Scott first sought the necessary zoning approval a year-and-a-half ago. Some residents, activists and elected officials, including Mayor Joe Ganim during his re-election campaign, publicly opposed the project and the appointed zoning commission rejected the application last June in a 4-2 vote. Scott sued in state Superior Court and won in March. The presiding judge, Dale Radcliffe, ruled that zoning commission members violated municipal regulations in refusing to grant Scott his special permit and ordered that body approve the self-storage facility subject to reasonable conditions. Scott has said the footprint will not change but his intent is to transform the existing supermarket structure. To that end he still needs to finalize his plans and obtain the necessary construction permits. He said Thursday he did not want to start that process prior to the conclusion of his lawsuit because his proposal was still up in the air.

https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/bridgeport-self-storage-stop-shop-madison-ave-19486760.php

The sewer plant’s hardest-working pumping station on Harris Drive, which was built in 1979, draws from seven smaller stations in the northern area of Torrington, feeding to the main plant off South Main Street. “We’ve had up to 18 inches of water outside, and more than that in here,” sewer plant administrator Ed Tousey said. “We’ve done everything to contain it; sandbags, berms … and it’s never stopped pumping.” “The $1.6 million is a congressionally directed grant, meaning that we were given the chance to apply for it through the federal government,” Drew said. “It’s going to help with our infrastructure. This station is our largest, it serves seven smaller ones, and it’s one of 14 stations around the city.” “The project is still in the design phase, but we expect construction to start within a year,” Tousey said. The rest of the funding for the project, estimated to cost $3.2 million, will come from the sewer plant’s budget.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/torrington-gets-1-6-million-grant-rebuild-sewer-19484772.php

Gov. Ned Lamont vetoed his first bill from this year’s legislative session on Wednesday, sending back to lawmakers a proposal that would have doubled the cap on municipal contracts exempt from competitive bidding practices. The legislation, Senate Bill 226, proposed raising the minimum threshold for competitive bidding on all municipal contracts from $25,000 to $50,000 as part of what supporters described as an effort to increase efficiency and keep up with inflation. While the bill passed both chambers without much opposition earlier this month, Lamont said that the suggested increase went well beyond inflation — which he argued would put the threshold at around $35,000 — and risked eroding safeguards put in place to ensure transparency in the awarding of public contracts. Despite the strong, bipartisan majorities that voted in favor of the bill during the session, both the leaders of the House and Senate said Wednesday that they had no plans to attempt to override the veto with a two-thirds vote of each chamber.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/politics/article/ct-ned-lamont-veto-local-competitive-bidding-rules-19484701.php

Fitch Ratings said Tuesday it has assigned A+ ratings to $669 million in bonds that will be issued on behalf of Yale New Haven Health (YNHH). Proceeds from the bond issuance are expected to be used to refund the health system’s existing debt, as well as to provide approximately $333 million to support Yale New Haven’s capital spending program. Fitch outlined several major capital projects Yale New Haven Health has underway or planned, including an $840 million neurosciences center on the St. Raphael campus. Its other major capital project under evaluation is a comprehensive outpatient center in Meriden. Most other capital spending will be directed at infrastructure improvements, technology and equipment needs, and additional ambulatory access centers, according to Fitch. The A+ rating is further supported by Fitch’s view that the system has sufficient funds available to support completing its large tower expansion project that includes a neurosciences center.

Fitch gives A+ rating to pending $669M Yale New Haven Health bond issuance; $333M will be used for capital spending

Halfway through the five-year Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, less than half — 38% — of the funding has been announced, according to the White House. That’s a 13.5% increase in the past 6 months, an indication that the process is ramping up but still lags. Announced funding, captured from agency press releases, is preliminary and non-binding, whereas awarded funding represents actual obligations, per the White House. Half of the IIJA’s funding, or $550 billion, goes to new initiatives. The White House also released an updated map of the more than 56,000 projects and awards that are identified or now underway at 4,500-plus localities around the country. That’s up 40% from 40,000 projects six months ago. Many of the country’s infrastructure systems suffer from long standing underinvestment, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers. ASCE gave U.S. infrastructure a “C minus” on its most recent report card, with roads, bridges, airports and water systems rated in “poor” to “mediocre” condition. Many need updates to withstand the impact of more frequent and intense extreme weather due to climate change. The goal of the IIJA is to start to address these repair and resilience gaps, and recent Biden administration investments have kept the state of infrastructure from getting worse, an ASCE study released in May found.

https://www.constructiondive.com/news/infrastructure-law-halfway-project-funding/717254/

Earlier this month, a 1.8-acre property — which has approvals in place for a multifamily redevelopment — was listed for sale. The parcel at 446A Blake St. has been approved for 144 residential units to be completed over three phases. Phase one is a ground-up development of a new five-story, 55-unit apartment building. Phase two is an adaptive reuse of an existing 45,800-square-foot historic mill building, which is currently being used as office space, into 36 residential units. Phase three entails construction of a new five-story, 53-unit apartment building. Bradley Balletto, co-founder and investments managing director of Northeast Private Client Group, which has the listing, said it’s not uncommon for property owners to gain approvals for a development, and then sell the site before construction begins. Some owners are real estate investors who either don’t have the expertise to develop a site, or simply aren’t interested in taking the property through the construction phase.

Historic New Haven mill site approved for major apartment redevelopment goes up for sale

The Farmington Canal Heritage Trail’s intersections with local roads previously drew concern in 2021, after a pedestrian was struck and seriously injured in the trail crosswalk on West Main Street in Plantsville center. While there were bright yellow signs warning motorists to yield for pedestrians, town officials looked to increase pedestrian and motorist safety along the popular recreational corridor. The Town Council voted to add stop signs for motorists traveling in either direction at what was considered one of the most dangerous intersections at the time at Mill Street. Town Council Chairman Paul Chaplinsky Jr. said that he personally thinks there should be stop signs on the roads at those two locations and doesn’t think it’s too much to ask for people to stop at a pedestrian crossing that has such a high volume of people. Schultz Corp. of Terryville recently paved the new section of trail and is installing topsoil and planting grass seed along the trail edge, as well as landscaping, and fencing.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/recordjournal/article/southington-plainville-linear-trail-construction-19471944.php

One that’s nearing completion is the interchange of Interstate 84 and Route 8 in Waterbury, known as “The Mixmaster,” which is composed of a stack of bridges. “We’re finally going to be finished with that project by the end of October,” Morgan said. “What’s going to be happening over the next five months or so will be periodic lane closures, some nighttime work, but we’re in the home stretch.” This project’s biggest construction work has just been getting underway in the last year and it will ultimately eliminate Exit 17 northbound on I-91, making it easier to get from I-91 to Route 15. “In this one we’ll have some of these traffic shifts during the daytime and then during the night, there’ll be lane closures … People are going to see a lot of barrels, a lot of the concrete barriers, a lot of equipment out there,” Morgan said. “We’re rocking and rolling out in East Lyme. That’s about a $150 million project,” Morgan said. The project to straighten the highway at Exit 74 and replace the exit and entrance ramps is expected to last until 2027.

Darn that CT traffic jam: These major projects, traffic shifts will add to backups this summer

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/