Connecticut’s bridge inspection program, which monitors the condition of about 5,000 bridges statewide, won’t change after the collapse of a major highway in Philadelphia on Sunday, according to the CT Department of Transportation. The state is responsible for inspecting about 4,000 state-owned bridges across the state, along with another roughly 1,000 municipal bridges with spans longer than 20 feet. Over 3,000 municipally owned bridges and culverts fall outside the states’ inspection program, Morgan said. I-95 is a major artery for people and goods along the east coast, and the collapse could snarl travel plans for months. The accident may also hit pocketbooks. The I-95 corridor carries nearly 40% of the country’s gross domestic product, according to a 2010 estimate by the I-95 Corridor Coalition.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/ct-won-t-alter-bridge-inspection-philadelphia-18150651.php?src=sthppromostrip

The XL Center could get $20 million in private funding to put toward a renovation that would cost more than $100 million, according to the state budget passed by the Senate and the House before the end of the legislative session. The budget would allow for Oak View Group — the contractor that runs day-to-day operations in the arena — to invest $20 million toward the renovations. The state could invest up to $80 million, according to the budget document, for the much-needed repairs to the arena that hosts a variety of events in downtown Hartford. The push to get funding for the renovations comes as Hartford officials and Gov. Ned Lamont have been courting the Arizona Coyotes, the NHL hockey team that has struggled to find a permanent home in Arizona. Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said Monday that he hoped the renovations could happen soon.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/capitalregion/article/xl-center-renovations-downtown-hartford-18149862.php?src=sthppromostrip

Town and borough officials said they’re optimistic that the state Department of Transportation is paying attention to their questions about a $25.5 million plan to replace the Alpha Avenue viaduct. The plan to replace the 83-year-old bridge announced last month would require closing off Cutler Street as well as Mathews/Main Street as well as taking private property through eminent domain including parking lots, “a part of a building,” and portions of a boatyard. The replacement plan and three other repair options were detailed in a report produced by an engineering consultant the DOT hired for the project, CHA Consulting Inc. of Mansfield. The replacement plan would provide a 75-year life span with little required maintenance while the extensive repair option would come with higher maintenance costs and extend the bridge life span by only 50 years, making replacement a more cost-effective option in the long term. The consultant’s report recommends an extensive $13.3 million repair option that takes no land and leaves Cutler, Main and Mathews streets open.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20230610/stonington-state-begin-talks-about-conroversial-viaduct-plan/

In a letter to City Council, Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said public subsidies would be necessary to complete the Bushnell South project. The proposed agreement would allow the mayor to enter into tax-fixing agreements with developers of the project. The tax agreements can be up to 15 years and can have a two-year construction period, with the opportunity to extend that to three years with city approval. In order to qualify for the project, developments would have to have 30 percent of project hours worked by Hartford residents and 15 percent of hours worked by minority/women business enterprises, according to the resolution. Last year, the Capital Region Development Authority chose the Michaels Organization as the preferred developer for one of the parcels.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/capitalregion/article/bushnell-south-project-18147068.php

YMCA Camp Sloper secured $500,000 in additional funding this past legislative session, giving the East Street outdoor center the remaining money needed to dredge Sloper Pond. Sloper Pond has been naturally filling up with silt, and eventually would have turned into a shallow marsh — making it unusable for swimmers at Camp Sloper. The $500,000 gives the YMCA, which owns the pond, the final push it needs to complete the project. Dredging is expected to be completed sometime in the summer of 2024. Eventually the Y secured a contract with a company that would dredge the pond for $3.6 million. That led Southington-Cheshire Community YMCA CEO Mark Pooler to reach out to Poulos, bringing him out to the camp to discuss the possibility of securing the last $500,000 needed for the project. By the end of the project, over 125,000 yards of silt will have been removed from the bottom of the pond, not only deepening it but improving its overall health.

