Traffic money snarled: State says road funds are flowing; union says projects are at a standstill
PAUL HUGHES
While Gov. Ned Lamont and Transportation Commissioner
Garrett Eucalitto touted how a $500 million reconfiguration project will
allievate one of the state’s worst highway choke points, Don Shubert complained
on the sidelines that there is a bottleneck in transportation funding in
Connecticut.
Shubert is the president of the Connecticut Construction
Industries Association, and state spending on transportation infrastructure
projects seems never to be enough, or come fast enough, for the trade group.
CCIA members include contractors, subcontractors, material producers,
suppliers, and affiliated professionals and organizations.
Shubert expressed his frustrations over the state’s funding
approach last Tuesday as Lamont, Eucalitto and other dignitaries were posing
for pictures – shovels in hand – during a ceremonial groundbreaking for the
second phase of a massive project to reconfigure the interchange of Interstate
91, Interstate 691 and Route 15 in Meriden.
The DOT routinely obligates or commits federal funding, but
does not spend the funding efficiently, or, in some cases, may not spend the
funding for years to come, Shubert said.
He also said the level of state bonding for matching funds
that are needed to access federal funding remains inadequate. He pointed to a
recent state treasurer’s report that said the State Bond Commission has
authorized $5.7 billion in revenue-backed bonds for state and local
transportation projects that have yet to be issued.
The complaints are hardly new, but the $4 billion in federal
highway and bridge funding Connecticut is due to receive through the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is heightening the long-standing CCIA
concerns about the pace of state transportation spending.
Shubert also had a new gripe. He criticized the legislature
and Lamont for tapping Special Transportation Fund reserves to pay down
long-term bonded debt, rather than use those state funds to meet matching
requirements for federal transportation grants.
The initial payoff is estimated to be approximately $500
million, and the one-time payment is projected to save approximately $600
million in principal and interest costs over the following 10 years.
“The reason why they took that $500 million to pay down debt
service is because they don’t have anything to do with it,” Shubert said.
EUCALITTO COUNTERED THE DOT is doing plenty more than the
CCIA credits, and the reconfiguration of I-691 interchange project is a prime
example.
He said the DOT had plans for reconfiguring the complex
network of through lanes, weave sections and ramp connections, but shelved the
project for a decade due to a lack of funding until President Joe Biden and the
Congress enacted the IIJA in 2021. Construction started in October 2023, and
the three-phase project is expected to be completed in 2030 at a cost of $500
million.
While the initial $85 million phase was entirely state
funded, Eucalitto said the federal government is providing 80% of the funding
for the second phase. The state is receiving $200 million in federal funding
and contributing $50 million in matching funds. He said he expects a similar
federal commitment for the final phase.
“This interchange is consistently one of the most congested
and dangerous sections of highway in Connecticut, and when President Biden
announced his plans to make historic investments to improve the nation’s
infrastructure, I had this exact project in Meriden in mind as a priority that
can benefit most,” Lamont said.
Eucalitto said state is aggressively pursuing and making use
of federal funds.
“We’ve never left any federal funds on the table. We’ve
spent every federal dollar we get, and I think if you drive around people are
getting frustrated about how much construction we have going on,” he said.
Eucalitto defended the use of the Special Transportation
Fund’s reserves to pay down bonded debt. The cumulative balance is expected to
grow to $961.9 billion following the close out of the state’s current 2024
fiscal year that ends June 30, according to the latest estimates. The dedicated
fund is projected to have a 2024 surplus $282.8 million.
“Essentially by using those funds to pay down old debt it
has extended the longevity of our Special Transportation Fund for several more
years, allowing us to deal with issues that we are going to see toward the end
of this decade, that the whole country is going toward the end of the decade
with how to pay for transportation,” Eucalitto said.
Budget analysts for the administration and the legislature
estimated revenue growth in the transportation fund will not keep up with
rising debt service costs.
Lamont and the legislature imposed a temporary cap on the
transportation fund’s reserve and directed the state treasurer use any excess
above the threshold to pay down bonded debt. The legislature’s budget office
estimated an initial payoff of $500, and this one-time payment would then
translate into reduced debt service payments of $60 million a year for up to 10
years.
“Paying down those old debts is going to save us a lot in
annual debt payments in this decade,” Eucalitto said.
