In a recent 6-2 vote, the council voted to proceed with drafting a bond proposal to Banton Construction. The New Haven-based firm originally bid to take on the renovation of the pool in 2020. It bid again and made the lowest offer of $9.3 million. This was lower than the town’s expected estimate for the project, which was $12 million. The new pool would be much smaller at 13,000 square feet than the existing structure at 43,000 square feet. The renovated plan will also include a new bathhouse and picnic pavilion, a splash pad, playground, an expanded parking lot and new landscaping, along with expanded green space and a potential performance stage for events and activities. Much like the existing pool, the new design will also be zero depth entry, with four lap lanes, slide, and water sports areas in the deeper sections. Banton Construction was the lowest of the other companies to bid on the project, which included Orlando Annulli & Sons, Montagno Construction, and J.A Rosa Construction. All bid over $10-11 million, closer to the estimated project pricing.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/recordjournal/article/wallingford-community-pool-approval-renovation-ct-20348923.php

A historic flood in 1955 devastated downtown Norwalk, which has never reclaimed much of its former glory, according to Jim Travers, the city’s director of transportation, parking and mobility. But a $30 million project over the next five years is now underway to change that, Travers said. The plan involves creating safer intersections, widening the sidewalks, providing opportunities for outdoor dining and improving on-street lighting, Travers told CT Insider. The project, which extends from West Avenue to East Avenue and Wall Street, including Burnell Boulevard, and portions Main Avenue and Commerce, River and Isaac streets, is expected to be completed by 2030. The city has received $5.75 million in federal grants, $12.9 in state grants, $1.6 million in capital investments, $350,000 from its Capital Projects Fund, and $2 million in parking authority improvements for the Yankee Doodle Garage, he said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/norwalk-wall-street-corridor-project-30-million-ct-20334777.php

Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he is releasing $30 million in state grants to 46 small towns in Connecticut that will be used to complete a wide variety of infrastructure improvements, such as road safety reconstruction projects, emergency management upgrades, sidewalk and pedestrian safety enhancements, educational and recreational facility upgrades, and other kinds of capital improvement projects. The grants are being provided through the Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP), a state program managed by the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management (OPM) that delivers grants to small towns for economic development, community conservation, and quality-of-life capital projects. In addition to the grants from the state, each municipality is also contributing funds, bringing the total spent on the 48 projects to $43.4 million in a combination of state, local, and other funding sources. Towns seeking funding under this current round of STEAP grants were required to submit applications to the state by February 20, 2025. Towns selected to receive grants will soon be contacted by OPM with an official award notification and further instructions. Funding to support these grants was recently approved by the State Bond Commission, a group that Governor Lamont leads as chairperson.

https://portal.ct.gov/governor/news/press-releases/2025/05-2025/governor-lamont-releases-30-million-for-infrastructure-improvements-in-46-small-towns?language=en_US

The Southington Water Department is moving forward with its new drinking water treatment building along with water main replacements and other upgrades that service all town residents and some Cheshire residents. The new $3.5 million drinking water treatment building is being built over Well #10, a 120-foot-deep drinking water well that was added in 2022 next to Well #9. It is now seeking $1.3 million from the Connecticut Department of Public Health Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program (DWSRF) for the new treatment building and about $2.7 million for the lead goosenecks and water main replacement project. The department will also be doing work on the lead gooseneck and FY 2024 water main replacement project. They will replace about 117 lead goosenecks and 100-year-old water mains on Vermont Avenue, Vermont Court, Vermont Terrace, Oak Street and Academy Lane totaling about $1,636,448. As well as different sections of Berlin Street, Celella Drive and Lacey Road totaling about $1,053,950.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/recordjournal/article/water-connecticut-southington-upgrades-ct-20277476.php

The new owner of Norwalk Hospital will provide expertise and much-needed capital to begin working on a delayed $220 million patient bed tower — an expansion and renovation plan that represents a “transformation” for the medical center. “Northwell … is leading-edge with their construction. We will definitely benefit from their expertise,” Robertson told CT Insider recently as several hundred people gathered outside Danbury Hospital to cut the ceremonial ribbon on the $22 billion Northwell-Nuvance partnership. Robertson was referring to Northwell’s promise to invest $1 billion in Nuvance hospitals – in Norwalk, Danbury, New Milford and Sharon in Connecticut, and three more in New York’s Hudson River Valley. The seven hospitals and scores of outpatient sites in western Connecticut formerly run by Nuvance are now part of the largest health care system in New York. Blueprints call for a 190,000-square-foot tower and 50,000 square feet of renovated space at the bend of Stevens Street. The tower would replace older sections of the hospital that date to 1918.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/norwalk-hospital-northwell-nuvance-tower-expansion-20331495.php

