Voters widely rejected a $47 million plan to renovate the outdated Sherman School, leaving the town with few options to save the pre-K-8 building. The town must now consider alternatives that include building a new school, eliminating its middle school program or closing its only public school, the Board of Education chairman said. Sherman would be the only town in the Connecticut without a school, state education department officials have said. At Saturday’s referendum, residents voted 914-509 against repairing the school. The town, which has about 3,500 residents, would have sought a state grant to cover $11 million of the cost. If the school were to close entirely, pre-K-8 students would be sent to neighboring school districts, just like Sherman’s high-school age students. That idea faced backlash from parents when it was discussed last year.

https://www.newstimes.com/newmilford/article/sherman-ct-school-renovation-plan-rejected-18414263.php?src=nthpdesecp

The city is receiving $2 million in state funds toward reconstruction of Canal and Wooster streets, including the reopening of the long-closed Wooster Street railroad crossing. The funds are part of more than $1.1 billion in state funding — approved Friday by the State Bond Commission — that will be used to perform various improvements to Connecticut’s transportation system. The funds will go toward road and lighting improvements along Canal Street as well and reopening of the Wooster Street railroad crossing. Construction is moving to this area of Canal Street near the Wooster Street connection. This latest state grant comes only a week after the city received $500,000 to help cover costs of turning the lower grass field at Shelton High into an artificial turf field.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/ct-money-shelton-canal-wooster-street-rr-crossing-18411435.php

A $2 million state grant for the engineering and construction of a Middletown connection to the Air Line State Park Trail in Portland has the potential to unlock another $8 million in federal dollars for the overall project. The Air Line, a former railway that takes its name from the imaginary line drawn from New York to Boston, according to the state Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, is a stone dust trail used by walkers and cyclists. Plans are for it to eventually connect the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail with Middletown at the center, according to a news release from state Sen. Matt Lesser. Once finished, the 23-mile ALT-FCT Connector would complete the 111-mile Central Connecticut Loop Trail. “This construction money makes this project so much more feasible and have much better legs than it did before,” the executive director added. “This is a great position to be in.”

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/air-line-trail-grant-middletown-portland-18414919.php

Built in the 1940s, the northbound span of the Goldstar Memorial Bridge continues carrying five lanes of I-95 traffic safely across the Thames River from New London to Groton in Connecticut. The job will have three phases, totaling approximately $407 million, with the entire project due to be completed in 2029. The phases include rehabbing the truss spans, work on the approach span, fixing bearings, concrete repairs, improved drainage systems, and finally a full deck replacement. Scott Thompson is the project manager of Aetna Bridge, who was awarded the contract for Phase 1, and supervises a team of approximately 70 workers for the current phase of the project. The job is not for the faint of heart as the workers do their jobs on a bridge that soars 110-150 ft. above the water at the midpoint of the bridge. The upper platform is 140 ft. above the water. Thompson estimates that the bridge was last given a full paint job 50 years ago. He understands that the coating system being applied will provide rust protection for an additional 50 years.

https://www.constructionequipmentguide.com/aetna-bridge-leads-goldstar-bridge-rehabilitation-job/62701

The Planning and Zoning Board cleared the way on Tuesday for Centennial Real Estate to apply for a permit to transform the Connecticut Post Mall into a 21st Century mix of retail and housing. No price tag has been stated for Centennial’s latest effort to rebuild the mall, but $70 million was the figure the company named in 2021. Much of Milford’s economic prosperity is tied to the mall. A recent economic development study, the city’s Plan of Conservation and Development and affordable-housing advocates have called for the mall to become a mix of housing and retail. Centennial hopes to break ground in the spring, if its next step, the submission of building plans for board review, meets with approval, officials said.

https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/milford-ct-zoning-board-oks-regulation-change-18402804.php?src=rdctpdensecp

Town residents turned up the pressure on United Illuminating to withdraw and refile its application for a proposed project that could hang transmission lines as high as 145 feet high over homes and businesses. The electric utility company, which services the Bridgeport and New Haven areas, applied in March to rebuild its transmission lines with monopoles that would stand between 95 and 145 feet tall along the railroad tracks between Fairfield and Bridgeport and spill into nearly 20 miles of private property through easements. Public hearings before the Connecticut Siting Council, which considers UI’s application and allows intervening parties to testify and cross-examine “witnesses” representing UI, will end next month before a final decision in March. For a total reset, UI would need to withdraw and refile its application, restarting the timeline for affected property owners to research the project and prepare for the legal battle many hope will drive the transmission lines underground.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/fairfield/article/ui-town-hall-fairfield-monopole-powerline-project-18408081.php

More than $41 million for physical improvements in transportation, housing, parks and facilities appear headed the city’s way in the latest pool of bond projects coming through the State Bond Commission. Elicker said the latest proposed Union Station grant would help fund platform repair and improvements, but it’s in addition to a previous $17 million bond authorization that would fund internal station improvements that are part of a much broader effort to redevelop the railroad station. On the Gateway demolition, which is a key part of the city’s future plans to redevelop the Long Wharf area, the city had worked closely with the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities system to convey the state property that includes the old Gateway building to the city, Elicker said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/new-have-projects-funding-state-bond-commission-18405439.php

At Monday night’s Representative Town Meeting, residents and unionized construction workers disagreed over a proposal by NE Edge LLC to build a data center on the Millstone Power Station property. While residents reiterated their concerns about noise and the impact on the environment, union workers applauded the jobs it would create. First Selectman Rob Brule signed an agreement in March that calls for NE Edge to pay the town $231 million over 30 years to construct two two-story data center buildings, supplied with energy from Millstone, that would provide 1.5 million square feet of storage for cloud and data centers. Keith Brothers, who heads the Connecticut State Building Trades Council, told the RTM on Monday that his union has signed an agreement with NE Edge in which it has agreed to use local union workers and contractors. “This project is going to generate over a million man hours for the construction industry,” added Joseph Toner, the union’s executive director. “One out of every four construction workers on this project is going to be from Waterford.”

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20231003/union-workers-and-waterford-residents-squabble-over-data-center/

Residents will vote this Saturday on a $47 million plan to renovate the only public school in Sherman. Pending voter approval, the town would pursue a state grant to be reimbursed for $11 million of the project. Should the referendum pass, construction would begin no later than April 2024 and progress in phases, without the use of portable classrooms, toward an anticipated completion in August 2025, according to a statement from the town. Portions of the building can be worked on while students are in the rest of the building, the school board chairman said. The spring of 2024 start date is “a pretty aggressive schedule,” Vogt said, although inflation and building and supply shortages might play a factor in the completion date of the project.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/newmilford/article/sherman-school-referendum-renovation-47-million-18401278.php

The city’s school board has approved final plans for the new Norwalk High School and P-TECH combined campus, built on an existing athletic field. The $239 million building replace the current NHS campus and include the two schools, according to the district’s construction information website. The state has promised to reimburse the city for 80 percent of the cost. School board members gave their final approvals during their Sept. 26 meeting. The new school will be constructed where the Testa Field Complex is currently located. To allow for students to participate in athletics without disruption, the district will bus students to spaces at Nathan Hale Middle School, West Rocks Middle School, Cranbury Elementary School, Brien McMahon High School and Oak Hills Park.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/education/article/norwalk-high-school-project-athletic-field-18404217.php