Residents are urging the Common Council to request a delay from the state Department of Transportation on removing Route 9 traffic signals, citing negative economic and environmental impacts. During a presentation to residents on April 30, DOT project manager Stephen Hall told residents that the traffic lights were causing a “significantly higher” number of traffic accidents compared to other parts of the highway. Hall said there had been 500 crashes and 161 injuries over the last three years, the equivalent of a crash every other day and an injury once every week. The project is estimated to cost $143 million, with 80% covered by the federal government and 20% covered by the state. If the design is approved by the end of this year, construction could begin as early as 2027 and would take approximately four years. Residents were particularly concerned about a proposed exit from Route 9 northbound leading to a three-leg roundabout on River Road.

Middletown Residents Push Back on $143M Route 9 Revamp

Diamantis, 67, is accused by the FBI of extorting private contractors into paying him thousands of dollars in bribes as the director of the state’s Office of School Construction Grants and Review. A lawyer and former state representative, Diamantis posted a $500,000 bond following his arrest on 22 charges, including extortion, bribery, conspiracy and making false statements from 2018 to 2021. He is alleged to have demanded and received tens of thousands of dollars in payments in exchange for directing work on large state-funded construction projects. In its portfolio of projects, Acranom lists the Litchfield Courthouse saying construction required 282,000 bricks while working with the KBE Corp. The project began in 2014 and was completed in 2017. Diamantis made it clear through messages that he expected a percentage of the contract fee. Courthouse construction projects, like school projects, are handled by the Department of Administrative Services.

https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2024/05/26/ex-ct-deputy-budget-director-diamantis-linked-to-bribery-scheme-years-after-torrington-courthouse-project/

In a new application to the Planning and Zoning Commission, READCO of Old Lyme and its development partner TRIO have proposed a revision of the master plan for the former Hoyt’s/Regal Cinema property on Route 2. READCO plans to expand its Pawcatuck theater redevelopment project by adding six adjacent properties, 108 more apartments and demolishing the theater and bank buildings on the site. The commission unanimously approved a zone change to Neighborhood Design District for the property in February, which allowed the developer to move forward on a project to repurpose the property as a recreational pickleball center, 10,000 square feet of commercial space and 124 one- and two-bedroom apartments. The change to a floating zone Neighborhood Design District provides the commission with a great deal of discretion about various aspects of the project, which Browning said was anticipated to cost between $70 million and $80 million.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240524/pawcatuck-theater-developer-proposes-expansion-of-property-additional-housing/

Funding secured, developer Randy Salvatore is moving ahead with plans to build a new mixed-use complex on the edge of downtown Hartford, confident that the demand for rental apartments in the capital city remains strong. A financing package to redevelop the former RPI campus near Dunkin’ Park won key approval on Wednesday, and work has begun to transform the 12.7-acre site at 275 Windsor St. into a mixed-use complex with an initial plan for 269 new apartments. Key to ramping up the RPI project was a $3 million loan approved by the Capital Region Development Authority board on Wednesday. The loan is meant to offset the $3.8 million that RMS paid for the long-vacant RPI property last year. First on the agenda for the RPI site is demolishing the main eight-story classroom building, which is apparently riddled with the pollutants common to 1970s-era structures. Initial cleanup has been done to remediate contaminants and pre-demolition work will start within weeks, Salvatore said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/business/article/hartford-ct-rpi-campus-apartments-dunkin-park-19476276.php

Part of Riverside Drive will shut down for more than a year in the coming months as construction crews rebuild coastal infrastructure that keeps floodwaters in check. Fairfield Engineering Manager Bill Hurley said the town will launch a more than $5.5 million project this summer to replace the tide gates and pipes that channel water under the Riverside Drive bridge between Ash and Turney creeks. Pipes known as culverts form holes in the Riverside Drive bridge and allow water to pass through self-regulating tide gates, which typically open based on water levels. The culvert system protects the Riverside Drive neighborhood from flooding during high tides and coastal storms and offers the primary outlet for a watershed that fills about 2.4 square miles, according to the report.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/fairfield/article/riverside-drive-traffic-fairfield-turney-creek-19435444.php

