When the long-awaited train station is up and running in the Thompsonville section of town, state transportation officials say it will reconnect Enfield to other parts of Connecticut and beyond. The proposed project would provide a convenient alternative to car travel, and connect the town via Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor to New York and Boston, according to the state Department of Transportation. Another train station is currently under construction in Windsor Locks and is scheduled to open in 2025. Construction of the Enfield station is anticipated to begin in spring 2025, depending on the acquisition of rights of way and approval of permits. According to the DOT, the estimated construction cost for the project is about $45.5 million, and with an anticipated 40 percent coming from federal funds and 60 percent from state funds.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/journalinquirer/article/enfield-ct-dot-thompsonville-train-station-18389022.php

According to the treasurer’s office, nearly $5.4 billion in commission-approved bonding still hasn’t been issued, a backlog more than six times the size of Connecticut’s projected transportation borrowing this year. Meanwhile, the state’s approach has left construction industries and workers frustrated, and Connecticut’s gasoline station owners are calling for an immediate reduction in state fuel taxes. The STF is on pace to close $204 million or almost 10% in the black when the fiscal year ends June 30, according to Gov. Ned Lamont’s budget agency, the Office of Policy and Management. Borrowing covered by the Special Transportation Fund did rise 11.5% last fiscal year, reaching $830 million. And the Lamont administration had construction industry and trade officials excited last November when it projected the investment would grow to $1 billion in 2023-24. Federal grants under the new Biden initiative are covering 80% to 90% of the cost of many transportation projects, meaning the more states commit, the more overall funding they can leverage. But in the latest monthly debt report issued by state Treasurer Erick Russell’s office, it indicated Connecticut plans to issue $875 million this fiscal year, just a 5.4% increase.

CT to leave big transportation funds unspent

A roughly $2 million upgrade to the North End Little League complex at 234 Brittania St. is expected to be complete next month. That facility currently includes fields used by the Jack Barry and Ed Walsh leagues, which combined to form Meriden Little League. When completed, the North End complex will have two artificial turf fields — a baseball diamond along with a new softball field. In February, city crews began demolishing the structures around the ball fields, including removing their fencing and back stops, explained Chris Bourdon, city director of parks and recreation. It is being funded through $1.8 million of the school district’s ARPA funds, along with another $400,000 from the city, Grove explained.

https://www.myrecordjournal.com/News/Meriden/Meriden-News/Jack-Barry-field-upgrades-to-be-completed-next-month.html

The sprawling Stonebridge Crossing mixed use development at the intersection of Route 10 and Interstate 691 in Cheshire continues to expand on multiple fronts with plans for an extended stay hotel submitted to the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission. Homewood Suites by Hilton is seeking to build a four-story, 125-room hotel near the entrance to the 107 acre property. Planning and Zoning Commission members will get their first chance to ask questions about the proposed development at a public hearing on Oct. 23. The latest news about Stonebridge Crossing come two weeks after a joint venture involving Chicago-based investment management firm and a Fairfield residential development company purchased a 300-unit apartment complex that is currently under construction in Cheshire for $9 million, according to municipal land records.

https://www.nhregister.com/business/article/cheshire-hotel-homewood-suites-stonebridge-18391487.php?src=nhrhpdesecp

A group of residents has created a petition outlining their concern over the impact the proposed mixed-use residential development at the former University of Connecticut campus would have on existing wetlands and the town. Proposals for 1800 Asylum Ave. — the western side of the property — do call for the construction of six buildings plus additional townhouses that would line Asylum Avenue and Lawler Road. All of that would be surrounded by parking lots. Developers do intend to leave green space open, including a recreational lawn alongside Trout Brook Drive, a woodland trail behind the property, a wet meadow walk and a bridge traveling over the wetland pond central to the location.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/westhartford/article/west-hartford-ct-uconn-housing-petition-18387690.php

Advocates say transit-oriented development could be a good solution if done right. But in order for it to succeed, they say it’ll need to be both affordable and environmentally sustainable. Building in wetlands like the area around Fairfield Metro requires infrastructure that can mitigate the effects of climate change and reduce the impact of wastewater on a vulnerable environment. The Crossings at Fairfield Metro is the largest of the proposed developments. One building is already under construction. Eventually, the sprawling complex will include nearly 700 apartments, a hotel, an eight-story concourse building and more than 40,000 square feet of office space. That’s based on an ambitious expansion of the project from the developers, Accurate Builders, in March.

Transit-oriented development could transform Fairfield County, if it’s affordable and environmentally sustainable

After years of planning and design work, negotiations with state environmental officials, project changes and cost increases, the biggest utility project in city history is about to break ground. The City Council last week authorized $199.2 million in bonding, secured solely by Norwich Public Utilities sewer revenue, to build a new wastewater treatment plant to replace the aging plant on Hollyhock Island. The manmade island sits in the center of Norwich Harbor, where the Yantic River splits into east and west branches as it spills into the harbor. The project will be financed with 36% grant funding and the remaining 64% with a 20-year, 2% low-interest loan through the state Clean Water Act. NPU expects to sign a contract this week and give selected contractor CH Nickerson of Torrington the go-ahead to start construction by early November.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20230927/sewage-treatment-plant-is-a-go-in-norwich/

A Maine company is looking to build a nearly $100 million battery storage facility on property at the local landfill. The facility, which would potentially hold between 100 and 150 megawatts of renewable energy, would be connected to the Eversource power grid and serve as a backup for power “to save for a rainy day when we have a capacity event,” Dale Knapp of Walden Renewables of Portland, Maine told the City Council last week during a presentation on his proposal. If the plan is approved, Knapp said the city will pocket $1.47 million in lease payments by the end of the 40 years. “It’s probably close to a $100 million facility,” he said, adding that the facility itself would be also taxable.

https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2023/09/26/battery-storage-facility-coming-to-torrington-landfill/

As House Republicans force a fight over federal spending, it’s looking increasingly likely that Congress will not pass bills that fund federal operations before the start of the new fiscal year, which would shut down the government on Oct. 1. Among a slew of negative impacts, a shutdown would hold up federally funded infrastructure projects, according to the White House. For example, the U.S. DOT and other key federal agencies responsible for infrastructure would not be fully operational, meaning new federal projects would largely not get started, awards would be suspended and current projects could be put on hold, according to Lehman. Federal agencies are also unable to issue new guidance on how funds should be used. That could impact new Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act work, such as the newly announced $7.5 billion in financing for water infrastructure and another $1.4 billion to fund 70 rail and supply chain infrastructure projects.

https://www.constructiondive.com/news/federal-shutdown-infrastructure-construction-projects/694810/

Five electricians sued Amazon and its contractors for subjecting them to a racially hostile work environment at a Connecticut jobsite where work was temporarily halted after workers and police discovered at least eight hangman’s nooses during construction. The lawsuit follows the completion of an Amazon distribution center in Windsor, Connecticut, where electrical workers of color discovered the nooses over several weeks in April and May 2021. According to the lawsuit, filed Sept. 21 in U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, Amazon and its contractors — Fairfield, New Jersey-based RC Andersen and Holliston, Massachusetts-based Wayne J. Griffin Electric — should be held liable for the damages workers of color suffered at the site. In response to the electrician discovering the noose, the suit said a Griffin foreman gathered the electricians of color to read a statement from RC Andersen about the company’s anti-discrimination policy. But because it was only read to workers of color, according to the suit, it sent the message on site that a noose in the workplace was only a concern for people of color.

https://www.constructiondive.com/news/workers-sue-amazon-nooses-connecticut/694827/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202023-09-27%20Construction%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:54905%5D&utm_term=Construction%20Dive