Everything old is new again as Yale University has received the city’s approval for its golf course to closely revert to its 1926 design, which will also level up to 1,500 mature trees. The project had already received state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection approval and now has a sign-off by the City Plan Commission for its site plan, sediment control and inland wetlands impact tied to the restoration on its 278-acre parcel in Westville. Yale is still awaiting approval by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The positive impact of the course renovation includes the removal of invasive plants and conservation measures that will lessen the need for city water when ponds on the course are dredged to increase storage capacity and a new computer controlled irrigation system is installed. The renovation will upgrade tees, greens, bunkers and fairways, lengthen the course, realign the golf cart path and plant 35 acres of native grasses.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/new-haven-yale-golf-course-restoration-trees-18552324.php

According to police crash report data from 2020 to 2022, there were approximately 280,000 crashes in Connecticut, and 34,000, or 12 percent, occurred on curves on state or town roads. In an effort to curb car accidents and deaths, the state Department of Transportation is updating and installing new horizontal curve warning signs and speed advisories on local roads throughout 15 towns in northwestern Connecticut. While fatal crashes make up less than 1 percent of crashes in the state, a third of them happen on curves, she said. So, the project takes a proactive approach by installing warning signs to improve driver awareness in response to curves. Numerous studies have concluded that by installing arrows, chevrons, and curve warning signs, crashes can be reduced anywhere from 30 to 50 percent, according to the DOT presentation. And signs are considered a relatively low-cost countermeasure with quick installation. The estimated construction cost for this project across the 15 towns is approximately $305,000, covered completely by federal funds. The construction cost includes the actual sign installations and removals, Police traffic control along the road, and trimming of tree branches near signs.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/farmingtonvalley/article/ct-dot-curve-road-car-crash-18555933.php

For 13 years running now, fall protection has hamstrung contractors and their safety directors. During that time, it has become OSHA’s most frequently cited infraction. It remains the most cited this year. During the National Safety Council’s (NSC) Safety Congress and Expo held this fall, OSHA’s Eric Harbin gave preliminary stats on the top 10 most cited standards. OSHA put a major emphasis on its fall hazards program this year as a way to help mitigate the safety risks to both workers and employers. According to the NSC, 136 workers died and nearly 128,000 were injured in same-level falls. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that of the 5,190 fatal workplace injuries in 2021, 680 were associated with falls from elevations. That equates to approximately 13 percent of all deaths, reported Ogletree Deakins, noting that the NEP should come as no surprise to contractors.

https://www.constructionequipmentguide.com/osha-violations-on-rise-this-year-fall-protection-tops-list/63381

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined an Orange-based concrete subcontractor more than $185,000 due to a June 2 partial building collapse on Lafayette Street. A U.S. Department of Labor spokesman said in an email Thursday that the OSHA investigation is complete. However, it is still considered an open investigation to provide the company time to respond. The report lists seven violations carrying a total of $185,633 in fines. The website notes that violations may be added or deleted. The principal of Seven Concrete, LLC, the nonunion subcontractor under OSHA investigation, could not be immediately reached for comment Thursday. Four of the listed citations carry individual fines of $12,031 and cite failing to include ramp area drawings on-site for workers, not having a structural design engineer inspect shoring elements and failing to conduct an inspection before the pouring of concrete. Two further citations for $8,595 charge the employer with providing guardrails that provided insufficient fall protection.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/new-haven-lafayette-construction-collapse-osha-18554141.php

New York developer Vessel Technologies is eyeing a site along Tolland Turnpike in town for a new 42-unit apartment complex. Vessel officials discussed the proposal with the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission at a meeting on Dec. 4, though they have yet to file any applications. The project would require a zone change to allow higher unit density and increased unit size for multifamily residential developments within the Planned Residential Development Zone. Levy said Vessel was founded to help expand housing options and opportunities to make a more equitable and affordable market. The Planning and Zoning Commission did not make any decision on the project at the meeting, but some members discussed possible issues that could arise if and when Vessel moves forward with an application.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/journalinquirer/article/manchester-ct-vessel-technologies-apartment-18548793.php

