Keith M. Phaneuf
Gov. Ned Lamont’s struggle to sell Connecticut on tolls may hinge on one big question. (Hint: It isn’t, ‘Why did he drop his campaign pledge to only toll trucks?’)
Namely, which planned highway, bridge or rail projects can’t begin over the next four years under the governor’s budget proposal? It’s a question that transportation officials have already asked – and shared their concerns about with the governor’s office.
But why would any projects fall into limbo between now and the time major toll receipts start arriving in 2023?
First of all, the DOT planned to launch new projects aggressively in the early 2020s, after the marathon 2017 budget debate forced it to limit last year’s building program.
Secondly, Lamont wants to use big sales tax receipts pledged for transportation — about $850 million over the next four years — to solve shortfalls in other parts of the budget.
The CT Mirror asked new DOT Commissioner James Giulietti during a press conference with Lamont last week whether the governor’s budget would curtail significant numbers of new projects due to be launched over the next few years.
“We’ve looked at it,” Giulietti said. “I’m not at that point where I’m willing to go and say that is the case right now. We’re going through an evaluation on that.”
But what Giulietti didn’t say is that the DOT has already identified concerns, according to a February departmental analysis of the governor’s proposals obtained by the CT Mirror.The governor’s plan “would have significant impacts on our capital program, severely constricting the number of new projects that advance in the current, and future years,” the DOT wrote.Projects on the cutting block
Projects “most at risk” over the next four years include any initiatives funded exclusively with state dollars. These include the “Fix-it-First” roadway and bridge programs launched under Gov. Dannel P. Malloy in response to stagnant federal transportation aid that has been falling in recent years. (Federal funds that once covered more than 70 percent of Connecticut’s transportation capital program now represent closer to one-third.)
The DOT also developed a list of 14 projects this month that have been advertised, but for which no contracts have yet been awarded. These “will be reviewed to determine whether they need to be delayed, pending a decision regarding a bonding cap,” the department wrote.
Included on that list are a planned upgrade to the Charter Oak Bridge interchange with northbound Interstate 91, platform improvements and a pedestrian bridge for the Clinton railroad station, numerous bridge rehabilitations, and a pavement preservation project.
The department also listed more than 80 other new projects which are scheduled to be advertised between February and December of this year.
New construction commitments planned over that period include tunnel improvements on Route 15 in Woodbridge, enhancements to Interstate 95 in Greenwich, and replacing the Rochambeau Bridge superstructure on Interstate 84 in Newtown.
No extra borrowing to bolster transportation
Lamont’s budget would affect transportation — in the short-term — very significantly.
First off, the governor would take away a big transportation funding option on which the DOT had been counting.
The state borrowed $800 million to support transportation last fiscal year and anticipates another $750 million this year — borrowing which, in turn, leverages more than $700 million dollars in matching federal grants.But for the last two years, legislators also have said the transportation program — if necessary — could tap another $250 million annually from a different borrowing program, one used chiefly for school and other education projects.Lamont’s budget would keep regular transportation borrowing flat, at around the $800 million mark for each of the next two years. But his budget also would remove the option to borrow an extra $250 million, an option the DOT was counting on.
Projects underway are safe – but what about the rest?
The Lamont administration said this week all projects already underway will be fine. As for those that the DOT wants to start over the next four years, well, they will be evaluated.
The DOT referred any questions this week about the capital program to the governor’s office.
If the administration decides more borrowing needs to be approved to launch new projects, it will be — provided the Special Transportation Fund has enough resources to cover the added debt payments, according to Lamont spokeswoman Maribel La Luz.
But the problem with that plan is Lamont also wants to tap resources earmarked for the STF to close a deficit in the rest of the budget.
Current law calls for the STF to gain an extra $850 million from the sales tax over the next four years combined. Lamont wants to keep these dollars in the General Fund to help avert major projected deficits. The administration says state finances, unless adjusted, will run $3.7 billion in the red over the next two years.