Debt service payments accounts for slightly more than 40% of
transportation fund expenditures. The Lamont administration projected a 2025
payment of nearly $940 million.
SOME OPERATING FUNDS ARE USED to pay for transportation
projects, but the state government primarily relies on special tax obligation
bonds to fulfill federal matching requirements or finance projects that are
100% state funded. The bond are backed by transportation-related revenue,
including fuel taxes and a portion of the sales tax.
While STO bond sales are up since the IIJA funding started
to flow three years ago, Shubert said sales are falling hundreds of millions of
dollars short of the Lamont administration’s projected targets. He said bond
issuances reflect the amount of work the DOT plans to have underway.
The administration anticipated issuing $1 billion in STO
bonds for the current 2024 fiscal year that is ending June 30, but the state
treasurer’s office reported sales of $875 million. The $830 million in STO
bonds issued in the 2023 fiscal year was up $330 million from the previous
fiscal year, but fell $370 million short of the administration’s projection.
Shubert said he questions if the administration will meet
its projected targets of $1 billion in STO bonds sales for the 2025 fiscal year
and $1.1 billion a year for the following three fiscal years. He said he
continues wonder whether borrowing less and paying down debt service is more
beneficial than maximizing the funding opportunities of IIJA.
Three Wall Street rating agencies – Moody’s Investor
Service, S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings – all rate Connecticut’s STO
bonds as high quality and low credit risks. The Kroll Bond Rating Agency has
assigned its highest rating to the state’s transportation bonds.
For the last $875 million issuance, Connecticut received an
Aa3 rating from Moody’s, an AA rating from S&P, and AA- rating from Fitch,
and Kroll upgraded its credit rating from AA+ to AAA. All four agencies also
assigned the state a stable rating outlook.
At that time, Moody’s said the state’s bonds benefit from
strong legal covenants, a diversified stream of pledged revenue with some
sensitivity to economic fluctuations and policy changes, and satisfactory debt
service coverage. Kroll said its update reflected the increased diversity and
resilience of pledged revenues, descending debt service requirements, and a
robust legal framework.
The Lamont administration projected STO bond authorizations
of $1.5 billion for the 2025 fiscal year and then $1.2 billion a year for the
next three fiscal years. The State Bond Comission at its June 7 meeting
authorized $337.1 million in new STO bond authorizations. But no bond sales are
scheduled at that time, according to the treasurer’s office.
Lamont announces $26.3M for remediation projects, including proposed soccer stadium
Gov. Ned Lamont has approved state grants totaling $26.3
million to help remediate and redevelop 22 properties in 17 towns and cities
across the state, including $4 million for a proposed
soccer stadium in Bridgeport.
Lamont on Friday announced the grants, which are from the
state Department of Economic and Community Development’s Brownfield Remediation
and Development Program.
The funds will support communities’ efforts to clean up
blighted properties so they can return to productive use.
“All of these projects, in one form or another, are helping
to strengthen community vibrancy and improving the quality of life for our
residents,” Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner
Daniel O’Keefe said. “I am particularly proud of the fact that our state
investments are successfully leveraging over $112.7 million in private funding,
creating more than 1,200 jobs and developing new housing opportunities for so
many.”
The grants and loans announced Friday include the following:
Berlin: $360,000 grant to complete the ongoing remediation
of contaminated soil on a 1.54-acre parcel located at 55 Steele Blvd. This will
enable the construction of approximately 50 mixed-income residential units next
to the Berlin Train Station.
Bridgeport: $4,000,000 grant to execute a Remedial Action
Plan and for demolition and remediation activities of the former 16.13-acre
greyhound racetrack site located at 255 Kossuth St. The site is proposed to be
developed by the Connecticut Sports Group LLC into a sports stadium that will
house a professional MLS NEXT Pro soccer team and will be part of a multi-phase
redevelopment project that will also include a 260-key hotel, mixed-use
development, and a community park and green space.
Bridgeport: $4,000,000 grant to complete remediation of the
2.97-acre site, located at 141 and 173 Stratford Ave. This will enable the
creation of a public, open-space, and waterfront access area, including a
boardwalk, public community soccer field, and a landscaped and hardscaped
entryway plaza leading to the proposed CT United Soccer Stadium on the adjacent
property at 255 Kossuth St.
