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NVCOG: BUILD (formerly RAISE) grant now moving to design, target Oct. 1 start
Summary
Regional planners said a federal BUILD (formerly RAISE) grant for closing multiple Naugatuck River Greenway gaps has cleared a key agreement stage with CT field office and was submitted to USDOT headquarters; a phased NEPA-first approach and local match strategy will be used to advance final design for multiple towns.
Rich Donovan, transportation planning director at the Northwest Hills Council of Governments (NVCOG), said Wednesday that the regional BUILD grant (formerly RAISE) award for multiple gap sections of the Naugatuck River Greenway is finally moving into the design phase after delays earlier this year.
Donovan said the project agreement with the Connecticut field office has been completed and “sent up to DOT headquarters to hopefully be signed in the next few weeks.” He added that the date given by the field office to put as the start on the agreement was Oct. 1.
The grant will be implemented in phases, Donovan said. The initial or “base” phase will cover project administration, public outreach, preliminary engineering and NEPA reviews. Once NEPA is complete on a section, federal funds will be obligated to fund final design for that section, NVCOG staff said. The work scope covers gap sections from East Main Street in Thomaston down to the Greenfield area in Naugatuck, NVCOG said.
Aaron Budris, NVCOG staff, said the selection committee that reviewed the RFQ has identified firms and that negotiations will begin shortly. He said some construction funding already exists for a few sections through state programs and that the BUILD grant will put the region in a better position to pursue construction funding for remaining sections.
NVCOG staff described a “tapered match” approach with Federal Highway that may allow different reimbursement mixes by section; in some cases federal reimbursement could be higher where needed and in others the project will rely more on state/local funds. The team also said several towns used state Recreational Trails awards as match for the federal application.
The timeline and phasing were described as contingent on the return of the signed federal agreement and subsequent NEPA clearances. No construction contracts were awarded at the meeting and no final construction schedule was announced.
Planning staff encouraged municipal partners to prepare for the outreach and design phases once the agreement is signed and to coordinate on identifying local sources for construction funds.
Ending: NVCOG said it will notify firms selected for work shortly and expects to begin base-phase activities after the signed agreement returns from DOT headquarters. The committee did not take formal action; the update was presented for information and coordination.
