Naugatuck Receives $650K For Rail Mitigation Planning Project

NAUGATUCK, CT — The Connecticut Congressional delegation and Gov. Ned Lamont announced this week $21.8 million for transportation projects around the state, including $652,800 for Naugatuck that will go toward the borough's Eastside-Westside Connectivity and Rail Mitigation Planning Project.

According to a news release from U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), the money will be used to provide planning funding to enable construction of a pedestrian connection, linking the borough's Metro North Rail Line and the downtown core in the west with the Naugatuck River Greenway Trail and State Route Highway 8 in the east.

The east and west sides are currently disconnected by the Metro North Rail Line and the Naugatuck River, with affordable and market rate housing developments taking shape on either side of the river, according to the release.

"This unprecedented investment will make Connecticut’s roadways safer for all and reconnect communities that have long been disconnected and divided by highways," Blumenthal said in a news release. "With this $21.8 million in federal funding, Connecticut communities will transform road and pedestrian safety, and make access to reliable transportation easier for all."

The money is coming from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Reconnecting Communities pilot program through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Neighborhood Access and Equity Program through the Inflation Reduction Act.

In addition to Naugatuck, funds will go toward projects in Norwalk, Stamford, Bridgeport, Hartford and Western Connecticut.

A fact sheet on the funding from the U.S. DOT said the proposed project "will provide planning funds for a pedestrian connection that ties together the adaptive reuse of over 20 acres of brownfields in the BON’s downtown core, including the construction of transit-oriented, mixed-rate/affordable housing. The proposed concept brief for such a connection includes a concrete underpass 60 feet in length that tunnels beneath the Metro North Railroad Line, with an 183-foot pre-fabricated pedestrian bridge spanning the length of the Naugatuck River."

The project summary says "such a pedestrian connection would address current transportation deficiencies as a result of the rail line, while establishing an active transportation link between the two neighborhoods. Residents are currently disconnected from each other and their river as a result of the rail line facility. Ease of access and public health and safety remain areas of concern as a result of the existing facility."

Planning funds would be "utilized for public engagement, conceptual and preliminary design activities, planning studies and activities, and design and planning in support of the environmental review process. Additionally, funds will link together, and finalize, the borough's transit-oriented downtown redevelopment that has over $425 million in private, municipal, state or federal funding," according to the project summary.

Lamont spoke of the increased safety and mobility he said will come as a result of the funding.

"Much of our state’s infrastructure was designed and built for cars and cut off communities from one another," Lamont noted. "By refocusing on pedestrians and bicyclists, the state can have roadways that work for everyone."

U.S. Rep. Jim Himes (D-04) said the federal funds will help connect communities and allow commuters to get to work, children to go to school, and families to visit nearby relatives "with ease and peace of mind."

"As an avid biker myself, I understand the importance of dedicated infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists so that every member of our community can easily traverse our cities and enjoy Southwest Connecticut’s vibrant natural spaces and bustling commercial areas," he said.

More information on the $21.8 million funding can be found here.