Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the state Senate’s top Republican intensified their debate Tuesday over an issue expected to be the focal point in Malloy’s final budget proposal: transportation.
The Democratic governor charged Sen. Len Fasano, R-North Haven, with misleading the public about an impending transportation crisis.
Fasano countered the governor and his fellow Democrats were rushing forward without sufficient information.
Though Malloy hasn’t disclosed specifics, the governor is expected to urge lawmakers to support higher gasoline taxes and tolls to fund a major transportation investment program.
One of the biggest challenges facing our state is the decades-long refusal to invest in our roads, bridges, tunnels, and rail,” Malloy spokeswoman Kelly Donnelly said Tuesday. “Yet, perplexingly, the Republican leader’s solution is to further slash our transportation investment.”
Malloy’s final budget is due on Feb. 7, the opening day of the regular, 2018 General Assembly session.
When Malloy challenged legislators in early 2015 to embrace a 30-year, $100 billion transportation investment plan, Fasano and House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, unveiled a significantly less costly proposal, arguing it was all Connecticut could afford.
“Predictably, Senator Fasano is recycling his misleading and outdated talking points,” Donnelly said, charging the GOP plan “would undermine Connecticut’s ability to compete with neighboring states and directly harm the state’s economy. In short, while Senator Fasano, who has no original ideas of his own, tries to score cheap political points, legislative Democrats are putting forward real proposals to move Connecticut forward.”
Shortly after a dozen House Democrats announced Monday a proposal to establish electronic tolling for Connecticut highways, Fasano said, “It is irresponsible to approve a law, and subject people to more fees, without understanding the magnitude of the impact on Connecticut residents. They’ve been taxed enough.”
Besides the toll proposal, which is spearheaded by Rep. Tony Guerrera, D-Rocky Hill, another revenue-raising idea for the transportation program involves raising the retail gasoline tax from 25 to 29 cents per gallon. Rep. Jason Rojas, D-East Hartford, has recommended this as a stopgap measure until the legislature decides upon tolls or some other long-term funding mechanism for transportation.
“I understand some people are desperate to look at tolls as a cure-all for a state that has been damaged by years of failure under Governor Malloy and a Democrat-controlled legislature,” Fasano said. “But it’s reckless to rush to approve tolls before even understanding the economics of how they would work.”
“It is beyond irresponsible to criticize other people’s ideas that immediately fund critical transportation infrastructure projects when the governor and Democrat lawmakers have zero answers themselves besides calling for more taxes,” Fasano added. “It is pathetic. The governor clearly still doesn’t understand the ideas Republicans have put on the table, nor does he care because in his world the only ideas that matter are his own.”
But Malloy and several other transportation advocates argue time is of the essence.
The Malloy administration warned Wall Street credit rating agencies in November that the new state budget, adopted with bipartisan support, short-changes the transportation program.
Absent more funding, that program is headed for dramatic contraction over the next five years. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Report says NY construction fatalities going up
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A new report says construction deaths in New York state hit a 14-year high in 2016.
The study issued Wednesday by the union-backed New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health found that 71 workers died in construction-related accidents in 2016, the last year for which full data was available. That's up from 55 deaths in 2015 and the highest number of fatalities since 2002.Deaths in New York City dropped from 25 to 21 from 2015 to 2016, a reduction attributed to efforts by city officials to crack down on unsafe workplaces.
The report's author, Charlene Obernauer, says funding cuts have hurt the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration's ability to protect workers.
She says deaths can be prevented through better training and stronger enforcement of safety regulations.
Infrastructure, DACA highlight Conn. concerns over state of union
WASHINGTON — In his State of the Union speech Tuesday night, President Donald Trump touched on the nation’s need for infrastructure improvements Tuesday, calling on Congress to generate $1.5 trillion in investment in roads, bridges, railways and water lines.
But his plan, which includes leveraging state and local money and, “where appropriate,” private sector money drew raised eyebrows and doubt from Connecticut’s Democratic congressional delegation.
Expectations that states can fork over the lion’s share of infrastructure funding “doesn’t help Connecticut” with its ongoing financial crisis, said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. And public-private partnerships — P3 in the infrastructure lexicon — are not practical for major reconstruction projects because they offer investors limited opportunities to turn a profit, he said.
“You cannot rebuild I-95 and the Northeast rail corridor” with public-private partnerships, Murphy said.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal called the infrastructure portion of Trump’s speech “vacuous,” adding: “He was very short on specifics.”
