The City Council on Monday is slated to discuss and possibly award a nearly $5 million contract to a Stratford-based company to conduct the first phase of a long-awaited residential drinking water line replacement project. Councilors are being asked to approve a $4.94 million contract with the Burns Construction Company for the removal and replacement of approximately 600 lead-lined water pipes in the northern and downtown areas of the city. The lines will be simultaneously replaced with copper-lined versions, part of an overall $32 million, multi-phase plan to eventually replace 3,300 such pipes across the city. The Burns company, which submitted the lowest project bid, was selected as the preferred bidder by the city’s Water & Water Pollution Control Authority and project consultant Arcadis. In addition to the Burns application, the city received three other project bids: $5.3 million from the Wiese Construction Company; $5.8 million from Gerber Construction; and $10 million from the C.J. Fucci firm, according to an Arcadis memorandum.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20231014/new-london-to-select-firm-for-residential-lead-pipe-replacement-project/

With a court challenge settled, Massachusetts developer Winstanley Enterprises plans to launch construction of an 819,000-square-foot warehouse in Enfield early in 2024. Winstanley plans to partner with Kansas City-based NorthPoint Development on the roughly $135 million project, at 35 Bacon Road, which will be undertaken on speculation. Area residents concerned about potential impacts to two adjacent lakes filed court challenges. Winstanley announced this week a settlement had been reached with neighbors that will allow the project to go forward in the first quarter of 2024. Winstanley said the project is likely to result in more than $1 million in annual tax revenue for the town and would support more than 400 construction jobs. The number of permanent jobs will depend on the eventual tenants, he said.

Winstanley targets early 2024 launch of $135M Enfield warehouse project

Manchester officials will be joined by Friar Architects and HMB Architects, firms selected to design the new building by a town committee in August. At the time, the project was expected to be completed in late 2025. Voters have already approved up to $39 million in bonding to construct a 75,000-square-foot library at the site of the Webster Bank branch at 1041 Main St., and to make repairs to the existing Mary Cheney Library at 586 Main St. to facilitate reuse of the building. In August 2022, the Board of Directors unanimously approved sending to a referendum vote the bonding of $39 million for the plan. Voters overwhelmingly approved the measure, 11,511 to 6,670, in a November 2022 referendum.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/journalinquirer/article/manchester-ct-library-public-talks-architect-18421964.php

The work continues on the new $50 million Fairfield County hub for Hartford HealthCare as leaders celebrated by breaking ground on the second phase of the project. Formerly a Lillian August furniture store, the health-care hub will be built on the 4.16-acre property near Route 1. Plans for the redevelopment were approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission in the fall of 2022. The new flagship location is part of Hartford HealthCare’s expansion into Fairfield County. Since 2021, it has opened more than 50 new locations and hired 250 staff members. The project is expected to be complete in the spring of 2024.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/hartford-healthcare-norwalk-hub-phase-two-18417629.php

Nearly a year after voters rejected a $17 million upgrade to sports facilities at Southington High School, the state has committed partial funding for athletic field reconstruction, allocating $500,000 that will be matched by $206,663 in town funds. The state money comes in the form of Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) grants, and is specifically designated for “infrastructure improvements, such as road safety reconstruction projects, sewer and drainage upgrades, sidewalk and pedestrian safety enhancements, recreational facility upgrades, and other kinds of capital improvement projects,” Gov. Ned Lamont said in a Sept. 29 statement announcing the funding. Southington officials had sought approval to allocate nearly $17 million toward gradual improvements to the SHS sports fields over the next three to four years, but 10,761 residents, 54% of the overall vote, opposed the proposal.

https://www.myrecordjournal.com/News/Southington/Southington-News/State-money-approved-for-projects-in-Southington-Cheshire.html

Early estimates to rebuild River Road, part of which collapsed into the Housatonic River late last month due to flooding, are between $10 million and $20 million, and possibly higher, town officials say. First Selectman Jeffrey A. Manville was forced to close the road indefinitely Oct. 5 after a 200-foot section of the southbound lane washed away, sliding down a steep cliff and into the river due to record rainfall. Engineers are now determining what steps are needed to fix the road and whether larger sections also need rebuilding. Manville said the town’s public works department has been addressing River Road for years, including drainage issues and paving.

https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2023/10/12/river-road-repairs-costly-in-southbury/

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 State Bond Commission will be issuing the funds to the Lower Connecticut River Valley Council of Governments, of which Middletown, Portland and other Middlesex County municipalities are members. 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. The $10 million will allow the overall project to be realized, he said. “It’s much bigger than the trail, because once you complete this, what becomes possible is a 111-mile loop in the center of Connecticut.” It will create a “very significant recreational and transportational facility … that will connect neighborhoods to retail and workplaces, make walking and biking a viable option for people, and create more safe spaces to recreation with their families,” Gold said.

https://www.theday.com/state/20231011/2m-air-line-trail-grant-to-help-connect-middletown-portland-to-111-mile-loop/

Drivers may experience significant delays on Interstate 95 due to highway closures in the Norwalk and Westport area over the next month, as the Connecticut Department of Transportation conducts work as part of a major $103 million project. From Oct. 16 to Oct. 31, the northbound I-95 Exit 17 ramp will be closed, according to CTDOT. The southbound Exit 17 ramp will also face periodic closures of 15 minutes, CTDOT said. Throughout October, CTDOT will be removing rocks along I-95 in the area. As a result, there will be periodic highway closures through Friday, Oct. 27. The closures will affect both southbound and northbound traffic. All northbound traffic will be diverted to the southbound side of the highway during the construction work. The $103,411,848 contract for the project was awarded to Yonkers Contracting Co. Inc. on April 30, 2022, and is scheduled to be completed on Nov. 1, 2024.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/i-95-delays-norwalk-westport-ctdot-bridge-replace-18404086.php

Every day that the Central Middle School building project is delayed, it adds around $12,600 to the overall cost. Now, the building committee is planning to move the project forward just a bit by applying for municipal improvement status — an essential step for the project to get any more funding. The project is slated to be on the Planning and Zoning Commission’s Oct. 17 agenda, Turner said at the building committee’s recent meeting. The building committee planned to move forward with the project last month by asking town boards for an interim funding request of $42 million, but a new memorandum from the town’s legal department said that could not be done until the project got MI status. The committee passed both motions, but not without conversation primarily over the timeline of asking for interim funding and going to the state about cost reimbursement. Overall, the project is expected to cost around $112 million.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/education/article/greenwich-central-middle-school-building-costs-18416947.php

Route 44 has been an area in need of improvement for several years now, said Pramod Pandey, principal planner for the Capitol Region Council of Governments and the project manager for the study. With the Route 44 Corridor Study underway, conducted by CRCOG and the Town of Canton, a future version of a Route 44 that is more safe and accessible for all users of the road is now possible. Pandey estimates the stuy will cost around $180,000. He said it will take around 18 months from start to finish, so the group should have recommendations ready before next winter. But the construction and other work that follows is a different story, and that timeline will vary depending on this study’s findings.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/farmingtonvalley/article/canton-ct-route-44-safety-study-18417747.php