A new $48 million ice hockey arena at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, which has been under construction since last April, is set to open in January 2023 and will be named after Board of Trustees Chairman Dan Toscano and his family. The new arena will have a capacity of 2,600. The environmentally sustainable design makes the facility as efficient as possible in energy and water use, the university said. The Toscanos have invested toward scholarships and awards to help students across the school, and have donated money for capital projects to support the basketball, baseball, ice hockey, soccer and lacrosse teams. The new arena is next to the existing Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum in the athletics district along Jim Calhoun Way.

UConn’s new $48M hockey arena, set for completion early next year, named after Toscano family

Yale New Haven Hospital broke ground Aug. 31 on a new $838 million neurosciences center, according to a project press release. Turner Construction will serve as the general contractor of the project, according to Mark D’Antonio, media relations coordinator at the hospital. The project will create hundreds of construction jobs as well as new positions at Yale New Haven Hospital, said Justin Elicker, mayor of New Haven, Connecticut. The Yale New Haven hospital was officially announced on April 29, 2019, but its start was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Costs for prevalent materials in hospital projects, like concrete and structural steel, have “seen significant increases over what they cost over the last 24 months,” said Chris Dunn, a health care construction lawyer at Epstein Becker Green. But that has not stopped massive healthcare projects, like the Yale New Haven hospital, from moving forward.

https://www.constructiondive.com/news/838-million-neurosciences-construction-breaks-ground-yale-hospital-healthcare-connecticut/632190/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202022-09-20%20Construction%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:44646%5D&utm_term=Construction%20Dive

The project includes replacing the traffic signal at the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Chester Street with a three-legged roundabout. The total cost for the project is $4,082,920, of which about 97% will be paid through a grant given to the city by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. The funds come from the DOT’s Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program (LOTCIP). The city hired the engineering and consulting firm Fuss & O’Neill in 2019 for $215,000 to design the project. Sear said the city spent the following two and a half years working on the design and review. He said the city received bids in June and determined the lowest qualified bid. On Monday, the City Council unanimously approved a $3.3 million contract with Colonna Concrete & Asphalt Paving of Woodbridge for the roundabout and roadway improvements. Expected to start in October and finish in October of 2023, Sear said construction will continue through the winter.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20220920/new-london-approves-4-million-road-reconstruction-on-jefferson-avenue/

Having in 2015 obtained a 99-year lease from Bridgeport, owner of the Stratford-based airport, the local Connecticut Air and Space Center in 2018 was awarded $1 million in state aid to give a substantial boost to the slow-going refurbishment of the Curtiss hangar for its home. Having in 2015 obtained a 99-year lease from Bridgeport, owner of the Stratford-based airport, the local Connecticut Air and Space Center in 2018 was awarded $1 million in state aid to give a substantial boost to the slow-going refurbishment of the Curtiss hangar for its home. Kevin Dillon, executive director of the Windsor Locks-based authority, emphasized his organization, which aims to return regular commercial passenger service to Sikorsky, wants the museum there too. He noted the CAA-run Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks is home to the New England Air Museum. And so for now the $1 million is in limbo. The Bridgeport City Council, currently all Democrats, will ultimately have to vote on any sale of Sikorsky. Its president, Aidee Nieves, said she supports the museum and city and state officials need to include its representatives in their discussions.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/bridgeport-plan-to-sell-sikorsky-airport-halts-aviation-museum-s-takeoff/ar-AA121VmR?ocid=entnewsntp&cvid=14b1bc48282e4ae7ad02a5b3c2a45931

Jack Klugmann, the president and founder of Accurate in New Jersey, which purchased the property earlier this year, said his company has done many different groundbreakings, but it is rare he and his colleagues are excited to be attending one. Shovels dug into earth as town and state officials, as well as developers from Accurate, marked the beginning of work on the mixed-used project at the Fairfield Metro Station. The development aims to build 357 apartments, a 118-room hotel, 70,000 square feet of office space and 40,000 square feet of retail space. Development of the site has long been a topic of debate between Fairfield officials who say the site, the former foundry off lower Black Rock Turnpike, has been dormant for too long. Blackrock Realty contributed $5.4 million to the construction of the station in exchange for the rights to build its initial commercial and residential project connected to the station.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/fairfield/article/Fairfield-officials-break-ground-at-train-station-17454801.php

