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Work to Start on New $87.8M Pier at Conn. Naval Submarine Base
The U.S. Navy will replace a pier at the submarine base in southeastern Connecticut, the latest of a series of infrastructure upgrades at the hub on the Thames River to accommodate the larger subs that will be berthed there in the future. In early September, the Navy officials announced that it had awarded a contract to replace Pier 31 at Naval Submarine Base New London, with the project expected to be completed by November 2027. Nebraska-based Weeks-Cashman JV won the $87.8 million contract to replace the pier. If all of the deal’s options are exercised, the full value could be as much as $95.6 million, according to the Navy. Navy officials described the upgrade as “essential” to support berthing not only older Los Angeles-class submarines and more advanced Block V Virginia-class nuclear subs — already homeported at the 10-pier base — but future vessels as well. The design process for the Pier 8 replacement is already under way, but its construction has not yet been funded.
Norwich Public Utilities looks to join major gas line expansion project Author photo
The City Council on Monday is scheduled to consider a resolution that would authorize Norwich Public Utilities to pursue increased natural gas capacity from the Algonquin Gas Pipeline, which supplies the Northeast, under an upcoming expansion planned by the pipeline’s owner and operator. In September, Enbridge, which owns and operates the Algonquin line along with several others around the country, announced that it will be moving forward with two gas expansion projects, one of which, called the Algonquin Reliable Affordable Resilient Enhancement (RARE) project, also known as the AGT Enhancement project. It would increase supply for gas distributors in the Northeast, if they agree to help finance the project. The RARE project is expected to finish in 2029.
The cost of opting into the Algonquin expansion project, purchasing the additional capacity, will eventually be rolled into gas customers’ rates in the future, NPU officials say. Those rates are partly calculated based on what NPU pays for the gas it receives from the Algonquin pipeline, and how much is used. Gas customer rates are currently locked in until November 2026.
DOL moves to repeal independent contractor rule
The Department of Labor intends to rescind a 2024 rule on independent contractor classification, according to its regulatory agenda. The agency did not signal how it intends to change the rule under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The rule is a method of determining if a worker is an independent contractor or a full-time employee, and therefore owed benefits by their employer. For construction, the rule is significant in determining if someone is employed as a subcontractor or directly by the general contractor on the jobsite. The current framework uses a “totality of the circumstances” method, weighing six major factors considered by the DOL to determine employer status. Groups representing construction employers had opposed the Biden-era rule and now applaud its imminent repeal.
https://www.constructiondive.com/news/independent-contractor-rule-repeal-construction/759826/
Latest plan for failing CT mall adds several hundred more housing units
Now at Enfield Square Mall, Nebraska-based Woodsonia Real Estate this week said it wants to move forward on its plan to demolish most of it and build hundreds of apartments and fresh retail businesses. Local officials are hoping a broad-scale redevelopment of the 72-acre property will generate jobs, create badly needed housing, beef up Enfield’s tax base and restore vibrancy to a showcase property that’s become rundown and dreary. Woodsonia is asking for a zoning change Thursday night to consolidate the development rules for a series of parcels that make up the mall property, and at the same time has updated its master plan for what it calls the Enfield Marketplace. Earlier this year Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration put forward $10 million toward the project, which Woodsonia has estimated would run $250 million in all.
Old Lyme WPCA Chair Criticizes Selectmen for Delaying Sewer Referendum
Sewer construction — and who should pay for it — was at the center of Tuesday’s Water and Pollution Control Authority meeting, where Chairman Steve Cinami sharply criticized the Board of Selectmen for failing to call a referendum at last week’s meeting. “I think that it is irresponsible for the Board of Selectmen not to move this forward to a referendum to allow citizens to vote,” Cinami said. “What they’re looking for is some magical accountant to determine what all the other costs would be. And I don’t know of any person who can predict into the future what ifs.” He warned that the likely outcome would be the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection approving sewer construction for the three beach associations and receiving 50% in grants and forgivable loans to help cover the costs. Meanwhile, the town portion — Sound View and Area B — would be required to install sewers later, but at a higher cost because that state aid would no longer be available. That estimate assumes that half of the cost would be paid by DEEP through the Clean Water Fund and that both the town and the three beach associations would participate in the project. If any of the parties opt out, the cost of the infrastructure portion of the project would increase for the remaining homeowners.