The State Bond Commission, meeting Friday, is poised to approve hundreds-of-millions of dollars to aid housing initiatives, clean brownfields, upgrade cultural facilities and support private development projects. Housing is a big focus of Friday’s session, with the Department of Housing in-line for $59 million to be used for grants for development projects and housing programs. Another $35 million is proposed for first-time homebuyer assistance. Another $35 million is earmarked for the state’s brownfield remediation fund, which is used to underwrite polluted-site cleanup for redevelopment. The program has been a key component in the teardown and redevelopment of abandoned and polluted industrial sites that would otherwise continue to rot away without attention due to the extreme expense of remediation.

https://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/brownfields-commercial-development-projects-and-more-slated-to-get-hundreds-of-millions-of

In Stamford’s more densely populated neighborhoods around downtown, multiple new apartment complexes are expected to open next summer. Several of the projects will also house new retail businesses too. Most of the new apartment buildings are being marketed as luxury developments — though they will include around 100 total affordable units thanks to the city’s Below Market Rate program. Meanwhile, the city’s housing authority, Charter Oak Communities, continues to renovate its existing subsidized housing. The first of those projects, The Asher, at 150 Broad St., will open up “a certain number of floors” to tenants at the start of the year, developer Randy Salvatore said. Wellbuilt Company, a Greenwich-based developer, has been growing its presence in Stamford the past few years. The firm has high hopes for its latest project, a 130-unit apartment complex on the East Side. The Lafayette could open to tenants “towards the end of the summer,” Wellbuilt co-founder Mitch Kidd said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/local/article/stamford-ct-apartments-2024-housing-18549387.php

Gregory Vaca, of Grava Properties, ceremoniously broke ground along with Gov. Ned Lamont and other state and local officials on the $30 million Founders Square project that will bring 106 apartments and 12,000 square feet of new retail space to the center of Windsor near the train station. Phase one calls for 40 apartments in the three-story South building, including 12 studios and 28 one-bedrooms; and 5,800 square feet of new retail space divided into four or five storefronts, forming a new street wall on Poquonock Avenue. The project won a $3.2 million Communities Challenge grant from the state Department of Economic and Community Development, and a $250,000 town grant helped fund a TOD planning study.

$30M Windsor Center mixed-use TOD project launched

In a $29 million project slated for 2028, the historically dangerous southbound stretch of I-95 between exits 71 and 72 will be combined to include a frontage road and stoplight, creating safer driving conditions according to state officials. Sam Gold, executive director of RiverCOG, which includes Old Lyme, said the project “will reduce the friction and the hazards in between the exits of 71 and 72, and will reduce accidents.” Gold said project funding was approved as an amendment to the FY 21-24 Transportation Improvement Program at Wednesday morning’s meeting of RiverCOG and Lower Connecticut River Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization. The Transportation Improvement Program, or TIP, is an ongoing list of projects scheduled to receive federal funding within a four-year period. Planning and engineering of the project are expected to begin in 2024 and completed in 2027.

I-95 Exits 71 and 72 Southbound Will Be Combined in 2028 Plan

Almost a quarter of the way into a four year, $148 million reconstruction of the Interstate 95 Exit 74 interchange, crews on Wednesday were preparing to meet the project’s first major milestone. While the existing northbound off-ramp continued to spit drivers out at the convoluted intersection with Route 161 in front of Starbucks, subcontractors working for general contractor Manafort Brothers of Plainville were readying a new off-ramp 500 feet down the state road. State Department of Transportation (DOT) project engineer Andrew Millovitsch said the new off ramp is scheduled to open at 6 a.m. Friday, if all goes according to plan. The old, shuttered off-ramp will eventually be swallowed up by the new commuter lot to be constructed as one of the last major improvements before the project’s expected completion in the spring of 2027. Crews on the unopened off-ramp Wednesday were installing guard rails, cycling through a new signalized intersection to make sure it was detecting vehicles, and installing wrong-way signs in anticipation of the expected opening.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20231213/exit-74-reconstruction-project-meets-its-first-major-milestone/