As the developer and manager of the city-owned concert amphitheater, Howard Saffan looks forward to the just-announced demolition of the decommissioned power plant and its three smokestacks that loom over the live music venue. But as an organizer behind the fourth annual Soundside music festival, also nearby at Seaside Park, Saffan is not as enthusiastic about the tentative implosion date of Sept. 28, which is also day two of the concert event. Chad Parks, whose Bridgeport Station Development purchased the retired PSEG plant last year and is preparing the site for housing and public waterfront access, said he does not believe there will be an issue. Parks previously said if the demolition goes forward Sept,. 28 it would be around 4 a.m. Gates at Soundside open nearly eight hours later at 11:45 a.m. Thomas Gaudett, Ganim’s chief administrative officer, said Tuesday there may be valid logistical reasons to not have the ex-PSEG structure, recognized by its tallest, 500-foot red-and-white striped smokestack, razed on the same weekend as Soundside.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/ct-bridgeport-smokestack-demolition-date-soundside-20337735.php

Residents will have the opportunity to vote on multiple public works projects, including the creation of a new Public Works Department, during an all-day referendum June 3 at the Plainville Firehouse. The referendum will be held between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. at the firehouse at 77 W. Main St. Wazorko said the town is looking to have its Public Works Department and Roadways Department consolidated into one new building. If approved, the new building will be located on a parcel of land on Camp Street owned by Aiudi Construction. It will replace two 50-year-old buildings. In the case of the Shuttle Meadow Road pump station, the town is looking to replace existing pumps and motors with submersible style pumps, within a new precast wet well and valve vault, according to the town. The project would include all new electrical pump controls, instrumentation, a generator, modifications to the existing wet well and targeted demolition of existing components and site work, according to the town. The town anticipates receiving a $3.18 million loan from the State of Connecticut’s Clean Water Fund Program to cover the cost.

https://www.bristolpress.com/news/plainville-will-vote-on-these-projects-on-june-3/article_d0b27db7-1d12-4cb1-99d4-85ca3a7d3982.html

As construction begins this week on a streetscape improvement project, city officials said they hope to see a safer intersection on Hospital Hill by the end of 2025. The $1.3 million project is focused on improving the safety of the five-leg intersection of Stuart Avenue, Stevens Street and Magnolia Avenue, which the city determined was the third most dangerous intersection in Norwalk. The Department of Transportation, Mobility and Parking, which is managing the streetscape improvement project, also plans to create a clear path for traffic using stop signs and to adjust parking by adding a 13-space lot between Stuart and Magnolia Avenues and parallel parking along one side of Stevens Street. Colonna Concrete, a Woodbridge-based construction company, is expected to start work on Tuesday and to complete the project by the end of the year, according to KC Bushka, who works for Norwalk’s Department of Transportation, Mobility and Parking.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/norwalk-hospital-hill-road-safety-project-begins-20334589.php

The City Planning Commission has rescheduled a hearing on a 63-lot affordable housing development that a local nonprofit developer is proposing to build on the city’s border with Prospect. Waterbury-based NEST has partnered with Meriden-based Carabetta Development on the “workforce housing” project on a mostly wooded 30-acre property off the northern side of Route 69. NEST is a nonprofit community development organization dedicated to expanding home ownership opportunities and revitalizing neighborhood. NEST has negotiated a sales agreement with the owner of the property, Sunrise Farm LLC, and NEST and Carabetta Development will develop the affordable housing project. NEST is seeking approval for a special exception for the Forest Hills project under the city’s zoning regulations for residential campus developments.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/waterbury/article/waterbury-prospect-affordable-housing-carabetta-20334712.php

The Connecticut Department of Transportation says the Interstate 84 exit won’t reopen until late July. The CTDOT says “bridge rehabilitation activities” will be performed on Bridge No. 02380, at I-84 eastbound, Exit 56 in East Hartford. The project is scheduled to start on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, and will not be completed until Sunday, July 27, 2025, according to the agency. The work was awarded to Rotha Contracting Company, Inc. at a cost of $5.4 million in 2022, and is scheduled to be completed on July 2, 2026, according to DOT. There are about 545 active capital projects planned for this year on state highways, bridges and roads. Two hundred of the projects are in the planning phase and 171 are under construction. “It’s going to be a busy construction season,” state Department of Transportation Communications Director Josh Morgan has said. “We have a lot of major projects that are in the middle of the process and years two, three and four is when that really picks up.”

Why that exit on Interstate 84 is closing. And for how long amid summer traffic.

