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CT town asks residents whether to spend tax money. It’s to fight a trash plant proposal.
In a key decision affecting their campaign against a proposed trash-to-energy plant, Plainfield residents next week will vote whether to put up $250,000 to wage a court fight against it. Facing a possible legal battle against one of Connecticut’s biggest construction companies represented by a powerful and prominent Bridgeport law firm, Plainfield voters will be asked at a Sept. 3 referendum whether to hire specialized lawyers of their own. Selectmen are proposing the move because they anticipate a complex campaign to persuade state regulators to scrap the Smart Technology Systems’ plan. If that doesn’t work, the town could consider suing. Public sentiment so far has been profoundly lopsided against the trash plant, but it’s not clear yet whether taxpayers will agree to put money behind their opposition. First Selectmen Kevin Cunningham is proposing to take $250,000 from municipal reserves to hire outside lawyers. But many residents anticipate that could be just the first phase of costs if protracted litigation is needed, especially given the resources of the opposition. Smart Technology is a partnership of Advanced Waste Technologies and Torrington-based O&G Industries, a major player in Connecticut’s construction industry that does $850 million a year in business nationally. Smart is represented by Bridgeport-based Pullman & Comley, one of Connecticut’s 10 biggest law firms.
Major CT highway traffic pattern shift taking place this week. It’s scheduled to be in place for two years.
Connecticut motorists can expect a new traffic pattern starting on Friday night August 28 on the northbound Gold Star Memorial Bridge as part of a long-term project project. The new traffic pattern will be implemented beginning Friday from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. and the “northbound traffic will be shifted into two travel lanes located in the center of the highway across the Gold Star Memorial Bridge,” according to the Connecticut Department of Transportation. The traffic pattern is expected to be in effect for the next two years. Construction work areas will be on both the left and right side of the northbound travel lanes and “this traffic [pattern] is expected to remain in place for approximately two years to accommodate the next phase of construction which includes bridge deck removal and replacement,” according to the Connecticut Department of Transportation. The project was awarded to MSR Gold Star Partners at a cost of $721,348,812 on Oct. 3, 2025. It’s expected to be completed by the fall of 2030. The Connecticut Department of Transportation asks motorists to use caution when driving through the work zone. The construction schedule could be modified or extended due to weather or unforeseen circumstances, according to the agency.
Stamford Health’s $275 million expansion gets preliminary approval
STAMFORD — Stamford Health has received preliminary approval for a major expansion of its downtown campus, including a new cancer-care center, expanded parking and relocated behavioral health and inpatient rehabilitation units. The city’s Planning Board this week approved a zoning change for part of the hospital campus and a special permit with conditions. The proposal remains in its early stages, and a final site plan has not been submitted. The Planning Board’s approval sends the project to the Zoning Board for further review and potential approvals. The existing Bennett Cancer Center would be relocated to a new, 73,000-square-foot building. Stamford Health’s behavioral health unit and inpatient rehabilitation program also would be relocated, with behavioral health moving into the existing cancer center building. The project would increase parking on the campus from 1,400 to 1,696 spaces. It would include a new 355-space parking garage and additional surface lots off West Broad Street. Planning Board members expressed concerns about the hospital’s expansion toward nearby Stillwater Avenue, a residential street. Stamford Health acquired a property on Stillwater Avenue and plans to use it for parking during construction.
CT agency develops 30-year transportation plan for state. It notes major ‘funding gap’ could emerge.
The state Department of Transportation has goals over the next few decades to make the state’s roads safer, travel more efficient, and more resilient to severe weather, according to a newly released 30-year transportation plan. Connecticut 2055, the state’s long-term transportation plan, outlines several distinct goals, including road safety, reducing congestion, and eliminating serious injuries or fatalities, creating more connected communities through a multimodal transportation network, implementing emerging technology into road design, and creating resilient and sustainable infrastructure, according to the DOT report. “Connecticut 2055 is a forward-thinking plan that will drive economic growth, connect our communities, and improve lives through an integrated multimodal transportation system,” Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto said, in a statement. “The final plan reflects years of collaboration with residents, stakeholders, and partners across the state, and positions Connecticut to meet the transportation needs of today and opportunities of the future.” While the report does not outline costs for specific projects, it does offer “baseline scenario forecast findings” projected through 2055, and notes, the “anticipated level of state and federal funding would only meet the state’s transportation needs” through 2029. “By 2030, a funding gap would emerge and continue to grow over time, reaching $1.7 billion annually in 2040 and $5.6 billion annually in 2055,” it says.
A CT town appears to have dodged an enormous, unwanted battery farm. At least temporarily.
With Colorado-based Flatiron Energy withdrawing its widely unpopular proposal for an enormous battery energy storage facility in New Milford, town officials and environmentalists are relieved — for now. Flatiron late last week told attorneys for the town that it was no longer pursuing its plan for Treebeard, its name for a 140-megawatt lithium-ion battery storage facility to be built on 10 acres near the West Aspetuck River. But the company still has an option on the land, and last winter said it was also exploring other potential sites in New Milford. So far, it has not advised the town on whether it’s leaving the area altogether, seeking a nearby location instead, or simply postponing its campaign for the original proposal. “Since January the only communication they gave the town is through their legal representation — their attorneys talking with the town attorney,” Mayor Pete Bass said Tuesday. “They told us they’re not moving forward on that property. We know that property is still under option, but we haven’t heard more than that.”
