TRANSIT PLANS IN JEOPARDY

Malloy: State needs $1 billion

HARTFORD — If a billion dollars in additional revenue doesn’t show up in the state’s transportation fund over the next few years, Connecticut won’t be able to afford many of its needed bridge and highway upgrades.

That is the warning Gov. Dannel P. Malloy gave Thursday when he said the General Assembly needs to quickly act on a variety of options, from highway tolls to mileage taxes, from higher gasoline surcharges to transfers of taxes on auto sales to the state’s transportation fund.

At stake are 10 percent rail fare increases and 15 percent bus fare raises as soon as next July.

“We’re open to any way to resolve this issue,” Malloy told reporters during a news conference in the Capitol. “I’m saying we need funding.”

Malloy said while interstate trucks pay some fees, they are not paying enough for the use of state highways — yet they are charged by other New England states.

He said gas prices have fallen sharply since 2015, creating less sales-tax revenue.

At the same time, total vehicle miles statewide have declined, while more electric cars are being purchased, “meaning less money is coming into the fund ... but it’s happening even faster than we might have thought,” Malloy said.

Malloy presented reporters with a list of projects totaling $4.3 billion that could be canceled or delayed if the Special Transportation Fund were to become insolvent, including:

The replacement of up to 200 rail cars for the Danbury and Waterbury lines.

The Merritt 7 rail station in Norwalk.

The New Haven and Stamford railroad station parking garages.

The Barnum Station rail stop on Bridgeport’s East Side.

The Cos Cob Bridge repairs in Greenwich.

State highway bridge repairs.

Improvements to the Wilbur Cross Parkway tunnel through West Rock.

The widening of Interstate 95 from Greenwich to Bridgeport.

“For years I have advocated for major investments to improve Connecticut’s transportation infrastructure because it is a critical lifeline for our state’s economy,” Malloy said. “An investment in transportation is an investment in jobs. For too long Connecticut has let its transportation system languish. This goes back decades.”

Without a robust surplus the state cannot borrow money at a competitive rate for long-term projects, including Malloy’s 30-year, $100-billion infrastructure program.

Malloy praised Rep. Antonio Guerrera, DRocky Hill, the co-chairman of the legislative Transportation Committee, who attended the event. A longtime proponent of highway tolls, Guerrera has seen the politically sensitive issue fail in House votes as recently as last spring.

“Shame on us that we didn’t make the best decision for the state,” Guerrera told reporters after the sometimes contentious 38-minute afternoon news conference.

Guerrera said that lawmakers knew last year that the $1.5-billion Special Transportation Fund (STF) would go broke by the middle of 2020.

“It’s an unfortunate situation,” Guerrera said. “By the end of the session it needs to be done.”

In reaction, Speaker of the House Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, said that this year a so-called lockbox was approved by lawmakers that will allow statewide voters next November to decide whether a constitutional amendment is needed to protect the Special Transportation Fund from revenue transfers for state government operating expenses.

In the 2016-17 budget lawmakers diverted $37.5 million from the STF, resulting in Malloy’s order to raise bus and rail fares, a reduction in highway maintenance and cuts in state Department of Transportation personnel.

“I still believe a modern electronic-toll system and less reliance on the gas tax has to be part of the equation to help get us back on track in the long term, and intend to have a vote on tolls this upcoming session,” Aresimowicz said. “It makes no sense, and isn’t fair to Connecticut taxpayers that we provide a freeway to the large amount of out of state traffic that passes through, while all of us pay every time we cross the border into surrounding states.”