The town of Wallingford is set to receive half a million dollars from the state for sidewalk improvements, while Cheshire is in line for nearly $300,000 in state funding to further improve its West Main Street corridor. The $500,000 award for Wallingford is one of $31.3 million in state Small Town Economic Assistance Program grants Gov. Ned Lamont announced Monday. Also included in the announcement was the $290,000 grant to the town of Cheshire for the third phase of its West Main Streetscape improvement project. The purpose of STEAP is to provide grants to smaller communities that are ineligible for Urban Action bonds awarded to urban centers and economically distressed communities. The State Bond Commission approves the grants, which can only be used for capital projects rather than for items in the town budget.

https://www.myrecordjournal.com/News/Wallingford/Wallingford-News/Town-of-Wallingford-to-recieve-$500-000-in-state-aid-for-sidewalks-along-Hall-Avenue-and-downtown

As the final phase of work in the Old Greenwich sewer force main replacement project begins, it is expected to have a major impact on traffic for the next several weeks. Temporary road closures and detours are possible as the work progresses, the Department of Public Works said. Work is scheduled in Work Zone 6, which is the traffic circle where Arch Street, West End Avenue and Summit Road meet in Old Greenwich, and Work Zone 1, which is on Oval Avenue near the Riverside train station. Construction on the sewer main replacement has been underway since August 2021, when it began in Work Zone 1 near the Riverside Train Station. It has proceeded through the six work zones in Riverside and Old Greenwich over the past year. Although the construction is expected to be completed by the end of October, finishing touches on the full project will continue until 2023.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Old-Greenwich-sewer-project-traffic-delays-17452567.php

The job, which years ago was estimated at $50 million, would alleviate some of the worst backups in the town’s Unionville section, particularly helping rush hour commuters from Canton, Burlington, New Hartford, western Bristol and parts of Litchfield County, planners said. Establishing a regional benefit is likely to be essential to securing federal aid for the project, and the Capitol Region Council of Governments wants to emphasize that point when a funding request is submitted through the state transportation department. CRCOG’S proposal is to extend Monteith Drive by almost a fifth of a mile, linking Route 4 and New Britain Avenue directly in front of the town hall, high school and library complex. That would give motorists a way to cross the river without driving all the way west to Unionville or east toward the village center. Farmington will hold a public information session in November to go over details of the proposal and field residents’ questions. CRCOG just completed a $150,000 study of the bridge idea, and will present its findings.

https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-connecticut-farmington-bridge-20220917-hzc4dg4e2felbjbj4y6lxdjbpm-story.html

The Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded the city $25.1 million to assist its effort to build “a wall, a pipe and a pump” to prevent flooding at Union Station and nearby areas, officials announced Monday. The city and the state will add approximately $10 million, totaling around $35 million for the work. City Engineer Giovanni Zinn said the fund will go toward a 10-foot stormwater pipe from the corridor of West Water Street and Union Avenue out to the harbor and the living shoreline project at Long Wharf. For flooding, Truscinski said the city should expect a sea level rise of up to 20 inches by 2050, increasing the frequency of floods. Instead of facing a major flooding event — a disaster of more than three feet of water — every 15-20 years, Truscinski said it would happen every three to five years. These natural hazards will affect the communities of color more because of the built environment and a more limited access to resiliency resources, according to Mark Mitchell of Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/New-Haven-gets-25-million-to-prevent-flooding-17451801.php

Connecticut has received approval for its plan submitted to the U.S. Department of Transportation seeking $52.5 million over five years to build electric vehicle chargers across the state. The state will receive $7.7 million in fiscal year 2022 and additional funding in 2023 under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program, Gov. Ned Lamont announced. The funding is part of President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Phase one of Connecticut’s plan focuses on building up to 10 locations consisting of at least four individual fast chargers along state highways. The state Department of Transportation plans to release details by early 2023. As of this July, there were more than 25,000 electric vehicles registered in Connecticut.

CT to receive $52.2M in federal funding for electric vehicle chargers