The state Department of Transportation has begun acquiring the properties it needs to move ahead with its controversial plan to install four roundabouts on a section of Route 82 known as “Crash Alley.” Last month, the DOT wrote that the $80 million project is in the final stage of being designed and it anticipated speaking with property owners later this year about purchasing land needed for the project. But the DOT had already acquired a couple of properties along the busy road, also known as West Main Street. The DOT’s original plan, which involved installing six roundabouts, received substantial criticism from residents, business owners and some city officials. The DOT then eliminated the proposed roundabouts at Mount Pleasant Street and New London Turnpike.

https://theday.com/news/764010/state-has-started-to-buy-property-for-80m-norwich-roundabouts-project/

The city is partnering with a new state development agency that has $60 million to boost housing development in town centers around the state. Founded last year and funded with $60 million in state bond money, the quasi-public CT Municipal Development Authority is set up to help cities and towns spur development in their downtowns and districts near public transportation. Justin Malley, Executive Director of Economic & Community Development for Bristol, said the council’s decision to join with the authority doesn’t guarantee any funding, but gives Bristol the opportunity to apply for funding in the future. Felix Reyes, chair of the board of the CT Municipal Development Authority explained that once a city signs a memorandum of understanding, they can apply for funding for a wide variety of development projects. The Board will then review and decide on whether or not to approve the allocation.

https://www.bristolpress.com/news/bristol-joins-new-agency-with-funding-to-boost-downtown-developent-across-the-state/article_7a514215-5b64-4c5b-82e1-4ef6a035f467.html

A state grant of more than $530,000 has been awarded to the town to help cover the replacement of an aging bridge on Cooper Lane. The state is providing grants totaling more than $17.3 million for the replacement of several bridges on roads maintained by municipalities. The state Department of Transportation announced the grants this week for 15 projects in Connecticut that will be funded through a state program that fixes bridges on local streets. Municipalities administer all design and construction aspects of their individual projects and the DOT oversees project milestones and provides guidance. The program has provided about $162 million in grants to Connecticut’s municipalities since 2016, according to the DOT.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/journalinquirer/article/stafford-ct-cooper-lane-bridge-grant-dot-20764300.php

Pittsfield, Massachusetts-based Unistress Corp. and its subsidiary, Berkshire Concrete Corp., are laying off 233 workers, according to a Massachusetts Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification notice filed for the week ending June 27. CEO Perri Petricca said the layoffs stem from the delay of two major contracts following volatility in steel prices tied to the latest round of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, according to The Berkshire Eagle. Unistress, a precast manufacturer whose portfolio includes Boston’s Big Dig megaproject and Yankee Stadium in New York City, is cutting nearly half its workforce as it adjusts operations in response to material costs and uncertain project timelines. Petricca told The Berkshire Eagle the move is temporary, but with the firm usually netting about a dozen contracts a year, the two delays caused significant financial pressure. Construction material prices inched up 0.2% in May, with aluminum and steel among the top gainers, and are up 6% on an annualized basis, according to Associated Builders and Contractors. Those figures also don’t yet reflect the June tariff hike, which economists say will push prices even higher.

https://www.constructiondive.com/news/tariffs-layoffs-unistress-massachusetts-concrete-firm/752518/

In April, New London Housing Authority Executive Director Norbert Deslauriers learned that his application for more than $1 million in federal housing tax credits wasn’t approved. Deslauriers had hoped to auction those credits, awarded annually by Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA), to investors in exchange for millions of more dollars in equity financing. That money would have kick-started a massive $30 million demolition and rebuilding project at the Gordon Court elderly and disabled housing neighborhood run by the housing authority. Undeterred by the rejection, Deslauriers within a week filed another application. The new submission, this time for roughly $1.7 million in credits, was made through a less competitive CHFA funding program — one that also offers fewer equity options — whose awards are expected to be announced soon.

https://theday.com/news/763640/new-london-housing-authority-continues-effort-to-fund-30m-gordon-court-replacement/

The city has hired a firm to do work along the 53 streets scheduled to be rebuilt this summer. The work is part of $2.8 million in infrastructure improvements and road repairs the city is doing this year along the 237 miles of roads it maintains. Residents and those visiting or working in New Haven just need to be a little patient, because sometimes the milling, which strips the old layers off your street and leaves it even bumpier than it was before, and the paving don’t happen all at once, Elicker said Wednesday. That’s especially true for those who live along one of the bigger, busier streets also scheduled to be rebuilt in major ways under separate projects, including Whitney Avenue, State Street, Quinnipiac Avenue, Howard Avenue and Valley Street. The Whitney Avenue project includes new curbs and sidewalks, said Elicker. He pointed out that at $2.8 million, the Whitney Avenue project will cost as much as the entire seasonal milling and paving project.