Connecticut Port Authority officials on Tuesday said they’re still negotiating with the construction manager of the $311 million State Pier reconstruction project on who will cover potentially millions of dollars in repair costs at the offshore wind component staging area. The ongoing dispute with Kiewit was one of several State Pier-related issues discussed at a Board of Directors’ meeting that also touched on the possible closure of a Groton fuel terminal and the addition of an emission-reduction device that will allow docked vessels to connect to the local power grid. Board Chairman Paul Whitescarver, who last year told lawmakers the repairs would cost several million dollars to address, again said Tuesday that Kiewit, as overseer of the project, bears responsibility for making the repairs. “The authority is not responsible for those costs,” said Whitescarver, who added the pier issues have not affected the loading and off-loading of wind turbine parts at the site.

https://theday.com/news/744730/ct-port-authority-leaders-updated-on-state-pier-repair-dispute/

In February 2024, Gov. Maura Healey and Vineyard Wind touted 68 megawatts of power pouring onto the grid from five offshore wind turbines, saying Massachusetts was on its way toward fulfilling the promise of more jobs, lower costs and energy independence associated with home-grown production. Fifteen months later, the Healey administration’s ambitious offshore wind procurement pursuits have largely stalled. The governor’s team says Vineyard Wind is running four turbines in the waters south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. And Vineyard Wind officials don’t want to answer basic questions about their project. At 68 MW, officials estimated the project in February 2024 was generating enough power with five turbines to supply 30,000 homes. The project is a long way from its planned 62 turbines, spaced one nautical mile apart, that would be capable of powering 400,000 homes with 806 MW of energy. The Healey administration, which has been a strong proponent of offshore wind, declined to comment on Vineyard Wind’s refusal to offer project updates and also didn’t offer much in the way of insights into a project the state is heavily counting on to meet its carbon emission reduction mandates.

https://archive.ph/XdweM#selection-2654.0-2654.1

Plans to tackle $10 million worth of deferred maintenance and other work at Groton-New London Airport will resume this summer, but the scope and timing of that work depends on whether a two-year order to suspend aviation fuel taxes ends next month as scheduled, Connecticut Airport Authority officials said Monday. But if the tax suspension deal is extended, it will jeopardize that phased improvement work and call into question the long-term viability of the state’s five general-aviation airports, said Tony Sheridan, chairman of the authority’s Board of Directors. The tax is set to resume on July 1, but at a reduced rate of 15 cents per gallon with the bulk of the revenue funneled to general-aviation airports. That fuel-tax cut, down from about 30 cents a gallon, is expected to drop the CAA’s pre-2023 revenue by about half. Shea said the authority’s general-aviation airport operations budget now operates at a $3.5 million annual deficit, a debt compounded by another $2.1 million in capital infrastructure expenses.

https://theday.com/news/744265/ct-airport-authority-officials-warn-of-tough-decisions-if-fuel-tax-deal-extended/

The legislation that cleared the House and Senate in a single afternoon is the product of intense negotiations resolved with unusual alacrity by traditional antagonists at the state Capitol on business and insurance issues: unions vs. business, and trial lawyers vs. insurers. The bipartisan clarifying language was an element of a partisan budget bill passed to address a Medicaid deficiency. The bill cleared both chambers on party-line votes. The unanimous court decision issued March 18 in Gardner vs. Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services focused on a narrow question with far-reaching impact: How much discretion do administrative law judges overseeing workers’ compensation claims have in awarding temporary benefits? In addition to clarifying the language cited by the court, which limited total compensation, the legislation also slightly expanded the injuries covered by workers’ compensation.

CT legislature jumps to avoid 235% hike in workers’ comp rates

An amended version of Senate Bill 1465 was approved by a 35-0 vote with one senator absent. Existing state law sets a hiring ratio for apprentices that certain trades must follow. The rule allows contractors to hire up to three apprentices at a 1:1 ratio. After that, employers must abide by a 1:3 ratio, which means that for each new apprentice, a company must have three additional journeymen. Contractors must apply to DCP for relief from the ratio requirement, must not have had any state disciplinary or enforcement actions taken against them in the three years before seeking relief, and must show that “good cause” exists for allowing the relief, the bill states. Cicarella noted that the issue has been a “hot topic” between union and nonunion shops. “They both had very legitimate concerns,” he said. “Unions wanted to make sure that the apprentices were being protected and used correctly.” He added that all stakeholders took part in conversations to develop the bill, which he described as “a middle ground.”

CT Senate overwhelmingly approves bill to loosen trade apprenticeship ratios