Governor Dan Malloy announced Connecticut’s five-year transportation capital infrastructure plan for federal fiscal years 2014-2018 yesterday. The plan allocates roughly $4.825 billion for roads and bridges over the five-year period, and $1.565 billion for transit. (Pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure projects are included in the road and bridge category). In fiscal year 2014, $1.8 billion in capital funding will be available for all transportation modes ($1.4 billion for road and bridge projects, and $345 million for transit), an increase over the state’s 2013 Capital Program, which provided a total of approximately $1.6 billion.
The plan lists several pages of transportation investments, including a few high-profile projects like the replacement of the I-84 viaduct in Hartford, the rehabilitation of the Merritt Parkway in Stamford, and upgrades to the New Haven commuter rail line and the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield rail corridor.
The governor made the announcement at a park-and-ride lot in Waterbury, a setting that was meant to highlight a major component of the infrastructure plan: the widening of 2.7-miles of Interstate 84. The project, which ConnDOT first announced in 2013, adds a lane in each direction to Interstate 84 between Exit 23 and 25A in Waterbury, and is expected to cost $400 to $450 million — almost as much as the total amount of federal highway funding Connecticut receives in a single year.
In addition to the infrastructure capital plan, which is funded through a combination of federal and state sources, Connecticut is seeking another $600 million in federal funding to be used exclusively for resiliency on the Metro-North New Haven Line.
Given the financial and ceremonial emphasis on widening I-84, the inclusion of only a brief mention of TOD in the explainer that accompanied the plan, and the failure to even break out projects that support walking and biking infrastructure (it’s mixed in with all other road and bridge projects), sustainable transportation gains achieved in recent years must be closely monitored and advanced to ensure that Connecticut does not backslide on multi-modal progress.
[…] We don’t doubt that this temporary decrease in roadway capacity plays some role in creating a bottleneck. The question is how big of a role, and whether a $400 million widening project is the only solution. Here are five reasons why Connecticut leaders may want to reconsider the decision to widen Interstate 84: […]
[…] Britain busway and upgrades to the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield rail line. His proposal for a five-year transportation capital program, however, includes a big-ticket widening project for I-84 in […]