Connecticut DOT’s “Real Lives” campaign highlights importance of roadway safety VIDEO

Tim Harfmann

CONNECTICUT (WTNH) — The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) launched a new public service announcement (PSA) to highlight the importance of safety on state roadways.

New Haven spending millions to cut down on speeding

The CTDOT’s “Real Lives” campaign features first responders and roadside workers to raise awareness about the state’s move over law.

“Slow down! Move over! It’s the law!” Mike Relish, a construction worker, said.

Relish said that in his 35 years on the job, he’s faced all types of dangerous, roadside conditions. 

“It is crazy out there,” Relish said. “I’ve seen it all!”

The CTDOT said between 2017 and 2021, 16 people died in Connecticut roadside crashes — 13 of those happened after dark.

Since May alone, there have been at least two more fatalities.

Trooper First Class Aaron Pelletier was hit and killed during a traffic stop on I-84.

One month later, CTDOT worker Andrew DiDomenico was killed while working in Wallingford near I-91.

“You’re literally putting people’s lives at risk, people who are out there to help the traveling public when you need them the most,” Laoise King, the CTDOT deputy commissioner, said.

They’re spreading the word that when drivers see flashing lights along the roadway shoulder, they should slow down and move over. 

It could save lives.

“We’re just trying to be safe at the end of the day and go home to our families,” Relish said.

State says Baldwin Bridge rehab project will begin in 2027

Elizabeth Regan

Old Lyme ― Department of Transportation officials on Monday pitched a $65 million plan to extend the life of the Baldwin Bridge in 2027.

The project is designed to address structural deficiencies and perform maintenance on the 31-year-old span between Old Lyme and Old Saybrook.

Traffic is expected to be impacted by roughly two months of construction on the bridge deck. Officials said crews will avoid working on the deck during the summer with the project slated for completion by the end of 2027.

Crews will resurface the road, add carbon fiber reinforcements and replace expansion joints. The sidewalk could be closed for about a month while cracks are repaired and anti-climb fencing is installed. The channel below the bridge will remain open.

A public comment period is open through Sept. 30. More information is available at portal.ct.gov/dotbaldwin105-217

Norwalk's Calf Pasture Beach Road under construction to improve access to Gardella land, Cove Marina

Katherine Lutge

NORWALK — Construction is underway at Calf Pasture Beach Road to provide easements to a family-owned property on the northern and western portions of the peninsula.

So far, the city has begun excavating the first phase of the roadway and laid down the process base.

When complete, the road will be realigned with new entrances to Cove Marina and the businesses along a property owned by the Gardella family. A sidewalk will also be installed around the new skate park, along with a seat wall for skaters to enjoy.

The project broke ground after Labor Day and is expected to be completed by mid-December. Crews will be working from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Work is halting this weekend to accommodate the Discovery Boating Norwalk Boat Show.

This project is the result of an agreement reached last year after seven years of negotiations to clarify a 100-year-old land-use deed.

In 1922, a land-use deed agreement was reached between the Gardellas and the city of Norwalk, allowing part of Calf Pasture Beach Road to run through the Gardella's property.

Now, over 100 years later, the city is repaving and reconfiguring the roadway to give the Gardellas more access to their property. The Gardellas agreed to pay the city $460,000, with $100,000 of that amount to be used for construction and road improvements.

Altogether, the cost of the project is about $1 million for the contractors to realign the road and add the sidewalks and seat walls by the skate park.

As part of the agreement, the city signed a time-limited restrictive covenant that limits Norwalk from making any improvements that would inhibit the ability for construction for six years. This includes adding sidewalks, bike paths, landscaping, and utility development on the Gardella side of the road; however, the city is still able to improve sidewalks on its side of the property.

If the Gardellas wanted to improve their property in the next six years, they would be required to gain approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission, which approved the easement plan. As part of the Marine Commercial Zone, the Gardellas' property must have a water-dependent use like the marina that is currently there.

With a nod toward education and immersive experiences, CT air museum plans $25 million expansion

Jesse Leavenworth

WINDSOR LOCKS — Starved for space as annual visitors increase, the New England Air Museum plans a $25 million expansion meant to widen exhibits, boost educational offerings and add immersive experience in a digital dome, museum officials said Wednesday.

The expansion depends on approval of $15 million from the state Bond Commission, which is pending. Plans call for construction of a 40,000-square-foot hangar, with aircraft and other exhibits telling the story of aviation from balloon flights through modern times and into the future, museum President and CEO Stephanie Abrams said. The largest aviation museum in New England, with three existing exhibit hangars totalling 90,000 square feet, has run out of space and has 30 aircraft in storage, including replica bi-planes, a MiG-15 Soviet jet fighter and a U.S. F-4 Phantom fighter, Abrams said.

The new space also is to include a manufacturing pavilion, where students can get up close with CNC machines and 3-D printers, and a 100-seat planetarium/digital dome designed to immerse audiences in images and animations, from a single cell to the edges of the universe. The educational component is meant to expose young visitors to aviation careers and enhance STEM education, museum Vice President for Development Rick Cleary said. The museum currently hosts about 5,000 school kids each year, but Cleary said he hopes to hike that to 50,000.

A seperate, but related plan is to open a Challenger Learning Center honoring the legacy of the seven Space Shuttle crew members who died in 1986 when their ship broke apart shortly after liftoff. The museum is talking to leaders at CT State Community College-Manchester and Central Connecticut State University in New Britain about hosting the center, which would be the latest addition to more than 30 such facilities across the nation. The learning centers, which offer space mission simulations such as a visit to Mars, are "STEM on steroids," Abrams said, but better suited to college campuses due to synergy with the schools' other science and engineering offerings.

Once state bond money is approved, the nonprofit museum will pursue fundraising from corporations and individuals for the remaining $10 million, Abrams said. The plan is to break ground for the new hangar next year and open in 2026.

The planned expansion is driven in large part by a 20-percent increase in the past three years in annual visitors, which now total about 75,000. The museum reported $2.55 million in revenue and a deficit of about $740,000 in fiscal year 2022-23, which Abrams said was due to spending on a new parking lot and fence, exterior and interior painting, and renovations of conference rooms, bathrooms, the main lobby and gift shop.

The museum also opened three new exhibits in the past 3½ years, including one on the Tuskeegee Airmen, African-American sky fighters whose substantial contribution to victory in World War II failed to pay dividends in oppressive postwar America. A new exhibit spotlighting Igor Sikorsky, helicopter pioneer and Connecticut aviation icon, is to open in early December. Also, the museum has been booked every weekend as a wedding venue, with vows taken in one hangar, cocktails in another and dinner and dancing in a third, Cleary said.

Abrams credited her decades-long experience as a TV reporter and producer for many changes at the museum in the past several years. Additions include video monitors and directional speakers that provide "a narrow beam of sound" to patrons at exhibits. The Tuskegee exhibit includes a theater and three video monitors that tell the airmen's story from pre-war through combat to post-war. The museum also has been airing TV ads in the region, Cleary said.

Exhibited aircraft at the museum, which is adjacent to Bradley International Airport, include: an A-10 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Warthog," a close support tank killer built around a rotary, Gatling-style autocannon; a K-225 helicopter, an early, experimental chopper with intermeshing blades, a gift to the museum from Connecticut-based Kaman Corporation; an F-104C Starfighter, the first combat aircraft capable of a sustained Mach-2 flight; an XF4U-4 Corsair, a gull-winged, prop-driven fighter produced during World War II by the Vought Aircraft Division of United Aircraft in Stratford; Sikorsky's VS-44A Excambian flying boat, built in the 1940s for cross-Atlantic passenger flights; and a B-29 Superfortress, a four-engine bomber designed for high-altitude, long distance missions and used in World War II and the Korean War.

Developer wants to build apartments, food court, coffee shop in downtown Meriden

Mary Ellen Godin

MERIDEN —  New Haven developer Choni "Johnny" Grunblatt wants to build 69 apartment units as part of a $10 million remake of Colony Street.

