NORWICH, Conn. — $11 million is going straight into the ground in Norwich, but for a good reason. The Southeastern Connecticut city was awarded a federal grant that will allow them to modernize their infrastructure.
“A lot is going on in the city of Norwich. This kind of reinvestment in our community is extremely needed,” remarked Norwich Mayor Peter Nystrom.
On display inside Norwich City Hall was a cast iron natural gas pipe that dates back to the Civil War. Next to it was a modern plastic pipe that will be installed by IBEW union workers.
“Over the decades the infrastructure that communities like Norwich have invested in has aged and degraded and needs modernization,” said Tristen Brown of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The city of Norwich was presented with a check for nearly $11million dollars Monday. “This funding represents several million dollars that will not come from our customers to fund these essential upgrades. So our customers, the people who we serve will be greatly helped,” remarked Norwich Public Utilities General Manager Chris Larose.
It's grant money that was secured through the federal government’s recent Infrastructure Improvement Act. “Good things are happening here in a community like Norwich because of these investments,” remarked U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney.
Courtney, along with representatives from Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s office were among those touting the funding as an historic investment. “A first of its kind infrastructure grant program to fix the aging old leaky natural gas pipes that serve communities homes and businesses,” added Brown.
Norwich is one of 130 communities across the United States lucky enough to be awarded the grant. Nationally, the program will replace 1,000 miles of old, leaky pipe. Locally, Norwich will use the money to replace over nine miles of pipe. It’s a project that normally would take about 25 years. “25 years of work in about 5 years,” noted Chris Riley of Norwich Public Utilities.
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One of the reasons why Norwich was chosen to be a grant recipient was due to their community health concerns surrounding rates of asthma. According to the U.S. Dept. Of Transportation, this project will reduce methane emissions into the air by nearly 12-metric tons per year, improving the local air quality and reducing pollutants.
Matt Caron is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at mcaron@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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