Construction on the railroad bridge over Strawberry Hill Avenue in Norwalk is set to begin Saturday, closing a portion of the road until later this year, state Department of Transportation officials said. The bridge, which supports four tracks used by Metro-North Railroad and Amtrak trains, was built in 1890, and the improvement project is meant to reduce commuter travel times, according to the DOT. “The Strawberry Hill Avenue Railroad Bridge project replaces the existing bridge superstructure and updates the supporting structure underneath while maintaining the current vertical and horizontal clearances,” a news release from the DOT said. The construction will start with the demolition of the superstructure, according to the DOT, and work on the south side of the bridge is expected to start in 2026.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/norwalk-ct-strawberry-hill-roads-closed-bridge-20238810.php

Just four weeks ago, Granby filed suit against the council for authorizing Key Capture Energy’s plan for a 5-megawatt battery energy storage facility not far from the Salmon Brook; the town contends the council didn’t give enough weight to evidence of environmental and safety hazards. So far, court appeals against the Siting Council have a poor record of success. The courts have mostly ruled upheld the council’s decisions, noting that state law deliberately designed it to make decisions in the best interest of all Connecticut power customers and utility users — with freedom from obeying preferences of neighbors or the local community. But state lawmakers have been looking for ways to give citizens and communities more of a voice in the decisions, and are focusing efforts this spring on Senate Bill 78. It would require the Siting Council to include a representative from the community where a proposed facility would be located; the mayor or first selectman would be responsible for appointing that person. The local representative wouldn’t get a vote, but could deliberate with the council’s voting members. Currently the council is made up of a representative from the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, a designee from the state House speaker and another from the Senate president, and five public members appointed by the governor.

Big solar array in small CT town illustrates contention over Siting Council

Norwich Public Utilities is upgrading its natural gas infrastructure with a $20.9 million project, according to a community announcement. The initiative aims to replace over nine miles of aging cast iron gas mains with high-density polyethylene ones. NPU was awarded $10 million from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration in 2023, followed by an additional $10.9 million in April 2024. These grants will accelerate 25 years of capital improvements into a five-year plan. Work for 2025 has started on Franklin Street and McKinley Avenue. Main installation will continue on these streets until early April, after which NPU will work along North Main Street and 4th Street. Once this phase is complete, crews will move to the area near Norwich Free Academy, including Rockwell and Crescent streets. This work is scheduled for the summer to minimize traffic disruptions.

https://www.norwichbulletin.com/story/news/local/2025/03/27/norwich-public-utilities-ct-kicks-off-upgrade-of-natural-gas-infrastructure-roads-affected/82672351007/?tbref=hp

A $96 million cancer treatment center using novel proton technology to reduce damage to healthy tissue could begin construction on the city’s west side as soon as summer. A proton therapy center in Wallingford under a partnership between Hartford HealthCare and Yale New Haven Health broke ground in the summer with an opening planned for the end of 2026. That would make the Wallingford facility the only proton therapy center between New York and Boston. The Danbury proton center would open in 2027 to serve Fairfield County and nearby New York, according to the current plan. Among the conditions Danbury Proton agreed to with the state agency in January are that the center will “become credentialed as a Medicaid provider” and it will “commit at least 5% of net revenue to providing care for the uninsured and/or covering patients’ out-of-pockets.” Danbury Proton expects to create 100 jobs during construction and employ “32 full-time equivalent employees, including radiation oncologists, medical physicists, radiation therapists, medical support and administrative staff.”

