Connecticut’s two largest investor-owned utility companies raised alarms Monday over recently-filed legislation that seeks to impose dramatic new regulations on their businesses — including a requirement that they split apart their electric and gas interests. In addition to prohibiting companies like Eversource and United Illuminating from owning both electric and gas utilities in Connecticut, the bill would limit their ability to profit from investments and it would make the companies and their internal documents subject to the state’s Freedom of Information Act. The bill would also add qualification requirements for new board members of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority while attempting to limit conflicts of interest between regulators and the utilities. The bill would also limit the number of PURA commissioners previously employed by entities regulated by the authority and extend the “cooling off” period for former commissioners to take a job with a regulated utility, from one year to five. Board members who previously worked for a utility — which would include interim Commissioner David Arconti, a former UI lobbyist — would be be required to recuse themselves from any cases involving their former employer for a period of five years.

Lawmakers consider banning Eversource, UI from owning both gas and electric utilities

A project labor agreement, or PLA, is a binding contract between a government or private entity that needs a construction project done and a labor union. Before workers are even hired on a project, the two sides negotiate a PLA that sets wages, benefits, work conditions and often provisions for resolving labor disputes to prevent strikes or other work stoppages. Non-union industry groups and conservative organizations have long criticized the practice of governments using, encouraging or mandating PLAs, arguing that forcing projects to use union labor makes them slower and more expensive. But new research from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the University of Illinois’ Project for Middle Class Renewal found the opposite. The study, commissioned by the state’s Capital Development Board, found that PLAs in Illinois have enhanced bid competition, helped to lower construction costs for taxpayers and increased business for firms owned by people of color, women and veterans. “The biggest finding in this report, and one that hadn’t been shown as much in other research or was unclear, is that Project Labor Agreements promote robust competition,” said Frank Manzo, an economist at ILEPI, a nonprofit research organization with a board of directors that’s closely tied to organized labor. “The PLAs were linked with a 14% increase in the number of bids submitted by contractors seeking to win public building contracts.” The report analyzed hundreds of public building projects — 499 had PLAs and 274 did not — as well as the bids for state projects.

https://www.nprillinois.org/illinois/2025-03-21/new-report-finds-project-labor-agreements-lower-costs-boost-competition-in-illinois

Among its busy schedule for work on state roads this spring and summer, the Connecticut Department of Transportation is planning some Interstate 91 ramp work. The DOT said it is developing plans to realign the Interstate 91 north and south ramps at Exit 24 in Rocky Hill. According to the DOT, the goal of the project is to address the intersection at the I-91/CT 99 ramps. Slip ramps will be removed to create shorter pedestrian crossings and ramps, according to the agency. The design will be completed in April of 2026, with construction expected to start later that fall, “assuming acceptance of the project, availability of funding, receipt of any required right-of-way and environmental permits,” according to the CTDOT. The project will be undertaken with 100 percent state funds, according to the DOT. There are 545 active capital projects planned for this year on state highways, bridges and roads. Two hundred of the projects, like Rocky Hill, are in the planning phase and 171 are under construction.

Amid major I-91 ramp reconfiguration and detours, plans in works for another nearby ramp

A 738-bed student housing development is expected to break ground later this year in Storrs just off of the University of Connecticut campus in an effort to help alleviate the ongoing student housing crunch. Landmark Properties has closed on the property called The Mark Mansfield, which will be located at 134 North Eagleville Road adjacent to the UConn main campus, and will serve as the general contractor. UConn spokesperson Stephanie Reitz said student housing options on UConn’s Storrs campus and nearby have been in flux, with large additions that include the opening of Connecticut Hall and the addition of more than 650 beds there at the start of the current academic year. Mansfield town manager Ryan Aylesworth said the new building will fit the character of the buildings near the UConn campus. “The project is well supported for a few reasons. The location is a high-density area that wouldn’t impede on lesser development areas,” Aylesworth said. “We know there is a high demand for additional housing at UConn.

Massive off-campus housing development planned near UConn. Think pool, fitness center, walk to campus.

An 80-acre site in Hartford’s South Meadows received garbage from most of Connecticut for decades, processing it in a massive facility that burned trash for energy. The quasi-public Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority shut the faltering plant down in 2022, and local officials have been pushing to prep the large site in Hartford’s industrial South Meadows neighborhood for redevelopment. That preparation will take years and cost anywhere from $27.87 million to $333.87 million, depending on how many of the existing buildings are demolished, and what sort of future development is pursued, according to a recently completed study. Those cost estimates are also based on a 2026 start date, and rise sharply with delay. CRDA – a quasi-governmental agency responsible for economic development efforts in Greater Hartford – is a logical choice for the job, Freimuth said. But his 13-staff agency already has a hefty workload and would need additional manpower and money to take on the South Meadows site, he said. “We have been asked to assess whether CRDA can play a role,” Freimuth said. “It would be a major undertaking of our staff and resources. Hopefully, we would get more resources if that comes our way.”

