The Board of Selectmen unanimously approved an agreement this week for wastewater treatment that town officials said would allow the sewer project for the Old Lyme beach communities to go out to bid before the end of the year. The agreement voted at a special meeting last Tuesday established the terms of service that the New London wastewater treatment plant would provide to Sound View neighbors and residents of the private beach associations Old Colony Club, Old Lyme Shores and Miami Beach. Residents of Sound View and the neighboring chartered beach associations would have to pay that amount — which includes the cost of treatment, the so-called initial connection cost and capital costs — in addition to the cost of sewer construction. The construction of sewers on the Old Lyme shoreline is a project that has been under discussion for more than a decade and is intended to replace the area’s septic systems to solve a water pollution problem identified by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection — a problem that many in the neighborhood dispute, pointing to a lack of up-to-date data on water pollution, to cheaper alternatives, and to the cost burden for less-well-off residents. DEEP committed to paying up to 50 percent of the estimated $53 million project cost through a grant and a forgivable loan from the Clean Water Fund to reduce the burden on residents.

Old Lyme Sewers Move Forward, Bid Expected By End of Year

Train service will resume later this month on the Waterbury Branch Line following weeks of repairs to sections of track that were washed away during Connecticut’s historic August floods, officials announced Friday. Rail service on the route was suspended on Aug. 18 and replaced with buses while workers raced to replace nearly 7,000 tons of washed out trackbed near the Kinneytown Dam in Seymour. The repairs ended up taking about 10 weeks to complete, and necessitated the construction of temporary access roads to move equipment to the washed out areas. Crews will be out over the next week operating test trains in both directions between Waterbury and Bridgeport to inspect the tracks and railroad crossing along the entire line. The DOT cautioned the public to follow posted signs and avoid walking along the railroad tracks.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/connecticut/article/waterbury-branch-line-service-returns-ct-floods-19846397.php

Three years ago city planners approved a new land use policy allowing construction of an office park at Remington Woods, 419 acres of forested property with a large lake. That plan, outlined on a just-launched website, lakesuccess.net, would set aside 358 acres for “conservation space” and use the remaining 61 acres for “renewable energy” projects. It also proposes construction of a “natural science center (to) offer visitors an educational and immersive experience with the region’s wildlife and forest ecosystem.” The company’s estimated completion date for the cleanup is early 2026. The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, which would likely be involved should Connecticut buy Remington Woods, did not respond to a request for comment. Gresko would like to see the DEEP involved in some capacity but wants to be sure that agency can handle taking on the responsibly of more parkland and is not “overextended.”

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/bridgeport-remington-woods-sierra-club-19844696.php

Construction is nearing completion on the Bartlem Park South project, a nearly $8 million expansion of the town’s major park on South Main Street across from Cheshire High School, officials said. New playfields, including a new turf field with lighting, are done. Work is expected to be complete near the end of the year on a new bandshell, officials said. The total cost of the project is $7.9 million. Of that, $2 million came from American Rescue Plan Act funds, plus $750,000 in additional state grants. Contractor DeRita & Sons Construction Co. began site work and excavation for the project in March 2023. Kimball said in two recent reports that most of the construction was nearing completion, with final topsoiling and landscaping being done this fall. Scoreboard footings were being installed in September. The town’s electrical work was done and approved by town inspectors. Paving was complete with the exception of final work around the bandshell area.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/cheshire-bartlem-park-south-project-coompletion-19838656.php

With an approval of over $5.5 million at a recent Board of Finance meeting, the town is making strides to repair the 36-year-old Old Mill Pond walkway and tide gate, which has fallen into disrepair. Director of Public Works Pete Ratkiewich said most marine structures that involve pilings or concrete in the water last 20 to 25 years. Tide gates are used to control water flow between a tide area and drained upland area. The gates are one foot three inches tall and swing in and out of a stop on a concrete slab. One side prevents sediment from moving out, and the other prevents it coming in, thereby improving water quality. The department temporarily repaired this, as construction on the permanent fix is expected to start in about a year with a delay in materials, with hopes to finish it in late spring 2026.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/westport-old-mill-pond-repair-19838702.php