Lamont recommended transferring $162 million from the sales tax. The transportion fund also would keep an extra $77 million over the next four years if unions grant the concessions the governor requested.In other words, the transportation fund would grow much more slowly under Lamont’s proposal than scheduled under current law — at least until 2023, when more than $740 million per year from tolls arrives.DOT has big construction plans for the next four years
State transportation officials clearly had a different vision for the next four years.
The DOT, like many state agencies, had to water down its spending plans in 2017 when legislators battled for nine months before adopting a new state budget. Plans for $2 billion in capital spending shrank to $1.7 billion. These totals involve funds set aside from past state borrowing as well as accumulated federal grants.
This year the department had hoped to catch up. According to its latest long-range capital plan, released in mid-November, capital spending ideally should reach $2.6 billion before this fiscal year ends in June.
But because Connecticut has not invested sufficiently in transportation for decades, the goal is to keep capital spending above $2 billion for years to come. The DOT’s long-range plan calls for an average of $2.36 billion over the next four years.
The Lamont administration counters that any capital spending goals are unrealistic if they rely on an overall state budget system that is out of balance.
Still, if neither state borrowing nor federal aid is growing significantly, it will be hard to hit those targets. And it’s not just the department that has concerns.
Construction companies and trade unions also are worried Lamont’s budget could represent a temporary step back.“I think scaling back right now would be catastrophic,” Donald Shubert, president of the Connecticut Construction Industry Association, said earlier this month. Shubert also praised Lamont for proposing tolls on all vehicles.
David Roche, president of the Connecticut State Building Trades Council, also said the state can’t afford to backtrack — even for a few years — on maintaining an aging, overcrowded transportation network.
“I really don’t believe we can have less money going into transportation,” even for a few years, Roche said.
Governor Lamont: Gold Star Memorial Bridge Illustrates How Important Infrastructure Is to Supporting Jobs
NEW LONDON, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today said that the Gold Star Memorial Bridge, which carries I-95 across the Thames River between Groton and New London, is a key representation of why the state needs to be more forward-thinking, strategic and thoughtful about its transportation strategy. The 76-year-old bridge, which thousands of people depend on for their daily commute, has been rated as “structurally deficient” and in “poor condition,” with costs for a rehabilitation project estimated at around $300 million.
The governor, who held an event this afternoon at the Thames River State Boat Launch directly at the foot of the towering, 150-foot-tall overpass where he was joined a number of the region’s local elected officials, said that the bridge serves as a critical artery for southeastern Connecticut, and the rehabilitation project must go forward for the sake of the thousands of residents who utilize it each day.
“Let’s take a look at every vehicle that is driving across that bridge right now, ask ourselves, ‘Where they’re going?’ I have a hunch – hundreds of those drivers are going to the Naval Submarine Base, thousands are going to Electric Boat, and many more are going to the State Pier or are helping develop Connecticut’s emerging off-shore wind industry that will create more jobs in the coming years,” Governor Lamont said. “We have an aging infrastructure in Connecticut and our generation is facing the responsibility of bringing it into the 21st century. For the sake of our businesses and the sake of our jobs, we must not only maintain our roads and bridges, but also develop a modernized transportation system that supports continued growth and attracts new businesses and growth.”
“Fixing our aging and deficient infrastructure is not easy, but it needs to be done, and I appreciate Governor Lamont’s leadership and vision to get us there,” New London Mayor Michael Passero said. “The Gold Star Memorial Bridge is but one example among so many of how vitally important it truly is. With tens of thousands of daily commuters and locally important jobs hanging in the balance at locations like Electric Boat and the Naval Base, and critically important access to the State Pier and the potential growth of jobs in the emerging off-shore wind industry, we need to keep these investments moving forward to protect our economic future.”
The Gold Star Memorial Bridge is the longest bridge in the state at a little over one mile in length. Originally built in 1943, the demand quickly outpaced the capacity, and thirty years later a parallel bridge was constructed to accommodate its sharp rise in use – with the original structure becoming exclusively used for the northbound side of I-95 and the 1973 bridge accommodating the southbound lanes. Combined, the two structures carry eleven lanes of vehicles in addition to pedestrian paths, and average about 106,000 vehicles per day.
The Connecticut Department of Transportation is currently designing a two-phase, comprehensive rehabilitation project of the northbound bridge with construction planned to begin in 2020. The work will include the replacement of support structures, strengthening and replacement of the steel elements of the girder approach spans, replacement of bridge bearings, and finally, the total replacement of the bridge deck. It is anticipated to be completed in 2025.
Funding Connecticut’s transportation system
With gasoline taxes, which serve as the primary source of funding for the state’s transportation system, delivering less dollars, budget analysts for years have been warning that Connecticut’s transportation fund – along with a number of other states throughout the country – is on track to become insolvent unless a new revenue structure is created.
Governor Lamont said that he does not support raising the gasoline tax, which he believes is already too high, nor the use of “priority bonding” that would borrow to support transportation funding and add to the state’s debt.
In his budget address earlier this month, the governor began a discussion with the legislature on returning tolls to Connecticut, which had been removed in 1985. Connecticut is one of only two states on the eastern portion of the country that does not have a system of tolling to support its transportation system.
Governor Lamont put forward two options – one that would toll only trucks and could generate $200 million annually if applied to all of the state’s major highways, and a second option that would apply to both trucks and cars, and generate $800 million annually, under which Connecticut drivers who frequently travel on major roadways in the state would receive a maximized discount.
Estimates say that about 40 percent of tolling revenue for Connecticut could come from out-of-state drivers. “We foot the bill when we travel through neighboring states, it’s time out-of-state drivers do the same for Connecticut,” Governor Lamont told lawmakers during his budget address.
The proposals are currently being considered by the General Assembly.
Kimberly Drelich New London — Standing underneath the twin spans of the Gold Star Memorial Bridge on Tuesday, Gov. Ned Lamont said the bridge represents the type of work that the state can't postpone with the hope that a future generation will take care of it.
"This is something we’ve got to do now," he said during a news conference at the Thames River State Boat Launch. "It’s really the economic future of our state, as well as a safety issue, and that’s why we’re here today."
Lamont, joined by local officials, the deputy commissioner for the state Department of Transportation and Connecticut Construction Industries Association members, called attention to the bridge as key to the region's and state's economies — and the need to have a stable revenue stream in place to pay for transportation infrastructure.
"This is the time for us to be investing in our transportation," Lamont said, highlighting a tolling plan in which an estimated 40 percent of the revenue would be paid for by out-of-state drivers.
Lamont has proposed two tolling options before the General Assembly: tolls for trucks only, which could bring in $200 million a year, and tolls for both trucks and cars, which could bring in $800 million a year and would allow Connecticut frequent drivers to get a "maximized discount," according to a news release from the governor's office.
As he prepared the budget, the state still was awaiting resolution on Rhode Island's truck tolling plans that have faced legal challenges, Lamont told The Day's Editorial Board on Tuesday.
Lamont said, for now, his administration would hold off on bonding for a $10 million engineering study on tolling previously announced by former Gov. Dannel Malloy. Lamont said he hoped lawmakers would work together on establishing a tolling system that will enable the state to fix the Gold Star bridge "and make long-term capital commitments we need to get this state moving again."
Connecticut Construction Industries Association President Donald J. Shubert thanked the governor for starting a conversation on how the state is going to pay for infrastructure.
Gold Star Bridge
The state is planning to begin in May 2020 a nearly $300 million rehabilitation of the 76-year-old northbound side of the Gold Star that will extend the life of the bridge by 30 to 40 years, state DOT Deputy Commissioner Anna Barry said. DOT recently wrapped up repairs on the southbound span.
"We believe this work will have a positive effect on mobility and commerce for the entire region and the entire state," Barry said during Tuesday's news conference.
