Saving transportation in Connecticut

OLet’s scare every motorist and tell them we’re putting highway improvement projects on hold because the money jar will be empty come July.

ne wonders whether the plan was dreamed up while Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and state Department of Transportation Commissioner James Redeker were stuck in highway traffic. They could have been inching along I-95 anywhere from Greenwich to New Haven — take your pick — or stalled in rush-hour traffic on I-84 heading east from Danbury.

Hey, let’s scare every motorist and tell them we’re putting highway improvement projects on hold because the money jar will be empty come July. Yeah, $4.3 billion worth of projects can be just as stalled as we are. Traffic will worsen, as if it could.

And then when everyone says you can’t just let the bridges fall down or jeopardize transportation aid to cities and towns, we’ll step in and save the day with fixes that the General Assembly will have no choice but to approve. Yes!

Gov. Malloy to the rescue, like a transportation Mighty Mouse.

The governor’s announcement Wednesday that he is putting billions in transportation projects across the state on hold because the Special Transportation Fund will be penniless by the start of the next fiscal year is alarming — but not surprising. And keep in mind, it’s not the end of the road.

Train a gimlet eye on the situation for a moment, preferably not while driving.

Anyone traveling Connecticut’s congested highways knows improvements are needed. Anyone turning to trains or buses knows improvements are needed. Study after study shows drivers waste hours stuck in traffic and a significant number of bridges are in need of repair. The problems are apparent.

The solutions take money. Funding for transportation projects comes from the state’s Special Transportation Fund, which is fed by the state gasoline tax, among other sources. But year after year, through multiple administrations, money gets siphoned off to balance other parts of the budget. No wonder it’s running on empty.

Malloy rightly put transportation a priority when in 2015 he announced an ambitious $100 billion, 30year plan of improvements to highways, bridges, rails, even bike paths. He formed an advisory panel to come up with ideas on how to fund the plan, but discussions of establishing tolls, raising the gas or sales tax got nowhere.

We’re not suggesting those recommendations should be embraced, nor do we endorse every aspect of the 30-year plan. For example, widening I-95 from Stamford to Bridgeport is questionable.

But without a doubt, transportation needs an infusion. Highways and bridges need repair, Metro-North needs more cars and reliable service — without raising rates so much or decreasing service. The construction work and the resulting better transportation system would benefit the economy.

Malloy will make recommendations to “ensure the solvency” of the Special Transportation Fund before he delivers his budget address to the General Assembly next month. Fierce debate will ensue.

What taxpayers need are assurances that the fund cannot be raided again — a “lockbox” is imperative. It will be on the ballot in November and must be supported. We can’t keep running on fumes.