Construction on the Wall Street Place development officially begins Friday after over a decade of delays. When completed, the project will provide 105 apartment units at 61 Wall Street and another 50 at the development’s 17 Isaacs St. sister building. The housing project that will provide 155 mixed-income studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom flats and townhouses began to move forward in earnest this summer, when developers Wall Street Recap Associates, LLC, and the Norwalk Redevelopment Agency secured financing through Citi Bank and Bank of America, public records show. The long-awaited housing development project comes on the heels of the city’s $25 million grant-funded investment into Wall Street’s revitalization, with an incoming first phase that will redesign the downtown area’s streets, expand sidewalks, add trees, improve lighting and raise crosswalks.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/norwalk-wall-street-place-tyvek-temple-groundbreak-19841218.php

City leaders promise a new fire station for the growing west side, a program to improve city roads and upgrades to the police department’s aging camera system, if voters approve a $49 million bond question on November’s ballot. Mayor Roberto Alves said the proposal addresses what he called a “decades-long need” for faster emergency response times in the city’s west side. It also allows the police department to upgrade its aging closed-circuit TV system with new technology. Danbury’s top firefighter said recently that the west side has not only become dense with housing, but increasingly heavy traffic on Interstate 84 is also challenging first responders’ ability to respond to emergencies to the areas between Exits 1 and 3 in a timely manner. Those who had opposed advancing the bond proposal to a referendum at the time cited what they referred to as its lack of specifics, including the proposed site of the fire station, along with the unavailability of other details around the costs to acquire land and build that station.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/danbury-ct-bond-question-november-election-19827305.php

State construction workers reopened a stretch of Route 34 on Wednesday that had been closed since severe flooding in August caused more than $300 million in damage. Gov. Ned Lamont heralded the completion of the bridge work in a Facebook post, saying it was completed two weeks ahead of schedule. Oxford arguably took the most damage from the storm — two of the three people killed were Oxford residents swept away by floodwaters that overwhelmed the Little River along Route 67, and dozens of Oxford businesses and homes were damaged or destroyed. The damaged section of Route 34 became a roaring river during the height of the flooding. As much as 16 inches of rain fell within seven hours in some areas on Aug. 18. Several roads in other municipalities also remain closed as of Oct. 9, including Route 67 between Kettletown Road and Community House Road in Southbury.

Stretch of Route 34 Reopens in Oxford After August Floods

The state Bond Commission is scheduled to meet next week to vote on $1.3 billion in general obligation and revenue bonds for dozens of projects across the state. The agenda includes $5 million for improvements to the Department of Labor’s central office in Wethersfield, and $1.5 million for the city of Hartford’s streetscape improvements along Farmington Avenue. The proposed bond authorizations also include $74.4 million for projects under the Department of Economic and Community Development’s (DECD) Community Investment Fund, which supports downtown revitalization, brownfield remediation and upgrades to cultural assets such as Hartford’s Stowe Center for Literary Activism. The Department of Transportation is also requesting $44 million in special tax obligation bonds for continued improvements to the Mixmaster in Waterbury, which serves as the junction of Interstate 84 and Route 8, and the rehabilitation of the Gold Star Bridge in New London.

State Bond Commission to consider $1.3B for statewide projects

The city of Waterbury has received multiple proposals for redevelopment of a roughly 16-acre brownfield that used to house the Anamet brass manufacturing company, and officials hope to pick a preferred developer by the end of this year. This is the city’s third search for a development partner for 698 South Main St. in a little more than two years. Over the past seven years, the city has invested about $9 million from federal, state and local coffers to prepare the long-blighted site for redevelopment. Waterbury Development Corp. Executive Director Thomas Hyde confirmed this week a selection committee will be formed to sort through responses, hopefully picking a preferred developer by the turn of the year.

Waterbury receives proposals to redevelop 16-acre brownfield