New London Mayor Michael Passero stressed the need to preserve the Gold Star, which he described as "a very, very important lifeline not only for this city, but for the state of Connecticut and for New England," that connects New York and New Haven with Providence and Boston and carries more than 100,000 cars a day. The bridge is important to employees of Electric Boat, the area's economic driver, as submarines are built in Groton and the design and engineering are on the New London campus, he said.
"It's part of the lifeblood of New London," Passero said. "Right now the off-shore wind industry is looking at New London as the hub to build the next green energy source for our country and this highway is going to be important to that. New London has an intermodal transportation hub. We have ferries, we have rail, and this highway is the third leg of that, so we thank the governor for coming in today to show the commitment to rebuild our infrastructure."
Groton City Mayor Keith Hedrick agreed that the area is a major transportation hub with an interstate that connects Boston and New York, a deepwater port, a railway and an airport.
The bridge also will be critical as the workforce expands in the future.
"In the next five to 10 years, Electric Boat has an expansion of about 5,000 employees, and those employees are going to need a way to get over, and this is the major thoroughfare that they’re going to use," Hedrick said. "They go back and forth, and this is a major investment in infrastructure, so I appreciate the governor for his commitment to this."
State Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, and state Reps. Christine Conley, D-Groton, and Joe de la Cruz, D-Groton, issued a joint news release stressing the need to prioritize the Gold Star and use tolls as a funding source. Conley said she was pleased the governor and DOT recognize the bridge's importance to the region, and de la Cruz said the bridge is "vital for commuters and commercial traffic, and especially for our manufacturers like Electric Boat."
"If we are serious about business and job growth in this state, and if we are serious about the safety of our daily commuters, we will pass a comprehensive tolls bill this session and we will use some of that future revenue to repair the Gold Star Memorial Bridge, which is in dire need of upgrades,” Osten said.
"This is something we’ve got to do now," he said during a news conference at the Thames River State Boat Launch. "It’s really the economic future of our state, as well as a safety issue, and that’s why we’re here today."
Lamont, joined by local officials, the deputy commissioner for the state Department of Transportation and Connecticut Construction Industries Association members, called attention to the bridge as key to the region's and state's economies — and the need to have a stable revenue stream in place to pay for transportation infrastructure.
"This is the time for us to be investing in our transportation," Lamont said, highlighting a tolling plan in which an estimated 40 percent of the revenue would be paid for by out-of-state drivers.
Lamont has proposed two tolling options before the General Assembly: tolls for trucks only, which could bring in $200 million a year, and tolls for both trucks and cars, which could bring in $800 million a year and would allow Connecticut frequent drivers to get a "maximized discount," according to a news release from the governor's office.
As he prepared the budget, the state still was awaiting resolution on Rhode Island's truck tolling plans that have faced legal challenges, Lamont told The Day's Editorial Board on Tuesday.
Lamont said, for now, his administration would hold off on bonding for a $10 million engineering study on tolling previously announced by former Gov. Dannel Malloy. Lamont said he hoped lawmakers would work together on establishing a tolling system that will enable the state to fix the Gold Star bridge "and make long-term capital commitments we need to get this state moving again."
Connecticut Construction Industries Association President Donald J. Shubert thanked the governor for starting a conversation on how the state is going to pay for infrastructure.
Gold Star Bridge
The state is planning to begin in May 2020 a nearly $300 million rehabilitation of the 76-year-old northbound side of the Gold Star that will extend the life of the bridge by 30 to 40 years, state DOT Deputy Commissioner Anna Barry said. DOT recently wrapped up repairs on the southbound span.
"We believe this work will have a positive effect on mobility and commerce for the entire region and the entire state," Barry said during Tuesday's news conference.
New London Mayor Michael Passero stressed the need to preserve the Gold Star, which he described as "a very, very important lifeline not only for this city, but for the state of Connecticut and for New England," that connects New York and New Haven with Providence and Boston and carries more than 100,000 cars a day. The bridge is important to employees of Electric Boat, the area's economic driver, as submarines are built in Groton and the design and engineering are on the New London campus, he said.