In a businesslike speech that marked a departure from Trump’s scalding insults on Twitter, Trump sketched out a vision of restoring “our building heritage.”
“We will build gleaming new roads, bridges, highways, railways and waterways across our land,” Trump said. “And we will do it with American heart, American hands and American grit.”
Trump previously promised a $1 trillion infrastructure investment, with $200 billion in federal dollars leveraging the remainder from states and the private investment world
In his speech, Trump cast the lack of progress on infrastructure as a regulatory issue.
“America is a nation of builders,” said Trump, himself a New York hotel and resort construction magnate before winning the White House in 2016. “We built the Empire State Building in just one year. Isn’t it a disgrace that it can now take 10 years just to get a permit approved for a simple road?”
Trump spoke after a topsy-turvy first year in office, in which he failed to replace Obamacare but won the battle to push through major tax code revisions — an overhaul that Democrats state have characterized as harmful to high-cost, high-service states like Connecticut.
But legislative wins and losses were less a mark of Trump’s first year than his personal attacks and insults, many launched on Twitter, and the ongoing investigation of special counsel Robert Mueller into Trump campaign collusion with Russian intelligence and possible obstruction of justice by Trump himself.
Connecticut senators and House members who attended the speech with special guests were looking for olive branches, but few saw such offerings from the president. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Route for trail between Thomaston and Torrington in the works
TORRINGTON — Officials are laying out the route for a trail between Torrington and Thomaston as the ongoing effort to craft the Naugatuck River Greenway continues.
The 10.9-mile area in question stretches from Bogue Road in Torrington to a planned piece of trail near the Water Pollution Control Facility on Old Waterbury Road in Thomaston, Aaron Budris of the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments said Tuesday in a release.
BSC Group, a Glastonbury-based consulting firm, “will inventory potential routes and rank them with stakeholder and public input with the goal of selecting a final preferred route with broad consensus” over the course of the year, as well as providing “phasing recommendations and construction cost estimates of the preferred route to help municipalities plan,” according to Budris.
“This routing study is a key part of moving the Naugatuck River Greenway forward,” said Rob Pinkney, manager of transportation services at BSC Group, in the release. “It will ultimately provide options that ensure the greenway meets each community’s long term needs and that the investments made are well-spent and provide the most benefit to residents.”
Budris said the analysis will “inventory potential routes, points of interest, property ownership, environmental constraints, and stakeholder preferences,” and consider public input.
Officials announced plans to design the stretch of the trail in June 2017.
The Naugatuck River Greenway is projected to eventually run for 44 miles, connecting Torrington to Derby.
Officials have touted the potential economic and health benefits of the trail in recent years, as the planning process has gone on. A study on the prospective effects of the trail was released by the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments and partners in April 2017.
“Currently, total annual visits to open sections, only about 4.1 miles in four communities, is estimated at about 195,500,” representatives of the NVCOG said at the time. “These visitors spend about $2.9 million each year on various items such as snacks, beverages, food, gear and travel. By 2031, annual visitations are projected at 2.6 million and annual spending would reach about $42.6 million under the baseline scenario.”
The Torrington stretch of the greenway is planned to run between Franklin Street and Bogue Road. It is expected to spur approximately $2.9 million in spending by 2031, and receive roughly 129,700 visits per year, according to the NVCOG study.
The City Council awarded a contract for the survey and development of design plans for the piece of the greenway in March, and Anchor Engineering Services, Inc., of Glastonbury, was allocated $58,800 for the work. The city received a $278,000 grant from the state to plan it in April 2016.
The council also awarded a contract to BSC Group to determine the best route between the end of the Sue Grossman Greenway on Harris Drive and the beginning of the Naugatuck on Franklin Street in June.
A portion of the trail in Torrington has already been completed, running from John Toro Fields to the Supreme Industries property. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Construction on Plymouth's N. Main bridge to continue
PLYMOUTH - The Connecticut Department of Transportation will continue work on the North Main Street bridge, despite the state postponing many other infrastructure projects.
The bridge over the Poland River, near where North Main meets Poland Brook Road, has been closed for about a year as it is being rebuilt.
The $620,000 in state money for the bridge was on the recently released list of $4.3 billion worth of projects Gov. Dannel Malloy and the DOT said would be postponed indefinitely until new revenue is appropriated for the state’s Special Transportation Fund.