As work continues on the $10 million reconstruction of West Hartford Center, the town has released a draft of the area’s master plan, giving a broader glimpse of the popular dining and shopping destination’s future. Right now, construction crews are tearing up and replacing sidewalk on LaSalle Road, part of the first phase of the reconstruction plan that will widen sidewalks, replace aging trees and make the roadway safer for pedestrians. Next year, that same construction plan will move to Farmington Avenue. The plan also runs through basic improvements like more seating, tree enhancements, implementing public art and how restaurants might set up outdoor dining on sidewalks. Stantec is also recommending that the town experiment with changes to parking fees, including raising prices — even as low as 25 cents more per hour. But they also recommend introducing variable pricing, meaning the more in-demand spaces — like street parking — would cost more than less desirable parking. The Town Council will finalize the master plan later this year.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/westhartford/article/west-hartford-ct-town-center-master-plan-lasalle-20339178.php

A new study commissioned by the Tweed-New Haven Regional Airport Authority projects that the planned expansion of the airport will generate some 2,400 jobs by the end of the decade. The report, prepared by UConn’s Center for Economic Analysis, also forecasts $100 million in construction impacts by 2030, and $444 million in total economic impact to the state by 2027. The expansion, first announced in 2021, includes lengthening the runway from 5,600 to 6,575 feet, constructing a new terminal building and increasing parking capacity. The release of the economic impact study comes as there continues to be significant opposition to the expansion plan from both environmental campaigners and local residents. “We’re looking at the creation of good jobs, renewed investments in our neighborhoods, and long-term, sustainable growth across the region,” said Robert Reed, chairman of the Tweed-New Haven Airport Authority.

Study: Expansion of Tweed New Haven Airport will have $444M economic impact by 2027

As of May 20, 2025, the XL Center on Trumbull Street in Hartford, Conn., is closed for construction to overhaul the arena — a project more than a decade in the making. That means Hartford’s XL Center will not host any games, concerts or other events this summer. The latest investment includes $118 million from the state and $20 million in private funding from Oak View Group, which operates the XL Center for CRDA. The facility also will have new commercial kitchens, and five premium “bunker” suites with access to the arena floor. Freimuth expects the upgrades to extend the building’s life another 15 to 20 years. Renovations are expected to be completed in fall 2025, NBC Connecticut reported. When the updated XL Center reopens, Freimuth hopes to attract approximately 30 concerts a year — five times more than it currently hosts.

https://www.constructionequipmentguide.com/hartford-conns-50-year-old-xl-center-closes-for-latest-renovation-set-to-cost-138m/68100

On April 1, thousands of Health and Human Services workers arrived at work to find their identification badges failed to let them into their jobsite. They were placed on administrative leave with a letter of termination set for June 2. Employees at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health were among those affected; 85% of that workforce was eliminated. Recently, the date of termination was changed to June 30. NIOSH has been annihilated. Worker safety is in danger if we do not speak up now. There are over 160 million workers in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is about 48% of the population. Workers spend most of their time on the job doing combinations of activities — such as prolonged sitting, prolonged kneeling, heavy lifting and being exposed to toxins — sometimes with fatal results. In 2023, 5,283 workers died on the job, according to BLS data. NIOSH staff do some of the most important public health and labor safety work in the U.S. For more than 50 years, NIOSH has been an essential resource for workers to help ensure their health and safety at many essential work sites.

https://www.constructiondive.com/news/protect-niosh-worker-safety-opinion-health/748760/

Judge Rudolph Contreras ruled in favor of North America’s Building Trades Unions and the Baltimore-D.C. Metro Building and Construction Trades Council on May 16, ordering the DOD to set aside PLA-avoidant guidance, even for projects not related to the plaintiffs. Contreras’ order sides with the plaintiffs and says that the DOD must resume the practice of using PLAs. On Feb. 7, the DOD ordered its contracting officers to halt the use of PLAs on “large-scale construction projects,” according to a memo obtained by Construction Dive. That contrasted with a still-on-the-books executive order from Biden’s time in the White House, which mandated use of PLAs on projects receiving $35 million or more in federal funds. Then, on April 9, NABTU and the Baltimore-D.C. Metro Building and Construction Trades Council filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia., claiming the exclusion “interferes with Plaintiffs’ ongoing practice of negotiating such agreements with contractors bidding on federal large-scale construction projects.”

https://www.constructiondive.com/news/dod-resume-plas-court-nabtu-construction/748775/