Project Husky: what it means for your family

The facts claimed: The facility will add 435+ heavy 18-wheeler truck trips every single day along Westcott Road, Knox Avenue, and the I-395 Exit 38 interchange.

• KB Ambulance Headquarters is located directly at 294 Westcott Road, and Connecticut State Police Barracks Troop D sits at 55 Westcott Road. Slow-moving 18-wheelers blocking intersections or queuing to turn onto Westcott Road will create traffic bottlenecks. If you or a loved one calls 911 for a medical emergency, an ambulance or state trooper could face critical minutes of delay stuck behind tractor-trailers.

The facts claimed: Diesel trucks emit Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) and Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), which react with sunlight to create ground-level smog within 1,500 feet of truck routes.

• If you live within a few blocks of Westcott Road, Route 12, or Mashentuck Road, your home sits inside the diesel dispersion danger zone.
• Children waiting at bus stops along Route 12 or attending nearby Killingly schools will breathe elevated levels of diesel soot, increasing school absences, asthma flare-ups, and pediatric respiratory doctor visits.
• The "Electric Truck" Myth: While Amazon advertises small electric delivery vans for neighborhood drop-offs, the massive 18-wheelers servicing this regional fulfillment center run almost entirely on heavy diesel fuel.

The facts claimed: Under civil engineering standards (the AASHTO Fourth-Power Law), 1 fully loaded 18-wheeler causes as much road wear as 3,000 passenger cars.

• Proponents promise $3.2 million in annual property tax revenue for Killingly. However, 435 heavy trucks per day will destroy the asphalt on Westcott Road and nearby municipal streets in just a few short years. If the Town does not force the developer to pay a legally binding pavement repair bond, your local property taxes will have to rise to cover millions of dollars in municipal road repaving.

The facts claimed: 24/7/365 operations with backup beepers, air brakes, mechanical cooling units, and high-mast night lighting operating within 500 feet of residential lot lines.

• Homes abutting or near industrial mega-warehouses face a documented flatlining or reduction in resale buyer demand. You may no longer be able to enjoy sitting on your back deck or sleeping with open windows in summer due to low-frequency engine idling and light spillover.

The facts claimed: The center consumes 340 acres of land for roughly 500 robotics jobs—less than 1 job per acre.

• Robotics warehouses rely heavily on automated sorting rather than large human workforces. National studies from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) show that opening an Amazon center does not create net new county jobs because it displaces local retail and distribution businesses while capping regional warehouse wages 12% to 18% below non-Amazon facilities.

The facts claimed: Replacing 340 acres of forest canopy and soil with concrete roofs and bitumen pavement creates 6 to 8 times more rain runoff during heavy storms.

• Natural forest acts like a sponge. When turned into asphalt, summer cloudbursts will send millions of gallons of unmanaged stormwater rushing into the Mashentuck watercourse, increasing flood risks for downstream backyards, basements, and culverts.

The facts claimed: 430 trailer staging spots accumulate motor oil, zinc from brake wear, and toxic exhaust chemicals on the pavement, while an on-site septic system will process 7,500 gallons of wastewater per day.

• Heavy rain flushes oil and brake dust straight into wetlands. For neighbors relying on private drinking wells near the sub-basin, large-scale groundwater table disruptions and runoff contamination present long-term risks to private water supplies.