Russell will ask legislators when the 2025 General Assembly session starts Wednesday to cap the Special Transportation Fund’s emergency reserve so that once that safety net account tops 18% of the STF — nearly $412 million based on current spending — the state would have to put that money to work, paying down long-term debt. The plan centers on the transportation fund, which represents about 9% of this fiscal year’s $26 billion overall state budget. Besides covering operating expenses for transit programs and for the Departments of Transportation and Motor Vehicles, the fund also pays the debt service — principal and interest — on the hundreds of millions of dollars Connecticut borrows annually for highway, bridge and rail construction projects. The STF gets most of its funding from sales and fuel tax receipts, and the former has grown considerably in recent years, driven in part by inflation.

Treasurer: CT saves big by not stashing transportation funds

More than 700 former Torrington High School students took the opportunity to enjoy a final tour of the soon-to-be-demolished structures on Major Besse Drive on Saturday, Jan. 4. That was just 17 days before classes will begin for current students in the new crescent-shaped high school just yards away. Torrington-based O&G Industries led the construction of the new high school building, which is adjacent to the old one. Construction of the new high school building, which abuts the gym, began in 2022. The state of Connecticut will reimburse the city a total of 85% of its $179 million price tag, Longobucco said. Students will begin attending classes in the new building Jan. 21, Sullivan said. Classes in the adjacent new middle school building are slated to begin in September.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/torrington-high-school-demolish-tours-alumni-20016496.php

After more than a year of delay, developers advancing the roughly 400-unit “Concourse Park” luxury apartment complex in East Hartford say they expect to break ground this spring. The Council also approved several deed restrictions for the 25-acre development site off Silver Lane, which is currently held by the town. These provide a measure of security for the roughly $16 million investment of public funds into the site’s development. With these agreements settled, Krohn and Zelman expect to finalize the property acquisition later this month or in February, then begin work in April or May. The developers are also finalizing agreements with Eversource and the Metropolitan District Commission. Zelman, separately, expects to begin construction of a 93- or 94-unit, four-story apartment building on the site some time in 2025. This building will also take about two years to complete, he said.

$115M-plus East Hartford apartment development expected to launch this spring

The work is expected to be completed in the spring of 2028, said Joe Cooper, state Department of Transportation communications manager. Cooper said the project will address the current bridge’s structural deficiencies while designing a new span that is storm resilient. The existing bridge, which has a concrete and steel beam structure reinforced by a concrete deck, was built in 1935, he said. The bridge deck and superstructure are rated poor. Cooper said the project will be funded 80% by the federal government and 20% by the state, with no cost to the town. Hanover said the town was successful in getting the bridge into the Federal Local Bridge Program, which means no local funds will be used and the state will administer the bridge design and construction. The second phase of construction will start after Labor Day in 2027 and is expected to be completed by spring 2028, he said. But he said that completion schedule could change, if there are delays with bids, utilities, or permits.

https://theday.com/news/687620/groton-long-point-road-bridge-construction-slated-to-begin-next-year/#

The city finalized its $3 million purchase of the one-acre Attention to Detail vehicle customization property in December to make way for the proposed, block-size Village at Riverside mixed-use development bordered by Court and Main streets and deKoven and Dingwall drives. This and other projects are anticipated to help the city finally reconnect to its riverfront via a walking bridge over Route 9. An outdoor concert venue near the old Jackson Corrugated site is planned as part of Middletown’s long-term Return to the Riverbend project, which aims to redevelop the city’s portion of the Connecticut River. Springside Middletown, a $100 million, 486-unit luxury apartment and townhouse community situated on a 48-acre site at 494 Newfield St., is in the final stages of construction.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/middletown-ct-housing-retail-redevelopment-hotels-20006997.php