https://www.myrecordjournal.com/News/Southington/Southington-News/Sloper-Pond-secures-funding-to-finish-dredging-project.html

In coming weeks, the tops of enormous tower sections for offshore windmills — 300 feet tall and 20 feet around — will rise above the bridge from the harborside, the most visible component of an ambitious, $300 million commitment by the state not only to renewable energy but to Connecticut’s long-ignored maritime economy. After a rocky start, the Connecticut Port Authority is about to complete a redesign and rebuild that has transformed the decrepit Admiral Harold E. Shear State Pier and established it — and by extension New London Harbor — as a principal staging point for construction over the next decade of offshore wind farms on hundreds of thousands of acres of the continental shelf. More importantly, the rebuilt State Pier Terminal, with state-of-the-art infrastructure, heavy lift capacity and access to freight rail, will allow New London — Connecticut’s only natural deep water harbor — to compete into the next century against other East Coast ports for heavy cargo.

With a $300M pier overhaul nearly complete, Connecticut looks to put New London at center of New England’s offshore wind industry

A local development team is seeking land use permits for a vacant parcel in Southington that they will sell for a future industrial warehouse project. Mark Lovley and Jason Manafort, principals of Technology Industrial Park LLC, bought a 53-acre vacant parcel at 53 Spring St., for $550,000 in 2021. They are seeking wetlands and planning and zoning board approval for a 283,000-square-foot industrial warehouse that will be built by Pennsylvania-based Johnson Development Associates Inc. The $20 million to $25 million industrial facility will be built on spec, or without a tenant secured, and can be subdivided for up to four tenants, Lovley said. He anticipates a spring 2024 construction start, with occupancy roughly nine to 12 months later.

$25M industrial building development planned for Southington site

An official Cranbury School Farewell Event on Saturday will run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. At the event, attendees can enjoy Cranbury memorabilia, look at pictures and spirit wear, and take home a daffodil or iris bulb for planting. As the community says goodbye to the old Cranbury school, it says hello to the new building — where construction is slated to complete in July. The new two-story building is part of the $45 million project for a new Cranbury. New sports fields will eventually be built where the existing school is located, but that building will not be demolished until the new school is operational in the fall. According to the district’s website for the project, when the construction is completed, “the existing elementary school will be demolished and a new parent driveway loop and parking area, as well as athletic fields and two age-appropriate playgrounds, will be constructed.”

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/education/article/cranbury-elementary-school-farewell-18144383.php

Bulkeley High School at 300 Wethersfield Ave. was quiet Friday morning. Surrounded by tall fences and appearing abandoned, you’d never guess it was in the midst of a complete remodel. School officials say the project is running behind schedule and over budget. Construction on Bulkeley High School is set to cost $61 million more and take a year longer than anticipated due to COVID-19, supply change issues and inflation. The project, which began in 2020 and was expected to cost $149 million and re-open in fall of 2024, will now cost over $210 million and re-open in 2025. The construction on the central office building also cost more than expected, according to Drummey. The estimate for the construction was $29,750,000, but now is projected to cost almost $35 million. Drummey said he is remaining confident the project will not be delayed again and that central office and Bulkeley will be occupied in 2025.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/capitalregion/article/hartford-s-bulkeley-high-school-reopen-year-later-18132391.php

Architect Michael Weissbrod, representing Wall Street Recap Associates, presented the “refinements” to the plan during the commission’s meeting last Wednesday. The commission previously approved the project in December 2020. Parking was also one of the issues that stalled the project. The 2020-approved plan included covered parking in the middle of the Wall Street building and a parking garage across the street at 18 Isaacs, the former site of the Garden Cinema. The site will be transformed into a parking garage with 50 additional units on top. When Schulman inquired about the project’s timeline, Weissbrod expressed hope to begin construction within a couple of months. The Planning & Zoning Commission approved the changes to the plans unanimously.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/stalled-wall-street-project-resume-following-poko-18144046.php