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 appears unlikely they’ll face the same buffeting that projects started a few years ago have had to endure. Those developments—which include the Empire Wind 2 plan, whose contract Equinor and bp canceled early this year—faced something of a perfect storm: After developers penciled out business models and secured power purchase contracts before the arrival of COVID-19, supply-chain snarls caused by the pandemic jacked up prices for the materials and equipment they needed and the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate hikes added immensely to their financing costs.

https://www.tdworld.com/renewables/article/55017221/offshore-sector-gathers-second-wind-after-several-setbacks

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 and extend the life of the pavement on Route 15 and Interstate 95 in Orange, Woodbridge, New Haven, Darien and Norwalk starting on April 8, 2024,” a DOT statement said. The project began on April 8, and will last until December. Tilcon Connecticut Inc. of New Britain was awarded an $18,861,960 contract for the project, which is administered by the Bureau of Engineering and Construction.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/nighttime-i-95-merritt-lane-closures-norwalk-19395604.php

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 located at 143-151 Plainfield Pike Road. Uline is a company that distributes shipping, industrial and packaging materials throughout North America. Plainfield Town Planner Ryan Brais said that Uline would like to begin construction this year and finish in one or two years. He added that the town has not been notified of the construction cost at this point.

https://www.norwichbulletin.com/story/news/local/2024/04/12/uline-warehouse-plainfield-conn-planning-zoning-commission/73290322007/

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 off Route 12 also claims that local regulations that allow the Planning and Zoning Commission to consider the project’s effects on the character of the immediate neighborhood are superseded by a new state law. Harry B. Heller, the lead attorney for Gales Ferry Intermodal’s parent company Cashman Dredging & Marine Contracting Co. of Quincy, Mass., downplayed the potential for increased truck traffic in the resubmitted application, saying aggregate from the site will be shipped “primarily via barge,” while also playing up the creation of “30 well-paying construction jobs” during the property’s development phase.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240411/quarry-operation-in-gales-ferry-back-on-the-table/

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 of the OBB was imminent, and indicated it wasn’t even certain that construction would take place. East Hartford Deputy Director of Development Steve Hnatuck said Thursday that no specific timeline was given during Wednesday’s presentation to the commission but representatives for RTX said that they expected a 30-month window for construction when the project is launched. The Pratt & Whitney campus stands at 260 acres, but the company in recent years sold a 300-acre former airfield on which National Development built two warehouses for Lowe’s and Wayfair. The company announced in March that the buildings were approved for occupancy and that hiring would begin soon.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/capitalregion/article/pratt-and-whitney-east-hartford-ct-rtx-19397369.php

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 on Main Street, which was constructed in 1963. Hughes said at this point GSA is just analyzing two locations, the one on Woodland and the one on Allyn. Maltzan will work with Glastonbury-based SLAM Collaborative, which will provide architectural supports. Construction is targeted to start in 2027, with the new court ready for occupancy in 2030, according to Hughes.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/capitalregion/article/hartford-ct-federal-courthouse-architecture-design-19397619.php

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 ​“wholesale and distribution” uses. It also displayed how climate change has begun to impact New Haven’s housing and economic development policy. As City Plan Director Laura Brown explained to alders, the TOC zone was proposed in line with a national movement for ​“transit-oriented development” — a planning approach that aims to center city life around mass transportation so that residents can more easily live without a car and reduce carbon emissions. The proposed zone would allow taller buildings that could reach 28–34 stories, with parking spaces capped at 85 per acre.

New Haven advances transit oriented development — with extra step for housing

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. The agency provided states with a list of 22 guidance issues in 2022, but as of November 2023 it was still working on four of these items. According to the OIG, FHWA’s review and approval of STIPs is designed to help state transportation departments meet federal requirements including reliable cost estimates and reasonably available funding. In response to the report, the highway administration agreed with the first recommendation and provided appropriate actions and completion dates, the OIG said. The FHWA partially concurred with the second two recommendations, providing an action plan for responding to outstanding technical assistance requests but saying it will only require reviews of division office procedural revisions for major changes.

https://www.constructiondive.com/news/audit-state-transportation-programs-iija/712692/

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 other space in several buildings on a 251.2-acre campus at Rentschler Field. Between the new building and demolition, this phase of the larger renovation project will result in a net gain of 63,143 square feet of office space for Pratt & Whitney, according to a site plan application submitted by the company in February. The Planning & Zoning Commission will review the site plan at its meeting Wednesday evening. In addition to the commission’s approval of the site plan, Pratt’s plan requires approval from the Office of the State Traffic Administration and local building permits.

https://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/pratt-whitney-plans-new-313k-square-foot-office-building-part-of-multi-year-upgrade-to-east

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 said in a statement. According to a DOT database of bridge repair projects, the Sugar Hollow Road bridge in Wilton is due to receive $480,000 in federal funds this year, $100,000 in 2025 and $2.43 million in 2026. The town will receive at least 80 percent reimbursement from federal aid for all three phases of the project — design, rights-of-way and construction — with the remaining funds from the state to cover 100 percent of the costs associated with the bridge replacement. The total estimated cost of the project is $2.92 million, said Thomas Reese, civil engineer with the Department of Public Works.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/wilton-bridge-sugar-hollow-road-closed-replace-19361904.php