City officials have provided an update on plans and financing to complete the Allen Street project to replace an outmoded storm water and sewage system that causes neighborhood flooding during heavy rains and extensive damage to basements and property.
Mayor Bobby Sanchez said Allen Street improvements have been the priority for his office and the Department of Public Works (DPW) in the early weeks of his administration.
At a January 21st City Hall meeting attended by residents, property owners, a representative of Cong. Jahana Hayes’ (D-5) office, state legislators and alderpersons from Ward 4, Public Works Director Mark Moriarty shared the scope of the project that is estimated to cost $13.9 million and take 24 months to complete. Moriarty indicated that the project will likely cost more, putting the price tag at more than $14 million at the meeting. For several years the original cost estimate for the project totaled $6.7 million until Cardinal Engineering’s determined a new estimate last year.
Shovel Ready Plan: Two Years and $14+ Million
The project encompasses 3,500 feet of roadway improvements and utility upgrades from Oak Street down to Beacon Street on Allen Street. According to the plan developed for the city by Cardinal Engineering, an existing 24-inch storm drainage pipe will be replaced with new piping ranging in size from 48 to 66 inches. The existing 12-inch sanitary pipe will be replaced with a 24-inch pipe and a water main will also be replaced. Roadway reconstruction will include new curbing, sidewalks and driveway aprons in the project area.
Plans will be bid ready prior to funding being finalized and agreements with the State of Connecticut ( a portion of Allen Street is a state road) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be approved.
Moriarty cited the challenges in implementing the project that has been on the city’s Capital Improvement list for more than a dozen years. The broken infrastructure has led to stormwater and sewage overflows into homes for more than 30 years when high intensity rains occur. The high cost of the project stems from the “deep rock” excavations 20 feet underground that will be required to replace stormwater and sewer mains.
Efforts to secure external funding in previous years were unsuccessful, including FEMA Hazard Mitigation grants in 2022 and 2023 because the scope of the Allen Street project did not meet the benefit cost ratio requirements for funding. Moriarty pointed to the “minimal funding” available to communities to address climate resiliency and infrastructure upgrades.
Financing The Project
Mayor Sanchez and Moriarty unveiled a new plan to finance Allen Street improvements with a combination of local, state and possibly federal funds totaling nearly $18 million. Over the last two years the city has committed $6 million, including $4 million from unrestricted fund balances in city Enterprise Funds and $2 million in bonding. A push from the city’s legislative delegation secured an initial $2 million in state bonding funds for the project leaving at least $6 million to be identified. The new wrinkles in the plan for full funding include seeking $5 million in Local Transportation funds in an application due in February and pursuing $5 million in federal infrastructure funding.
- $6 million in local funding committed to date
- $2 million from CT Urban Action Grant from state bond commission (2025)
- $960,000 US EPA State Bond Request with $239,938 local share
- $5 million CT Local Transportation application (2/17/2026) via Capitol Region Council of Governments
- $4 million water infrastructure federal funding application
Since the summer of 2023 a dramatic jump in flooding from extreme weather led to a public outcry in New Britain, especially from residents in the Overlook Avenue-McKinley Drive and Allen Street neighborhoods. The public pressure has eventually resulted in the new plans and capital funding for Allen and Overlook where extensive damage occurs. The city addressed flooding at Overlook and McKinley, a $2 million project, with remaining federal American Rescue Act funds last year. Stormwater improvements became a major issue in the 2025 municipal campaign that resulted in Bobby Sanchez’ election to the mayor’s office.
“Time is of the essence,” wrote Frank Chase in a published post this month. A Roxbury Road resident hit hard by flooding through the years and leader in the drive for infrastructure funding, stated: “Our quality of life continues to suffer, our safety continues to be in harm’s way, and 50+ properties and structures are at risk. As Weston-Sampson Engineers have noted, “The Allen St. Project must be a priority because the infrastructure is at crisis levels.”
Once upgrades are implemented for the Allen Street project, the city’s challenges to make neighborhoods climate resilient and less prone to flooding are far from over. Across New Britain the FLUSH program, standing for Fresh Line Upgrades for Sanitary Health, represents “a massive investment in repairing and replacing the city’s storm water and sanitary sewer lines. which are over 100 years old,” according to the city’s 2025 annual comprehensive financial report. FLUSH is reported in just Phase three of 11 proposed phases and when complete is expected to cost more than $100 million.
Financing these projects for cities like New Britain has been piecemeal and year to year despite projects like Allen Street identified as in critical need of repair. Obtaining federal aid, for example, will depend on expanding the funding under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in the Congress or similar public works legislation.
U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), commenting on the City of Waterbury’s major water main break in December that cut off water to residents for days, acknowledged the extent of the problem and need for major public investments with Cong Jahana Hayes (D-5). “These investments are not only doable and feasible, they are necessary and we owe it to Waterbury, just as every town and city in the state of Connecticut and the country, to provide the support they need to upgrade and repair aging infrastructure,” Blumenthal said.
Related Post from September 2023
NB Politicus 