Community members will get an opportunity later this month to learn about and provide feedback on a roughly $4 million track and slope stabilization project proposed for Bethel and Wilton sections on the Danbury branch of the Metro-North Railroad. The state Department of Transportation will hold a virtual public information meeting at 6 p.m. Aug. 29, when residents can provide comments and ask questions about the proposed improvement project. Construction is expected to begin in 2026, with no right-of-way impacts anticipated during the process. With a $4 million estimated construction cost, the project is expected to be undertaken with 80 percent federal funds and 20 percent state funds, according to the DOT. The Aug. 29 public information meeting on the project will start with a presentation by DOT and be immediately followed by a question-and-answer session.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/bethel-wilton-metro-north-rail-project-dot-19628377.php

David Kooris, chairman of the Connecticut Port Authority’s Board of Directors and the public face of the often-controversial State Pier reconstruction project, resigned his leadership post on Tuesday but will remain a board member. Paul Whitescarver, a retired U.S. Navy submarine captain and executive director of the Southeastern Connecticut Enterprise Region, was selected by the port authority board to succeed Kooris as chairman. Kooris, who in July was named executive director of the newly established Connecticut Municipal Redevelopment Authority, was alternately praised and pilloried during a five-year tenure that included an acting chairman appointment in 2019 that led to his re-appointment in 2020 by Gov. Ned Lamont. During Tuesday’s meeting, Kooris noted the authority finished last year with a $2.1 million operating surplus while Hammond announced the last few items on the State Pier reconstruction punch list are slated to be complete next month. The port authority has had three consecutive audits by state and independent auditors that found no problems.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240820/kooris-resigns-as-port-authority-board-chairman-will-remain-member/

A plan to close a portion of Lawler Lane to allow for future development in the new Occum Industrial Center cleared its first hurdle Tuesday with support by the city planning commission. The land on both sides of the road is owned by the Norwich Community Development Corp. and is part of the Occum Industrial Center. The planning commission in January approved a 12-lot commercial subdivision for the industrial park. NCDC has received an $11.3 million state grant to build an industrial park access road from Route 97 adjacent to the Exit 18 ramp to the lots located at the proposed discontinued Lawler Lane area. Industrial development would have no access to the residential portions of Lawler Lane on either side of the land. NCDC President Kevin Brown said construction on the industrial access road is slated to begin next spring. The planning commission cited the Plan of Conservation and Development’s goal of encouraging economic development and its support of the Occum Industrial Center as reasons for supporting the Lawler Lane road closure.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240820/norwich-commission-supports-closing-part-of-lawler-lane-to-accomodate-development/

The devastating storm that flooded parts of Connecticut and swept away roads was far more than infrastructure could handle. Twelve-plus inches of rain fell in a short period, or three months worth of rain for the state. But what exactly is a 1,000-year flood? No, it’s not a flood that happens once only every 1,000 years, but instead a flood that has a one in 1,000 chance of happening in any given year, as the U.S. Geological Survey explained. That calculation — how often flooding events are likely to happen, is part of how flood risk maps are derived. New infrastructure, like bridges and culverts, are constructed with 100-year storms in mind and flood maps, which can also determine whether someone is required to have flood insurance or whether construction is even allowed. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible to plan. It just requires investment, and no small amount. “Mapping the whole country takes a long time and a lot of money and precipitation statistics seem to have changed in the last couple of decades, even if all the flood zones had been accurately mapped a decade ago.” In Connecticut, O’Donnell and his colleagues have been using technology known as lidar, light detection and ranging, to create accurate flood forecasts in some Connecticut cities.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/connecticut/article/ct-fema-rain-bomb-planning-storm-flood-flooding-19664947.php

Town officials in both Oxford and Southbury say the damage in their towns from Sunday’s massive flooding likely will exceed a combined $100 million. Those estimated repair bills do not include damage sustained by private homeowners and businesses, whose structures in some cases were literally torn from their foundations or incurred internal flooding damage that may be beyond repair. Gov. Ned Lamont’s official declaration of a state of emergency is expected to pave the way for federal assistance in what is expected to be a lengthy recovery. Middlebury First Selectman Edmond St John said if President Joe Biden declares the areas a national disaster area, the door opens for towns like Oxford and Southbury to seek federal monies through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). According to FEMA’s guidelines, an individual homeowner may only seek reimbursement for the uninsured damage to their home.

