National highway fund set to expire local construction workers worried
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH)– Politicians say a federal fund is close to expiring putting thousands of jobs and hundreds of construction projects in jeopardy.
“This issue effects all of us,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D, “It should be a no brainer. What could be controversial about extending the authority for the highway trust fund?”
She says political gridlock has the fund set to expire in 4 days. It helps states pay for construction projects.
Currently, the Highway Trust Fund is running annual deficits. That’s because it relies on you filling up and the more energy efficient we become the less money it receives. Republicans and Democrats have both said they’d like a long-term solution, but can’t agree to one. Some construction workers in the state are worried.
“You’re traveling over some of the most heavily traveled structurally deficient bridges in the United States, you can’t see them when you drive over them and you can’t feel it, but they’re out there,” said Ct Construction Industries Association Pres. Don Shubert.
Shubert says if this fund expires, it could halt hundreds of projects in the state and impact nearly 10,000 jobs.
“You can’t find a construction company that’s going to go out and buy new equipment or invest in its company or invest in its people or plan for the future when you have absolutely no idea what Congress is going to do with transportation funding,” said Shubert.
DeLauro says if the deficit is the issue there are places to cut, but this fund is vital.
DeLauro said, “We can cut in a lot of places. We can cut subsidies that go to the oil and gas industry. We can cut agricultural subsidies. We can take a look at closing down the special interest tax loopholes.”
If it’s not reauthorized, Delauro says the fund could dry up by the end of July.
GOP proposal halves money for Malloy's transportation plan
HARTFORD -- The General Assembly's Republican minority on Monday rolled out a transportation plan which funds less than half the improvements proposed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.
The GOP plan relies on selling $33 billion worth of general obligation bonds -- and an expectation the federal government will provide another $30 billion -- to bring the total to $67 billion over 30 years.
By comparison, Malloy's proposes to spend $100 billion in state money over 30 years to widen Interstate 95 in Fairfield County and Interstate 84 in the Danbury area, improve Metro-North, build new train stations, bike and pedestrian paths and repair aging roads and bridges.
"We have to live within our means," Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, told the Governor's Transportation Finance Panel, which is charged with finding ways to fund Malloy's vision.
"Tax increases and tolls are not necessary when the governor and the Legislature can simply prioritize transportation using existing resources," Fasano said.
Devon Puglia, a Malloy spokesman, said the governor is willing to listen to any serious proposals.
"The problem with the GOP plan on transportation is that it's just not serious," Puglia said. "Like many of the documents we've seen from the Republicans, there's an issue of basic math - tell everyone how great your plan is while failing to show how to pay for it." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
UConn breaks ground
HARTFORD — UConn leaders, joined by state and local officials, marked the start of construction on the university's new downtown campus Monday, hoisting shovelfuls of dirt, raising the university's flag, and sharing ice cream from its dairy bar.
"This is a great day for UConn, but more importantly, it's a great day for Connecticut and its capital city," UConn President Susan Herbst said to a crowd that was heavy with political leaders. "As I've said before, UConn's Greater Hartford campus … is returning home to downtown Hartford where it began many years ago and where I think it belongs."
As it moves the Greater Hartford branch from West Hartford to downtown, UConn is embarking on a $115 million project to renovate and expand the stately 95-year-old Hartford Times building on Prospect Street, adding a three-story atrium and a classroom building to the back of the building.
That budget also includes funds to lease additional space in nearby buildings, such as the Hartford Public Library and the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, as well as $4 million to purchase another building at 38 Prospect St. The campus is scheduled to open in the fall of 2017.
"Of all the things that we've done and that we continue to do, this is not only one of our highest priorities, but I think it is one of the best things that we will do in our time here in this administration," Herbst said. "It works on so many levels. It's all good." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
State says it has 6 months of transportation funds if Congress does not act
Washington – The law that authorizes federal transportation spending in Connecticut and across the nation runs out at the end of the month, and the fund that pays for that spending is expected to go broke two months later, but Connecticut says it has funding in place for at least six months' worth of projects if Congress fails to act in time to avert the looming crisis.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has warned governors there could be a sharp cutoff in transportation funds to the state after the end of July, when the transportation trust fund, which is filled partly with revenues collected through the federal gasoline tax, is being depleted.
The Federal Transit Administration has also warned the states that if Congress does not act on an authorization bill by May 31, no new money will be available for capital projects, essential maintenance, or operational support. Existing projects can continue if the state has money to keep them going.
Connecticut may be in a better position to handle the storm because it has taken a conservative approach to funding transportation projects, said Donald Shubert, president of the Connecticut Construction Industries Association.
“We’ve been critical that their funding is not aggressive enough, but their conservative approach is paying off in this instance,” Shubert said.
Connecticut Department of Transportation spokesman Judd Everhart said, “We have all funding in place for current projects for at least the next six months.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Revised satellite casino plan
HARTFORD — The state Senate is considering a much-shortened bill that would allow the state's two Indian tribes to build one additional casino as a way to battle out-of-state competition.
The bill, which could come to a Senate vote this week, also provides a mechanism allowing towns to make their own proposals to the tribes.
The longer version came out about two months ago and envisioned casinos that would be built jointly by the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes. The tribes currently run huge casinos in southeastern Connecticut.
Towns including East Hartford and East Windsor have been maneuvering for the right to build a casino.
The new draft of the casino bill states that "any municipality'' could seek a casino, and sets up a process for how the two tribes would seek proposals from towns interested in hosting one. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Panel rejects revised development plan for Bristol
BRISTOL — After several years of disappointments and delays, a city panel on Monday ran out of patience with Renaissance Downtowns' plan for revitalizing the old Bristol Centre Mall site.
It voted unanimously to reject the latest version of Renaissance's proposal, which would have had the city put up nearly $4 million toward building a combination retail and apartment building on the property.
The Bristol Downtown Development Corp. listened to more than an hour's worth of public comments for and against the so-called Depot Square project, and met in executive session with Renaissance, project consultants and lawyers.
The vote is a setback for Renaissance, which has been under increasing pressure to produce something tangible by the end of June or lose its status as the lead developer for downtown.
A faction of residents and political leaders has been clamoring to dump Renaissance for the past year, but the company's advocates warn that there's no better option. Without Renaissance, they say, the city would be back to its starting point of five years ago — trying to market a sprawling vacant lot in the heart of downtown.
The details of construction and financing have changed several times over the years that Long Island-based Renaissance has held a contract to redevelop the city-owned property. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Don't punt on highway trust fund
The American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) believes that there is a long history of congressional and presidential achievements when it comes to America's transportation network. In a new video, ARTBA exhorts the President to create a lasting solution to the nation's transportation woes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnttxgUji_I&feature=player_embedded