An appointee of Gov. Ned Lamont is proposing that Connecticut’s contracting watchdog panel not publicly discuss its work — which includes investigations of Executive Branch agencies — without clearing it with him. The contracting board, which grew out of the scandal that ultimately sent former Gov. John G. Rowland to federal prison, performs sensitive work. The language restricting the communication of board members, he said, was meant to ensure the board was not sharing confidential information that it comes into possession of. In hindsight, Daniels said the sentence that would block board members from engaging in “any communication” without the permission of the executive director was overly broad. Daniels said he and the staff had “no intent” to limit communications by the board with members of the media or the public.

CT contracting watchdogs asked not to talk without director’s OK

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is working on a plan to demolish the now-obsolete dam and open up the river for fish passage. But project officials must contend with the historical aspects and impacts of any potential removal, which they discussed at a public information meeting in Avon on July 2. And for the dam removal project, which has construction costs estimated at $5 million, DEEP has to comply with state regulations and go through the federal regulatory process just as any other entity would, said Ramona Goode, the project manager and state dams sanitary engineer for DEEP Water Planning and Management Division, at the meeting Tuesday. Both DEEP and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, which is funding the project and serving as the lead federal agency for it, have been consulting with the state’s preservation office for the last few years to ensure the proposed dam removal is in line with the National Historic Preservation Act.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/farmingtonvalley/article/collins-company-dam-removal-historical-mitigation-19553044.php

Dakota Partners, Inc., Massachusetts-based developer, proposed to build 202 apartments, some of them affordable, and 68 condominiums while keeping about 22 acres of the property as open space. The state offered to sell the property to Hamden for $1.3 million. Instead of buying it, the town issued a request for proposals that carried an asking price of $1.5 million for the property, allowing Hamden to profit $200,000 from the sale. The developer’s plans, which still need to be approved by the Hamden Legislative Council and Planning and Zoning Commission, also call for 34 duplexes that would yield 68 for-sale condo units. Construction is expected to start in August 2025, according to a schedule posted on the Hamden Economic and Neighborhood Development’s website.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/hamden-high-meadows-affordable-housing-apartments-19551197.php

Efforts to improve Connecticut’s position as a potential host for data centers appear to be stuck in neutral at the moment, despite an increased focus on artificial intelligence and how the two are intertwined. To qualify for the 20-year term of incentives, data centers must make a qualified investment in the site of $50 million if the site is in an opportunity zone or $200 million if it is not. For a 30-year term, the investment must be $200 million in an opportunity zone and $400 million elsewhere. Fred Carstensen, who is a professor at the University of Connecticut School of Business and the director of the state Center for Economic Analysis, is troubled by the lack of emphasis state officials have on data centers. We don’t have a cohesive strategy for this (data centers),” Carstensen said. “Connecticut was the most important state in the industrial revolution. But we’ve lost our mojo.”

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/business/article/efforts-to-develop-ct-data-center-hug-in-limbo-19542976.php

The $5.725 million grant, from the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity fund, was awarded to the Central Naugatuck Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization for planning and designing a segment of the Naugatuck River trail, according to a statement. The non-motorized, multi-use trail being developed will follow the river for 44 miles through parts of the Fifth District, including Litchfield, Harwinton, Thomaston, Watertown, and Waterbury, according to Hayes. The grant funding will be used to complete final design, environmental review, and preparation of construction documentation of a roughly 6-mile section between the northern point of downtown Thomaston to the southerly point of downtown Naugatuck, connecting through downtown Waterbury and Watertown.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/naugatuck-river-greenway-trail-expand-grant-19556068.php

Amtrak will soon begin construction of a new, $1.3 billion Connecticut River Bridge between the towns of Old Saybrook and Old Lyme following the award of a design-bid-build contract to O&G/Tutor Perini, a joint venture of two major construction firms. It will be primarily funded by the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA), due to a $826.64 million federal grant awarded by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA); Amtrak and the state of Connecticut will foot the remainder of the project’s cost. It will be primarily funded by the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA), due to a $826.64 million federal grant awarded by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA); Amtrak and the state of Connecticut will foot the remainder of the project’s cost. The O&G/Tutor Perini joint venture will work with Amtrak at the Connecticut River site to construct a new two-track, moveable bridge to replace the existing dual-track structure between Old Saybrook and Old Lyme, located about midway between New York City and Providence, R.I.

