Norwich is one step closer to turning the Rose City Senior Center and the nearby athletic areas into the RecPlex. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont visited Norwich Friday to recognize the $5.1 million in state funds from the Community Investment Fund (CIF) 2030 program that was announced in March, and the city officially got two weeks ago. The lion’s share, $4.9 million will go toward improving Fontaine Field and its accessibility to the neighboring Rose City Senior Center. Another $250,000 will go toward redevelopment plans for the Norwich portion of the former Norwich State Hospital. The Fontaine Field work could start as soon as the week of April 28, and will be finished by the end of 2025. Fontaine Field will be closed in the fall, and alternate arrangements are being worked on with the schools and permittees, Norwich Human Services Director Kate Milde said. Transforming Fontaine Field has been a priority for Norwich Human Services for a few years. Work on Fontaine Field will include replacing the field with synthetic turf, adding spectator stands, enlarging the parking area, and adding accessible walkways to the senior center, Milde said.

https://www.norwichbulletin.com/story/news/local/2025/04/26/ct-funded-improvements-fontaine-field-norwich-community-investment-fund-turf-stands-parking-walkways/83276652007/?tbref=hp

Construction of the new Wilton police station is now slated to finish at the end of the year, with communication issues on the work prompting a delay of the $19 million project. The contractor, A. Secondino & Son Inc. of Branford, has asked about a completion date in the fall, Department of Public Works Director Frank Smeriglio said at a recent meeting. The town has not yet approved that nor discussed the implications of a later finishing date, he said. But DPW Assistant Director/Facilities Manager Jeff Pardo said the new police station is more than 50% complete and will likely take even longer than Secondino predicts. The original schedule called for the project to be done this summer, but there is still work to do on the roof and the interior, where 90% of the sheetrock is up but is not ready for paint. The windows are still covered in plastic. Pardo said he’s tried to express his concerns and talk to the project manager from Secondino, but the project manager shows up only to virtual meetings “maybe once a month” and never walks through the building. “It’s not a good thing,” he said. “I’ve never had a project manager not walk through the building.”

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/wilton-police-headquarters-delay-construction-20292807.php

Built by Amtrak and owned by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the permanent pier provides an alternate fishing location while the Ferry Landing pier / boardwalk in Old Lyme is closed to make way for Amtrak’s construction of a new Connecticut River Bridge between Old Lyme and Old Saybrook, according to a press release. Construction is underway to replace the 118-year-old bridge with a modern, moveable bridge that will improve the customer experience by eliminating delays, providing faster journeys, and modernizing another critical infrastructure asset that benefits the entire Northeast corridor, the statement continued. It is one of several passenger rail investments underway in Connecticut, including the WALK Bridge Replacement in Norwalk, Devon Bridge repairs in Milford, new stations in Windsor Locks and Enfield, and more projects led by the state Department of Transportation. Once the new Connecticut River Bridge is in service and the old bridge has been demolished in 2029, Amtrak will build a new and improved, fully accessible 1,000+ foot long observation deck and stairway at Ferry Landing State Park that would open in 2030/2031.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/amtrak-deep-fishing-pier-haddam-eagle-landing-ct-20297862.php

Water levels in the Dean’s Mill Reservoir Dam may look lower than usual, but the Aquarion Water Co. wants to assure residents their drinking water is just fine, and there is no cause for concern. “If customers notice that it is down low, it’s because we are purposely doing that,” said Aquarion Director of Corporate Communications Peter Fazekas. Fazekas said the 5-foot reduction in typical water levels and equipment in the area are part of a $2 million project to complete routine maintenance on the Dean’s Mill Reservoir Dam. “Because it is masonry, it does need maintenance over time,” he said. He explained that the rehabilitation requires a dry work area, so the water levels are being artificially lowered, and the company has installed an additional cofferdam to allow access to the base of the dam. He said the work is anticipated to be finished in June. “We expect this to last 25-plus years once this project is complete,” Fazekas said.

https://theday.com/news/734311/aquarion-undertaking-dam-work-to-deans-mill-dam/

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