Stemming from the controversies that surround the Connecticut Port Authority and its oversight of the State Pier redevelopment in New London, Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, and Rep. Christine Conley, D-Groton, have introduced two bills that would place limits on the authority and other quasi-public agencies. One bill would prohibit construction managers hired by a quasi-public agency to oversee a project from applying for any work associated with that project, including but not limited to construction, engineering and operations. This practice is already not allowed in state agencies. The Connecticut Mirror reported in November that the port authority allowed Kiewit Corporation, construction manager for the State Pier redevelopment for offshore wind, to submit bids and recommend itself for subcontracts worth roughly $87.8 million.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20230117/spurred-by-port-authority-controversies-osten-and-conley-introduce-two-bills-impacting-quasi-public/#

After getting voters’ approval last month to fund the $12.3 million Bergstrom Well and Water Treatment Plant project, Bethel secured $2.24 million in federal funding thanks in part to the efforts of U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who stopped by Clifford J. Hurgin Municipal Center Tuesday morning to discuss the project. The recently awarded federal funding for the project includes a $1.6 million grant toward the facility’s construction and a $640,000 grant to help pay for the plant’s supervisory control and data acquisition system. Construction of the water treatment facility is budgeted at nearly $10 million. The remainder of the $12.3 million approved for the project includes roughly $1.8 million for professional services, $499,000 for contingency and $16,000 for legal fees, according to the town.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Bethel-Bergstrom-water-treatment-plant-grant-17722453.php

East Hartford’s Town Council, meeting Tuesday, agreed to delay collection of property taxes for a massive warehouse development moving forward on Rentschler Field this year. “Banks have all but stopped lending on new construction projects and any debt that is available has more than doubled in rate over the course of 2022, which has severely increased our project costs,” National Development Managing Partner Ed Marsteiner wrote to East Hartford’s mayor in a letter dated Dec. 20. “This change in financing alone has put immense pressure on the viability of the project.” For the past year, National Development has laid the groundwork for a project erecting two massive warehouse/logistics centers on 300 acres at Rentschler Field, along with two smaller research and development buildings. East Hartford officials say the company plans to build the two logistics buildings – one of 1.2 million square feet and the other of 1.3 million square feet – beginning this year and completing in 2024.

With development costs soaring, East Hartford grants tax deferral for massive industrial development at Rentschler Field

A $10 million budget overage has prompted the Board of Education to revise its original plans for the construction of a new elementary school, including shrinking classroom sizes, and may bring a request for additional funds within the next few months. In a special meeting on December 13, Adam Levitus of Colliers International, the owner’s representative for the project, told the board that the most recent estimates for the project came in at $56.5 million — nearly $10 million above the $46.6 million approved for the cost. He said said the cost hike was due to rapid increases in construction prices and new enrollment projections that required the addition of four more classrooms to the building footprint. Minutes from the Dec. 13 school building committee meeting discuss the possibility of requesting an additional $5 million from the Board of Selectmen to be added to the project budget. But Peggy Lyons, first selectwoman of Madison, told CT Examiner in an email on Friday that the building committee was still working through the budget numbers, and that the current design numbers were based on estimates. She said she expected the Board of Selectmen to get a full update on the budget in February or March, when they would discuss any remaining concerns. 

$10 Million Over Budget, Madison Board of Ed Proposes Revised School Plans

In addition to education, Blake said the city is also hoping for state funds to complete a series of municipal projects. Blake cited dredging Milford Harbor as a potential use of state grant money. The city already has about $5 million set aside for that project, but the total cost of harbor dredging is estimated at about $7 million. “So we need a couple more million dollars for that project,” Blake said. Finally, Blake said, transportation issues in Milford remain a priority. Smith said he would use his new position as a member of the transportation committee to request state assistance for urgent drainage projects throughout the city and request grants for new road and sidewalk repair construction.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Milford-CT-grants-top-priority-17699547.php