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/ct-danbury-proton-cancer-center-20246111.php

City Manager Brian Daniels proposed a $36 million capital improvement plan for fiscal year 2026 that falls nearly $1 million under the city’s spending cap and is $20 million less than the current year. The 2026 expenditure represents a $36 million commitment for capital improvement spending and calls for $4.5 million in net city costs when grants are factored. The cap is 2.5% of the prior year’s general fund revenue or $5,071,555. More than 70% of the costs cover seven projects over several years, Daniels said. The capital improvement budget contains the funds allocated for all capital projects in a given year. Of the $36 million, $5.8 million will go toward continuing the West Main Street bridge replacements, $5.4 million for almost a mile of a critical sewer main replacement, $4.4 million of annual road resurfacing, $3 million to replace a Carpenter Avenue water storage tank cover, $2.9 million for required lead service line inventory, $2.4 million to replace a ladder truck within 3 to 4 years and $2 million to finish the Edison Middle School roof.

https://www.ctinsider.com/recordjournal/article/capital-improvements-meriden-2025-20226047.php

The former Briarwood College property may soon be transformed into a new senior development if the zone change is approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission. The project will have 150 age-restricted housing units spread out among seven buildings on site at 2279 Mount Vernon Road. The mix of studio and one-bedroom apartments will range between 350 and 1,000 square feet, Severino Bovino, an engineer and vice president of Southington-based Kratzert, Jones & Associates Inc. said at the recent meeting. Once the zone change is approved PGX will return before the PZC for a site plan review/approval. And go before the Southington Zoning Board of Appeals as well to get a variance that will allow for part of the facility to be used as rented space.

https://www.ctinsider.com/recordjournal/article/ct-briarwood-lincoln-college-senior-housing-20228540.php

In a world of modern miracles, the multi-million-dollar, multi-year construction of Torrington’s new high school/middle school almost literally under the feet of its faculty, students, coaches and athletes is a local version demanding attention in its clockwork operation. Budding engineers, architects, construction workers…and athletic directors couldn’t get a more hands-on education in four years of college. “It’s controlled chaos,” he chuckles from a storage-room office that will become a cafeteria storage room when “the envy of every other school in the area” is complete, somewhere around next October. Last season, the boys and girls basketball teams were on the road for the final 14 games of their regular seasons while O&G, the prime contractor, began work on the school’s new gym.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/sports/article/torrington-high-school-spring-games-practices-20228773.php

After years of planning, Greenwich will finally start a major project to upgrade Glenville Road this week. This project, known as the “Glenville Corridor,” will make changes to the roads and sidewalks between the intersection of Glenville Street and Glen Ridge Road and the intersection of Glenville Road and Weaver Street. Work is scheduled to begin on Monday and it is expected to take a full year to complete, according to the Department of Public Works. Crews will be widening parts of the road, upgrading traffic signals, filling slopes in some areas, adding sidewalks, adding stamped concrete pedestrian crossings, adding a traffic signal at the intersection of Glenville Road and Pemberwick Road and more.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/greenwich-glenville-corridor-road-work-20241977.php

Aquarion Water Co. will be initiating a water main replacement project that will cover just short of 8,000 feet of pipe. The affected roadways will be Katherine Lane, Windham Drive, Valley View Road, Bob White Way, High Hill Circle, Richard Road, Branch Brook Road and Cornfield Road. Aquarion officials said the work is part of an ongoing program to improve the company’s water distribution system, with Aquarion representatives planning to work closely with residents and businesses to minimize any disruptions. Compass Enterprises Inc. of Simsbury will serve as the contractor for the project, Aquarion officials said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/farmingtonvalley/article/aquarion-water-company-simsbury-traffic-delays-20240492.php

Flanders Road commuters might have to visit the car wash more often, as a portion of the road will soon be fully reconstructed as part of the $156 million Interstate 95 Exit 74 interchange project. Starting in mid-April the road will be gravel for 500 feet from the intersection with Frontage Road to the entrance of Walgreens, said Andrew Millovitsch, project engineer with the state Department of Transportation. Officials expect the work to finish May 1. The project cost has risen from the original estimate of $150 million, after officials needed more supplies than expected, Millovitsch said. He added it’s “amazing” that after two years the large project has only increased in cost by $6 million.

https://theday.com/news/722753/portion-of-flanders-road-to-be-rebuilt-as-part-of-i-95-reconstruction/