New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
A LONG ROAD
DOT outlines $3.9B in maintenance, upgrades
Connecticut’s roads and railroad lines are used every year by its approximately 3.6 million residents and millions more out-of-state workers and travelers.
To keep up with the wear and tear, the state Department of Transportation is constantly working on maintenance and improvement projects.
The most important of those initiatives are outlined every four years in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program. The DOT is receiving public comments on the draft version of the latest STIP, to cover the years 2021-2024.
The 223 projects listed in the new STIP would cumulatively be funded with approximately $3.9 billion, roughly $3.2 billion in federal money, about $684 million from the state and some $17 million from municipalities.
About 60 percent of the funds would be used for highway and bridge projects, while the other 40 percent would go toward rail, bus and ride-share programs.
Connecticut’s eight Metropolitan Planning Organizations and two Rural Councils of Governments contribute to the STIP’s development.
“The list of projects is wide and encompassing,” said state Sen. Carlo Leone, D-Stamford, cochairman of the state Legislature’s Transportation Committee.
Some the marquee initiatives planned across the state in the next four years, with DOT construction cost estimates, include the following:
Interstate 95
• About $345 million for renovations of the Gold Star Memorial Bridge, which carries the highway over the Thames River, between New London and Groton. Work would involve structural steel repairs and upgrades, as well as replacement of the deck for the older, northbound structure. Work has already been completed on the southbound structure.
• $180 million for work in Greenwich and Stamford that would include pavement improvements and bridge renovations. On the southbound side of Exit 3 in Greenwich, there would be a minor widening of the roadway to increase the length of the existing deceleration lane to improve safety and alleviate congestion.
• $142 million for improvements at exit 74 in East Lyme. The project would include replacing the highway’s bridge over Route 161, to address its poor condition and accommodate a widening on
Route 161.
• $70 million for upgrades in Norwalk and Westport. About two miles of the highway in those towns would be rebuilt between the Norwalk River and Saugatuck
River.
The existing bridge over Route 33 at exit 17 would be replaced using “accelerated construction” and minor work would be carried out on the Westport bridges over Franklin Street and over the Saugatuck River to maintain a “state of good repair” for those structures.
Merritt Parkway
Upgrades on Route 15 in Norwalk and New Canaan would total about $53 million and include bridge improvements and resurfacing.
Metro-North Railroad
Replacement of the four-track Walk Bridge in Norwalk arguably represents the most ambitious rail project supported by the STIP.
Scheduled to start in mid-2021 and take about four to five years to complete, the undertaking has an estimated total cost of $511 million.
Built in 1896, the 564-foot-long swing bridge is one of the oldest movable bridges in the region.
“The Walk Bridge has outlived its intended lifespan and experienced repeated operational failures in recent years,” reads an excerpt on the DOT website. “It is vulnerable to damage from storm surges and high winds and requires replacement.”
The STIP also makes eightfigure allocations for improvements to several other rail bridges in Norwalk, including $60 million for the East Avenue bridge, $50 million for the Fort Point Street bridge and $15 million for the Osborne Avenue bridge.
Other projects include New Haven line signal-system replacements, whose allotments would total more than $140 million.
In addition, there is an annual program to renovate stations on the New Haven line.
Other projects
Other major projects planned in the next four years would include $65 million for the removal of traffic signals on Route 9 in Middletown, about $38 million for improvements for Route 85 from Montville to Salem and about $40 million for Route 82 work in Norwich,
as well as statewide bus replacements.
Next steps
Inclusion in Statewide Transportation Improvement Program is necessary for a project to qualify for federal transportation funding. State and local government agencies then need to provide the necessary funding matches to allow projects to move forward.
The DOT submits a capital budget request to the state Office of Policy and Management for each two-year cycle, and the General Assembly acts every two years to authorize bonding for DOT’s capital program. The State Bond Commission must also approve DOT requests for funding.
Public comment on the STIP will remain open until Oct. 9.
“It’s a standard practice to create the list and give the public the chance to weigh in on it for a variety of reasons and to compile it and present it to the (DOT) agency and us, as the legislature, to then decide on how to fund or approve it,” Leone said.
Comments can be emailed to: DOT.Draft2021STIPComment@ct.gov. They can also be mailed to:
Maribeth Wojenski; Transportation Assistant Planning Director, Bureau of Policy and Planning; Connecticut Department of Transportation; P.O. Box 317546; Newington, CT 06111
More information on the STIP is available at: https://portal.ct.gov/ DOT/PP_Bureau/ConnDOT-Plans/ State-Transportation-Improvement-Program