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Norwalk Gets $5.6M In State Funds For More Storm Damage Repairs

NORWALK, Conn. -- Norwalk will receive $5.6 million in state grants for work at Washington Village and repairs to the Route 136 bridge over the harbor as part of efforts to restore and strengthen infrastructure impacted by Superstorm Sandy.

Norwalk received more than $2 million to refit the Route 136 bridge after Superstorm Sandy.

Norwalk received more than $2 million to refit the Route 136 bridge after Superstorm Sandy.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The grants are part of $30 million in state funds for storm repairs announced by Gov. Dannel Malloy and state Housing Commissioner Evonne Klein. 

The Washington Village project received $3 million to reconstruct and raise portions of Raymond and Day streets above the 100-year-flood elevation. That will allow for safe access for emergency vehicles and an evacuation route for residents in the event of floods.

The Route 136 project was awarded $2.625 million to improve the resiliency and operation of the movable bridge over Norwalk Harbor during extreme weather events.

Waterproofing the gate house floors and raising existing sea walls will minimize overtopping by incoming tides during storm tidal surges. In addition, submersible electrical junction boxes, pit lights, and electrical boxes will be installed and limit switches will be relocated.

“The damaging effects of storms along Connecticut’s shoreline are just a reality these communities must face,” Malloy said in a statement. “With these grants, however, we can assist these municipalities and their cleanup efforts from the devastation of one of the most severe storms in Connecticut’s history, and help them to establish resiliency plans so they can be better prepared in the years ahead.”

Last year, the state was awarded a $66 million in a second round of funding through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and its Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program.

The CDBG-DR program, administered by the Department of Housing, was established to assist the most impacted and distressed areas recover from Superstorm Sandy.

“Earlier this year, DOH disbursed nearly $32 million in several communities ravaged by recent storms. This second round of federal funding will build on the momentum started in rebuilding infrastructure projects,” Klein said in a statement. “It’s also helping these same cities and towns take measures that will diminish the impacts of future storms.”

The primary goal in allocating funding for the rehabilitation and resiliency of infrastructure is to restore a suitable living environment in disaster impacted communities by rehabilitating or reconstructing existing infrastructure and adding resiliency to minimize damage from future storm events.

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