seeking to build a pair of data centers on 17.15 acres along Old Amston Road, listed in the town’s land records without an address but referred to by the developer as 42 Old Amston Road. Though detailed plans have not been filed, representatives told the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission that one of the two data centers would be 20,000 square feet, with each building be supported by a 4.99-megawatt fuel cell facility. Earlier this year, ReNew Developers, filing as CMMD LLC, approached Colchester for a “preliminary review” of a zone change application for 42 Old Amston Road. A master plan included with the developer’s materials describes two “technology buildings” with associated fuel cell facilities, designated for two separate phases of construction, as well as two pads for carbon capture equipment. Each building would also have an associated “farm pad,” intended for an attached hydroponics facility. The Planning and Zoning Commission discussed the plan with ReNew Developers at a meeting on Sept. 16. Commission members asked questions and discussed the plan but took no action, as no formal application had been filed for the PZC to act on.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/colchester-ct-data-center-old-amston-road-22454214.php

Opponents of AI data centers in Trumbull initially cheered when the town passed a moratorium earlier this month, but they’ve now gone into fundraising mode to try to block an existing center that wants to expand operations. At the same time, First Selectwoman Vicki Tesoro has been assuring residents that the change wouldn’t create the massive power and water usage associated with modern jumbo data centers. Instead, it would generate additional revenue from Trumbull’s biggest taxpayer, officials said. “I told the applicant directly: no increase in electrical draw beyond existing site capacity, no increase in noise, no increase in water use, no expansion of the building’s footprint. They have agreed to all four,” Tesoro told the town in a recent memo. But opponents are still concerned that vastly expanding operations at the existing 80 Merritt Blvd. data center would jeopardize the immediate neighborhood and possibly other parts of town.

https://www.courant.com/2026/09/28/ct-residents-are-taking-on-a-100m-project-its-a-fight-against-a-ct-towns-biggest-taxpayer/