Study: Costs to prep Hartford’s 80-acre former trash-burning site for residential redevelopment range up to $333.87M

A historic iron bridge has taken people over Mill River since 1888, but it is proving unable to cross a deeper divide. It’s the gap between the struggling West Side and the thriving downtown; between longtime residents and newcomers; between the haves and the have-nots. Through its stages of deterioration, the bridge has been closed to cars, shored up as a pedestrian crossing, replaced with a “temporary” prefabricated walkbridge, and now abandoned in a sorry state. West Side residents and their supporters say no one cared about the West Main Street bridge before the then-deteriorating downtown was turned around. Luxury apartment high-rises went up, and city officials began spending millions of dollars to reroute the stagnant Mill River and rebuild what had been a neglected, crime-ridden Mill River Park. One is to restore the historic elements of the bridge and rebuild it to support two lanes of car traffic. The prefabricated walkbridge would be removed. Estimated cost: $6.7 million. The other is to take down the iron bridge and remove the trusses, installing them as a historic artifact in the park. The prefabricated walkbridge would remain. Estimated cost: $1.2 million.

Vote to Restore Bridge Traffic Heads to Stamford Reps

State officials recently temporarily halted renovations to the former American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T) building downtown over labor law violations. Juliet Manalan, a labor department spokesperson, confirmed that agency’s wage and workplace standards division issued stop work orders to a trio of businesses involved in the project for misclassifying workers and not having workers’ compensation insurance: Odysseus Multi-tech and Pillar Management, both of New York, and a J. Gonzalez, of Connecticut, which had the insurance but not for the correct amount of employees or type of work. Odysseus was also cited for having unlicensed personnel performing plumbing. A pair of construction unions — the Fairfield County Building Trades and Carpenter’s Local 326 — scheduled a 10 a.m. rally Saturday at 430 John St. to protest the violations. Their announcement noted this is the second high profile redevelopment in Bridgeport where stop work orders were issued over workers’ compensation and misclassification issues.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/bridgeport-att-building-renovations-halted-20234001.php

The approximately $4.2 million Railroad Square Revitalization project has been awarded to Yield Industries. Officials are now awaiting approval by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, said City Engineer and Deputy Public Works Director Paul Kundzins. “Construction will begin as soon as we can mobilize,” he said. “The project is required to be completed by the end of this calendar year, so we’re going to be done. Busy, busy summer.” At $4.1 million with $207,355 for contingencies and quantity fluctuations, the Torrington-based Yield Industries’ bid was the lowest, Kundzins said. The project will be funded by a DECD Community Challenge Grant, the City of Torrington Pavement Management Program Bond Fund and the state Department of Transportation Town Aid Road program. The overall project includes the replacement of the railroad platform and construction of a canopy at Railroad Square, the $632,967 contract for which was awarded to Millennium Builders Inc. in January.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/waterbury/article/torrington-railroad-square-yield-industries-20231599.php

An elevated pedestrian bridge will now be able to connect Choate Rosemary Hall’s north and south campus along Christian Street. The proposal was brought before the town council last year when the school sought an air easement to construct the 17-foot-tall wooden bridge, which is planned to be located just south of Rosemary Lane. It was recently approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission. Officials said the project would have limited environmental impact due to the narrow footprint and the porous asphalt that will be used for the overflow parking area. While twice as expensive as normal asphalt, it would allow the water to seep into the soil directly beneath the paved area and wouldn’t require a catch basin, which would likely come at a greater expense for the school to maintain in the long term.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/recordjournal/article/wallingford-chaote-bridge-approval-christian-st-20219633.php

Acting Superintendent of Schools Royce Avery believes the school system must first secure the funding and construct new school buildings before it moves forward with a proposal to shutter several old facilities. A recently completed study found the district’s aging buildings will need $702.5 million in upgrades over the next decade and recommends closing seven aging schools to save money on costly repairs. The report notes many of the schools were originally built more than a century ago and that replacing badly rundown facilities with brand new ones could help the cash-strapped district save millions of dollars in maintenance costs. The district is holding three public forums this spring about the future of the facilities. The first will take place on March 31 at Harding High School, while the second will be on April 1 at Central High School and the third will be on April 2 at Bassick High School.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/education/article/bridgeport-school-closures-new-buildings-20226926.php