Gov. Ned Lamont and state Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto said the long-anticipated project will modernize the historic Union Station building, improve accessibility and enhance the overall rider experience on the Metro-North Waterbury Branch Line. The project is part of the Lamont administration’s broader initiative to upgrade all six stations along the branch line. In Waterbury, the improvements include a new high-level, 350-foot platform compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), real-time arrival displays, security enhancements and a 1,600-square-foot indoor waiting area inside Union Station, which will reopen to the public for the first time in decades. Federal funding will cover $28.1 million of the project’s cost. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) called the investment “desperately needed,” noting that the upgrades will improve daily life for thousands of commuters. Construction of the indoor waiting area is scheduled to begin next month, with platform work starting in early 2026. The new station is expected to open in fall 2026. Substitute bus service will be provided during construction to minimize rider disruption.

https://hartfordbusiness.com/article/state-begins-construction-on-35-2m-redevelopment-of-waterbury-train-station/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=New%20Haven%20brain%20research%20startup%20raises%20%2423M%20%7C%20Mass%20%20investor%20buys%20Norwich%20apt%20building&utm_campaign=HBJ%20Today%20101525

Federal highway officials have given the go-ahead to Connecticut’s updated plan to use $52.5 million in federal funding to expand the high-speed charging network for electric vehicles in the state. The Trump administration in February paused the distribution of funds to states through the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program, but reopened the funding program in August in the face of legal challenges and political pressure. The decision in August to relaunch the NEVI program caught some observers by surprise. A judge had ordered federal officials to release funds to certain states that had sued but not to others, and the administration could still have appealed that ruling. The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that was enacted in 2021 allocated $52.5 million in NEVI funds to Connecticut over five years to upgrade existing fast-charging direct current infrastructure and construct new DC charging stations. The state has committed just $1.4 million of that federal funding, according to the state Department of Transportation. For the moment, Gov. Ned Lamont said his administration is proceeding on the assumption that the state will receive all $52.5 million in pledged NEVI funds.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/connecticut/article/ct-electric-vehicle-charging-federal-funding-21086371.php

All four of North Haven’s current elementary school buildings may not be around much longer. Board of Education Chair Ronald Bathrick announced at Thursday’s school board meeting that they could soon be rebuilt. Following an audit team’s assessment into what work needs to be done to get the district’s six school facilities “up to par,” Bathrick said it became evident that financially, the best course of action is to replace the four elementary school buildings. Bathrick added that it is likely Ridge Road Elementary and Montowese Elementary would be built first as those students can stay in the old building while the new one is under construction. When the new Ridge Road and Montowese buildings are done, the students will move into the schools so Green Acres and Clintonville students could move into the old Ridge Road and Montowese schools while their new buildings are being built. “The entire process should take approximately four years from start to finish,” Bathrick said. It is too early to say when construction could take place as it will take Bathrick and district officials another four to six months to prepare a formal rebuild plan. But Bathrick said the plan, once it’s ready and approved, is to get everything done “as soon as we can.”

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/education/article/north-haven-schools-building-replaced-21094990.php

In a recent interview, Lamont made clear he won’t be chipping in a dime for the pie-in-the-sky project that never seems to die. “I can tell you that they’ve been talking about that ever since I was a kid in Long Island,” said Lamont, 71, who grew up in Laurel Hollow on the island’s North Shore. “So keep talking.” The latest push comes from Stephen Shapiro, a Connecticut housing developer who said he dreams of building a bridge from Bridgeport to the Sunken Meadow State Parkway in Suffolk County, N.Y. Lamont was noncommittal on the idea of a Sound crossing. He called it an “incredibly complicated and supremely expensive” and quickly answered ‘no’ when asked if the state would help finance it. The state Department of Transportation said in a statement that neither it nor any of the state’s regional planning agencies have included the project in their long-range plans. The statements reflect the prevailing view of the project: while it’s fun to imagine and could offer some benefits, it remains farfetched and unlikely to become a reality anytime soon.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/connecticut/article/long-island-sound-bridge-tunnel-lamont-ct-money-21098007.php

Towns officials are preparing to implement a number of traffic and pedestrian safety upgrades, with the first expected to begin next week. East Haven announced Monday it received $4.8 million in competitive Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program funds from the state Department of Transportation, which will be applied to paving Main Street from Town Hall to the New Haven line and paving Messina Drive from Hemingway Avenue to Main Street, plus the addition of a new traffic signal light on Messina Drive, new sidewalks and improved street lighting. The town is currently completing an environmental review and traffic study for the LOTCIP project, which will lead to the final design phase before construction. In a Monday statement, Carfora said the Main Street and Messina Drive project “represents a major investment in our community’s infrastructure and safety.”