Cheshire: $90,000 planning grant for the development of a
marketing study, site specific environmental assessment, brownfield mapping,
and streetscape and parking design services for the West Main Street Downtown
District.
Colchester: $1,125,700 grant to complete remediation of
approximately 3,200 cubic yards of impacted soil at the former Norton Paper
Mill site, located at 139 Westchester Road. The property will be turned into a
public passive recreation park.
East Hartford: $95,000 grant to further assess the site
located at 164 School St., currently owned by United Steel. The assessment will
allow the company to expand its operations, which will create more tax revenue
for the town, and create a second shift which will create more local jobs for
the community.
East Hartford: $50,000 grant for environmental site
assessments of the underused building located at 1016 Main St. to determine a
remediation and development strategy for the property as a whole. The property
has historically served as an entertainment venue, Eastwood Theater in 1941,
then Buster’s Pub & Cinema from 1966 to 1994.
East Hartford: $200,000 planning grant to examine the
Burnside and Church Street Village Area with a goal of addressing potentially
contaminated structures and creating a comprehensive plan.
New Haven: $516,400 grant to investigate and remediate the
0.82-acre site located at 80 Hamilton St. that was formerly used for
residential and several industrial and commercial purposes. The remediation
will enable the construction of a museum with the mission to educate, inspire,
and enrich the understanding of history through an immersive presentation of
artifacts related to New Haven’s history.
New Haven: $975,700 grant to remediate and abate the
city-owned properties on the 1.03-acre lot located at 69 Grand Avenue and home
to the historic “Strong School” in the Fair Haven neighborhood of New Haven.
The project may include the potential demolition of structures that are not
historic. Redevelopment of the property will create approximately 58 affordable
housing units and a large community space.
New London: $200,000 grant to prepare Phase I Environmental
Site Assessments of six parcels on Bank Street and Meridian Street to determine
a remediation strategy to allow for future remediation of these properties.
Completing the assessment work will enable the City of New London to utilize an
existing $1,000,000 EPA grant for the remediation activities at the project
sites.
Norwalk: $3,294,527 grant to demolish and abate the Meadow
Gardens public housing complex located on a 3.8-acre property at 45 Meadow St.
and 5 Monterey Place. This will enable the construction of approximately 55
low-income residential units.
Norwich: $4,000,000 grant for completion of a remedial
action plan and an asbestos work plan, abatement, and demolition of buildings A
& B, the skywalk, and 5th Street Bridge at the 6.05-acre, former Capehart
Textile Mill located in the Greeneville National Historic District. The
remediation of the project site will enable the creation of a new riverfront
park.
Plainville: $1,394,500 grant for completion of remediation
of impacted soil and groundwater on the 14.76-acre site located at 1 and 63
West Main St.. The abatement/remediation will enable the creation of
approximately 175 new apartments with ground floor retail and amenities, a
13,000 sq. ft. medical-office building, and seven acres of deeded open space.
Previous DECD funding ($1,170,000) was utilized for abatement of hazardous
building materials of the structures on site.
Portland: $200,000 planning grant to develop a new master
plan for downtown encompassing the Riverfront Overlay Zone and Town Village
District, including the brownfield parcels at 222, 230, and 248 Brownstone
Avenue.
Redding: $200,000 planning grant for the comprehensive
planning of the Georgetown Neighborhood with a goal to revitalize and redevelop
the former Gilbert and Bennett Wire Mill brownfield site.
Vernon: $2,000,000 grant to abate and remediate identified
environmental impacts at Daniel’s Mill, a 1-acre property located at 98 East
Main St. DECD had previously awarded $2 million for the cleanup of the site,
but site investigations and testing have identified the need for additional
funding. The redevelopment of the historic mill will create approximately 35
residential units and support the overall Rockville Mill Complex redevelopment
that is expected to create 110,000 square feet of residential units and 20,000
square feet of commercial space consisting of a brewpub/restaurant and event
space.
West Haven: $1,187,270 grant to abate hazardous building
materials on the 1.53-acre property located at 66 Tetlow St.. The former
elementary school will be the future site of the Shoreline Wellness Center and
Behavioral Health Clinic that will provide mental healthcare services.
