WALLINGFORD — New train stations in Wallingford, Meriden and Berlin are expected to be finished in July, but the state Department of Transportation is still negotiating with an unnamed operator to run the CTrail Hartford Line when it begins in January 2018, a department spokesman said this week.
“The Department of Transportation has selected a provider to operate the Hartford Line passenger service and is currently negotiating an agreement,” DOT spokesman Judd Everhart said this week. “Once the agreement is finalized and signed, the name of the provider will be announced.”
The July opening of the new stations allows for time to build commuter rail ridership in advance of the increased service expected in January 2018, officials have said. It also gives the unnamed operator time to familiarize itself with the equipment and scheduling. The CTrail line will offer riders 17 commuter trains from New Haven to Hartford, and 12 trains to Springfield daily. Several commuter rail advocates question the state’s ability to start the service by January.“There are a number of ongoing concerns with regards to the Hartford Line and its ability to start on time,” said James Gildea, chairman of the Connecticut Commuter Rail Council. “The Department of Transportation has not yet clearly articulated which equipment that they will use on the line. There are questions as to whether the successful operator will have enough time to familiarize themselves with the equipment, test the equipment and be ready to operate it during the potential tricky winter start up time. Finally, there are serious questions as to whether the legislature will provide the Department of Transportation the operational funding necessary to operate the line for the startup time that has been communicated to the public.”
DOT officials would not elaborate on details about the negotiations, but said the state budget discussions are not having an adverse impact, and they are still holding to the current start schedule.
State Sen. Len Suzio, R-Meriden, said he’s been assured by the DOT that the increased rail service start time is not in jeopardy.
“They are finalizing terms of the agreement,” Suzio said. “The failure to conclude has not reached the point where we’re jeopardizing the schedule. There is no delay.”
In the meantime, train station construction moves forward to the July opening, and the double tracking from New Haven to Springfield continues.
Cement platforms with heating coils for de-icing are completed on the Wallingford station, and street lamps line the platform from train to stairways. The pedestrian bridge encased in glass is complete and workers are finishing parts of the roof over the platform and station.
The Route 150 bridge, between Main Street and South Broad Street in Wallingford, will be closed to vehicle and pedestrian traffic for a three-week period in June.
The closure will begin on June 5 at 7 a.m. and continue through Sunday, June 25th at 7 a.m. The work will include installation and repairs of supporting bridge structures, such as retaining walls and joints, as well as preparation of the rail bed for a new track, according to a DOT statement.
Signs, variable message boards and detour routes alerting the public of the closure will be posted on site. Businesses and residents in the surrounding area should expect construction noise throughout this period and temporary lighting to support overnight work in the area.
WALLINGFORD — The new entrance ramp to Route 15 from Hall Avenue is nearing completion about a year after construction began.
The on-ramp, north of the Hall Avenue overpass, has been built to improve driver safety. Motorists will be able to accelerate and merge onto Route 15 north on a long ramp rather than enter the highway from a stop sign off River Road.
The $4.3 million, 10-phase project began in April 2016. In the most recent phase, a shoulder along Route 15 north was closed to allow construction to progress on the new on-ramp. Work is 90 percent federally funded and 10 percent state-funded.
In April, the state Department of Transportation said construction would be finished by August.Line striping has been completed and guardrails are in place. Barricades and traffic cones surround the entrance.
Police Chief William J. Wright previously told the Record-Journal that rear-end crashes are common at the River Road entrance. DOT project manager Matthew Vail said the new ramp will prevent accidents.
“Now you’ll have a proper acceleration lane to gain speed and match the speed of the traffic on Route 15,” Vail said. “We’ve had quite a few accidents on Route 15 northbound with that on-ramp. You have people going from stop to high speed.”
Last July, several large trees were taken down to accommodate construction. Smaller, aesthetic trees have since been planted next to the ramp.