Grunblatt is seeking to build studio apartments in five buildings alongside Railroad Avenue in what officials hope will spark more investment for the city's transit-oriented district. The construction value of the project is $10 million. The proposal includes a lifestyle center, food court and coffee shop in the rear of 21-23 Colony St., adjacent to the train station.

"We're gearing up to begin as soon as we get the permits," Grunblatt said. "We're very excited to hopefully bring a massive change to downtown living." 

The project was discussed at Tuesday's meeting of the City Council's Economic Development Housing and Zoning Committee. City Economic Development Director Joseph Feest informed members construction will last about 18 months. Grunblatt has received Planning Commission approval and granted a zone change to allow residential units on the first floor in the transit-oriented district. 

"It's been a long time since we've had a developer with capital and Johnny has already spent $4 million to $5 million on the buildings, said Chairman Michael Rohde. "It sounds like we're onto something solid for the first time ever."

Grunblatt was the high bidder in a 2022 auction for 9-11 and 13-17 Colony St. out of four bidders and the $275,000 offer was approved by a New York bankruptcy court. Around the same time, Grunblatt purchased 51 Colony St. for $210,000, 1-3 Colony St. for $980,000 and 21-23 Colony St. for $800,0000. 

After doing some research, Grunblatt learned that $220 million in public and private investments had been made downtown, including the Meriden Green, Meriden Commons I and II, 11 Crown St., and infrastructure and flood control.

It also reviewed a survey of what residents and local businesses wanted to see downtown. Breweries topped the list, with sit-down restaurants also finishing high.

Partner Jonathan Perlich and Grunblatt also purchased the 19th-century, mostly vacant, four-story commercial and residential building near the corner of East Main and Pratt streets for $1.75 million in November. The partnership is doing business as Seventies on Main LLC on that project.

The art deco 9-11 Colony St. building was identified as one that didn't lend itself to residential uses on the first floor so retail is planned, possibly a restaurant. The plan also calls for the building to have some apartments.

The former Fischer's Fine Foods at 21-23 Colony St. has potential for a coffee shop along Railroad Avenue, next to the train platform. A food hall featuring a variety of vendors is also planned and the lower level will have a game room and laundromat. The partnership has also asked for parking and density changes in the TOD. 

During a presentation in 2022, Perlich reassured committee members the partnership had the financing in place to complete the work. 

"We made some suggestions of what we would like to see," Feest said at the time. "Some were followed, some were not. It's still a fluid plan."

"Colony Street is the perfect transition out of suburbia," Perlich said. "It has unique features and a symbiotic relationship with the railroad and the park. We want to bring in tenants at market rate, increase foot traffic and bicycle traffic."

 The goal is to utilize commercial spaces that are viable, Perlich said.

"We want to cater to a smaller, localized business," he said. "We are looking at amenity spaces that will be shared throughout. We have every intention of utilizing the historic symbolism. We looked at pictures, it kind of inspired our vision. We want people who want to live in a very cool district. We'll have large windows overlooking the park and incorporate that into the design."

City Councilor Yvette Cortez, a Democrat, asked Feest at Tuesday's meeting if the city could have a say in the type of commercial uses to fill the buildings. She also asked for a strategic plan for downtown.

Feest said the uses will be in line with what's allowed in the zone and the developer/landlord will do their own studies to determine market feasibility. The completed project also has the potential to attract a sit-down restaurant operator at 24 Colony St. 

Newly-minted City Manager Brian Daniels was among the city officials who helped draft the TOD regulations a decade ago. Daniels, was a city councilor at the time and chairman of the Choice Neighborhood planning team. 

Among the areas in the central commercial district is a stretch of West Main Street west of Cook Avenue, a section near East Main Street and Broad Street, and some smaller pockets south of downtown. The purpose of the central commercial district zone is to provide and encourage retail, businesses and offices, entertainment and cultural establishments. There are also sections for a gateway, civic, historic, and arts and culture uses. division  Daniels offered to provide a presentation for the committee.  

"We have a tremendous amount of information," he said.  

