About 40 Aquarion customers were affected by a River Street water main break Thursday morning, according to the company. The break was about 24 inches long and was affecting residents on River Street and a few on Evergreen Street, the Aquarion Water Co. said. City police spokesperson Shawnna White said some areas were inaccessible due to the heavy flooding; the areas of North Washington Avenue and River Street, Knowlton Street and River Street, and River Street and Evergreen Street were closed off in an advisory. Aquarion reported the incident around 5:30 a.m. Thursday and said the issue likely would be resolved between 1:30 and 3 :30 p.m. The company said residents could experience no water or poor water pressure, adding they also may have discolored water. The company said residents should wait until their water is working and clear before using it.

https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/bridgeport-river-st-water-main-break-aquarion-21128564.php

According to the UConn Connecticut Crash Data Repository, the intersection of Willow and Nicoll streets was the site of 15 motor vehicle crashes involving 29 vehicles and a total of 42 people between Jan. 1, 2022 and Feb. 28, 2025 — including two the week of Feb. 22, 2022. The city’s new plan to address the issues includes a raised intersection, sidewalk bump-outs and a steel bollard, or post, at each corner to protect pedestrians. It also includes flashing pedestrian lights, mountable concrete medians on Willow and highly visible markings and signage, according to Smith. Festa and Smith both worked with City Engineer Giovanni Zinn and Director of Transportation, Traffic and Parking Sandeep Aysola over the past few months as the city worked out a plan, said Smith. As of right now, “It’s not final,” and residents can reach out directly to Zinn with their feedback, said Smith. The goal is to see it implemented by the beginning of 2026, she said.

https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/new-haven-east-rock-crashes-safety-ct-21126552.php

United Illuminating Co. wants to know what the governor and local officials were texting behind the power company’s back just before the state Siting Council reversed its vote and turned down UI’s plan to put giant monopoles through Bridgeport and Fairfield. UI has until Friday to ask the Siting Council to reconsider its decision. If the council refuses, UI can then file a lawsuit seeking an appeal in state Superior Court. All those who have been served with the FOI request have indicated they will comply. In September the Siting Council voted 6 to 2 in a non-binding or straw vote to allow UI to install a series of monopoles, up to 195 feet high, along the south side of the Metro-North Railroad tracks through Bridgeport and Fairfield. Gov. Ned Lamont stepped into the issue first urging UI to sit down with municipal officials and negotiate, which UI refused, and then publicly supported the siting council rejecting UI’s plan. “We are stunned by the change in the Siting Council’s decision today with no explanation,” said UI’s Fliotsos said after the siting council’s vote.

https://ctexaminer.com/2025/10/28/united-illuminating-moves-to-uncover-possible-texting-before-state-regulators-flipped-on-power-lines/

The operator of a Trumbull data center said he will make a $200 million investment that will upgrade the property, boost its value and bring more jobs to town. Roelof Opperman, the CEO and founder of cogNOVUM, the operator of the data center at 80 Merritt Blvd, said the investment is the first step of a state-offered tax incentive program the company is pursuing and will bring many long-term benefits to Trumbull. Bakalar said the investment will be over a five-year period, ending in 2030. Then, she said the company will apply to the state’s Data Center Tax Incentive Program, which is under the state Department of Economic and Community Development. According to the DECD website, the program provides tax and property tax exemptions to certain goods, services and real property of the data center after making a “significant upfront capital investment.” Opperman said part of the reason his eyes were set on the Trumbull location was because of its history as the first Nasdaq Stock Market location and its proximity to New York City.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/trumbull/article/trumbull-data-center-tax-incentive-21112224.php

Officials, dignitaries and developers broke ground Tuesday on a roughly $80 million, 180-unit mixed-use, mixed-income apartment project in downtown Naugatuck. Philadelphia-based Pennrose and Hartford-based The Cloud Co. hosted local and state officials on a 7-acre former industrial site, where construction is underway on the first of three 60-unit buildings. The development will ultimately feature more than 7,000 square feet of commercial space and a new public greenspace for the broader community. The development site is located along Old Firehouse Road, with one side bounded by the Naugatuck River. A government-led effort remediated environmental contaminants on the site before the property’s recent $600,000 sale to the developers, said Karmen Cheung, Pennrose’s regional vice president for New England. Cheung estimated the first building will cost about $26 million, with later phases expected to face typical cost increases. The four-story, wood-framed buildings will be constructed on grade slabs and include elevators.

https://hartfordbusiness.com/article/naugatuck-begins-80m-mixed-use-project-aimed-at-revitalizing-downtown/

