Cross Highway is about to get a bit safer as officials work to improve that area from North Avenue to Bayberry Lane. The project is in its early stages and is part of the town’s plan to address traffic and pedestrian safety issues. Wilberg said it’s a geometry issue with a four-way stop at the North Avenue intersection, where drivers do not know who has the right of way. The traffic study also found congestion from school and commuter traffic. Wilberg said the town has hired a design engineer who developed multiple potential improvement plans for the area. Wilberg said they will enter the preliminary design phase in the next few weeks. A design engineer will come up with what they call “30 percent construction plans,” which outline the project in detail, though leaves room for changes. Depending on what project is determined, construction could happen in 2024 or 2025.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/westport/article/cross-highway-upgrades-north-ave-bayberry-lane-17841034.php

A measure that would incentivize the installation of ground geothermal systems, heating pumps and heat batteries — shaving 10 percent off the upfront cost of installation, the most expensive part of the technology — has been introduced in the Connecticut General Assembly. A heat pump is basically the same technology as a refrigerator. A refrigerator pumps thermal energy out of the inside of the fridge, creating a cool area inside while filling the kitchen with warm air. If you stand next to a running refrigerator you should be able to notice this warming. This is the same way an air conditioner works too; it pumps heat out of a room into the environment. By attaching the heat pump to the geothermal pipes, you can effectively suck heat out of the Earth and use it to warm your home. In the summer, the process is reversed, sucking the heat out of your home and pumping it into the ground. This effectively uses the Earth as a heating and cooling battery. Natural gas prices have spiked recently due to increased demand for heating and electricity regionally, which has made electricity prices volatile. Ground geothermal is a critical part of reducing demand on the grid.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/ct-legislature-ground-geothermal-energy-affordable-17837118.php?src=sthplocal

A plan to repair, upgrade and keep the 50-year-old XL Center in downtown Hartford running and relevant will cost $107.2 million. Hartford officials and CRDA staff see the sports and entertainment arena as a key city attraction, something that brings in crowds to patronize local restaurants on event nights and adds to the city’s vibrancy. The aging facility is currently undergoing millions in repairs and will need millions more to keep functioning, even without a dramatic overhaul, said CRDA Executive Director Michael Freimuth. The current plan would keep the building running and make it a more appealing and efficient venue, allowing it to bring in more performances, he said. In addition to rehabbing core systems, like the roof, plumbing, electrical and elevators, the planned rehab would redesign the stage, create premium seating areas at ground level, renovate seating, upgrade vending stations and other functions on the concourse and more.

CRDA targets $107.2M upgrade to Hartford’s XL Center

The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection walked back what local leaders thought was a $17 million grant for sewer construction in the beach communities, instead saying that the agency is looking at a variety of federal funding options for the project. Under the program, the sewer project already qualifies for a 25% grant and a 75% loan at 2% interest for 20 years. With the additional 25% would bring coverage of the project to 50%, which would potentially bring the price of the project for each homeowner to pre-pandemic levels, Carney said. But, he said, there are many, many steps to the funding process. “I just want to make it clear – nothing is a done deal. I don’t want anybody to think, oh, we’re definitely getting this money,” he said. Carney said it was important that DEEP come to Old Lyme to explain to residents and property owners exactly how the funding will work.

After Closed Meeting, DEEP Walks Back Old Lyme Expectations For $17m Sewer Grant

The committee alders voted unanimously in support of a resolution authorizing the city to apply for $32.1 million in grant money as part of Round 2 of the state’s $800 million Community Investment Fund (CIF). Piscitelli explained that the city is seeking $25 million in state aid for a suite of improvements to Long Wharf, including knocking down the former Gateway Community College building on Sargent Drive to help make way for the relocation of Gateway’s automotive trade school; redesigning and elevating Long Wharf Drive to protect the roadway from floods; creating a new community marina that would allow sailboats to access the area around the Canal Dock Boathouse; and developing a larger Long Wharf park complete with a 20-foot-wide waterfront promenade, fewer lanes for driving, more space for parking, and a dedicated tent-covered area for picnicking and enjoying food from the nearby taco trucks. The move to lift Long Wharf Drive, Piscitelli said, stems in part from Fusco Corporation’s planned development of 500 new apartments along the water nearby.

