$8M in rail funding for region hailed
The New England Central Railroad freight line from New London to the Massachusetts border is in line to receive a $10.2 million upgrade described by federal, state, regional and local officials as a “game changer” in transportation and economic development potential for eastern Connecticut.
With Tuesday’s announcement that the U.S. Department of Transportation approved Connecticut’s full $8.18 million request to upgrade the freight line running along the west side of the Thames River, the pieces are in place to upgrade the entire rail line all the way to Brattleboro, Vt. U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, announced the grant award, which supporters hope will bring economic development and possible future passenger rail service to the region. The grant is part of the $600 million, highly competitive Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program. The U.S. DOT received applications totaling $9.5 billion. “Given the popularity and demand for funding through the TIGER program, a successful outcome on this project was far from assured,” Courtney wrote in his announcement. The grant was one of two TIGER grants the state received Tuesday, the other being $14.4 million for projects associated with the Waterbury train station, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said. The state has received five TIGER grants totaling $53.1 million to upgrade the state’s transportation network, he said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Plan outlined to get Old Lyme wastewater to New London treatment plant
Old Lyme - The Water Pollution Control Authority outlined steps on Tuesday, as it plans for a system to send wastewater from several shoreline neighborhoods through sewers to a New London treatment plant. The WPCA is proposing a centralized, town-managed pump station that would send wastewater through East Lyme and Waterford for treatment in New London. The proposed sewer plan calls for connecting to sewers three charted beach associations - Old Lyme Shores, Old Colony and Miami Beach - and three town-managed beach neighborhoods - Sound View, Hawk's Nest and White Sand. Woodard and Curran, the engineering firm for the project, is slated to complete a draft report for the project at the end of the month. The proposal currently comprises a centralized pumping station in Sound View, said David Prickett of Woodard and Curran. A secondary pumping station would send wastewater near the White Sands area up to the main pumping station. If residents approve moving forward with funding, engineers could begin designing the system this fall and continue through 2015. Construction, in phases, would be slated for 2016 to 2018. The town is working on an inter-municipal agreement with East Lyme in which the town of Old Lyme would essentially be considered a customer of the East Lyme sewer system, said First Selectwoman Bonnie Reemsnyder. Old Lyme is also working on memorandums of understanding with some of the town's beach communities. There will be a special town meeting at 7:30 p.m. next Wednesday at Town Hall in which WPCA members, the first selectwoman, town attorney and engineers will answer questions from the public. Woodard and Curran will further hold public presentations with the WPCA on Sept. 30 and Oct. 14. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Feds fund river project
WATERBURY — The city will receive a $14.4 million federal grant to fund the downtown portion of the Naugatuck River Greenway and other projects aimed at sparking economic development through improved transportation and access to the river. The city will use the money to redevelop 60 acres of land and create a network of connections between downtown, the train station and the Naugatuck River. U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-5th District, said the plan links multiple forms of transportation, from trains to bicycles to the Hartford busway, which will offer service to and from Waterbury every 30 minutes. "This is something that really represents how to reinvigorate and revitalize Waterbury for the 21st century," said Esty, who serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. In May, the city applied for a $19 million TIGER grant, which stands for Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, to fund the proposed projects. The city learned on Tuesday that it will receive about three-quarters of its request, an amount officials believe is enough to move forward. "Quite frankly, we're very, very, very pleased with the $14.4 million," said Mayor Neil M. O'Leary. "We fully recognize that our first request was a best-case scenario."
The grant is the largest any Connecticut municipality has received since the TIGER program began in 2009. Waterbury's application was one of 797 applications the U.S DOT received this year. Of the $9.5 billion the agency received in requests, it awarded about $600 million. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE