Jim Cameron
With the changing of power in Washington this week, let’s say thanks to Joe Biden, the president who has done the most for transportation in our country in the almost 70 years since Dwight Eisenhower built our interstate highways.
While his predecessor (and successor) Donald Trump talked a lot about investing in transportation, Biden (and the Connecticut delegation to Congress) actually got it done. Biden’s major initiative was…
The Infrastructure & Investment Jobs Act: $110 billion for roads and bridges, $105 billion for public transit, and $7.5 billion for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. That means funding for more than 66,000 projects nationwide, encompassing road and bridge repairs, public transit enhancements, and airport modernizations.
Here in Connecticut, that means $9.6 billion over the next five years for 300+ projects including:
The Hartford Line, where $207 million will mean double-tracking 6.2 miles and $87 million for a new high-level platform station at Windsor Locks (to be finished by mid-year) with connecting bus service to Bradley International Airport. An additional train is also to be added to service. Enfield will also be getting a new station and there’s $2.5 million to relocate Hartford’s Union Station.
Connecticut River Bridge: Amtrak has been awarded $827 million in IIJA funds for the replacement of the aging bridge between Old Saybrook and Old Lyme. The total project cost is estimated at $1.3 billion, with completion anticipated by 2031.
Housatonic River Railroad Bridge: Up to $246 million has been allocated for the design of a replacement bridge connecting Milford and Stratford, with an additional $119 million for interim repairs.
Saugatuck River Railroad Bridge: Amtrak received up to $23.2 million for early design work on replacing this bridge in Westport.
All of these projects will rejuvenate Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, soon to be running new Acela Avelia Liberty higher speed trains between Washington, D.C. and Boston.
Among other projects being funded… $2.4 million to consolidate grade crossings on the Metro-North Danbury branch in Norwalk and Danbury… another $2 million for the I-84 rebuild in Hartford’s North End and other work around I-91 in New Haven.
Can any of these projects be cut by President Trump? No, because they’re written into law. But they could be delayed or rescinded if Congress takes that move, though that is doubtful because of public support for such work.
President Trump has threatened to kill the New York MTA congestion pricing tolls, but it remains to be seen if that’s bluffing. Anything that removes the $1 billion annually expected from those tolls could cripple MTA’s investment plans to enhance the city’s subways, buses and, yes, even Metro-North.
For years now the cry has been “we don’t have the money” (to fix our transportation). Now we have the money… lot’s of it. But do we have enough engineers and skilled workers to do the job?
We can expect years and years of construction and necessary delays. But in the long term, meaning ten to 15 years, our trains will run faster, our highways be safer and our air cleaner.
So thank you, President Biden. Whatever else may have been your shortcomings, history will remember you as our true transportation President.
Richard Chumney
STRATFORD — Aquarion Water Company plans to replace 5,400 feet of water main that runs under a condominium complex in the north end as part of a project that is expected to take several months to complete.
The work is set to kick off on Wednesday at the Far Mill River complex off Warner Hill Road and wrap up later this fall, according to a spokesperson for the company, which is owned by the power utility Eversource. Final paving will then be coordinated with the condominium association.
The roads involved in the project are Fiddler Green Rd, River Bend Road, Wedgewood Road, and Meeting House Road, which are all in the condominium complex.
“We greatly appreciate residents’ patience during these projects,” Justin Xenelis, an Aquarion official said in a statement. “We will work closely with our customers, contractors and town officials to coordinate the work and minimize any disruptions.”
Aquarion officials said the upgrades are designed to improve the company‘s water distribution system while also reducing leaks and breaks in the water main that can cause service interruptions.
Officials said motorists should expect minor traffic delays and possible detours between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. during the construction.
The Norwalk-based contractor M Rondano, Inc. will be conducting the replacement. Further information about the planned work can be found at aquarionwater.com/projects.
Brian Lockhart
BRIDGEPORT — After years of delays, construction of the long-awaited hotel at the Steelpointe redevelopment is a bit closer to reality.
On Jan. 27, the planning and zoning commission will host a public hearing on the coastal site plan approval application for the Marriott Residence Inn proposed for the vacant land at 380 Stratford Ave. That commission's blessing is necessary before development partners the Christophs and True North Hotel Group can get their building permits to break ground on the 142-room structure.
Located along the harbor on the lower East End, just below Interstate 95, Steelpointe has been gestating for decades, with the Christophs' first signature project, Bass Pro Shops outdoor retail superstore, opening there in 2015. There is also a Chipotle restaurant, a Starbucks coffee shop, a high-end marina and Boca seafood restaurant, with an apartment complex under construction.
A hotel has long been a project component. In 2015, the Christoph father/son team of Roberts Sr. and Jr. and then-Mayor Bill Finch's administration announced a 120-room Hampton Inn was coming. That was never built.
Then in September 2022, Mayor Joe Ganim mentioned the Steelpointe hotel was coming during his annual state-of-the-city speech to the business community. The prior winter the downtown Holiday Inn shuttered and was sold to be converted into apartments, leaving Connecticut's largest municipality without a hotel even as officials here were trying to promote Bridgeport as an entertainment destination with a newly opened concert amphitheater.
In an interview following Ganim's speech, Bobby Christoph Jr. expressed hope to break ground on a 150-room hotel early in 2023.
"I have a couple different deals working," he said at the time.
Jump to last June when the Marriott was announced. According to the coastal site plan application, required to address environmental and flooding issues because of the proximity to the harbor and Long Island Sound, the building will measure 105,000 square feet and six stories with 142 units and a 137-space parking lot.
The Christophs could not immediately be contacted for any further details or a construction timeline.
Dan Onofrio, president of the Bridgeport Regional Business Council, said the Marriott cannot open soon enough.
"The largest city in the State of Connecticut doesn't have a place for people to stay in," Onofrio said. "This will be a nice, new facility that will draw attention to not just the harbor but Bridgeport."