Monroe Recycling and Aggregates LLC is requesting a special permit to develop land at 467 and 485 Pepper St., where they plan to build the 9,000-square-foot facility. The site would include outdoor storage areas for rocks and construction material. The project has raised concerns among a few Planning and Zoning Commission members worried about dust impacting nearby wetlands and affecting people using the Housatonic biking trail. The zoning commission will hold a public hearing on the plan at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Town Hall. It would also be used by the owner, Joe Grasso Jr., head of The Grasso Companies construction company, which serves Fairfield, New Haven and Litchfield counties, along with New York’s Westchester County. The Monroe-based company has worked on a reconstruction of about 4,500 linear feet on Pepper Street for safety improvements.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/rock-crushing-plant-monroe-zoning-17713537.php

This Spring, barges with massive components for 12 offshore wind turbines will begin arriving at the Port of New London’s State Pier. The turbines will be largely assembled here before crews ship them to a point 35 miles east of Montauk, Long Island, – known as South Fork Wind farm — in late Summer and Autumn. By next Winter, South Fork is expected to be operational, supplying clean, sustainable energy to approximately 70,000 homes in East Hampton. In anticipation of this, seCTer (Southeastern Connecticut Enterprise Region) ended 2022 by presenting the nation’s premiere offshore wind energy workshop for businesses, educators, and policymakers — “Foundation 2 Blade.” The advanced manufacturing and labor opportunities in the U.S. are enormous. A typical wind turbine blade facility employs more than 500 workers. The nacelle, which sits atop the monopile, is the brain of a wind turbine and converts wind energy into electricity for transfer to the grid. Thousands of precision parts will be needed, from nuts and bolts to high-tech components. While early projects will depend on European suppliers for these large components, the U.S. is ramping up its offshore wind industrial base.

https://www.theday.com/letters/20230114/a-new-american-industry-set-to-launch-from-port-of-new-london/#

And while the tax-cutting debate appears to be unresolved, leaders from both parties, labor and business share a common assessment of the transportation program’s increasingly swollen coffers: Connecticut needs to spend more soon or risk losing not only taxpayer confidence but also its ability to maximize federal aid. The tax holiday, which waived the full 25-cents-per-gallon retail levy on gasoline from last April through December — and portions of it from January until May 1 — will cost the state $330 million, according to nonpartisan analysts. Most of that loss, $240 million, falls within the current fiscal year, which began last July 1. Yet despite that hit, Lamont’s budget office projects the $1.8 billion transportation fund will close $226 million or 12% in the black. The Department of Transportation has less staff now than in 2010, when a legislative investigation concluded it was struggling to complete projects on time and under budget.

Even with gas tax holiday, CT’s transportation coffers are flush

Though collaboration between tech developers and industry is critical to widespread adoption, safer job sites where workers are free to handle more challenging tasks is happening now. “In an industry often averse to risk, construction professionals will want to see proof of success before widespread adoption of robotics in the field,” wrote Andrew Roe, president of consulting firm AGR Associates. Automated technology is being adopted in the movement of construction materials from one location on a job site to another. Roe notes that robotics are visible in other construction applications including monitoring of field conditions in areas too dangerous for humans to navigate. Construction Robotics offers Semi-Automated Mason (SAM) for bricklaying and Material Unit Lift Enhancer (MULE) to handle heavy material on construction sites.

https://www.constructionequipmentguide.com/robotics-automating-the-job-site/59536

The city is potentially months away from starting a three-year project to replace its lead water lines that serve homes, apartments and public buildings. Connecticut is set to receive $150 million for the replacement of lead service lines from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, and New London is first on the state’s priority list for funding. The city’s share of the funding is not yet known. D’Shayla Hodges, a representative from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, explained lead is a useful metal commonly found in pipes and even paint until 1978. She said historically lead can be found in pipes in homes built before 1986. Lanzafame said the city’s utility department is waiting to hear back from the Department of Public Health on the federal and state subsidies the program will receive, and then the project will go out to bid.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20230112/new-london-shares-details-of-plan-to-replace-lead-water-lines-for-free/