https://www.constructionequipmentguide.com/amtrak-awards-13b-contract-to-construct-new-moveable-rail-bridge-in-connecticut/65195

O&G Industries, the largest privately held construction firm in Connecticut, is moving into a new 9,992-square-foot office space at 900 Northrop Road, the firm announced recently. The move comes after the state awarded O&G a major contract to carry out the reconfiguration project of I-91,1-691-and Route 15 Interchange in Meriden. O&G is the main contractor awarded with carrying out the second phase of the state’s $500 million highway redevelopment project, focused on an area which studies have found is one of the state’s most congested roadways. One particularly notorious segment of the interchange, the southbound, one-lane off-ramp connecting I-91 with Route 15, routinely causes traffic to back up by as much as a mile. The work on the second and third phases of the project are expected to last until 2029, with work beginning early next year focusing on restructuring the northbound and southbound interchanges between I-91 and the other highways.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/recordjournal/article/wallingford-highway-redevelopmement-office-move-19543861.php

The efforts to revitalize South Norwalk and improve pedestrian safety continue with the city receiving $14 million from a U.S. Department of Transportation program. Norwalk’s MLK Corridor Equitable Mobility Enhancement Project is receiving $14 million to fund improvements on 2 miles of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and six other roadways surrounding the South Norwalk Train Station. In all, 33 acres will be improved. This is the latest grant for the Norwalk Redevelopment Agency projects in South Norwalk, focusing on improving safety and connectivity. This grant will reconfigure a network of roads in South Norwalk to include bicycles and pedestrians, improved signage updated with real-time transit data, and advanced drainage and landscaping. Norwalk already has a $6 million grant to improve the Transit-Oriented District in South Norwalk around a new 200-unit apartment complex that is being developed. The state allocated a $1.3 million grant to remediate the brownfield site where the apartments are slated to be built by Spinnaker.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/south-norwalk-bike-pedestrian-grant-mlk-train-19541033.php

Ørsted and Eversource, developers of Connecticut’s first offshore wind farm, Revolution Wind, and the Connecticut State Building Trades Training Institute (CSBTTI), today announced the launch of a collaborative, pre-apprenticeship training program for 15 Eastern Connecticut residents. The upcoming cohort will include 15 trainees from the New London area, where workers at the State Pier are supporting construction of the South Fork Wind, Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind projects. Students will undergo pre-apprenticeship training for union construction careers, which are essential to the nation’s clean energy transition. “CSBTTI recruited and will now help prepare local workers for high-quality unionized construction apprenticeships while helping diversify the state’s building trades,” said Keith Brothers, President of New London/Norwich Building and Construction Trades Council. “We applaud Ørsted and Eversource’s commitment to ensuring Connecticut workers benefit from family-sustaining wages and benefits, while also connecting the state’s union tradespeople to Connecticut’s clean energy future and the economic opportunity presented by offshore wind. We hope to see a diverse pool of applicants, and we encourage women and People of Color to apply.”

https://us.orsted.com/news-archive/2024/07/orsted-and-eversource-partner-with-connecticut-state-building-trades-training-institute

US inter-city passenger operator Amtrak has awarded a joint venture of O&G and Tutor Perini a $US 1.3bn contract to build the new Connecticut River Bridge on the New York – Providence section of the Northeast Corridor (NEC). Construction is due to begin later this year. Design work is 100% complete and the project has been approved by both the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Construction management for the project will be undertaken by Aecom. Total cost of the project is $US 1.3bn, funded mainly by a $US 826.6m grant made by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The remainder is being provided by Amtrak and the State of Connecticut.

https://www.railjournal.com/infrastructure/amtrak-awards-us-1-3bn-connecticut-construction-contract/