When the government shuts down, contractors’ cash flow on federal sites does too. The federal government shut down on Oct. 1, freezing activity on a number of construction sites. Attorneys say these shutdowns double as a stress test for how well construction firms document and negotiate their federal contracts. During funding lapses, even short ones, the line between work continuation and work stoppage blurs. For some firms, that can mean weeks on site that go unpaid. For others, it’s a crash course in which clauses actually protect them when government operations grind to a halt. If a project’s funding was appropriated before the fiscal year began, work can usually continue, albeit with slower payment cycles. But if funds were not secured before the cutoff, “it will go dark for the foreseeable future because no funds are available during the shutdown,” said Rippeon. That uncertainty often extends to subcontractors too. Contractors who fail to flow down stop-work or suspension clauses to their subs risk being squeezed between the government and their project partners, said Michael Barnicle, partner at Atlanta-based Troutman Pepper Locke.

https://www.constructiondive.com/news/how-government-shutdown-impacts-construction-contracts/803961/

A proposed site plan to build 30 units of residential housing on Wolcott Street was unanimously approved Monday by the Bristol Planning Commission. The project, proposed by Crown Estates LLC, was granted a zone change last year from single family to multifamily residential. The design of the project has been modified since then to accommodate concerns raised by town staff and neighboring property owners. Originally, the site plan proposed erecting three buildings with a total of 30 units on the property, which includes four wooded lots — three that border Wolcott Street and a rear lot that in part extends in a narrow band to Old Wolcott Road. Combined, the four lots total 3.89 acres. The site is essentially opposite Bristol Central High School. A revised site plan was discussed during a public hearing that began on Sept. 22 and was continued to Monday. That site plan consolidated the 30 units into two buildings, reducing its overall impact on the property and allowing for a larger buffer zone from neighboring properties. The project is expected to begin in the spring of 2026 and be completed within 18 months.

https://hartfordbusiness.com/article/30-unit-housing-project-approved-in-bristol/

Opposition by the Northville association to the $1.2 million development plans at Park Lane and Chestnut Lane roads is the latest protest by residents to a plan that would convert an empty 2.7-acre lot into a high-traffic site generating a projected 5,500 car trips each day. The residents are referring to a site that has been the subject of multiple development proposals since Valley Dodge closed in 2008, where an average of 11,700 vehicles pass daily, according to the state transportation department. To deal with the site’s expected heavy traffic generation, the developer proposes widening Route 109 and Route 202 to make turning lanes. The developer, Blue Mountain LLC, has studied the rush hour patterns at the intersection of Routes 202 and 109 and projects that the traffic lights would deliver the same “B” service level as they do today once the road widening is complete. New Milford’s Zoning Commission will continue its review of the controversial development on Tuesday.

https://www.newstimes.com/news/article/new-milford-route-202-development-21122175.php

Connecticut, along with the rest of New England, has long recognized that its energy future lies in cleaning up the electricity sources in its power grid. The Trump administration has now made that a lot harder, if not impossible, to do, leaving Connecticut and the entire region with the question: Now what? Since his first day in office, Trump has set about eliminating future development of onshore and offshore wind on federal property, which effectively means all offshore wind, a form of renewable power Trump openly despises. So far, his administration has issued stop-work orders for two northeast offshore wind installations already under construction, including one for Connecticut. Each resumed construction after about a month, losing millions of dollars in the process. The state is urging residents, businesses, governmental entities and energy developers to take advantage of the tax credits before many of them disappear at the end of the year. To that end, DEEP issued an expedited request for proposals for solar and onshore wind. Proposals were due Oct. 10. Energy efficiency, especially useful to lower income and environmental justice communities, may feel the impact most acutely. Solar’s outlook is a little squishier than offshore wind’s. Yes, the coveted 30% tax credits are slated to disappear — for purchased residential systems at the end of this year and in another year for leased and commercial ones. But costs for solar have come down dramatically over time, making it one of the cheapest forms of power to purchase. It’s also the fastest to install. So it’s possible residential consumers and commercial investors will still consider it a cost effective option.

https://www.courant.com/2025/10/27/why-a-ct-lawmaker-wont-accept-that-the-feds-killed-solar-but-the-state-energy-future-is-unclear/

More than half of the affordable housing units Connecticut funded over the past six years were rehabilitated properties, as opposed to new construction, a report from the state’s Office of Legislative Research found. That has raised questions about Gov. Ned Lamont’s claims that under his leadership, the state is building more housing than in past years. At a Department of Housing conference last week, the governor said, “We built more new housing … over the last three years than we have during any three-year period 10, 20 years ago. We’ve built probably 70% more housing than during that time.” Housing experts say it’s not clear what data Lamont is referring to when he makes claims like these, although he clarified after the housing conference that he was referring to state-sponsored housing. Still, the legislative research report showed that the last three years have actually seen a slight decline in the number of affordable housing units built or rehabilitated compared to the three years prior. The governor has also commended towns for making progress. But in his speech at the Department of Housing last week, he acknowledged that much of the affordable housing is concentrated in a just a handful of the state’s larger cities.

https://www.courant.com/2025/10/28/report-much-of-state-funded-affordable-housing-is-rehabbed-property/