United Illuminating Company has gotten the OK to build multi-story steel poles north of the railroad tracks between Fairfield and Bridgeport. The council’s decision would relocate the monopoles that UI applied to build along the southern side of the tracks, where the structures, designed to support electric lines, would have sliced through 19.25 acres of private property that the company would be authorized to use. UI has touted the project as a necessary upgrade that will modernize its infrastructure and strengthen reliability since announcing the work in 2022. Gerber said town officials are weighing an appeal and consulting with its legal team. UI has not released the design for the revised project, leaving the height, location and overall impact of the monopoles unknown, according to the town release.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/fairfield/article/ui-monopoles-fairfield-siting-council-ct-18677155.php

A bill proposed this month by Gov. Ned Lamont would rename the Connecticut Port Authority and essentially absorb the group into the state’s airport authority. The bill calls for identifying the port authority as the “Connecticut Maritime Authority” and making it a subsidiary of the airport group, according to a copy of the act provided to The Day on Tuesday. Under the proposed new management system, the airport authority’s board would also serve as the new maritime authority’s board of directors. The airport authority’s executive director would also serve as chief administrative officer for the new maritime group. Board Chairman David Kooris said the port authority has always been challenged by its small size as the CAA’s approximately 160 direct employees far outnumber the port authority’s handful of paid staff members. He said the General Assembly’s Transportation Committee will likely hold a public hearing on the governor’s bill by March 15 with details on the proposal to be “fleshed out” in the coming weeks.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240220/port-authority-board-members-push-back-on-lamonts-merger-proposal/

Construction of a cutting-edge cancer center in Connecticut is scheduled to begin this spring at 932 Northrop Road in Wallingford, town officials say. Joe Mirra, the town’s Economic Development Commission chairman, said Tuesday that representatives of Hartford Healthcare and Yale New Haven Health System have told him construction of the 25,000 square foot Connecticut Proton Therapy Center should start in March or April. The two healthcare organizations, which are among Connecticut’s largest, are developing the facility as part of a joint venture. The state Office of Health Strategy approved the joint application for the center in 2022. Costs are estimated at $70 million for the facility, which will be the first of its kind in the state. Mirra said with the addition of the Proton Therapy Center in Wallingford, “I can foresee the town and surrounding communities becoming a significant medical hub.” And surrounding businesses will really benefit from the increased activity in town.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/ct-proton-cancer-center-spring-construction-18669054.php

The New Fairfield Town Park beach house reconstruction project — for which $700,000 in ARPA money was allocated — has come in over budget, town engineer Antonio Iadarola told the Board of Selectmen during its Feb. 2 meeting. After bringing the “major budget issue” to the attention of First Selectwoman Melissa Lindsey, he said officials decided to finish the design of the project, put it out to bid and find a funding solution later. The most costly of the town’s 10 ARPA projects is a $1.6 million sewer project aimed at addressing the lack of sewer and water infrastructure in the center of town through the design and permitting of a connection from New Fairfield’s downtown commercial zone to Danbury’s regional wastewater treatment plant. Town officials have said the sewer project would also support the future environmental health of the town, as the septic systems serving businesses in New Fairfield’s downtown pose environmental concerns, and the aging septic systems put Ball Pond Brook — which passes through the commercial zone — at risk of contamination.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/new-fairfield-arpa-projects-beach-house-sewer-18671540.php

A developer looking to build an extended-stay hotel in Stamford’s downtown argues that 25 off-site parking spaces would be more than enough to accommodate guests, but the city’s zoning regulations need to be changed before it’s allowed. Tullamore LLC, which is affiliated with Greenwich-based Wellbuilt Company, has requested the text change as part of a proposal to build a 10-story, 99-room hotel with ground-floor restaurant space at the site of what is now a parking lot alongside Curley’s Diner. The Planning Board recently voted 3-2 to recommend that the Zoning Board approve the text change as well as Wellbuilt’s proposed site plan. Many of the hotel’s guests would likely come from Stamford’s train station either by foot or ride-hailing, Mazzeo told the board.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/stamford-hotel-parking-curleys-diner-18669921.php?src=sthpdesecp

The sidewalks are under construction as part of the Lower Summer Street Promenade project, which includes widened sidewalks on both sides of Lower Summer Street (the section between Broad and Main streets), an improved streetscape with new lights and trees, a raised intersection to increase pedestrian safety and other improvements. Meyer said the project costs $2 million and $600,000 is funded by the Connecticut Department of Transportation Community Connectivity Grant Program and $1.4 million is funded by the City of Stamford. Meyer said the sidewalk roadway construction began last spring, and much of it should be completed soon. “We anticipate that the sidewalk work will be completed by mid-March, and we are aiming for the project to be substantially completed by mid-April,” she said. “Final work such as roadway paving and light pole installation will be completed in early May.”