https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/new-haven-begins-summer-road-milling-paving-2025-20762884.php

The Connecticut Department of Transportation’s online map of roadway projects shows a total of 604 active road improvement and maintenance projects across the state. Despite the 90-degree heat, DOT spokesman Josh Morgan said, “It’s a super busy time of year given we only are able to work April-October (maybe a smidge later) because of weather.” Though all work halted for the Independence Day holiday, according to DOT, it restarted again on July 7. A high-friction surface treatment project in Preston, Hampton, Montville, Mansfield, Pomfret and Salem was scheduled to begin July 7. The project was awarded to WJ Surface Treatments at a cost of $1.5 million. Route 8 bridges over Laurel Hill Road in Torrington will be metalized between July 10 and Sept. 8. The project involves a total of 19 bridges along Route 8 between Torrington and Colebrook. Allied Painting Inc. was awarded the project at a cost of $15.7 million. Laurel Hill Road will be closed to traffic for the duration of the project, eastbound traffic detoured onto Harwinton Avenue.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/connecticut/article/ct-road-projects-95-merritt-construction-delays-20761364.php

As hinted during recent weeks, Gov.Ned Lamont on Tuesday vetoed a bill that would have allowed local votes in towns with populations under 16,000 to possibly overturn decisions made by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. “However, it’s important to note that today’s permitting process offers extensive opportunity for public engagement. I am concerned that the mechanism proposed in this bill-allowing a local referendum to reverse certain permit approvals or denials issued by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection could have unintended consequences that weaken critical protections for environmental justice communities and create harmful uncertainty for our business community that could hamper investment in Connecticut,” Lamont wrote. Lamont, in his veto message, said that there are plenty of opportunities for residents to voice their opinions on DEEP-related issues, but he would agree to increase opportunities for public engagement. To override a veto, the House and Senate would need to muster two-thirds votes in each chamber. With that kind of Democratic opposition, it’s unlikely to get called in an upcoming veto session. Democrats have a 102-49 majority in the House and a 25-11 margin in the Senate. Lamont has vetoed three bills from the recent legislative session and signed 198 into law.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/gov-ned-lamont-vetoes-bill-that-would-give-ct-towns-the-right-to-overturn-environmental-rulings/ar-AA1IdwLA?ocid=BingNewsVerp&cvid=541e82e6d5e448b983f3391e19d26e6f&ei=19

At a July 1 Board of Directors meeting, town staff discussed a proposal to add an additional 8.5 acres onto the facility with a horizontal expansion intended to help the landfill remain open until 2045. Construction costs would be up to $12 million, but would net the town’s sanitation fund around $200 million over the remaining life of the facility. Under the 2025-26 fiscal year budget, the town anticipates nearly $10 million in revenue from the Sanitation Department, primarily from $8.3 million in commercial tipping fees and $1 million in sludge disposal. Roughly $5 million of that revenue will be allocated for curbside trash and recycling collection, and $2.1 million will cover landfill operations. No action was taken on the landfill on July 1, but the plan would require approvals from the Board of Directors and the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to move forward. Atkin said the landfill has enough space to remain open until early 2028 in its current state, and the town could extend the life to early 2032 with previously permitted changes to the configuration. Depending on how the town regulates the landfill’s usage, the expansion could bring the facility’s life closer to 2050, he said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/journalinquirer/article/ct-manchester-landfill-expansion-waste-20420585.php

The town has received a $1.24 million grant from the state Department of Transportation to replace of abutments of the Notch Road Bridge over the Ten Mile River. Cheshire Assistant Town Manager Andrew Martelli said Tuesday the schedule for replacing the bridge abutment will start with public meetings next summer, with the project going out to bid in January 2027. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2027 and completed in late fall 2027. The estimated cost of the project is $2.5 million, including the design. Cheshire’s bridge project was one of 15 chosen by the state, with a total of $17.3 million in grants announced Monday. Other towns receiving grants include New Milford, Newtown, Redding, Sharon, Southbury, Stafford, Stamford, and Waterbury. According to the DOT, the cost-matching grant program provides 50% of project costs for locally owned bridges.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/connecticut/article/cheshire-ct-bridge-replacement-dot-grant-20759640.php