"It's part of the lifeblood of New London," Passero said. "Right now the off-shore wind industry is looking at New London as the hub to build the next green energy source for our country and this highway is going to be important to that. New London has an intermodal transportation hub. We have ferries, we have rail, and this highway is the third leg of that, so we thank the governor for coming in today to show the commitment to rebuild our infrastructure."
Groton City Mayor Keith Hedrick agreed that the area is a major transportation hub with an interstate that connects Boston and New York, a deepwater port, a railway and an airport.
The bridge also will be critical as the workforce expands in the future.
"In the next five to 10 years, Electric Boat has an expansion of about 5,000 employees, and those employees are going to need a way to get over, and this is the major thoroughfare that they’re going to use," Hedrick said. "They go back and forth, and this is a major investment in infrastructure, so I appreciate the governor for his commitment to this."
State Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, and state Reps. Christine Conley, D-Groton, and Joe de la Cruz, D-Groton, issued a joint news release stressing the need to prioritize the Gold Star and use tolls as a funding source. Conley said she was pleased the governor and DOT recognize the bridge's importance to the region, and de la Cruz said the bridge is "vital for commuters and commercial traffic, and especially for our manufacturers like Electric Boat."
"If we are serious about business and job growth in this state, and if we are serious about the safety of our daily commuters, we will pass a comprehensive tolls bill this session and we will use some of that future revenue to repair the Gold Star Memorial Bridge, which is in dire need of upgrades,” Osten said.
Construction to begin on next phase of Ansonia’s Riverwalk
Jean Falbo-SosnovichANSONIA — Construction is expected to begin early this summer on the next phase of the popular Ansonia Riverwalk. The Planning and Zoning Commission this week unanimously approved plans for the latest Riverwalk expansion, dubbed Segments 3 and 4.
Engineer Terry Gallagher from DeCarlo & Doll, which is serving as project manager, presented plans to the commission during its monthly meeting Monday.
This next phase of the expansion will feature, in part, construction of the Valley’s own lighthouse perched atop a levy on the Naugatuck River.While Gallagher said the lighthouse has yet to be approved by the Army Corps of Engineers, O’Malley said the Riverwalk will get its lighthouse.
“The mayor told me to get it done, so we will work through any issues,” O’Malley said. “We may have to possibly move the location, but we will have one. The engineers will figure it out
Gallagher said Segments 3 and 4 will comprise a paved, half-mile path, about 10 feet wide, with timber rails on each side. The path will run from behind the Target parking lot on Main Street to the back of other businesses on Chestnut Street and Healey Drive and come back out to Main Street, all along the Naugatuck River.
The project also will feature benches along the path, gateway elements with signage and decorative walls and historic plaques. A circular plaza/observation platform also is planned to take advantage of the river views, Gallagher added.“It’s really going to be a nice addition to downtown Ansonia,” said Gallagher.
Cassetti previously said the latest expansion will enable people to have “a roundtrip ticket that will loop walkers, joggers and bicyclists from the Division Street starting point, through downtown, up Main Street south, past our planned Charger Point Lighthouse, continuing over another Naugatuck River levy and ending back at Division Street for a healthy three-mile excursion.”
Segments 3 and 4 are slated to cost about $1.4 million. The project falls under the Transportation Alternatives Program, and includes funding from the Federal Highway Administration, Connecticut Department of Transportation, Bridgeport Metropolitan Planning Organization and Central Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments.
O’Malley is excited to see yet another phase of the Riverwalk nearing construction.“A healthy, vibrant community provides amenities and recreational opportunities for its residents,” she said. “Mayor Cassetti firmly believes in providing these opportunities and we were fortunate to secure the funding to continue our Riverwalk. Ansonia is one of very few communities who are working on and will make the connection to communities on two borders.”