https://www.newhavenindependent.org/article/long_wharf_downtown

Officials this week announced the time is here to begin a $148 million construction project at the Exit 74 interchange of Interstate 95 that’s been touted as one of the largest in the state. The goal is to reduce congestion and improve safety on the highway and Route 161, the underlying state road leading to the shore. Connecticut Department of Transportation spokeswoman Shannon King Burnham described the expanse of I-95 here as one of the most heavily traveled in the state. The project is currently among the largest in eastern Connecticut and the state. The contractor is Plainville-based Manafort Brothers Inc. Route 161 beneath the highway is slated for complete closure overnight when the bridge is demolished and when the steel girders go up, she said. The rest of the work will include reduced lanes but no anticipated road closures on the state road.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20230316/east-lyme-braces-for-more-than-4-years-of-snarled-traffic/

Residents are set to vote Thursday on funding approval for the abatement, demolition and remediation of a blighted property where housing and retail space is proposed. A potable well sampling conducted at the site that year identified the dry cleaning solvent perchloroethylene in soil and groundwater, and the roughly 4,700-square-foot building on property — which was condemned in 2011 — has accrued over $80,000 in blight violation fines. With the current owner and other developers unwilling to do so, the town has teamed up with Unicorn Contracting Corporation — the same company that developed the Brookfield Village apartments at the corner of Federal and Station roads — to clean up and redevelop 20 Station Road.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/brookfield-20-station-road-contamination-develop-17838170.php

The state has awarded the borough a $3 million grant from Community Investment Fund 2030 to develop the former Uniroyal site. The award is part of a $98.5 million package doled out to more than two dozen municipalities and agencies, including $921,000 for Grace House Capital Improvements in Waterbury; $6.8 million for Route 72 corridor improvement in Bristol; $1.4 million for the Family Wellness Center of McCall Behavioral Health Network in Torrington and $250,000 for the Plymouth transformational plan. CIF works to foster economic development in historically underserved communities across the state.

https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2023/03/15/naugatuck-getting-3m-grant-for-industrial-park-waterbury-torrington-agencies-also-aided/

A large group of residents are opposing plans by NE Edge, LLC to construct a data center on Millstone Nuclear Power station property. A petition opposing the project by the group “Protect Waterford” has collected nearly 700 signatures. The group is concerned about noise from the project, as well as what they say is NE Edge’s lack of experience and troubled background. First Selectman Rob Brule said he has heard the concerns of residents who have called and emailed him and that he will not act to the detriment of the town. According to the agreement, the town would receive more than $231 million in lieu of taxes over 30 years from NE Edge. This would make NE Edge the second-largest taxpayer in town behind Dominion Energy, LLC, the owner of Millstone.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20230315/waterford-first-selectman-addresses-concerns-about-proposed-data-center/

Bowman, of Miller, Wolff, Napolitano LLC, says Monday night’s vote comes after “a long 20 years” of various efforts to transform several lots on the north end property into a complex that is now projected to feature a gas station and a convenience store, a hotel, a grocer, restaurants, and other anticipated retail uses, along with new housing already underway. Commission members were largely enthusiastic in their comments following the public hearings on a series of applications, which did not draw any public input. In a separate set of waiver applications, project engineer Darin Overton, of SLR Consulting, described some of the earthwork plans. In order to create a flat pad for the retail stores, the level of the development will be below the level of Route 10. The work will also involve disturbing more than five acres at a time, due to the scope of the project.

https://www.myrecordjournal.com/News/Cheshire-Citizen/Cheshire-News/PZC-approves-Stone-Bridge-Crossing-commercial-applications-in-Cheshire