The intent of the gaming giant is to stall and block construction of a nearby Connecticut casino that would create competition for its MGM Springfield Casino, set to open next year.
Lawmakers in the House of Representatives would be foolish to fall for their bluff. The House should follow the lead of the Senate, which on a 24-12 vote May 24 approved a bill authorizing the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes to build a commercial casino in East Windsor.
On Wednesday came news that Aetna is preparing to relocate its headquarters out of Hartford. Connecticut cannot afford to alienate another major employer, in the form of the two tribal casinos, by abandoning this proposal to instead pursue fool’s gold in the form of the competitive bid process pushed by MGM.
In the Senate, lawmakers from this region played a major role in steering the legislation to victory. Sen. Paul Formica, R-East Lyme, and Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, co-chairs of the Appropriations Committee, were particularly aggressive in pushing the proposal forward. It also had the support of Republican state Sens. Art Linares of Westbrook and Heather Somers of Groton.
New competition will mean the loss of gaming jobs at the two local tribal casinos as some patrons are drawn away. But if the legislature allows a third tribal-operated casino in East Windsor, it would benefit the tribal enterprises, better positioning them to make the investments necessary to continue diversifying entertainment offerings beyond gambling at their resorts in southeastern Connecticut.
Yes, MGM will launch a legal fight if the legislature approves of the East Windsor casino and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signs it into law. But the courts are likely to show great deference to Connecticut in how it chooses to regulate gaming and its relationship with the sovereign tribes.
Don’t let this opportunity pass.
Time Grows Short and Tribes Agree to Add Slots for Waterbury, New Haven and Bridgeport
HARTFORD — The tribal operators of Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun are offering legislators a $25 million upfront payment and would agree to place slot machines in off-track-betting parlors in Waterbury, New Haven and Bridgeport as part of a deal to establish the state's third casino in East Windsor, according to a source familiar with the on-going negotiations.
The source said adding slots to the off-track-betting venues was a suggestion raised by House Democrats in their caucus. The $25 million would be credited to future revenue-sharing with the state after the third casino opens, the source said CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
CT House schedules, then postpones debate on tolls
With passage far from certain, the House of Representatives postponed a debate promised for Wednesday night on a bill authorizing the state Department of Transportation to install a system of electronic tolls on major highways in Connecticut.
House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, said Democrats were considering changes that would give the legislature more control over the final process, a change that might pick up votes in the closely divided House.
Planning and installation of overhead toll gantries, which would record either the signal of an EZ Pass transponder or photograph a license plate, could take two years — meaning no revenue that could help balance next year’s budget.
But Aresimowciz said the passage of a law authorizing tolls would establish a reliable revenue stream in future years, allowing the state to reduce payments now into the Special Transportation Fund — essentially a temporary loan from that fund’s shrinking reserves.
“It would allow us, maybe, to reduce our payments to the STF now, knowing that the money is coming in the back years,” he said.
House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, called that a fiscal gimmick.
“It is once again another way for the majority party to have a revenue grab, because they can’t control the budget, they can’t downsize state government,” she said.
With stagnant fuel tax receipts — the state collects a gross receipts tax that is depressed by low gasoline prices and a flat per-gallon tax affected by improved vehicle fuel efficiency —the $1.46 billion fund is on pace to finish the fiscal year with a $37 million deficit.
The deficit would reduce the reserve from $143 million to $106 million.
The legislature’s Office of Fiscal Analysis projects the transportation fund will be insolvent in a few years, forcing the state to add to its backlog of deferred maintenance if new revenue is not found.
Rep. Tony Guerrera, D-Rocky Hill, the co-chair of the Transportation Committee, said the legislature needs to act now if it is to safely maintain its transportation infrastructure.
“We can’t keep kicking the can down the road here, because there’s no more road to kick that can,” he said. “We have to move forward on this.”
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said he is opposed to tolls until the legislature passes a constitutional “lockbox” ensuring the revenue would go to transportation. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE