Some of the last federal transportation dollars to be distributed by the administration of President Joe Biden are going to Connecticut to expand rail service in the corridor from New Haven to Hartford and Springfield. State and federal officials announced the $11.6 million in funding Monday at Union Station in Hartford, one of the stops on the CTrail Hartford Line service that launched in 2018 and has grown to 750,000 annual passenger trips. The federal grant will be matched by about $13.4 million in state funding. One of the busiest commuter lines in the U.S. is Metro-North, which connects Fairfield County to New York City. Maintenance backlogs and outdated bridges have forced lower speeds on rails used by Metro-North and Amtrak. “We are a rail state, probably more than any other state in the country, and we continue to rely on passenger rail to make our economy move,” said Garrett Eucalitto, the state commissioner of transportation.

The last money train out of D.C. under Biden has $11.6M for CT

Democratic lawmakers proclaimed housing one of their top priorities Monday, though they offered few details on what specific policies they intend to propose. Lawmakers cited an array of stats underlining Connecticut’s housing crisis: The state is short an estimated 86,000 units, its vacancy rate is among the lowest in the country, housing prices continue to rise, and the average tenants pay nearly a third of their income on rent. Leaders in both chambers have introduced legislation aimed broadly at increasing housing options but have yet to fill in details of what exactly the bills will do. Pressed for specifics Monday, they emphasized that the session has just begun and said they’ve been meeting with housing advocates to decide where to focus. At the news conference Monday, Democratic lawmakers also discussed priorities around education, including proposals to increase funding for special education statewide.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/politics/article/connecticut-housing-democrats-zoning-renters-20031113.php

General Dynamics Electric Boat has acquired land for a big new warehouse in eastern Connecticut to support submarine construction at its Groton shipyard, as the U.S. Navy continues to signal plans for a major expansion of the fleet. On Jan. 2, Electric Boat completed the $5.5 million purchase of a 55-acre commercial property just off Interstate 95 in North Stonington from a real estate affiliate of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, which operates the nearby Foxwoods Resort Casino, according to town records. Electric Boat plans to build a 480,000-square-foot warehouse at the 45 Frontage Road property, equating to about eight football fields in total space. Columbia hull sections are being fabricated at an auxiliary Electric Boat shipyard in Quonset Point, Rhode Island, then barged to Groton for final assembly in a new building for Columbia subs on the Thames River.

https://www.nhregister.com/business/article/ct-electric-boat-groton-stonington-warehouse-20031330.php

After falling short twice in recent years, the redevelopment of Halls Road took a significant – and likely decisive – step forward after winning the approval of the town’s Planning Commission on Thursday. Members of the Planning Commission voted unanimously that the proposed zoning overlay was consistent with Old Lyme’s Plan of Conservation and Development. The proposal passed on Thursday, would allow – but not require – housing developments to be built along Halls Road, as long as they adhere to guidelines that include limited setbacks, first-floor commercial space and colonial-style design. A public hearing of the Zoning Commission will be held next Monday, and will consider the latest proposal, which includes some, but not all, of the changes that members of the commission agreed on before voting 3-2 in favor of the proposal – one vote short of the needed supermajority.

Halls Road Redevelopment in Old Lyme Takes a Big Step Forward

The lot at West Park Place, facing Columbus Park, is a remnant of 1960s urban renewal. The diner won a court battle over government attempts to take its property by eminent domain. Now ringed by tall buildings, it soon may have another one next door. The Stamford Zoning Board is considering a proposal from Tullamore LLC, an affiliate of Wellbuilt, a Greenwich company, to build a 10-story, 99-room extended-stay hotel at 0 West Park Place. A hotel can be built there only because the city recently eased parking requirements for downtown lots smaller than 25,000 square feet, as long as the lot is within 1,200 feet of a parking facility that is open 24 hours a day.

Stamford Considers Hotel for 0 West Park Place

For Mayor Roberto Alves, a multimillion-dollar project to improve downtown’s walkability is just one small piece of the puzzle to creating a revitalized city center. The city’s ongoing streetscape project could be that injection. It will enter its second phase, installing redesigned sidewalks, new landscaping and other features along the intersection of Main, West and Liberty streets, in particular. The project gets a reboot after it was delayed by state permitting. And it comes with an increased price tag. Leaders now expect the second phase previously estimated to cost $13.2 million to cost more than $17 million. The project, whose official title is the Downtown Danbury TOD Streetscape Renaissance Project, “is a key part of revitalizing the city’s urban core,” Albakry said.

https://www.newstimes.com/news/article/danbury-downtown-streetscape-cost-phase-two-19986613.php

City leaders have approved spending $2.6 million in state infrastructure funds to build a new booster pump station that supplies water to the community college area. The Bartholomew Road Booster Pump Station, built in 1969 and located in an underground vault at the corner of Coe Avenue and Randolph Road, is in “critical” condition, according to Director of Water & Sewer Joseph Fazzino. The $2.6 million is coming from the state Department of Public Health Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program, which, according to the website, provides long-term, below-market rate loans to finance infrastructure improvement projects, such as storage tanks, treatment works and water mains.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/middletown-ct-pump-station-water-bartholomew-road-20011506.php

“Nuclear power already provides most of our carbon-free power. That’s why we’re working with the federal government to find ways to expand nuclear capacity here in Connecticut,” he said, then added, “Before you rule out natural gas … that’s where most of our power comes from and will for the foreseeable future, especially without more nuclear power.” That places him between the competing camps of clean and cost: Environmentalists who say carbon-free energy must be priority one, and opponents of procuring power from renewable sources that are more expensive than electricity generated by burning natural gas, including large-scale solar and off-shore wind. Sen. Norm Needleman, D-Essex, the other co-chair, said energy policy must rest on a three-legged stool of cost, reliability and climate.

Natural gas? Nuclear energy? CT Gov. Lamont preserves options on controlling electricity costs

After years of broken promises and delays the Congress Street Bridge linking downtown and the East Side over the Pequonnock River may finally after nearly three decades be rebuilt thanks to a massive infusion of federal dollars. On Thursday U.S. Rep. Jim Himes and U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, all Connecticut Democrats, announced that the beleaguered project is receiving a $24.6 million grant from the federal transportation department. The Ganim administration applied for that federal money a year ago. The bridge replacement went out to bid in the summer of 2022 and four contractors’ responded with prices that were at least double the initial $24 million estimate being split by the city and state. Those new amounts were $42.55 million, $48.04 million, $56.93 million and $57.63 million.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/bridgeport-congress-street-bridge-rebuild-20027198.php

The borough’s $14.8 million downtown infrastructure project is scheduled to be completed by Oct. 15, Mayor N. Warren “Pete” Hess said. The project involves upgrading Church and Maple streets, the Maple Street bridge and the intersection near Water Street. A little more than $9.2 million of the funding will come from the borough’s American Rescue Plan Act money. The board in 2022 hired Kleinfelder Northeast, a national engineering firm with an office in Rocky Hill, for the final design of sewer upgrades and streetscape designs for Church and Maple streets. The firm is collaborating with Richter & Cegan, a landscape architecture and planning firm from Avon, for the streetscape portion. Workers should be laying the first coat of asphalt on Church Street in June before they move their work to the town Green. This will be followed by Maple Street and lastly the Maple Street bridge, Hess said.

https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2025/01/09/naugatucks-downtown-project-picks-up-speed/