Mayor David Merchant said when the state sent out the list, “I immediately let them know this bridge is three quarters done.”
Merchant said there was a mix up with the paperwork last May. He recently talked with DOT Commissioner James Redeker and representatives from the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments to straighten it out.
“We have since filled out the paperwork and filed it with the state, so they assured us that we would be fine with that money and the project will continue,” he said.
Merchant said the recent cold weather slowed work on the bridge, but he expects it will be finished by May or earlier. Residents and parents who drop off children at the nearby Fisher Elementary and Eli Terry Jr. Middle schools will likely be happy to see it open again, he added.
Two other local bridges were included on the list of postponed projects. One was on East Orchard Street over an unnamed brook, at a cost of $222,000, and one was on Keegan Road over Todd Hollow Brook, at a cost of $283,000.
They were originally meant to be included in a 2016 bond package, but were taken out when some members of the public disputed the costs and the need for the bridges to be replaced.
“They weren’t even on our radar at this point, so they don’t matter to us,” Merchant said.
The fund finances the state’s transportation system, including the operating costs of the DOT and all of the services it provides. In December, Malloy had repeated past warnings on the solvency of the fund following the release of a report showing that, without prompt action, the fund will be in deficit by fiscal year 2019, which begins this July 1.
Hundreds of projects across the state - including improvements to the I-91/Route 15 interchange on the Charter Oak Bridge in Hartford, the replacement of the Waterbury I-84 “Mixmaster,” and the widening of I-95 from Bridgeport to Stamford - were postponed indefinitely, or until resources are found to allow them to continue.
The projects were scheduled to be done over the five-year period from fiscal years 2018 through 2022.
Routine highway maintenance and transportation aid to cities and towns are also affected by the postponement.
“If Connecticut does not take the necessary action to allow us to restart these vital projects, not only will it put the state’s infrastructure into a further state of disrepair, it will hurt our economy,” Malloy said, on releasing the list.
“This isn’t a problem that can be punted until future years. Connecticut needs immediate action,” Redeker said. “As Gov. Malloy noted last month, the solvency of the Special Transportation Fund is in doubt without new revenues. In real terms, that means we need to postpone indefinitely important projects today.”
Malloy is expected to release his recommendations to ensure the solvency of the fund in advance of the 2018 legislative session, which starts in February.
Connecticut Governor To Propose Highway Tolls
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is expected to announce his support for electronic highway tolls and an increase in the gasoline tax to pay for road projects as he unveils his transportation plan Wednesday, officials said.
The proposal calls for an increase in the state’s gasoline tax by 7 cents per gallon, phased in over four years, according to sources who have been briefed on the plan. The tolls would be operational around the state by July 2022 or sooner, and the money would be collected by the 2023 fiscal year.
Malloy and others have said that tolls cannot be erected immediately due to the time needed for the necessary environmental approvals and public bidding for the project. Rather than the old-fashioned tollbooths, the project would utilize the latest in technology to gather driver information as cars speed along the highways and either collect electronic payment or trigger a bill sent through the mail.
Malloy’s chief spokeswoman, Kelly Donnelly, would not confirm the details of the plan, but noted that Malloy has scheduled a news conference at 10 a.m. Wednesday to discuss transportation funding .
Some Democrats have been pushing for a vote on tolls in advance of the legislature’s regular session, which begins next week. They joined with construction workers Monday to push for tolls as the best way to fund the state’s bridges, roads and highways.
Malloy’s move would provide money for the Special Transportation Fund, which has been taking in less than expected in tax revenue, partly due to relatively low gas prices and more fuel efficient cars, which reduce the amount of tax paid.
Malloy was locked Tuesday in a bitter clash with Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano of North Haven over transportation funding. Fasano said that Malloy and his transportation commissioner, James P. Redeker, were deliberately “overselling their case back in December’’ by saying that the transportation fund was running out of money.
But the transportation numbers started looking better under a new analysis by Malloy’s budget office and the state treasurer that was completed in preparation for an upcoming sale of transportation bonds worth $800 million. A five-year projection of funding is required before the state can sell the bonds.
Malloy and Redeker had sounded the alarm about problems with the fund and halted $4.3 billion in projects around the state because they said the state could not afford those projects without an increase in funding
The $620,000 in state money for the bridge was on the recently released list of $4.3 billion worth of projects Gov. Dannel Malloy and the DOT said would be postponed indefinitely until new revenue is appropriated for the state’s Special Transportation Fund.