Grunblatt's apartments will be market rate and are targeted to a younger population that would utilize public transit.

City officials have agreed to restrict the numbers of affordable housing units in the TOD because more than 16 of its housing stock is considered affordable, and tenants with disposable income are needed to support a thriving downtown, they said.  There are more than 200 mixed-income units surrounding the Meriden Green, and the proposed Colony Street project is directly across from 24 Colony St., whose tenant mix is 80 percent low income.  

Grunblatt is the founder of Upside Construction LLC, Clarity Management LLC, Malbec Enterprises LLC and owner of Fin and Scale —Sushi and Bar. 

UI Completes $55M Flood Protection Project in Bridgeport

Francisco Uranga

Bridgeport’s Congress Street power substation can now remain operational during heavy storms thanks to a new flood protection system completed this week.

United Illuminating, which operates the facility, invested $55 million to build a wall to protect the substation from flooding from the nearby Pequonnock River, a gate system to seal the perimeter and two high-power pumps. The concrete wall is 10 feet high and drives 40 feet underground, according to the utility company.

During Hurricane Irene in 2011 and Superstorm Sandy in 2012, this substation was proactively de-energized by UI to preserve it from potential seawater flooding, which could have caused damage leading to long-term service outages. 

With the new protection system in place, however, the substation can remain in service during extreme weather events.

Todd Berman, director of environmental permitting at Avangrid, UI’s parent company, explained that energy plants were historically installed near the coast because coal used to arrive via ships. But now, he said, rising sea levels threaten these facilities. 

“These substations are designed with lifespans of 50 to 60 years, so we need to figure in sea level rise,” he said. “By 2050, we will not only have the normal high tide, but it will be 20 inches higher.”

The utility is developing various solutions, including flood protection systems such as the Congress Street substation, and in some cases, relocating facilities entirely. This was the case with the Pequonnock substation in Bridgeport, where the company constructed a new facility 700 feet from the original, a $143 million project completed in July 2023.

The unveiling of the Congress Street flood protection system on Tuesday was an anticipated moment. 

“Many times we’re asked where we invest and here you can touch it,” Avangrid CEO Pedro Azagra Blazquez said. 

For these types of investments to materialize, Azagra Blazquez noted, a “stable and predictable regulatory environment was necessary.”

UI and fellow utility giant Eversource are at odds with the Public Utility Regulatory Authority over cost recovery requirements. UI has repeatedly questioned the group’s latest decisions regarding its 2023 rate case and the proposed regulatory framework known as Performance-Based Regulation.

“Investment needs to be approved before happening. Otherwise, you cannot invest,” Azagra Blazquez said. “It doesn’t take that long for the quality of service we enjoy in Connecticut to go down.”

Berman acknowledged that, at first glance, the project might seem like “just a wall” around the substation, but emphasized that its construction was an engineering challenge due to the site’s location.

“We were retrofitting it into the existing environment, not starting with a clean sheet of paper,” he said. “We wouldn’t have designed it this way if we considered coastal flooding risk.”

Berman explained that the site’s geology — being a salt marsh — complicated the construction of the foundations. Additionally, building the heavy gates and calculating the wall’s tolerance to bending under the pressure of rising water contributed to the challenge. Berman also highlighted the pumping system, which can clear rainwater collected inside the walls during a storm in just minutes.

Berman said UI is currently in the design stage of a mitigation plan for Bridgeport’s Singer substation, which will also include building a wall. UI also has begun talks with New Haven officials to address another substation flood protection system there. 

Berman acknowledged that these projects might face opposition from residents, partly due to aesthetic concerns over the large walls, the potential hydraulic effect on the surrounding areas, and the financial burden on ratepayers, as the costs are ultimately passed on to customers. 

Berman, who worked 23 years as an environmental specialist at a law firm before being hired in 2019 by Avangrid, said these projects were personal because he wanted to spend the peak of his career fighting climate change. 

“I feel relieved and glad,” he said of the Congress Station project. “I used to worry last summer watching the storm and thinking about this site because it should be turned off. Now I don’t have to worry about it and am also ready to move on to the next one.”