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

In Connecticut, construction workers in the Local 478 union who complete addiction treatment are connected with a recovery coach who checks in daily, attends recovery meetings with them, and helps them navigate the return to work for a year. The workplace is the new ground zero for addressing mental health. That means companies — employees and supervisors alike — must confront crises, from addiction to suicide. They grew out of the work of a little known federal agency called the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. It’s one of the key federal agencies leading workplace mental health efforts, from decreasing alarmingly high rates of suicide among construction workers to addressing burnout and depression among health care workers. But after gaining considerable traction during the covid-19 pandemic, that work is now imperiled. The Trump administration has fired a majority of NIOSH staffers and is proposing severe reductions to its budget. Over 5,000 construction workers die by suicide annually — five times the number who die from work-related injuries. Miners suffer high rates too. And nearly a fifth of workers in both industries have a substance use disorder, double the rate among all U.S. workers. Kyle Zimmer recognized these issues as early as 2010. That’s when he started a members’ assistance program for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 478 in Connecticut. He hired a licensed clinician on retainer and developed partnerships with local treatment facilities.

Workplace Mental Health at Risk as Key Federal Agency Faces Cuts

A busy summer of repairs took a brief hiatus for the 4th of July weekend, but multiple road and bridge projects in Connecticut will pick back up after the holiday weekend. There were no maintenance or construction activities on limited-access highways from 6 a.m. on Thursday to Monday at 6 a.m., according to the Connecticut Department of Transportation. Only emergency roadwork was performed. In Ellington, there will be roadwork starting on July 14 at Pinnacle Road, the CT DOT said. The project was awarded to awarded to Baltazar Contractors, Inc. in February for $8,295,210.25 and the projected completion date is Nov. 30, 2027. There will be milling and resurfacing work on Route 146 in Branford and Guilford from July 7 to July 18. There is also milling and resurfacing on Route 113 in Stratford from July 7 to July 22. In Suffield, there will be milling and resurfacing work on Route 168 starting on July 7 and that should be completed on Aug. 1. In Danbury, there will be metal chain link fence upgrades on Route 6 starting next month.

Repairs to CT roads and bridges will restart after the holiday hiatus. Here are some areas to avoid.

The state Department of Transportation will hold a public informational meeting on July 31 to discuss its $48 million plan to replace the viaduct into the borough. The meeting will be held at Stonington High School at 6:30 p.m. and will include a DOT presentation of the plan and residents will have a chance to ask questions. The changes will help bring the bridge up to state standards, according to a presentation on the town website. The clearances under the bridge at Mathews and Main streets and Cutler Street are also currently below the minimum standard of 14 feet, 6 inches. During construction, one lane of traffic will be open in each direction over the bridge and pedestrian use will still be available either on the bridge or on the Elm Street pedestrian bridge crossing.

https://theday.com/news/758398/dot-unveils-preliminary-design-for-replacing-borough-viaduct/

Within minutes of signing legislation on Tuesday that pledged to put Connecticut on a path toward reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, Gov. Ned Lamont flipped the script by reiterating his support for one of climate advocates’ chief causes of concern: an expansion of pipelines carrying fracked natural gas. Specifically, the Democratic governor hinted that he’d been engaged in talks with the Trump administration and state leaders in New York about building or expanding pipelines that could deliver more gas to Connecticut and the rest of New England. One project mentioned by several outlets as a potential chip in negotiations between the states and the federal government is the so-called Constitution Pipeline, which would carry fracked gas from Pennsylvania to upstate New York, where it would connect with existing pipelines serving Connecticut and New England. The developer behind that proposed pipeline, The Williams Companies, submitted applications with state and federal regulators earlier this year to approve the pipeline, with an estimated completion date in 2027.

https://theday.com/news/761570/lamont-doubles-down-on-natural-gas-after-signing-two-climate-related-bills/

Two Connecticut airports were granted a combined $8.7 million in federal funding from the from the U.S. Department of Transportation for necessary improvements to infrastructure. Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks was awarded $8.5 million for its ongoing expansion project of its terminals. This years-long, $250-million infrastructure improvement project at the Hartford-area airport has received over $113 million in federal funding through the years from the Federal Aviation Administration Airport Improvement Program, the Transportation Security Administration, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, according to the Connecticut Airport Authority, the quasi-public agency that runs Bradley and other airports in the state. Danbury Municipal Airport is also receiving a $225,378 grant to replace the existing airport lighting vault equipment.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/business/article/ct-bradley-danbury-airport-get-federal-funds-20402945.php

The latest proposed version of the renovated and expanded library will likely now have a $60 million pricetag and a partial third floor. City leaders are expected to decide later this month whether to place a referendum question on the November ballot for voters to decide whether to fund an estimated $60 million construction of a new Russell Library, still in the conceptual phase, on its existing footprint. The 45,000-square-foot facility at 123 Broad St., long past its useful life, consists of several cobbled-together, aging buildings. Colors and materials are yet to be determined. Final specifications will be firmed up following the referendum, during the design process, and are subject to change. The library will temporarily be relocated during construction, which Burkey hopes will begin in two years, and take another two to complete.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/middletown-ct-russell-library-rebuilt-60-million-20415538.php

The Constitution Boulevard West extension — long just a concept on paper — will allow development of the nearly 76 acres known as the Mas property, which is landlocked. The city has already agreed to sell portions to various companies, including Bigelow Tea. With the permits now in place, the city has already placed barriers up along Bridgeport Avenue in preparation for the work expected to begin next week. Lauretti said the $6.6 million in total state grants should cover the majority, if not all, of the road construction. He says he plans to seek more state funding for this major development project as well. Lauretti also confirmed that Brennan Construction is still charged with completing the work, which he hopes will begin in earnest after the July 4 holiday.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/shelton-ct-constitution-boulevard-extension-work-20415432.php

New York-based Atlas Capital Group has proposed to build a two-story data center spanning more than 1 million square feet across two floors on a vacant site in Bloomfield. Marisa Fontaine, of Atlas Capital, said the substation is required for a project of this size and that the company has had preliminary talks with Eversource. The 60-foot tall building would contain 5,500 square feet of office space, 8,700 square feet of storage space and a 6,818-square-foot loading facility. Chillers to cool the data servers would be placed on the roof. The property has two access points – one from Griffin Road and the other from Route 189. Atlas Capital Group is a commercial and retail development company serving the New York and Los Angeles areas.

NY developer proposes 1M-sq.-ft. data center in Connecticut