Some lanes of Route 15 in the city will be closed on Saturday. The Connecticut Department of Transportation will close lanes on Route 15 between the West Rocks Road overpass and Exit 38 between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. for state forces to conduct survey operations, according to a statement from the department. The closures are tied to a DOT project for interchange improvements on Route 15 and Route 7, the statement said. Nilesh Patel, principal engineer with the DOT, said this summer that he aims for the design of the $175 million project to be complete by the end of 2024 and for construction to begin in 2025.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/norwalk-route-15-lane-closures-merritt-19971674.php

The Water Resources Development Act, aimed at improving the nation’s ports and harbors, inland waterway navigation, flood and storm protection, and other aspects of the nation’s water resources infrastructure, passed by a vote of 399 to 18. It now goes to the Senate, which is expected to add its approval before sending it on to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. Courtney’s provision would benefit the submarine base, known as Subase New London, which is being modernized in preparation for the homeporting of the next generation of Virginia-class submarines, which will be 84 feet longer than current Virginia-class subs. Existing piers at the base will have to be extended to accommodate the larger vessels. The provision would enable construction to extend Pier 8 by transferring control of a portion of the Thames River channel from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the Navy, as the scope of the project would extend beyond property managed by the base.

https://theday.com/news/210527/courtney-proposal-supporting-submarine-base-improvements-clears-us-house/

Following a public hearing that extended over three months, the Wallingford Planning & Zoning Commission on Monday approved a zoning text amendment that allows computer data centers to be developed in a watershed district. The application, submitted by West Granby-based Charter Development Group LLC, owned by partners Donald Gershman and Eric Brown, sought to amend the town’s watershed interchange (WI) district zone to include data centers as a permitted use. The WI district zone applies to property east of Interstate 91 in the northeast corner of Wallingford. As approved, the modified amendment requires applicants to seek a special permit. It also caps the size of buildings on each parcel in the WI district zone at 250,000 square feet, with a maximum of 400,000 square feet allowed within the entire district. The town’s WI district zone protects the Muddy River, which flows into MacKenzie Reservoir. It allows for “low intensity uses and emerging technological development,” according to town zoning regulations.

Wallingford OKs zoning change to allow data centers

The fiscal accountability report, published Nov. 20, projected that Connecticut will issue $1.3 billion of Special Tax Obligation bonds to fund transportation in fiscal year 2026, and $1.4 billion in the next two fiscal years. In FY 2025, the state plans to issue $1 billion. Connecticut’s transportation bonds are issued from a Special Tax Obligation lockbox. Its most recent transportation deal, for $768.78 million of new money bonds, priced on Wednesday. For years, the state’s transportation borrowing has lagged behind both the legislature’s authorizations and the governor’s borrowing targets. When Lamont took office in 2019, there was a $3.8 billion backlog of bonding approved but not issued, according to the CT Mirror. That backlog has grown to $6.3 billion. “It is our hope — we have had many meetings over the last couple of years — that we could see our transportation bonding spending go up,” Horn said.

https://12ft.io/api/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bondbuyer.com%2Fnews%2Fconnecticut-wants-to-issue-more-transportation-bonds

East Hartford officials have decided against applying for a state Community Investment Fund grant in support of a massive, mixed-use redevelopment of its Founders Plaza office park. At least not for the latest round. The partnership behind the “Port Eastside” project has spent millions of dollars securing about 30 acres of the struggling office park along the Connecticut River. Port Eastside was initially introduced as an $841 million investment in summer 2023. While plans have been updated since then, the project team has not offered an updated development estimate. A request for up to $4 million in state Community Investment Funds to help fund pre-development costs is on the Dec. 10 meeting agenda of the East Hartford Town Council. East Hartford Development Director Eileen Buckheit, on Monday, said officials haven’t had a chance to digest whether the conditions that would apply to the CIF grant are appropriate for the Port Eastside project, and so willl not seek support for Port Eastside in the CIF application round due Dec. 13.