Ansonia’s main entrance to the Riverwalk on Division Street is located directly across from Derby’s popular greenway. Cassetti wants to see the city’s Riverwalk connect to Seymour, which also has a greenway in place, and ultimately all the way to Torrington’s greenway. Derby water-tank proposal gets key OK
Michael P. Mayko
DERBY — A controversial, million-gallon water tank that Ansonia and Derby’s fire chiefs say is needed has won approval from the Regional Policy Board of the South Central Connecticut Water Authority. The storage tank, which will serve 13,000 customers in Ansonia, Seymour and Derby — and particularly Giffin Hospital — is planned for a wooded section at the far end of the Derby High School and Middle School complex near Coon Hollow Road. It would be bordered by the schools, the Public Works facility, the shuttered VARCA building and Osborndale Park.The need for the tank was clearly established by the record and testimony (during the Board’s January public hearing),” said former Ansonia Mayor Thomas Clifford, III, who chairs the Regional Policy Board. He said the board’s unanimous approval addresses public safety concerns raised by fire chiefs and Griffin Hospital regarding low water pressure during peak demand times.But before shovels go into the ground, the Derby Planning and Zoning Commission must sign off on the project.
Ted Estwan Jr., the commission’s chairman, said Tuesday that officials of the South Central Regional Water Authority told him they will file an application for Planning and Zoning’s March 19 agenda.
If that happens in time for legal notices to go out, Estwan said, a public hearing would begin that night “and probably continue into our April meeting.”
Pressure solution
Clifford said his board must consider approval of $5.1 million in bonding for the project. If approved, a final project design would be completed this spring with construction to run until next winter, much of it taking place after school ends in June.“It’s a good location,” said Carmen DiCenso, a former Board of Aldermen president and current economic development consultant to Mayor Richard Dziekan. “It’s doesn’t impact any neighborhood or houses. ... This is well-needed in that area which lacks water pressure.”
DiCenso recalled a fire in a three-family home nearby where pumpers had to be sent because the hydrants lacked water pressure.
Meanwhile, Charles Sampson, who heads Derby’s Board of Aldermen, called the Policy Board’s approval “good news.”
“This is a benefit to the city and the surrounding area,” said Sampson, who once served as Derby’s fire chief and still volunteers at Hotchkiss Hose.
“One of the biggest concerns I have had is with the low water pressure in that area,” he said. “This tank will resolve that.”
Ansonia Fire Chief Michael Eheman, Derby Fire Chief Robert Laskowski Jr. and Dziekan were among those who urged the 21-member policy board to approve the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority’s proposal to begin building the tank this year.
Considering appearance
Mary Motasky, a resident who lives in the 70-unit Summit condominiums on Coon Hollow Road, expressed concerns about aesthetics of the tank.
“We are going to clear trees around the tank but not the entire parcel,” said Ted Norris, who with Rose Gavrilovic, presented the Authority’s proposal to the board in January. He said the tank would be 50 feet tall with a 60-foot diameter. Once completed, the Authority plans to surround it with trees.
“We do not anticipate blasting,” Gavrilovic said. “A small portion of rock will have to be removed and we’ll flatten the area. But we don’t anticipate blasting.” This marks the second time in seven years that the Regional Water Authority sought permission to build a storage tank in Derby.
Plans to build a 2 million-gallon tank on Telescope Mountain on Summit Street were withdrawn after city officials and neighbors complained about the impact of blasting and the aesthetics of a water tank in a residential area.
The new site was chosen from 105 others because of its wooded location, its proximity to a water main and the land’s availability.
The Authority’s proposal involves leasing 2.15 acres on the north portion of Nutmeg Avenue from Derby for $1 for 99 years with the option for two 99-year extensions.
The Authority also is planning to fund the city’s purchase of 1.25 acres of adjacent land owned by St. Peter and St. Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church in Ansonia. The nearby parcel would be used as a construction staging area. Afterward, a portion would be paved for the city to use as a parking lot for the VARCA building. The church’s Board of Directors this week approved a negotiated sale of the land.