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/stamford-summer-street-caroline-simmons-18659162.php?src=sthpdesecp

Also called a roundabout or rotary, the traffic circle will replace the more than 30-year-old traffic signal at the intersection, saving the city in future maintenance costs and limiting emissions from vehicles idling at red lights, said Jim Travers, director of the city’s Transportation, Mobility and Parking Department. It will be located near the campus of CT State Norwalk, formerly Norwalk Community College. The traffic circle, which has $5 million in state funds, will be funded by: $1 million in state bond funds acquired by Duff, and the state Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program from which the TMP Department received $4 million — the maximum amount for a single grant, Travers said. The TMP Department looks to have community conversations and meetings about the project this spring, Travers said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/norwalk-traffic-circle-richards-west-cedar-street-18672173.php

Officials are scrambling to come up with savings now that bids have come in more than a million dollars higher than original estimates for the $5.3 million senior center renovation project. The bids came from construction subcontractors vying to work under the Hartford-based Newfield Construction management firm, which was selected in October to manage the project. Old Lyme is responsible for 75% of the project cost, with Lyme accountable for the remainder. Baker said officials must figure out how to bring the costs down ― and secure funding for the remaining overage, if any ― before the current bids expire on May 6 in order not to have to start the bidding process over. That would mean the senior center could reopen by late February of next year if crews get in the building this May, she said.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240219/before-construction-begins-lymes-senior-center-renovation-not-on-time-or-on-budget/

The City Council will be asked Tuesday to support a $15.6 million federal grant request for improvements to the Interstate 395 Exit 18 ramp and to create dedicated lanes for traffic entering and leaving the planned Occum Industrial Center. The Norwich Community Development Corp. is seeking authorization to apply for the grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity, RAISE, program. The requested $15.6 million would fund the majority of the proposed $20 million project to upgrade the Exit 18 northbound and southbound ramps with wider lanes, including acceleration and deceleration lanes on the steep ramps, a traffic light at the Route 97 intersection, sidewalks along Route 97 and dedicated lanes to enter and exit the industrial center. Nystrom thanked the state for awarding the initial $11.3 million in Community Investment Fund grant money to construct the access road and thanked state Sen. Cathy Osten for obtaining another $500,000 in state funding for design work.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240219/norwich-considers-pursuing-15-million-federal-grant-for-i-395-exit-improvements/

he Association of Union Constructors (TAUC) Spring 2018 edition of TAUC’s Construction User magazine was devoted to the opioid issue with the theme “Confronting the Opioid Crisis: What Contractors Can Do Today.” Today, Zimmer serves as an appointed member of the Connecticut Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee. In 2023 Zimmer was invited to represent the construction industry at a town hall hosted by the Brookings Institution on the economic impact of the opioid epidemic and its effect on labor supply availability. The Local #478 Member Assistance Program (MAP) supports 3,200 members and 10,000 total lives, including family members and retirees. The MAP provides all-encompassing support for mental health, wellbeing, substance misuse, and treatment and recovery support for substance use disorder. One of the signatory contractors Zimmer partnered with is Bartlett Brainard Eacott. Marko Kaar is the longtime Director of Safety Operations for BBE. Kaar and Zimmer collaborated on opioid awareness and risk reduction initiatives back in 2016-2017.

https://www.forconstructionpros.com/business/business-services/coaching-consulting/article/22885409/how-three-construction-leaders-recognized-and-responded-to-opioid-crisis?fbclid=IwAR39LQ66qLZXULTNjglV0aUj3DODXALcFfkTH2hFWJk5d-TQkC5HkdFxhpI