HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A national transportation research group released a report Tuesday that found Connecticut motorists are losing $5.1 billion annually due to congestion-related delays, higher vehicle operating costs and traffic crashes.
The annual report determined 33 percent of major locally and state-maintained urban roads in Connecticut are in poor condition, while more than a third of bridges are structurally deficient. The Washington, D.C.-based organization TRIP reviewed various state and federal data sources.
Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, said the report comes at a crucial time as federal surface transportation legislation is set to expire on Dec. 4.
"This is really a call to action from us here in Connecticut, to Congress, to work and continue to work on a long-term, sustainable funded bill that is federal, that we can plan and work with the $100 billion transportation plan that we passed this year as well," said Duff, referring to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's proposed overhaul of Connecticut's transportation system.
Will Wilkins, TRIP's executive director, said the condition of Connecticut's roads will only worsen if greater funding is not made available at the local, state and federal levels. A committee created by Malloy is expected to release recommendations at the end of the year on possible revenue streams to fund the governor's $100 billion transportation overhaul.
Tuesday's TRIP report found drivers in the Bridgeport/Stamford area are paying the most for congestion, $1,174 annually, when compared with Hartford and New Haven. That figure takes into account lost time and fuel due to congestion-related delays. In the Hartford area, motorists pay $1,038 for congestion, while those in New Haven pay $932. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
The expansion was first announced last year.
The state is providing two $10 million low-interest loans and as much as $10 million worth of tax credits. The Department of Economic and Community Development could forgive as much as half of the $20 million in loans if FuelCell hits job creation pledges.
The company had said it will add 325 new jobs over four years to its workforce of nearly 540.
Windsor Locks To Hold Public Hearing On Possible Casino Development
WINDSOR LOCKS — A new board of selectmen was sworn into office Tuesday night and quickly laid out a plan — which will be based on residents' approval and culminate in a townwide referendum — on how to move forward with the possible development of a casino in town.
The board approved entering into negotiations with the state's two existing casinos, who want to build a third facility in the state, but added three stipulations: At a public hearing, tentatively scheduled for Dec. 15, residents must indicate their approval for a casino, and spell out some of the conditions that need to be met; the board would review a detailed development agreement from the Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans' joint venture MMCT and present that for residents' approval at a selectmen's meeting; after the meeting, the plan would be subject to a townwide referendum.
Just over two weeks ago, two separate casino proposals from the Connecticut Airport Authority and Sportech Venues were submitted to MMCT. The Connecticut Airport Authority submitted plans for a casino at Bradley International Airport. Sportech Venues' managing director Ted Taylor has said his company, which operates a betting parlor in the same building as Bobby V's Restaurant and Sports Bar, is open to collaborate with proposed plans for a casino at Bradley Airport.
Windsor Locks has not endorsed either of these plans, a necessary step for MMCT to move forward. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUEMurphy: Gas Tax Hike Should Be Considered For Funding Connecticut Transportation
Projects
STAMFORD, Conn. (CBSNewYork) — U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy says it might make sense to raise the gas tax in Connecticut to help pay for road and transit projects.
Murphy, D-Conn., said he’s not married to the idea of tolls or a higher gas tax, but added there needs to be a funding mechanism for transportation improvements.
He noted that the federal gas tax hasn’t budged since the 1990s.
“We’ve got to do a better job of explaining that when the gas tax goes up by 1 cent, the way the formula works, Connecticut gets 1.6 cents back,” Murphy told WCBS 880’s Paul Murnane.
A long-term transportation upgrade proposed by Gov. Dannel Malloy calls for a $100 billion investment over 30 years. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Advocates hope CT’s transportation woes will spur spending
While transportation advocates offered further evidence Tuesday that Connecticut’s aging, congested transportation system is weakening the economy, they remained uncertain whether it would translate into greater state investment in the problem.
A new report from a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group concluded congestion and aging infrastructure cost Connecticut residents in urban areas between $2,050 and $2,236 per year.
“We need to make sure this (issue) is front-and-center in our economic development plans,” Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, said of the latest report from TRIP, a national transportation research group. “Let’s not take our foot off the pedal on this issue.”
Duff and the rest of the General Assembly are awaiting a report from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration on how to fund a dramatic overhaul of Connecticut’s transportation infrastructure over the next 30 years.
A study panel is expected to give its recommendations to the governor next month. Legislators will return for the regular 2016 legislative session on Feb. 3.
But transportation advocates already are worried that any recommendations will be swamped by growing state budget deficits.
Nonpartisan analysts are projecting a $254 million general fund deficit this fiscal year, a $552 million hole in 2016-17, and a $1.72 billion shortfall in 2017-18 — the first new budget after the next state elections.
Legislators and Malloy agreed this past June to dedicate a portion of state sales tax receipts to increase transportation spending for this fiscal year and the next four.
But that initial ramp-up period largely involves catching up on deferred maintenance. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
State officials want to make sure West Haven High School project moves forward
WEST HAVEN >> Officials from the state agency overseeing school construction came Tuesday to meet with city and school officials and learn more about the $124.69 million “renovate as new” high school project. The meeting ended with no formal conclusions but with a desire on all sides to look for ways to move the project forward sooner rather than later, according to representatives of the state, the city and the school system.
“We’re concerned about every school construction project,” and West Haven High School is one of the larger high schools in the state, said Kosta Diamantis, director of the state Office of School Construction Grants. The office is part of the state Department of Administrative Services’ Division of Construction Service.
“There’s a lot to it,” Diamantis said of the project. State officials arranged the meeting after city officials announced Oct. 27 they had decided to push back actual construction of the project until after the city can take action to address its growing cumulative deficit. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE