Construction of a $4 million state-funded roundabout at the busy four-way intersection is expected to begin in the fall and lead to safer — and prettier — travel routes, city officials said. The rotary and related traffic additions are planned for the intersection, which is near the Broad Street courthouse and Williams Park, an area currently served by four traffic signals, several crosswalks and pedestrian islands. “We’ve been planning this for three or four years,” Public Works Director Brian Sear said, noting the project is awaiting final approval from the state and the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments, which is administering Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program funds needed to pay for the yearlong construction job. The job will entail adding a stamped-concrete circle — complete with ground-level fountain — inside the intersection, while narrowing entrance streets and adding new sidewalks, curbing, drainage and yield signs.

https://theday.com/news/733344/new-4m-traffic-rotary-coming-to-busy-new-london-intersection/

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum ordered the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to pause the Empire Wind project off the coast of Long Island while it reviews the approvals that led to the start of its construction in 2024. Burgum said in a social media post that BOEM is reviewing information that suggests the Biden administration “rushed through its approval without sufficient analysis.” Empire Wind is owned by Norwegian company Equinor. Whether the Trump administration’s decision on Empire Wind is a warning sign for other permitted projects remains unclear. Construction on Ørsted’s largest project in the U.S. to date, the 704-megawatt Revolution Wind, continues in earnest off the coast of Rhode Island. Construction is evident in the pace at which turbine components are moving to and from New London’s State Pier, where the parts are being marshaled and assembled, Connecticut Port Authority Board of Directors Chairman Paul Whitescarver said. Revolution Wind remains the only offshore wind farm that will provide Connecticut with power — 304MW to Connecticut and 400 MW to Rhode Island — and is the second of three planned offshore wind projects that State Pier will host. Parts for New York’s 84-turbine Sunrise Wind are expected to start arriving just weeks after Revolution Wind is completed at the end of this year and keeping State Pier busy potentially through the start of 2027.

https://theday.com/news/734985/regional-offshore-wind-study-comes-as-trump-cancels-ny-project/

Construction kicked off April 17 on a $136.5 million project to replace a pair of aging bridges in West Haven, Connecticut, according to a news release from Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont. The two bridges are each more than 70 years old and carry I-95 over 1st Avenue and the Metro-North Railroad train tracks. The project’s design-build team is made of Littleton, Massachusetts-based contractor The Middlesex Corp. and New York City-headquartered design engineer H&H, Connecticut DOT said. Of the country’s 623,000 bridges, 49.1% are in “fair” condition and 6.8% are rated “poor,” according to the American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2025 Report Card. In addition to replacing the bridges, the Connecticut project includes extending the southbound lane from Exit 44 to create a continuous travel thoroughfare that will ultimately serve as an exit-only lane for Exit 43, per the release. There will also be drainage, shoulder, traffic signal and lighting improvements, according to Connecticut DOT. Construction is slated to be completed in phases by the end of 2027.

https://www.constructiondive.com/news/west-haven-i-95-bridge-project/746231/

UConn plans to build student housing at its Avery Point campus in Groton, which has about 450 full-time students but currently lacks a residential component. Following an RFP process, UConn has selected a preferred developer to build the facility, which would include a 250-bed dorm, a 125-seat dining hall and a recreation field. The new facility would total 83,400 square feet and be located on a 1.1-acre property near the center of campus. On Wednesday, UConn’s Board of Trustees approved $750,000 to advance the project. It will be used to prepare the cost, scope and feasibility of the development. A university spokesperson said the proposal is at “an early stage of due diligence to assess site conditions and other factors that could influence the cost, scope and feasibility of the proposal.” The project is part of an effort to improve UConn’s Avery Point campus, including offering one of the school’s most popular majors – a bachelor’s degree in psychological sciences – there starting this fall, according to UConn. The facility would be “substantially complete” by July 2028, or sooner, UConn said.

UConn selects preferred developer, approves $750K for student housing project at Avery Point campus

Traffic will be split on Interstate 95 north in Westport starting May 5, according to the state Department of Transportation. The DOT said traffic restrictions will affect I-95 north between exits 17 and 18 in Westport from 8 p.m. on Monday, May 5, through 6 a.m. on Monday, May 26. There will be three lanes of traffic during the period, though it will be split with the work area in the middle, according to the DOT. The DOT noted that traffic will be split into two lanes on the left and a single lane on the right side. “This traffic restriction is necessary to remove the old and install the new expansion joint devices on the deck of the Bridge over Saugatuck River in Westport,” the DOT said. This is part of an almost $104 million project that was awarded to the Yonkers Contracting Co. Inc., in April 2022. It is scheduled to be completed by fall 2025.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/westport-i-95-north-construction-saugatuck-bridge-20292276.php