https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/east-haven-prepares-start-multiple-paving-21090460.php

King School was granted approvals to construct a 24,514-square-foot addition to its existing upper school building by the Stamford Zoning Board of Appeals this week. The school administration is also planning to renovate 2,156 square feet of the existing upper-school building and add new landscaping. A Zoning Board of Appeals member, Ernest Matarasso, said he liked the efforts the school had made in reaching out to the neighborhood, calling it “conscientious.” ZBA chair Lauren Jacobson said the application was “well done.” The vote was unanimous. The school operates under a special permit in a residential zone, and new additions require approval from the Zoning Board of Appeals.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/king-school-stamford-expansion-21091246.php

By 2027, the current school will be demolished and in its place, there will be new athletic fields, said Leigh Appleby, director of communications for the Connecticut Department of Administrative Services. The new Bullard-Havens building will be large enough to serve about 900 ninth through 12th graders and will offer the school’s 13 trades, including culinary arts, health technology, carpentry, electrical, graphic design and more. The over 200,000-square-foot facility will include traditional classrooms, a gymnasium that can seat the entire student population, a field house, a fitness center and more, according to a 2023 announcement. The $199 million project is completely state funded, Appleby said. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new facility is scheduled for November.

https://www.ctpost.com/news/education/article/bridgeport-bullard-havens-new-school-ct-technical-21079042.php

City officials are scrambling to find a way to reimburse millions of taxpayer dollars after dipping into the capital fund balance to pay for a more than $6.7 million overrun of seawall construction. Groton City’s plan to cover the multimillion dollar cost for what Mayor Keith Hedrick called a “re-engineering” of the replacement Shore Avenue seawall through a state grant, collapsed on Sept. 30 when it was not chosen for a state Community Investment Fund grant. Hedrick said what initially started out as a $4.1 million project to replace a “failing” seawall has ballooned to project that will cost at least $10.7 million. BL Companies, a Hartford-based engineering firm, originally bid to reconstruct the seawall for $2.7 million. But after construction on the project began in March 2024, the planned work required a significant overhaul. Since the re-engineering of the seawall started, Hedrick said the added work has added $6.6 million to the project costs — but records show the city has asked for $9.8 million to complete the project, a $3.2 million discrepancy.

https://ctexaminer.com/2025/10/06/groton-scrambles-to-cover-6-7m-seawall-cost-overrun-after-missing-out-on-state-funding/

A landmark South End church was the rallying point Sunday afternoon for Fairfield and Bridgeport residents who want a proposed $300 million United Illuminating Co. power line project to be buried underground instead of strung across 7.3 miles through residential backyards as well as religious and commercial properties. About 180 people filled the sanctuary of the Shiloh Baptist Church in a sometimes rowdy secular revival meeting, concerned that if the Connecticut Siting Council approves the plan later this month and its 102 towers – called monopoles – UI could force the take over of more than 19 acres of property from historic Southport east into Bridgeport’s South End and downtown. While residents and advocates have spoke about fears of buildings being demolished, UI has previously stated it does not have plans to take people’s homes nor demolishing them. Instead, it is looking for easements. Ganim described UI officials as less-than polite during an attempt by the city and town to persuade UI to bury the 115 kV line. “The city’s not going to get stepped on, rolled over, pushed aside,” said Ganim, pointing to recent burying of similar high-voltage lines in Stamford and Greenwich.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/politics/article/monopoles-fairfield-bridgeport-ui-21085717.php

Dunn, who represents the district where the school sits, said residents of the abutting Sunrise Hill condominium complex are likely to bring up the drainage issues. Many of them, she said, still have “very hard feelings” about the previous flooding. The tentative plan is to build the new West Rocks on the location of the athletic fields and construct new fields on the spot where the school currently sits. That means that the new three-story school would be closer to the condos. Committee Chair Barbara Smyth said there are real concerns from residents about water runoff from the site. However, she said building a school at the location would be a good opportunity to address those issues. The new West Rocks Middle School, projected to cost about $125 million, would open in the fall of 2030, with work scheduled to begin in the spring of 2028. The state would pay for 60% of the work. The project will be part of the the 2026-27 capital budget request, meaning it still needs approval from local boards.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/norwalk-west-rocks-middle-school-construction-mud-21083057.php