The cold drizzle Monday was perfect for the groundbreaking for two elementary school projects — one in the north end of town and the second at Norton Elementary, according to Cheshire Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Solan. Costing $90 million, the north end school will be the largest capital project the town has ever undertaken. The reconstruction and modernization of Norton Elementary at 414 North Brooksvale Road is projected to cost $76 million. Officials anticipate the construction at both schools will be completed by fall 2026. For most municipalities, one school project is a massive undertaking and expense; it’s rare to see two school projects undertaken simultaneously. However, Cheshire has seen a steep increase in elementary school students in recent years, with enrollment at Highland Elementary alone increasing by 200 over five years ago when enrollment bottomed out for the district.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/cheshire-schools-north-end-norton-construction-19982314.php

The state awarded the borough a $3 million Community Investment Fund grant last year to advance the industrial park project – specifically the construction of infrastructure for the property at 280 Elm St. The borough is applying for another $3 million CIF grant to complete the road network for phase two of the subdivision of the 86.5-acre parcel. Lanxess Corp., a successor to Uniroyal, owned the site until it sold most of the land to the borough three years ago for $1 in a remediated condition with brownfield protection for all future purchasers. “Our entire effort in this project is designed to finish, get the site back on the tax rolls and take a nonproducing piece of property and turn into once again one of our better producing properties in the entire borough,” said Mayor N. Warren “Pete” Hess, the project manager at a Dec. 3 public information hearing at Town Hall. Lanxess has spent $20 to $30 million for remediation, while the borough’s obligation is to cap the site, manage the soils and develop the property under a stewardship permit, Hess said.

https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2024/12/15/naugatuck-seeks-additional-3m-grant-to-advance-industrial-park-3-development/

The executive board of the state’s AFL-CIO is asking Steve Schrag, a volunteer with the Naugatuck Valley Project, to voluntarily resign from the state’s AFL-CIO Health & Safety Committee because of his vocal opposition to a planned Amazon distribution center on the Waterbury-Naugatuck line. “Due to your opposition, you endangered the approval of this project, which would provide 1 million work hours for members of the Connecticut Building Trades,” the board wrote in a letter to Schrag on Tuesday. “This project has the potential to create thousands of good paying jobs with strong benefits for Connecticut workers.” The letter includes a notice for Schrag to cease and desist, halting all actions “opposing projects that would benefit the hardworking members of the Connecticut State Building and Construction Trades Council.” Ed Hawthorne, president of the AFL-CIO, said he wholeheartedly stood behind the contents of the letter and in full support and solidarity with “the hardworking men and women of the building trades. Mayor Paul K. Pernerewski Jr. said the site on which the planned facility will be built is in an industrial park. “It was always designated to be a property that was to be developed,” he said, adding that the city has extensive greenspaces including Washington Park, Bunker Hill Park among others that people can enjoy. He added that the development of the property will bring in 1,000 jobs and millions of money in tax revenue.

https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2024/12/15/afl-cio-urges-activist-to-resign-over-opposition-to-amazon-project-on-waterbury-naugatuck-line/

Two of Stamford’s five ailing bridges have reopened: West Glen Drive bridge and Lakeside Drive bridge in Stamford are back in service after being closed over the summer and fall. Both bridges were rated “poor” by the Connecticut Department of Transportation and both were closed in the spring for repairs. The CTDOT has 11 rankings for bridge conditions ranging from “failed” at one end to “excellent” at the other. The “poor” rating is defined as as a bridge with “widespread moderate or isolated major defects; strength and/or performance of the component is affected.” Eighty percent of the $3.9 million used to replace the Lakeside Drive bridge came from federal funds with the remainder from state funds. The West Glen Drive bridge, which was built in 1964, cost $2.1 million to replace and was 80 percent funded by federal funds with the rest covered by state funds. It closed around June 17 and reopened to traffic Dec. 6. Meanwhile, work is ongoing on other bridges in Stamford.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/stamford-west-glen-lakeside-drive-bridge-fixes-19971630.php

The town recently received a grant that will go toward helping install sewer systems for nearly 100 homes while also protecting the Long Island Sound. The $1.5 million grant, awarded through the Long Island Sound Futures Fund, will go to the town’s Water Pollution Control Authority for construction of a sewer extension in the Dean and Pocono Road area, said Alison Kennedy, operations manager of the Brookfield Water Pollution Control Authority. Kennedy said the extension will serve 91 residential homes and possibly the Town Hall campus. A complete design of the project is anticipated by July 2025. The $1.5 million is the maximum award of the grant, and the town’s match for the grant is $750,000, to total $2.25 million, Kennedy added. “This has been under consideration for a few years now. We’re very thankful that we got a grant,” he said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/brookfield-awarded-grant-towards-helping-sewer-19970894.php