Construction is officially open on the Bailey Student-Athletic Success Center, a complete makeover of the existing Greer Field House that includes the Nayden Center For Academic Excellence. UConn isn’t done improving its facilities because such work never ends on any campus, but there are no more major projects on the horizon that haven’t been announced, funded, started or completed. Massive buildings have been erected, some costing millions of dollars, some costing dozens of millions, all of them combining to give the UConn campus the capabilities and look befitting its athletic profile. Benedict, who had most recently worked at Auburn, remembers what campus looks like when he arrived in 2016. The Bailey and Nayden Centers will, at a price of $90 million, will open in 2027. The Bailey Center will house numerous UConn teams and offer services to every student-athlete on campus in areas of fitness, mental health, academics, social opportunities and much more.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/sports/uconn/article/david-benedict-facilities-uconn-huskies-athletics-20292140.php

Officials have approved plans for a 200,000-square-foot warehouse along a railroad in an industrial area. The South Windsor Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved Tuesday night a special exception for a warehouse at a currently vacant 16-acre lot at 250 Rye St., including a rail spur to connect to the Connecticut Southern Railroad. Approval conditions placed on the project include prohibiting truck queuing on Rye Street, with an alternate truck queuing plan to be required if backups do occur, and requiring submission of a final plan for the rail spur prior to state approval. New warehouses in South Windsor and across Connecticut are often constructed without a specific named tenant, with many developers referring to such projects as “speculative” builds. A narrative included in the application, received by the PZC on Feb. 25, described the project as a “rare opportunity” for a tenant desiring both truck and rail access, and stated that the market has a high demand for “high-quality industrial zoned sites.”

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/journalinquirer/article/south-windsor-rye-street-warehouse-20292554.php

As part of ongoing repair and improvement efforts, New Haven Public School officials are proposing six renovation projects, including roof and swimming pool replacements across the district. The proposed projects include swimming pool replacements at Conte-West Hills School and Wilbur Cross High School; roof replacements at Truman School, Wilbur Cross and James Hillhouse High School; and the construction of a new central office at 424 Chapel St. On Feb. 13, there was a leak reported inside an English classroom at Wilbur Cross, which is an issue that has been difficult to address because the building’s roof has solar panels. The complaint cited concerns about mold, leaks, air quality and HVAC issues at the two high schools. While the report found no “evident deficiencies,” Justin Harmon, director of marketing and communications at NHPS, said the district has plans for projects and upgrades across its schools. The total cost of these six projects is estimated at $25.1 million.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/new-haven-public-schools-pool-roof-replacement-20286805.php

State officials on Tuesday celebrated the final adoption of new rules governing environmental cleanups at Connecticut’s industrial and commercial sites, with the change expected to yield billions in economic activity and thousands of new jobs. The General Assembly’s Regulations Review Committee, on Tuesday, approved regulations outlining a new released-based approach to environmental cleanup. The new regulations are expected to take effect in spring 2026. DECD economists estimate the new system will unlock $3.78 billion in new GDP growth in the next five years, bringing $115 million in new revenue to the state and more than 2,100 new construction jobs. In a nutshell, the new system relies on pollution releases being cleaned as they happen or are discovered. The biggest complaint against the 40-year-old Transfer Act has been the wide net it casts, dragging in all properties at which more than 100 kilograms (about 220 pounds) of hazardous waste was processed or generated in any one month from Nov. 19, 1980 onward. Under the law, those properties – even ones where there was never any known discharge or spill – had to undergo costly environmental testing and review before a sale could be completed.

State lawmakers approve Transfer Act replacement, expected to yield billions in economic activity

The legislature’s Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee approved bills Tuesday that would reduce Connecticut transportation construction debt and would gradually phase out property taxes on motor vehicles — in the 2030s. The Democratic-controlled finance panel, which must complete action on all its bills by the close of business Thursday, is expected to take up several revenue proposals Wednesday, including a new measure to create a state income tax credit for low- and middle-income families with children. Those revenue bills, along with a spending plan adopted Tuesday by the Appropriations Committee, will form a blueprint to guide final negotiations with legislative leaders and Lamont on a new state budget for the next two fiscal years. One bill, enacted with bipartisan support Tuesday, would cap reserves in the budget’s Special Transportation Fund at 18% of the STF. Any other unspent dollars would be used to pay down transportation debt. The STF, which gets most of its funding from sales and fuel tax receipts, finished with surpluses approaching or surpassing 10% in each of the past three fiscal years, and the Lamont administration projects a $159 million or 7% surplus this fiscal year.

Finance panel backs bill to shrink CT transportation debt