Mayor David Merchant said when the state sent out the list, “I immediately let them know this bridge is three quarters done.”
Merchant said there was a mix up with the paperwork last May. He recently talked with DOT Commissioner James Redeker and representatives from the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments to straighten it out.
“We have since filled out the paperwork and filed it with the state, so they assured us that we would be fine with that money and the project will continue,” he said.
Merchant said the recent cold weather slowed work on the bridge, but he expects it will be finished by May or earlier. Residents and parents who drop off children at the nearby Fisher Elementary and Eli Terry Jr. Middle schools will likely be happy to see it open again, he added.
Two other local bridges were included on the list of postponed projects. One was on East Orchard Street over an unnamed brook, at a cost of $222,000, and one was on Keegan Road over Todd Hollow Brook, at a cost of $283,000.
They were originally meant to be included in a 2016 bond package, but were taken out when some members of the public disputed the costs and the need for the bridges to be replaced.
“They weren’t even on our radar at this point, so they don’t matter to us,” Merchant said.
The fund finances the state’s transportation system, including the operating costs of the DOT and all of the services it provides. In December, Malloy had repeated past warnings on the solvency of the fund following the release of a report showing that, without prompt action, the fund will be in deficit by fiscal year 2019, which begins this July 1.
Hundreds of projects across the state - including improvements to the I-91/Route 15 interchange on the Charter Oak Bridge in Hartford, the replacement of the Waterbury I-84 “Mixmaster,” and the widening of I-95 from Bridgeport to Stamford - were postponed indefinitely, or until resources are found to allow them to continue.
The projects were scheduled to be done over the five-year period from fiscal years 2018 through 2022.
Routine highway maintenance and transportation aid to cities and towns are also affected by the postponement.
“If Connecticut does not take the necessary action to allow us to restart these vital projects, not only will it put the state’s infrastructure into a further state of disrepair, it will hurt our economy,” Malloy said, on releasing the list.
“This isn’t a problem that can be punted until future years. Connecticut needs immediate action,” Redeker said. “As Gov. Malloy noted last month, the solvency of the Special Transportation Fund is in doubt without new revenues. In real terms, that means we need to postpone indefinitely important projects today.”
Malloy is expected to release his recommendations to ensure the solvency of the fund in advance of the 2018 legislative session, which starts in February.
Connecticut Governor To Propose Highway Tolls
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is expected to announce his support for electronic highway tolls and an increase in the gasoline tax to pay for road projects as he unveils his transportation plan Wednesday, officials said.
The proposal calls for an increase in the state’s gasoline tax by 7 cents per gallon, phased in over four years, according to sources who have been briefed on the plan. The tolls would be operational around the state by July 2022 or sooner, and the money would be collected by the 2023 fiscal year.
Malloy and others have said that tolls cannot be erected immediately due to the time needed for the necessary environmental approvals and public bidding for the project. Rather than the old-fashioned tollbooths, the project would utilize the latest in technology to gather driver information as cars speed along the highways and either collect electronic payment or trigger a bill sent through the mail.
Malloy’s chief spokeswoman, Kelly Donnelly, would not confirm the details of the plan, but noted that Malloy has scheduled a news conference at 10 a.m. Wednesday to discuss transportation funding .
Some Democrats have been pushing for a vote on tolls in advance of the legislature’s regular session, which begins next week. They joined with construction workers Monday to push for tolls as the best way to fund the state’s bridges, roads and highways.
Malloy’s move would provide money for the Special Transportation Fund, which has been taking in less than expected in tax revenue, partly due to relatively low gas prices and more fuel efficient cars, which reduce the amount of tax paid.
Malloy was locked Tuesday in a bitter clash with Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano of North Haven over transportation funding. Fasano said that Malloy and his transportation commissioner, James P. Redeker, were deliberately “overselling their case back in December’’ by saying that the transportation fund was running out of money.
But the transportation numbers started looking better under a new analysis by Malloy’s budget office and the state treasurer that was completed in preparation for an upcoming sale of transportation bonds worth $800 million. A five-year projection of funding is required before the state can sell the bonds.
Malloy and Redeker had sounded the alarm about problems with the fund and halted $4.3 billion in projects around the state because they said the state could not afford those projects without an increase in funding