East Hartford officials drop grant request to aid Founders Plaza redevelopment

The city’s public utilities department plans to create a master list of pre-vetted engineers and other contractors, which officials said will help projects get done quicker. The requests for qualifications now being advertised by New London Public Utilities (NLPU) seek firms with engineering expertise in one or more areas: water treatment facilities, water supply dams, water tanks and storage facilities, wastewater pressure and force mains, wastewater treatment facilities, and storm water systems. Water and Water Pollution Control Authority Chairman Barry Weiner said the city in the past has waited until a project is “well along” in the planning process before screening potential contractors, including those that specialize in pre- and post-construction work. NLPU, which owns and operates a series of water, wastewater and storm water systems in New London, Waterford and East Lyme, is seeking consultants able to provide project planning, design, construction oversight, general technical support and on-call services and to “work well with groups of city officials, citizens and businesspersons,” according to the bid documents.

https://theday.com/news/194328/new-london-looks-to-streamline-water-projects-with-list-of-pre-vetted-contractors/

The town has long held a goal of retaining its rural character and agricultural traditions, but the new Plan of Conservation and Development also looks to a future with increased development and a need for better town facilities. The Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the cafeteria at Preston Plains Middle School, 1 Route164, Preston, on the 2024 draft 289-page Plan of Conservation and Development. Town Planner Kathy Warzecha said the document represents a lot of hard work by the commission and planning staff. The plan still emphasizes the importance of preserving the town’s rural character and farms. The most significant addition to the new 10-year document is the preparation for development at Preston Riverwalk. The plan recommends connecting the Route 12 Riverwalk with the town’s plan to slow traffic and enhance pedestrian and bicycle safety along Route 2A in Poquetanuck Village. The plan recommends intersection improvements with dedicated turning lanes for the Riverwalk and better pedestrian crosswalks.

https://theday.com/news/205877/preston-public-gets-say-tuesday-on-draft-plan-of-development/

Last week, Gov. Ned Lamont announced New Haven received $386,000 in Department of Economic and Community Development Brownfield Remediation grants for two projects, with the aim of cleaning blighted and contaminated properties. In New Haven, a $186,000 grant will support environmental investigations, hazardous building material surveys, structural assessments, and remedial design plans for 4.9 acres at former manufacturing sites at 71 and 89 Shelton Ave., and the city will share a $200,000 grant with East Haven for assessment work at a 21.47-acre site including 201 and 181 Russell St. in New Haven. The site, which was once used for radiological activity to benefit the U.S. Navy, has undergone a significant amount of remediation already, Rosenberg said. However, there are still some more “normal” contaminants like PCBs, oils and metals that must be addressed, she said. Besides New Haven, Ansonia received a $200,000 brownfield remediation grant to support the environmental, hazardous building materials and structural assessments for the former Ansonia Opera House.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/new-haven-ct-grant-blight-remediation-19968680.php

The Inland Wetlands Commission on Thursday approved an application by Bluewater Property Group to build a multistory Amazon distribution on property straddling the Naugatuck and Waterbury town line. Next up, the Naugatuck Zoning Commission will hold a hearing Wednesday on the proposed development at the Board of Education conference room at 6 p.m. Waterbury Inland Wetlands & Watercourses Commission also gave a unanimous approval to move the project ahead now to its zoning commission. Bluewater Property Group looks to develop a 650,000-square-foot, multifloor retail distribution center on the Naugatuck-Waterbury line in the area of 0 Great Hill Road and 191 Sheridan Drive on 183 acres. It’s divided up to about 114 acres is in the city and roughly 69 acres is in the borough.

https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2024/12/09/waterburys-amazon-facility-passes-another-hurdle/

The Board of Mayor and Burgesses on Dec. 4 approved an agreement with Field Turf USA for a new artificial turf field and track for $1.1 million. The deal includes maintenance, which may have a slight additional cost, and a 10-year warranty. The funds will come from a capital reserve account. Mayor N. Warren “Pete” Hess said all of the high school coaches have been involved with the design, which will be modeled after Killingly High School’s facility in Dayville. That field has two garnet endzones. The project will include track upgrades that have been requested by the track team. The borough’s standing building committee voted in November to move forward with the project before the borough board gave the final approval. Part of the package that the borough is negotiating is a 10-year maintenance agreement at a discounted rate to guarantee the field will be properly maintained by the company and professionals, Hess said.

https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2024/12/08/naugatuck-approves-1-1m-turf-field-and-track-upgrades-at-high-school/