Windsor: $2,000,000 grant to remediate and abate the
structures at the former Stanadyne manufacturing facility, located at 90
Deerfield Road. Remediation of the 32.95-acre site will enable the adaptive
reuse of the property to a business park that will provide new manufacturing,
R&D, warehousing/distribution, and offices to meet local market demand.
Windsor: $200,000 grant for further assessment of the former
industrial site (Stanadyne property) located at 92 Deerfield Road.
Windsor Locks: $73,450 grant for further site assessment
work at the vacant, suburban-style plaza located at 255 Main St.
Woodbridge: $132,000 planning grant to assess a 155-acre
property, formerly the Country Club of Woodbridge, and help advance a
comprehensive redevelopment vision for housing or mixed-use development.
The Route 34 corridor in Connecticut is starting to see a renaissance
Shelton has been widely thought of as the economic success
story of Connecticut's lower Naugatuck Valley for many years, but economic
development experts and public officials in the area say other communities
along the Route 34 corridor like Derby are now starting to catch up.
"Shelton has always been more aggressive in terms of
public policy in transforming itself from a mill town," said Brian Marks,
a senior lecturer of economics and business analytics at the University of
New Haven. "But in fairness to communities like Derby and others in that
part of the Valley, redevelopment is not instantaneous. It takes time."
For Derby, it appears the time is now. A mix of public
sector dollars and private investment is offering the promise of breathing new
life into Connecticut's smallest city.
After a 20-year wait, a multi-million-dollar state
Department of Transportation reconstruction project is underway along a portion
of Route 34 near City Hall. When completed, it will feature two lanes in each
direction, a landscaped center median, wide brick sidewalks with period
lighting and plantings.
At the same time, the Derby-Shelton Bridge is undergoing a
face-lift to make it more aesthetically pleasing and link the downtown areas of
both communities for pedestrians and cyclists as well as motor vehicle traffic.
The changes will also provide better access to link Shelton's Riverwalk with
Derby's Greenway Trail.
"This project will be transformative for downtown Derby
and has already served as a catalyst for two new projects," said Bill
Purcell, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Valley Chamber of
Commerce.
The Trolley Pointe development at 90 Main St. will have
105 apartments and will include workforce housing units. A couple of blocks
away from the Trolley Point project, a 95-unit apartment complex called Cedar
Village, is being developed at 67-71 Minerva St. with 95 apartments.
Ten percent of the units in Cedar Village will be set
aside for workforce housing, which a term that is now being used to describe
affordable housing.
Marks said that as the apartment complexes are completed and
people move into them, economic development officials in Derby will need to
maintain a delicate balance.
"Those areas that are going to see more economic growth
are the ones that skillfully handle mixed use projects," he said.
"The commercial elements that are offered in Derby and other communities
need to be complementary to what is already in place."
Rick Dunne, executive director of the Naugatuck Valley
Council of Governments, said in some cases, new businesses in Derby that
duplicate those in Shelton, should be able to coexist.
"There's not enough capacity at restaurants in Shelton
if you want to go out and get something to eat on a weeknight," Dunne
said.
Looking a little further into the future, Derby's train
station will benefit from an $84 million upgrade of the Waterbury branch line
of the Metro North Railroad.
The project, includes improvements to all of the lines
stations, which in addition to Derby, include Ansonia, Seymour, Beacon
Falls, and Waterbury. Samaia Hernandez, a spokeswoman for the Connecticut
Department of Transportation, said construction for the project is scheduled to
start next summer and be completed two years later.
The improvements to the Derby train station include a raised
and heated platform, additional parking for commuters and portals for buses to
connect passengers with trains.
Route 34 corridor overview
The Route 34 corridor differs from one of Connecticut's
better known commercial corridors, the Berlin Turnpike. Unlike like the Berlin
Turnpike, which is largely commercial on either side of the road from Meriden
to just outside of Hartford, Route 34 has a mix of commercial and residential
properties that have frontage on the roadway.
That's certainly the case in Orange, where homes give way to
farms and the Fieldstone Village retirement community west of the Wilbur
Cross Parkway. Stappa
Vineyard opened just east of the Orange-Derby interchange on Route 34 in 2021,
but was only able to do so because of an agricultural exemption, said Jim
Zeoli, Orange's first selectman.
Zeoli said the mix of residential and commercial zoning
along roadway was done deliberately decades ago to prevent communities that
were hemmed by gridlock from Route 34 to the north and Route 1 to the south.