Construction is on schedule at the sites of the new Norwalk High School and South Norwalk School, although it’s not certain if the latter will have solar panels or open in fall 2025 as expected. The new Norwalk High School is slated to welcome students in fall 2027, with the new sports complex atop the bones of the old school to be completed by August 2028, Lo said. The school’s tennis courts will come soon after in the fall of 2028, he said. At the South Norwalk School construction site, the building is framed out and interior partitions and masonry are being installed, Lo said. “I know we are scheduled to open (on time), assuming that everything (continues) to go smoothly,” Lo said. Nevertheless, the South Norwalk School’s roof is being installed soon, he said last Tuesday. But whether solar panels will actually go on that roof is unclear. Regardless, any solar would not be installed at South Norwalk until spring 2026 after it’s clear the school’s roof is stable, without leaks, and ready for installation, Lo said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/norwalk-schools-construction-solar-panel-19971622.php

The new 20-year agreement, approved by the New London City Council and signed by Mayor Michael Passero earlier this month, is with the Miami Beach Association, Old Lyme Shores Beach Association, Old Colony Beach Association, the town of Old Lyme and associated water pollution control authorities. The contract requires construction of the new sewer system to begin within 18 months. If that doesn’t happen, the beach associations and the town will remain responsible for their portion of the $1.58 million connection fee outlined in the contract. The effort is the result of a mandate from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) going back more than 10 years for the beach communities to reduce groundwater pollution and the potential for pollutants entering Long Island Sound.

https://theday.com/news/274133/new-london-sewer-agreement-puts-pressure-on-old-lyme/

The city is moving closer to razing the former Bristol Babcock industrial complex, which has remained an eyesore and a safety hazard. The Board of Aldermen will vote Monday on hiring a licensed environmental professional from Tighe and Bond for $244,429. The demolition will be followed by an investigation of the site for contaminants and a cleanup, Hyde said. The city will need to apply for more funding to remediate the site, he noted. The State Bond Commission approved $4 million Aug. 8. Overall, the city has $5 million for the site, including $1 million from developer Norm S. Drubner in October 2023 to take the title of the 6.6-acre former industrial complex. The Bristol Babcock property contains four interconnected buildings at 40 Bristol St. in the city’s Platts Mill neighborhood near the Naugatuck line. The property has been deteriorating since the 1980s and has remained vacant since 2002. On Oct. 24, the Board of Aldermen approved acquiring the vacant brownfield.

https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2024/12/12/waterbury-readying-to-demolish-aged-eyesore/

State officials recently unveiled an Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Dashboard, to help Connecticut residents visualize how and where over half of the $6.4 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funds the state has received will be allocated. Per the dashboard, passenger and freight rail projects represent the largest recipient of federal funds, with roads, bridges and other major projects coming in second. While the dashboard does not give a complete picture of the state’s BIL fund allocation, with only about $3.7 billion worth of the total $6.4 billion in projects being included, state officials intend to update it over time. Of the $3.7 billion mapped on the dashboard, a little over $2 billion, or about 54% of the mapped funds, were granted for rail projects, and approximately $1.28 billion, or about 35%, were granted for roads, bridges and other major projects. In total, 497 BIL-funded projects focus on transportation, 53 are climate-related, two are broadband-related, and another two are listed as “other”; one “other” item is funding for the instruction of smart manufacturing college courses, and another is for a fish-passage project in Naugatuck Valley.

https://insideinvestigator.org/state-unveils-dashboard-to-track-bipartisan-infrastructure-law-funds/

A plan to build a 4 1/2-story Amazon retail distribution facility in the city’s South End continues to draw opposition from neighbors looking to keep the massive facility out of their backyard. Bluewater Property Group is proposing to erect the 650,000-square-foot structure on a portion of the 155 city-owned acres along the Waterbury-Naugatuck line, an undeveloped, wooded area adjacent to Naugatuck Industrial Park. The project still requires zoning approvals from both Naugatuck and Waterbury. Tommy Hyde, executive director of Waterbury Development Corp., said the city has long marketed the industrially zoned property as an attractive location for a variety of uses, but, so far, to no avail. Bluewater’s special permit application was slated to be discussed Wednesday night at a zoning meeting in Naugatuck and is scheduled to be taken up by the Waterbury Zoning Commission in the coming weeks.

https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2024/12/11/neighbors-voice-angst-at-proposed-amazon-facility/