The state Department of Transportation plans to widen the sidewalk across the southbound Gold Star Memorial Bridge between Groton and New London so it is safer and easier to access for pedestrians and bicyclists. Tracey Brais, project manager with the DOT, told a room of more than 30 people in New London City Hall’s Council Chambers Monday evening that the DOT is excited about the $55 million project and thinks it’s going to create many improvements for bicyclists and pedestrians across the Thames River. The sidewalk expansion project will result in the reduction of one lane on the southbound bridge, she said. Brais said the southbound span currently has six lanes at the east end of the bridge and then it narrows down to five lanes. Once completed, the bridge will be mostly four lanes instead of five lanes as it is now. The DOT anticipates construction will start in the spring 2028 and be completed in the fall of 2029, she said.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240624/gold-star-bridge-path-to-be-renovated/

The school district unveiled the $47 million project two years ago with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, but documents now reflect the renovate-as-new project is officially complete, according to Nick Dua, communications and marketing director for Norwalk Public Schools. “The site was modified to improve the arrivals and drop-off at the school with a new separate bus loop and parent drop off area installed,” according to a document Construction Solutions Group, the contractor, sent to the Board of Education to request approval for the completion of the project. The school board approved the completed renovations unanimously at its regular board meeting on June 4. Now that the project is officially complete, the state can reimburse the district for its share of the project cost, Dua said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/education/article/norwalk-jefferson-school-renovations-19518584.php

The public is invited to comment Monday on a state plan to improve pedestrian and cyclist access to the Gold Star Memorial Bridge. The state Department of Transportation will host a presentation and question-and-answer session at 7 p.m. at New London City Hall, 181 State St., related to planned improvements to the Interstate 95 southbound bridge sidewalk. The project calls for widening the existing 5-foot-wide sidewalk, along with the east and west approaches to the bridge. A spur path will be added connecting to Williams Street in New London. The Bridge Street intersection in Groton will also be reconfigured to allow for easier bridge access. The $55.5 million project, tentatively slated to begin in 2028, will be 90% funded with federal funds and the remainder covered with state money.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240619/public-invited-to-weigh-in-on-gold-star-memorial-bridge-sidewalk-proposal/

Norwich Public Utilities is taking advantage of unprecedented increases in federal grant support to launch several water system improvement projects. These including upgrading water tanks, installing a major water line and locating any remaining lead lines to customer homes. The utility needed City Council approval Monday to increase financing for two projects and add a new plan to repair the city’s main water line that brings water from the Deep River reservoir and treatment plant in Lebanon into Norwich. NPU received approval from the council for a new $2.9 million repair to the major water line that runs from Lebanon through Bozrah into Norwich. The project will address corrosion to the steel on a 100-foot-long utility bridge that braces the 30-inch water main beneath the Fitchville Road bridge over the Yantic River just below the dam. Construction is expected to start in fall of 2025, with 20% grant and 80% loan funding, LaRose said.

https://www.theday.com/local-news/20240620/norwich-public-utilities-making-major-improvements-to-its-drinking-water-system/

Demolition began Monday of a nearly century-old structure, the former Eastern Company building, to make way for new businesses including a Chipotle Restaurant. The Zoning Commission in April 2023 approved the site permit application for the applicant, Berlin RE Development of Farmington, for a proposed Chipotle restaurant and retail store at the former headquarters of the Eastern Co. on about 2.2 acres at 112 Bridge St. Elite Excavation & Construction of Fairfield is doing the demolition while Greython Construction, of Mystic, will construct the shell of the building while another company, yet to be identified, will finish the remaining construction of the new structure, according to the building department. The development is expected to cost about $2 million and the construction time is projected to take about a year. The finished development looks to have 20 employees, the site permit application states.

https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2024/06/17/eastern-co-building-razed-for-restaurant-urgent-care-facility/

Connecticut’s trucking industry will face a small tax hike next month when the state tax on diesel fuel rises slightly more than 3 cents per gallon. The diesel tax and highway mileage fee each represent a relatively modest share of the state budget’s Special Transportation Fund, which covers operating costs for the Departments of Transportation and Motor Vehicles and debt payments on bonding for highway, bridge and rail projects. Final totals for the current fiscal year, which closes June 30, weren’t available this week, but Boughton said the diesel tax collected about $133.5 million in 2022-23, when the rate also was 49.2 cents per gallon. Those collections represented 7% of total STF expenditures in 2022-23 and about 6% in the current year. If the Department of Transportation can launch more construction projects — thereby triggering the need for more transportation borrowing — the STF surplus next fiscal year would be just 4%, according to the governor’s budget office. And by 2025-26, the STF would run a very modest $8 million deficit, equal to roughly one third of 1%. Connecticut’s construction industry and trades say the state’s transportation infrastructure needs even larger investments than the administration is aiming for to overcome decades of neglect.

CT diesel tax to jump 3 cents after yearlong freeze

Wheelers Farm Partners and Greenview Equities have asked the city to change the zoning of a five-building, 47-acre complex at 470-488 Wheelers Farm Road to allow the addition of 444 apartments and some commercial or retail uses, according to their 85-page proposal. The hook for both sides might be a first in Milford: a compromise on 8-30g, said attorney Timothy Hollister, who represents the developers. Several other office buildings will be replaced with a five-story residential building accommodating 150 units connected to the parking garage. Six more buildings will be built for the other 294 apartments. If the board approves the change in zoning, the developers said they plan to provide final site plans within a year of the approval.

Developers Pitch 514-Apartment Project in Milford as Alternative to Affordable Housing

A $2 million brownfields grant was awarded June 14 by the state Department of Economic and Community Development for remediation work at the former Stanadyne plant at 90-92 Deerfield Road. Another $200,000 was awarded to conduct an environmental assessment study of a neighboring property, which will collectively become part of a new Connecticut River Business Park. Ohio-based IRG Industrial Realty Group LLC bought the fully vacant property in late 2023 for $250,000. Windsor was among several municipalities to receive a remediation grant, which according to the DECD, “will enable the adaptive reuse of the property to a business park that will provide new manufacturing, research and development, warehousing/distribution, and offices to meet local market demand.”

With $2M brownfields grant and new ownership, former Stanadyne campus in Windsor looks for new life

The 154-unit affordable housing conversion of a former factory building in New Britain got a boost from the city last week with municipal officials unanimously supporting a zoning change to allow a solar energy array on the property. New Britain’s Common Council last week voted to allow developers to construct a solar facility at 321 Ellis St., on the same lot where an affordable housing redevelopment is currently underway of the former Landers, Frary & Clark factory, which is more than 115 years old. Developers from WinnCompanies and WinnDevelopment, the Massachusetts-based developer and housing management firm doing the housing redevelopment project, had been planning to construct the solar farm but previously approved master plans for the site dating back to 2015 reserved the land for a 20-story residential tower.

New Britain housing redevelopment wins zoning approval for 850 KW solar array

The $112 million project was given the go-ahead by the commission, with one dissenting vote, Tuesday night following a final presentation by the Central Middle School Building Committee. CMS principal Tom Healy told the commission, “we’re proud of what we have in front of you.” He said the “collaborative effort” behind the project was impressive. The current school, built in 1958, has a number of major structural problems. According to the CMS building committee, construction is expected to start in October 2024 and finish in August 2026. New ball fields will also be added to the school campus.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/greenwich-central-middle-school-planning-19508625.php