Author: Kurni Antonius

For Immediate Release: 
Contacts: Mark Nielsen, Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments
203-757-0535
mnielsen@nvcogct.org

                                PUBLIC MEETING ON DERBY-SHELTON BRIDGE REHABILITATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18

The Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (NVCOG) will hold a public information meeting on the design of rehabilitation and enhancements to the Derby-Shelton Bridge over the Housatonic River on Wednesday, April 18, 2018. The meeting will begin informally at 6 p.m. with a formal presentation beginning at 6:30 p.m. in Shelton City Hall Auditorium, 54 Hill Street, Shelton and provide residents and stakeholders an opportunity to learn project details, including concept plans and project timeline, and provide input on the design. Anyone interested in the project is invited to attend.

The intent of the project is to create an aesthetically pleasing public space along the Derby-Shelton Bridge and provide an attractive gateway that is pedestrian and bicycle friendly to the downtown areas of Derby and Shelton. It is being designed by AECOM under contract to the NVCOG. Construction will be advertised and administrated by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT).

The project will include:

• The replacement of bridge parapet walls; The new parapet will feature a solid concrete wall similar in design to the existing wall with decorative railings similar in style to railings in Veteran’s Memorial Park. The railing treatment and its placement along the parapet will provide safety, as well as aesthetically attractive sightlines.

• The removal of existing lighting and replacement with period style lights that both enhance the presence of the bridge at night and comply with dark sky guidelines.

• Roadway improvements will include new pavement and curbing and the shifting of the travel lanes to accommodate wider sidewalks on the south side of the bridge and a bi-directional cycle-track to separate bicyclists from both vehicle traffic and pedestrians.

The project will also offer connectivity with the existing Housatonic Riverwalk trail network in Shelton and the Derby Greenway/Naugatuck River Greenway in Derby. The project limits will extend from the Bridge Street intersection with Main Street in Derby to the west end of the Derby-Shelton Bridge. It is currently expected that the design will be completed in early 2019, with construction following in the summer. While travel lanes will be shifted and may be narrowed, there will be no reduction in roadway capacity.

“The April 18 public information meeting will provide the Derby-Shelton community extensive information on the proposed bridge renovations,” said Mark Nielsen, NVCOG Director of Planning. “It will also allow residents and stakeholders an opportunity to provide input and comments on the project before it enters the final design phase.”

–End–

PUBLIC INPUT SOUGHT ON DERBY-SHELTON BRIDGE REHABILITATION PROJECT

The Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (NVCOG) held a public information meeting on the design of renovations and enhancements to the Derby-Shelton Bridge over the Housatonic River on Wednesday, April 18, 2018 in Shelton City Hall Auditorium, 54 Hill Street, Shelton. The meeting provided residents and stakeholders an opportunity to learn project details, including concept plans and project timeline, and provide input on the design. NVCOG is now soliciting additional public comment on the project.

To learn additional details, including the Powerpoint presentation provided and Report of Meeting, please click here.

To provide input on the project, please email: dsbridgefeedback@nvcogct.org

The intent of the project is to create an aesthetically pleasing public space along the Derby-Shelton Bridge and provide an attractive gateway that is pedestrian and bicycle friendly to the downtown areas of Derby and Shelton. It is being designed by AECOM under contract to the NVCOG. Construction will be advertised and administrated by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT).  

The project will include:

•The replacement of bridge parapet walls; The proposed new parapet will be a concrete wall similar to what is there today and will include a short, decorative railing that will be similar in design to the railing at Veterans Memorial Park in Shelton. The railing treatment and its placement along the parapet will provide safety, as well as aesthetically attractive sightlines.

•The removal of existing lighting and replacement with period style lights that both enhance the presence of the bridge at night and comply with dark sky guidelines.

•Roadway improvements will include new pavement and curbing and the shifting of the travel lanes to accommodate wider sidewalks on the south side of the bridge and a bi-directional cycle-track to separate bicyclists from both vehicle traffic and pedestrians. 

The project will also offer connectivity with the existing Housatonic Riverwalk trail network in Shelton and the Derby Greenway/Naugatuck River Greenway in Derby. The project limits will extend from the Bridge Street intersection with Main Street in Derby to the west end of the Derby-Shelton Bridge. 

It is currently expected that the design will be completed in early 2019, with construction following in the summer.  While travel lanes will be shifted and may be narrowed, there will be no reduction in roadway capacity. 

–End–

For Immediate Release:
February 26, 2018

Contact: Mark Nielsen Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments
203-757-0535
mnielsen@nvcogct.org

New NVCOG Study Outreach to Include Five Workshop Opportunities and Online Survey Study to Determine Effective Transportation Opportunities

Naugatuck Valley residents will have the opportunity to provide input to a major transportation planning study being conducted by the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (NVCOG) in March and early April 2018 via charrettes and an online survey. The study is assessing alternative transit modes within the Route 8 / Waterbury branch rail line corridors and developing transit-supportive land use plans in and around rail stations and transit hubs located between Naugatuck and Shelton.

The study team comprised of several consulting firms, incorporated information and data on the existing conditions within the corridor into an initial round of charrette presentations in November and December 2017. The five follow up charrettes will give stakeholders, local officials and residents the opportunity to provide feedback on preliminary study recommendations. The Study Team will be presenting preliminary “model” concepts based on the input from the first round of Charrettes. Each charrette will focus on that community’s transit hub. All events are from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Schedule:
• Thursday, March 15 – Derby, Derby City Hall, 1 Elizabeth St, Derby, CT
• Tuesday, March 20 – Ansonia, Ansonia City Hall, 253 Main Street, Ansonia
• Thursday, March 22 – Naugatuck, Naugatuck, Town Hall 229 Church St, Naugatuck
• Monday, March 26 – Shelton, R.D. Scinto Auditorium, 3 Corporate Drive, Shelton
• Wednesday, April 4 – Beacon Falls/Seymour, Seymour Town Hall, 1 1st St

“Direct input from the communities is crucial at this point in the study,” said Mark Nielsen, NVCOG Assistant Director. “The vision of local residents and officials will play a major role in the recommendations for how areas around transit hubs are developed and how they will look in the future.”

