Route 161 in the area of Interstate 95 was a flurry of activity on a recent weekday morning as the four-and-a-half-year reconstruction project that began last March entered its second stage. By the end of 2024, the project’s senior management team said drivers can expect to see extensive overpass work, the creation of a new Exit 74 northbound on-ramp and jarring elevation changes as the roadway is leveled out in phases. Obey emphasized the interconnected nature of the $148 million project planned in multiple phases through 2027. Utility work must happen to allow for replacement of the overpass as well as the widening and leveling of the northbound side of the highway by the end of this year. That, in turn, must be finished before the southbound side and Route 161 underneath it can be addressed. The new northbound off-ramp was unveiled as what Obey called an “early Christmas gift” in December. This year, work will continue to focus on the northbound side.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240121/i-95-project-continues-to-transform-east-lyme-two-lanes-at-a-time/

A Hartford-based construction company is under investigation for an “excessive” buildup of poisonous fumes inside a downtown building that sent 14 people to the hospital Wednesday, officials say. Alberca Construction Co. LLC is being probed in connection with a buildup of carbon monoxide that emergency crews detected at a commercial building at 73 Howe St., according to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Yale University owns the Howe Street property, New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said. Officials said the construction workers who were renovating the building did not properly vent the fumes wafting from a propane-powered saw they were using to cut concrete, causing a buildup of carbon monoxide that was 10 times the safe amount. The workers also were not using carbon monoxide detectors, officials added. Alberca said his company was hired by Babbidge Construction Co. on Chapel Street in New Haven for the renovation work. Rick Fontana, the city’s director of emergency operations, confirmed that Babbidge was the general contractor overseeing the project. However, only Alberca Construction was being investigated, according to Fitzgerald.

https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/new-haven-gas-leak-yale-alberca-osha-18614946.php#photo-24636024

The Municipal Redevelopment Authority, or MRDA, was established in 2019 to mirror CRDA’s efforts statewide. However, the initiative never took hold, after MRDA failed to receive funding and state and local officials became distracted by the pandemic. Last year, lawmakers quietly tried to address those issues by approving funding for MRDA — $600,000 in fiscal years 2024 and 2025 — to hire staff, and eliminating membership mandates and restrictions, opening up the program more broadly. Last year’s state budget also allows the Bond Commission to authorize up to $60 million to capitalize MRDA. The funds would allow the quasi-public agency to help finance development projects, likely through low-interest loans. “Connecticut is gaining population and I have to make sure that keeps going, and we can’t do that without housing. And we need all types of housing, single-family, workforce, affordable…,” Lamont said. MRDA’s main purpose is to assist in local development and redevelopment efforts, with a particular focus on new housing.

Lamont looks to replicate CRDA’s success with statewide development agency tasked with financing transit-oriented housing

Local Republicans took aim at the tactics used by recently-elected First Selectman Bill Gerber, a Democrat, to fight a plan by United Illuminating to string transmission lines through private property off the existing Metro-North right of way through Bridgeport and Fairfield. In a Jan. 12 email to Fairfield residents, Gerber told residents that the company’s standard easement form would give United Illuminating the right to install equipment, fill, excavate and clear the land of any structures at any time– claims that Republicans are not disputing. Gerber said that United Illuminating had tried to discredit the rendering during Siting Council hearings, and he was disappointed that Iacono would do same. Local officials and residents from both political parties have largely come together to oppose the planned $225 million transmission line project, which would require 19.25 acres of easements, 7 acres of clearing, and the installation of 102 new monopoles. UI is awaiting a decision by the Connecticut Siting Council determining whether the project can continue.

Fairfield Fights Transmission Lines, Splits Over Messaging

Years after developers, including a Meriden nonprofit, broke ground on renovations to convert two historic schools in Bristol into apartments, the units are finally fully leased. Bristol Enterprises LLC, a partnership between Ted Lazarus of the Park Lane Group and Maynard Road Corp., the private nonprofit development arm of the Meriden Housing Authority, cobbled together $23 million in tax credits and other state financing to complete the renovations to Bingham and O’Connell schools on Park Street and North Street. The renovations included efforts to provide natural light, ventilation and increased fire safety. The project also incorporated Maynard Road’s use of geothermal and solar technologies to make both buildings energy neutral. “For us, the conversion of those former schools to apartments has been a great project,” said Bristol Director of Economic and Community Development Justin Malley.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/recordjournal/article/nonprofit-meriden-housing-developer-moves-18594651.php

Work continues on the Bartlem South Project —a nearly $8 million expansion of Cheshire’s Bartlem Park — and officials anticipate it to be completed in the fall or early winter of 2024. The master plan for the property, adopted in 2021, includes a Great Lawn and a bandshell to be used as a community-gathering place where concerts, movie nights and other events can be held. Site work and excavation for the site improvements started in March 2023 by DeRita & Sons Construction Co., and officials are hoping this phase of the project will be completed later this year, while acknowledging that significant work still lies ahead. The total cost of the project is $7.9 million, $2 million of which came from American Rescue Plan Act funds, as well as a credit of $81,000 to be used for the restroom facilities and $750,000 of additional state grants.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/recordjournal/article/cheshire-bartlem-south-park-18615226.php

The wetlands approval of 1700 Asylum Ave., the eastern parcel of the property that’s divided into two by Trout Brook Drive, puts developers closer to the construction of four buildings totaling 322 apartments on what is now an asphalt parking lot. The project still needs further approval, including from the Town Council. In all, developer West Hartford 1 LLC hopes to build what’s now called Heritage Park, a mixed-used residential and commercial property that would include 569 units of housing split between apartments, assisted living and townhouses. The western parcel, 1800 Asylum Ave., would also include a grocery store, restaurant, cafe and more. Plans for that parcel were withdrawn and will be resubmitted and considered separately from the eastern parcel at a later date.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/westhartford/article/west-hartford-ct-uconn-campus-housing-wetlands-18615100.php

The City Council’s economic development committee Wednesday approved a grant application to the U.S. Department of Transportation for $22.1 million to rebuild the Congress Street span. The city and state had previously set aside an additional $12 million a piece for the project. When the city finally sought construction bids last summer, four interested contractors participated, submitting costs double and more of what had been anticipated — $42.55 million, $48.04 million, $56.93 million and $57.63 million. And that resulted in the current $22.1 million grant application, which is expected to pass the full council at its next meeting. The members are, like Ganim, all Democrats. The mayor’s rival in this coming Tuesday’s Democratic mayoral primary, former administration employee John Gomes, has previously sought to use the delays against the incumbent, claiming the Congress St. bridge is a example of some of Ganim’s broken promises to voters.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/bridgeport-needs-22m-for-congress-st-bridge-replacement-get-this-bridge-done-please/ar-AA1nc9KM

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced that the agency is replacing traditional hard hats used by its employees with more modern safety helmets to protect them better when they are on inspection sites. In 2020, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported head injuries accounted for nearly 6 percent of non-fatal occupational injuries involving days away from work. Almost half of those injuries occurred when workers came in contact with an object or equipment while about 20 percent were caused by slips, trips and falls. The agency recommends safety helmets be used by people working at construction industry and the oil and gas industry; in high-temperature, specialized work and low-risk environments; performing tasks involving electrical work and working from heights; and when required by regulations or industry standards.

https://www.constructionequipmentguide.com/osha-announces-switch-from-traditional-hard-hats-to-safety-helmets/63323

School officials are seeking input from the public as they continue to narrow down options for school renovation and construction plans. The forums come a week after the school board was scheduled to hear from Rusty Malik, principal with the architectural firm Quisenberry Arcari Malik, prior to its Jan. 10 meeting. The board hopes to narrow down the options before the two community forums. Brewster Elementary School will house preschool through first grade next September, second- and third-graders will go to John Lyman Elementary School, and fourth- and fifth-graders will attend Middlefield Memorial. Schuch said he expects the schools will have the same start times next school year, even after the grade reconfiguration.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/recordjournal/article/regional-district-13-ct-board-school-renovations-18606569.php