https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2024/08/20/oxford-and-southbury-officials-damage-to-exceed-100-million/

Builders haven’t broken ground yet on the long-vacant site, but developers are already listing luxury two-bedroom condominiums for $1.25 million at The Marketplace of Madison, near the Hammonasset Connector. The planned 24-unit condo development includes retail space and a 100-seat restaurant on the first floor in two three-story buildings, completing The Marketplace, which was approved in 2004 for four buildings. Construction is expected to start later this month or in September, according to Vincenzo Valentino, listing agent with Advise Realty Services. Developers hope to have the project completed in the summer of 2026. This is the most recent project approved for the west side of Route 1. The area near the connector appears to be going through a development renaissance as there are two other housing projects planned nearby. There are two planned affordable housing developments — The Wellington, a $10.7 million, 31-unit development at 131 Cottage Road, under construction; and another 18-unit affordable housing project to be developed by 35 Cottage LLC at the corner of Cottage and Mill roads.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/shoreline/article/madison-marketplace-million-dollar-condos-19658687.php

West Rocks Road is slated for a $2 million makeover to add sidewalks and crosswalks along a 2-mile stretch of the road that encompasses three schools. Norwalk’s Transportation, Mobility and Parking Department is hosting a community meeting Monday night to discuss the project. Residents attending will be sorted by their addresses to discuss the section of the project closest to their homes. Winston Preparatory School, West Rocks Middle School, and All Saints Catholic School are all within the 2-mile stretch of West Rocks Road. To make walking to school safer for students in the area, crosswalks will be added around the schools. Part of the funding for the project comes from a $1.4 million federal grant and a Local Roadway Accident Reduction Program grant. “We’re looking to put this out to bid later this year… and then we’re going to hope to have that under construction in the springtime of 2025,” Pacelli said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/west-rocks-road-undergo-2m-upgrade-sidewalks-19656638.php

CDOT is in the process of obtaining its final approvals for the latest alternative of the interchange, which would change the superhighway into a boulevard with traffic signals. The project requires a lot of coordination between state and federal agencies, Patel said. Now the team is close to finalizing a design. “We were looking at the end of 2025 to complete the design and start construction sometime in 2026,” Patel said. The cost of the project is estimated to be about $175 million and will be funded through state and federal sources. When complete, the trail will connect bikers and pedestrians from Norwalk to Danbury.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/merritt-parkway-route-7-interchange-design-norwalk-19660916.php

The state’s first surge of electricity produced by an offshore wind farm will not reach Connecticut in 2025 after all. Revolution Wind, the 65-turbine wind farm under construction and slated to be the first to deliver power to Connecticut, will not start delivering electricity to the state until 2026 because of delays in construction of an onshore substation, Danish wind farm developer Ørsted announced on Thursday. The 704 megawatt wind farm, 15 miles off the coast of Rhode Island, was slated to be in operation by 2025 and remains under construction. Ørsted said ground contamination was anticipated at the site of the substation but turned out to be worse than expected. It has led to a change in the plans for construction. Ørsted, in a statement on Friday, said that despite the delay, construction of Revolution Wind continues to progress. Turbines for Revolution Wind are being delivered, assembled and shipped out of State Pier in New London where vessels have been coming and going over the past few weeks. There is not expected to be an impact on operations at State Pier.

https://www.theday.com/news/20240816/revolution-wind-delayed-by-a-year/

Work on the Wallingford community pool is likely to resume soon after it stalled in 2020 at the start of the pandemic. He said he decided to get an estimate first so the town could reassess the original pool design — which was estimated at $7.4 million — and gauge what could be changed since it’s been four years. Usually the town goes out to bid on the project first. The existing pool is massive — three times larger than an Olympic swimming pool at 43,000 square feet — and its age has proven a costly maintenance concern. The plan calls for ripping it out and replacing it with a smaller 8,000-square-foot-pool, a new bathhouse and picnic pavilion, a splash pad, an expanded parking lot and new landscaping, as well as a lawn for volleyball, a performance stage and other activities. With how construction prices have fluctuated since the pandemic, it remains uncertain if the cost for the project would increase substantially. Already the town has committed large resources to other improvement projects, with the new police headquarters and renovation work on the schools. But town leaders said they remain wholly committed to seeing the pool reopened as quickly as possible.

https://www.ctinsider.com/recordjournal/article/wallingford-community-pool-renovation-update-19652075.php