The utility provider is working closely with the city of Danbury and the Connecticut Department of Transportation on the project, “and our work will be complete in June to meet DOT’s schedule for their planned work along Main Street,” Ratliff said. Then DOT will take over the project. Iadarola said that under the current schedule for Main Street, DOT is scheduled to mill the street surface on June 28 and pave it on July 11. “A preconstruction meeting is scheduled on June 13 for this work and an update will be given after the meeting,” Iadarola said. And that’s not the only gas work to be completed on Main Street. Additional work along Kennedy Avenue and Rose Street to upgrade the system to a high pressure main is also underway. Officials expected Eversource to complete the Main Street portion of this work this week “with temporary patching of the street surface and sidewalk areas taking place to assure a safe route for Memorial Day parade marchers and viewers,” Iadarola said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/local/article/eversource-upgrading-gas-lines-along-danbury-main-19472496.php

A project to replace the bridge on Cedar Heights Road is now expected to be finished in November — a year later than initially scheduled. City Engineer Lou Casolo has said that the contractor for the “extremely complex” project, A. Vitti Excavators, has needed to submit plans for handling the flow of the Rippowam River, demolishing the more than 90-year old bridge and supporting utility lines to an inspection firm before moving from one stage of construction to the next. The original completion date was Nov. 30, 2023. A. Vitti Excavators committed to working during the winter and asked for an extension to substantially complete the project by May 31 of this year. Then the date changed to June 30. Cedar Heights Road, which is just south of the Merritt Parkway, has been closed to thru traffic during the project. A detour takes cars along High Ridge Road and Wire Mill Road, where another bridge is in line for construction.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/stamford-cedar-heights-road-bridge-19464639.php

The Offshore Wind Venture partnering Ørsted and Eversource told CT Examiner on Wednesday that the companies had canceled an agreement with Dominion Energy to use the as-yet-unbuilt Charybdis to install turbines off East Coast of the United States. The planned 472-foot vessel would be the first Jones Act compliant vessel for installing offshore turbines, clearing a significant hurdle for domestic offshore development. The spokesman declined to name the alternative vessel or disclose the cost of the agreement. But last August, it was reported that the vessel’s expected cost had risen from $500 million to $625 million, and that delays in its construction meant that Dominion would miss deadlines for the installation of 704-MW Revolution Wind, and 924-MW Sunrise Wind. In March, Ørsted submitted a bid for its latest project, Starboard Wind, a 1,184-MW project that the company planned to assemble off of State Pier.

Ørsted-Eversource Partnership Announces Cancellation of Agreement for Charybdis (Updated)

The city will receive $975,240 in federal funding to clean a brownfield and foundation rubble at the former Church and Morse building, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced this week. Funding for the Brownfield Cleanup Grant come from the bipartisan infrastructure law and will be used to cleanup the 0.33-acre vacant parcel. The site was previously used for commercial and industrial purposes, including generating electricity, welding and storage. The site is vacant and contaminated with volatile organic compounds, extractable petroleum hydrocarbons, metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The funds will be used to formalize a community engagement plan. The city’s award is part of $8.9 million in EPA grants to the state to expedite the assessment and cleanup. The grants are through the EPA’s dedicated program and revolving loan fund. The program aims to transform once-polluted vacant and abandoned properties into community assets, while helping to create jobs and spur economic revitalization in overburdened communities.

https://www.ctinsider.com/recordjournal/article/meriden-epa-grant-brownfield-cleanup-19472006.php

A plan to build a new dorm for UConn’s regional campus in the heart of downtown Hartford won a key approval Wednesday, with the university’s Board of Trustees voting unanimously to sign a 20-year lease to move the project forward. The new dorm would house 200 students in 50 units to be built inside part of a converted office and retail building at 242 Trumbull St. Developer Shelbourne Global Solutions bought the eight-story building at 242 Trumbull in June; the new dorm will be built inside an annex to the main structure with the address 64 Pratt St. The $28 million needed to convert the 242 Trumbull building into student housing will be funded through a package of state and city loans, plus capital from the building’s owner. The estimated $1.4 million annual deficit incurred by subsidizing the student housing to make it affordable will likely be offset by renting the dorms out during the summer to city corporations seeking to house interns and major employers like Hartford HealthCare, Ritter said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/business/article/uconn-dorm-downtown-hartford-ct-pratt-street-19472046.php