Middletown rejects plan for more downtown parking despite concerns over lack of spaces
MIDDLETOWN—The common council’s rejection of a proposal to bond $38 million to build a two-level parking structure behind the police station on Main Street has left some officials surprised or disappointed. The garage would have created up to 320 new parking spaces in a city where the lots are full, even as redevelopment surges. “We are at capacity,” Middletown Economic Development Director Christine Marques told the council at a special meeting Thursday. “We have nowhere to park cars.” Marques was before the council to explain the outline of the proposal known as “Option C,” which included setting space aside for a future multi-story apartment complex with it’s own underground parking abutting deKoven Drive. The development would be similar to the now-stalled Village at Riverside project. The initial, mixed-use project proposed by Spectra Construction & Development Corp. in 2022 called for a block-sized, multilevel housing and retail complex that would include a public square and pedestrian walkways in full view of the Connecticut River.
https://www.nhregister.com/business/article/middletown-parking-ct-downtown-development-22398270.php
Connecticut spent $2.5M replacing this bridge. Now it needs a $3.4M fix
A public notice by the Connecticut Department of Transportation about a bridge in Old Saybrook may be causing residents to do a double take. The state agency plans to hold a public meeting Thursday night about a project involving the bridge that carries Route 154 over Plum Bank Creek — a structure that was entirely replaced five years ago at a cost of about $2.5 million. What’s bringing DOT back to the span?
The replacement bridge’s superstructure, which includes the deck, is not as high above the water as the old bridge, according to the agency. After the replacement bridge was constructed, “a community member informed CTDOT that access to Plum Bank Creek was limited,” agency spokesperson Eva Zymaris said. “To meet regulatory requirements and accommodate recreational access and use of Plum Bank Creek, CTDOT is proposing to raise the superstructure of the bridge.” Construction is expected to start in 2028 and cost the state about $3.4 million.
Gold Star Bridge project to move to next phase
Crews will soon be gearing up for the next stage of the $900 million construction project to rehabilitate the northern span of the Gold Star Memorial Bridge between New London and Groton. In late May, a traffic crossover went into effect that shifted two northbound lanes onto part of the southbound span, separated by a barrier from the southbound lanes. Two northbound lanes are continuing on the northbound span. The next stage will shift the two northbound lanes from the right side of the northbound span to the middle, while not making any changes to the crossover on the southbound span. On the northbound span, a work zone on either side of the lanes will allow crews to strengthen steel and replace the deck, project officials said. The contractor plans to work from 7 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Saturday to complete the work needed to prepare for the next stage, DOT spokesperson Eva Zymaris said last week. After traffic is shifted to the center lanes, the contractor will begin installing concrete barriers on the right side to complete the Stage 1 configuration, she said. The work will occur at night to ensure the safety of workers and will take about a month to complete.
https://theday.com/news/917423/gold-star-bridge-project-to-move-to-next-phase/#
Developer seeks approval for 420,000 cubic yards of fill to redevelop former Berlin brickyard
A Utah developer is seeking approval to bring 420,000 cubic yards of fill to a long-abandoned Berlin brickyard as part of a plan to redevelop the 57-acre property. The project, slated for 303 New Britain Road, would create a pad site for two commercial buildings totaling 44,000 square feet on about 16.7 acres, along with 90 parking spaces, stormwater basins and a new permanent railroad crossing. Berlin Industrial Redevelopment LLC, an affiliate of Farr West, Utah-based Industrial Development Advantage LLC, is seeking site plan approval for the project, which would be located on a 56.9-acre property owned by Connecticut Sand & Stone Corp. Braxton Buckway, the company’s chief financial officer, is listed as the applicant. The property has been vacant since the early 1980s. From about 1900 into the 1960s, it operated as the Donnelly Brick Co., which mined clay to depths exceeding 30 feet. The resulting pits were filled during the 1970s, including with material generated during construction of Route 9, but the fill was never engineered or compacted. That uncontrolled fill left the site geotechnically unstable and environmentally contaminated. The developer says the site cannot be redeveloped without massive amounts of fill to stabilize the ground and raise the grade. Berlin Industrial Redevelopment, or BIR, proposes using up to 420,000 cubic yards of fill to do that.
Proposed Killingly warehouses continue to roll through review
Killingly — The traffic engineer for a proposed development at 90 Putnam Pike told the Planning and Zoning Commission Monday night that the project is not a mega warehouse that would generate large amounts of truck traffic. The comments by Kevin Solli came as the commission continued its public hearing Monday night on a proposal By Killingly 1 LLC for warehouses of 178,750 square feet and 297,500 square feet, respectively. He said a traffic study calculated the warehouses will generate 87 trips — 14 of those being trucks, during the peak hour in the morning, and 91 trips — 14 of those being trucks, during the peak hour in the evening. “That is one vehicle a minute, this is not a mega warehouse as people have been alluding to, this does not represent a large trip generation, and our analysis is that, as we have indicated, will not have adverse impacts on the traffic operating conditions of the area,” Solli said. It is still unknown what businesses would occupy the warehouses. Because of this, residents have expressed concern the traffic numbers could increase from the numbers cited by Solli.
https://theday.com/news/916494/proposed-killingly-warehouses-continue-to-roll-through-review/
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