Waterbury aldermen approve $325,000 sale of 17 acres to Amazon
The Waterbury Board of Aldermen on Tuesday approved the sale of about 17 acres adjacent to Amazon’s distribution center, which is currently under construction. In a 14-0 vote, following a public hearing, the alderman agreed to sell the city-owned property on the Waterbury-Naugatuck border to Amazon for $325,000 for an access road for its new distribution hub. Waterbury Mayor Paul K. Pernerewski Jr. said Tuesday that the parcel was nearly equally split between Waterbury and Naugatuck. Waterbury and Naugatuck have agreed to divide property tax revenue and building permit fees for the project. According to Pernerewski, the project will lead to 1,000 full- and part-time jobs and ancillary businesses such as restaurants near the Amazon campus.
https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/business/article/waterbury-amazon-land-sale-21039816.php
West Hartford to begin paving LaSalle Road as part of $10M town center overhaul
Motorists might face slow going on LaSalle Road, as one side will be closed for resurfacing starting next Monday. The road improvement is part of the town’s $10 million plans to overhaul West Hartford Center. Other pieces of the project have included replacing the aging sidewalk in the area, which is ongoing. Starting Monday, traffic on LaSalle Road will travel in one direction only — southbound — as crews work on the eastern side of the street. When that work is finished, and crews switch to the western side of LaSalle Road, the street will be open to traffic one way in the northbound direction. The rehabilitation of LaSalle Road, which also includes the removal and replanting of trees, is part one of West Hartford’s plans to overhaul its main shopping and dining district. Next year, the town will complete the project by doing the same thing on Farmington Avenue.
U.S. Naval Submarine Base granted $7.7M for improvements as part of promise to secure future in CT
Gov. Ned Lamont delivered a modest $7.7 million grant to the U.S. Naval Submarine Base in Groton on Thursday for dock and waterfront improvements as part of the state’s continuing effort to keep the base open and operating in southeastern Connecticut. The grant is part of a commitment the state made two decades ago to keep the sub base, a powerful driver of the regional economy, off the U.S. Navy’s list of installations subject to possible closure. The $7 million, the latest installment on about $23 million the state has turned over the the U.S. Navy since 2009, is a symbolic contribution to the cost of operating the base, home to 6,000 sailors and Department of Defense civilian employees, the location off the U.S. Navy’s submarine school and home port to 22 submarines.
DEEP ‘Threatened’ Pull Back of Funds in Old Lyme After Referendum Delays
tate officials warned First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker that delays in calling a referendum to raise the sewer project budget could cost the town a forgivable loan to help cover the work. On Aug. 15, Deputy Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Emma Cimino emailed Shoemaker a timeline of milestones the town should meet and stressed the consequences of a delay. Tuesday’s meeting was a step toward, potentially, calling a second referendum to increase the project budget from the $9.5 million approved in 2019 to $17.1 million. The original borrowing fell well short of bids received earlier this year. The call for a referendum was delayed in early August while the Board of Selectmen sought additional information on costs and waited for the Miami Beach Association to receive bids for work on its portion of the project. Miami Beach bids came in above the anticipated cost, and a decision by the chartered beach community on whether to proceed is pending.
Waterbury Mixmaster replacement narrowed to two options costing $3B to $5B
The state Department of Transportation is evaluating two options for replacing the so-called Mixmaster interchange of highway bridges in Waterbury following a $223.7 million rehabilitation of the crossroads of Interstate 84 and Route 8. The DOT on Tuesday announced the selection of these two options after reviewing and analyzing potential designs for the permanent replacement of the interchanges that carry I-84 and Route 8 over downtown Waterbury streets and the Naugatuck River. The two selected alternatives are projected to cost $3 billion to $5 billion in 2022 dollars. The DOT said the two replacement options announced Monday aim to improve safety and mobility on I-84 and Route 8, as well as improve multimodal connections within the surrounding roadway network. In both alternatives, the I-84 and Route 8 structures would be unstacked and reconstructed with an expected life span of more than 75 years.
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