Public input provided at these events will also be integrated into study recommendations that will be provided to the state Department of Transportation, with a goal of incorporating improvements in the corridor into the department’s capital plan. In addition, they will be provided to area municipalities and the region’s state legislative delegation. Working toward developing a strategy and plan for implementing preferred options, the study is scheduled to be completed in late 2018.

A project website has been developed and is live at: http://rt8corridorstudy.com. Interested persons can contact the study team through the “Contact Us” page which lists several ways the public can contact the Team to offer comment or ask questions. An email address has also been established to contact the Team: rt8corridorstudy@nvcog.org.

Also, Naugatuck Valley residents who cannot attend any of the presentations are encouraged to provide study input via a brief online visual preference survey, which can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Route8visualpreferencesurvey

For Immediate Release: 
Contacts: Aaron Budris, Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments 

203-757-0535
abudris@nvcogct.org

                                    New Study Exploring Naugatuck River Greenway Route from Thomaston to Torrington

A yearlong study evaluating routing options for the Naugatuck River Greenway (NRG) between Thomaston and Torrington is now underway. The study, being conducted by BSC Group of Glastonbury, CT will inventory potential routes and rank them with stakeholder and public input with the goal of selecting a final preferred route with broad consensus. BSC will also provide phasing recommendations and construction cost estimates of the preferred route to help municipalities plan for future construction and prepare for potential funding opportunities.

The Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (NVCOG), in partnership with the Northwest Hills Council of Governments (NHCOG) received a Transit Oriented Development and Smart Growth grant from the CT Office of Policy and Management to conduct the study.

The project area spans approximately 10.9 miles of the Valley from Bogue Road in Torrington to a section of trail under design adjacent to the Water Pollution Control facility on Old Waterbury Road in Thomaston. In the coming months, BSC and project partners will inventory potential routes, points of interest, property ownership, environmental constraints, and stakeholder preferences, and utilize that information to narrow down to the most feasible and beneficial potential routes. Public input will be solicited through a project website, surveys and at public meetings, and will inform the decision making process.

A project kickoff meeting was held on January 19th at Thomaston Town Hall. The meeting brought together project stakeholders to discuss the project scope and timeline. Those in attendance included chief elected officials or staff from the municipalities of Torrington, Litchfield and Thomaston along with representatives from the US Army Corps of Engineers, NVCOG, NHCOG, the Naugatuck River Greenway Steering Committee and the Railroad Museum of New England.

The NRG corridor has been officially designated as a greenway by the CT Greenways Council and the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). The entire greenway trail is identified as a trail of statewide significance in the Connecticut Recreational Trails Plan, and was designated as one of 101 America’s Great Outdoors projects in 2011 by the U. S. Department of the Interior. An Economic Impact Study conducted by NVCOG in 2017 illustrated the potential economic, health and community benefits of constructing the trail.

The overall planned NRG route will follow the river for 44 miles, bringing the trail through parts of Torrington, Litchfield, Harwinton, Thomaston, Watertown, Waterbury, Naugatuck, Beacon Falls, Seymour, Ansonia and Derby. To date, trail sections have been constructed in Torrington, Naugatuck, Beacon Falls, Seymour, Ansonia and Derby.

“This routing study is a key part of moving the Naugatuck River Greenway forward,” said Rob Pinckney, Manager of Transportation Services at BSC Group. “It will ultimately provide options that ensure the greenway meets each community’s long term needs and that the investments made are well-spent and provide the most benefit to residents.”

More information can be found at http://nvcogct.org/content/nrg-thomaston-torrington-routing-study.

The Borough of Naugatuck has received a $100,000 grant through the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (NVCOG) Brownfields Revolving Fund (RLF). The NVCOG RLF is financed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Remediation is proposed at 6 Rubber Avenue parcels A&B in Naugatuck. The Borough intends to remediate the first floor of the former General Datacomm building for use as an open convention space for pop-up events in the Borough.

The Licensed Environmental Professional (LEP) engaged for the project, Tim Carr of Nobis Engineering, has developed a draft Analysis of Brownfield Cleanup Alternatives (ABCA) and draft Community Relations Plan (CRP). The draft documents are available for public review and written comment online below:

ABCA

CRP

Parcels A & B have entered the Connecticut Voluntary Remediation Program (VRP) pursuant to CGS 22a-133x. The VRP requires the LEP to characterize the properties to prevailing standards and guidelines and to remediate the properties to the Remediation Standard Regulations (RSCA 22a- 133k-1 to -3).

Please contact Max Tanguay-Colucci at mcolucci@nvcogct.org or 203.757.0535 to schedule a time to review documents at the NVCOG office in Waterbury. Written comments may be submitted through Friday, February 9, 2018 via email, via U.S. Postal Service, or via hand delivery to Max Tanguay-Colucci (mcolucci@nvcogct.org), NVCOG, 49 Leavenworth Street, Third Floor, Waterbury, CT06702.

The NVCOG is holding a public information meeting to present relevant documents and to gather public input regarding cleanup options. The public meeting is scheduled as follows:

Date:               Thursday, January 25, 2018

Time:                5:30pm

Location:          Naugatuck Town Hall, Hall of Burgesses

229 Church Street

Naugatuck, CT 06770