Hundreds of residential units came to Stamford in 2024, and 2025 is also shaping up as another banner year for development in the city. Large-scale construction projects have been approved at locations in North Stamford, as well as the downtown. Long Ridge Road is set to see over 800 new residential units, and the city’s downtown is poised for another large apartment building to join the half-dozen other big residential buildings that have come to fruition in the past several years. The proposed seven-story building next to the Ferguson Library will be home to 280 new residential units. Approvals came late in 2024. Developer Randy Salvatore is behind the project, and Salvatore also created The Asher, an apartment complex that is a block over from the proposed development.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/stamford-ct-residential-development-projects-2025-20007025.php

Across the New Haven area, shovels are entering the ground and steel beams are going up. Officials have green-lit construction and renovation projects to bring new businesses and housing to the region throughout 2025. Officials broke ground in October on the first phase of a project expected to completely revitalize Dixwell Avenue. The $200 million project to create a plaza with a mix of social services, private enterprise and open space is helmed by ConnCORP, a subsidiary of the nonprofit ConnCAT. Although most construction will occur this year, it is unlikely to be ready before 2026. The project, first proposed to the Dixwell community in 2019, has an expected construction timetable of 18 months. Hamden will spend about $11 million in ARPA funds to renovate the former Michael J. Whalen Junior High School’s freestanding gymnasium on Newhall Street into a youth, arts and recreation center.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/new-haven-area-development-projects-2025-20013128.php

New bridges, extra highway lanes and another round of road pavings are on the docket for 2025 in Stamford. An auxiliary lane will be added to both sides of Interstate 95 in Stamford in 2025 if the state’s plans come to fruition before the end of the year. The project involves adding an extra lane on each side of the highway to connect Exit 6 and Exit 7. The $76 million project is 90 percent funded by the federal government. The auxiliary lanes are part of a larger project that aims to improve the stretch of interstate between Exits 6 and 7. Other improvements include the construction of noise walls between the interstate and nearby neighborhoods as well as new lighting and signage. Three of Stamford’s lowest rated bridges will still be under repair at the start of 2025.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/stamford-road-construction-traffic-detours-2025-20009092.php

The Executive Kia dealership at 1164 N. Colony Road is undergoing a major expansion and renovation expected to be completed in 2025. The construction will double the size of the current building, totaling 24,000 square feet. The private school Choate Rosemary Hall is undertaking several projects expected to be completed in 2025. Minnesota-based medical equipment manufacturer Bio-Techne plans to double the size of its laboratory and manufacturing center at 5 Technology Drive with a 54,000-square-foot addition. The Planning and Zoning Commission approved a site plan revision for the addition at its Oct. 16 meeting. With a zone change approved in December, developers are expected to bring forward plans to construct a data center at 1181 Barnes Road alongside the Muddy River. Concrete plans have yet to be presented, but if approved, it will be one of the state’s first data centers constructed on this scale under new legislation intended to attract new technological development to the state.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/recordjournal/article/meriden-wallingford-cheshire-southington-develop-19997696.php

A core tenet of my party is that government can deliver for the American people. We have also generally supported the regulations that protect our safety, the environment, and community input. But those regulations have calcified into a huge obstacle to building anything at all. A few months ago, I realized that over the last three years of providing Congressionally Directing Spending to my district, not a single earmarked transportation or infrastructure project had begun construction. More broadly, as of April 2024, almost 80 percent of IIJA’s available funding nationwide through 2026 had not been spent, a full three years after it was passed by Congress. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is one of our country’s bedrock environmental laws, but it often imposes time-burning burdensome process. Each federal agency, including sub-agencies, has adopted its own NEPA procedures, resulting in duplicative environmental reviews across multiple agencies. The IIJA addressed this issue by implementing the One Federal Decision policy, but this process is still rarely followed. Permitting reform is also gaining bipartisan momentum in Congress, particularly for energy projects and transmission lines.

https://www-stamfordadvocate-com.translate.goog/opinion/article/himes-infrastructure-funding-ct-20006641.php?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_hist=true