"We consider ourselves to be a town, not a city and
we're happy about that," Zeoli said.
Located between downtown Derby and the Wilbur Cross Parkway
to the east in Orange are several retail strip centers populated largely by
national or regional retailers The center with the highest profile is
Hilltop Commons, which is anchored by Big Y supermarket, a CVS drug store and
American Freight Appliances & Furniture.
A little further down Route 34 from Hilltop Commons, a new
Splash Car Wash opened at the end of last year in a space that was formerly
occupied by a Burger King. Mark Curtis, founder and chief executive officer of
the Milford-based chain, said that stretch of Route 34 is undergoing a
renaissance.
"When vou see businesses come in and develop in a
certain area, you want to come in and develop too," Curtis said.
"This has been a good location for us. We feel this is an underserved area
and it draws people not from Derby, but from surrounding communities like
Woodbridge, Orange and the northern part of Milford.
Zeoli said that one thing the Route 34 corridor from Orange
to downtown Derby lacks is an automotive products store.
The Route 34 corridor differs from one of Connecticut's
better known commercial stretches, the Berlin Turnpike. Unlike like the Berlin
Turnpike, which is largely commercial on either side of the road from Meriden
to just outside of Hartford, Route 34 has a mix of commercial and residential
properties that have frontage on the roadway.
One example of that is the Residences at Kestral, a 34-unit
apartment complex at 336 Roosevelt Drive in Seymour, overlooking the
Houstanonic River near the intersection of Route 188. That's also the case in
Orange, where homes give way to farms and the Fieldstone Village retirement
community west of the Wilbur Cross Parkway.
Stappa Vineyard opened just east of the Orange-Derby
interchange of Route 15 with Route 34 in 2021. But the winery was only able to
open because of an agricultural exemption, said Jim Zeoli, Orange's first
selectman.
Zeoli said the mix of residential and commercial zoning
along roadway was created deliberately decades ago to prevent communities that
were hemmed by Route 34 to the north and Route 1 to the south from experiencing
total gridlock
"We consider ourselves to be a town, not a city and
we're happy about that," Zeoli said of Orange
Dunne said along the stretch of Route 34 between Orange
and Derby, "there just isn't a lot of land to support strip commercial
centers."
Zeoli said that one thing that the Route 34 corridor from
Orange to downtown Derby lacks is an automotive products store.
Donald Klepper-Smith, an economist with South Carolina-based
DataCore Partners, said there is no reason why Derby and other Route 34
corridor towns can't see an increased level of economic development. Shelton
has benefited from businesses and consumers who want a Fairfield County address
without having to pay the higher prices that they would incur if they were in
Greenwich, Stamford or Norwalk. he said.
Klepper-Smith, who served on the Governor's Economic
Advisory Panel in Connecticut under Gov. M. Jodi Rell, said that with the new
apartment complexes being built in Derby and neighboring communities, the Route
34 corridor will likely begin to see the increased development that Shelton has
seen for the past decade or so.
"It all comes down to access and affordability,"
he said. "You have people looking to bypass the sky-high prices of lower
Fairfield County, but still be close enough to have access to that part of the
state. And people are looking at what it costs to maintain single-family homes
and weighing it against the cost of apartment and the flexibility that it
offers."
The publicly-funded improvements have set up Derby for a
future that is less focused on automobiles, according to Dunne.
Dunne said the hope is that someday there will
dedicated busway, similar to the one Connecticut Transit has between New
Britain and Hartford, will be developed in the lower Naugatuck Valley following
the Route 8 corridor and include a Derby stop, as well route into the
area's industrial parks.
"I hope Derby doesn't fall into the trap of creating a
lot of surface parking," he said.
Since 2015, a pair of brew pubs have opened along the Route
34 corridor in Derby
The Hops Co. opened on Sodom Lane in the city during 2015.
Two years later, Bad
Sons Brewery opened in the 113-year-old Manger Die Casting Co.
building on Roosevelt Drive, which is a part of Route 34.
And across the street from Bad Sons, Danbury-based Fuel Cell
Energy opened
a 14-megawatt fuel cell project last fall that supplies power to
thousands of customers of Eversource and United Illuminating. It is the
second largest fuel cell park in North America, according to company
officials.