Lamont: Tolls would help I-84 viaduct replacement
Governor cites example of billions of dollars in projects that could begin with benefit of highway fees
HARTFORD – The morning after releasing his state budget, Gov. Ned Lamont made his case for highway tolls Thursday, standing in front of the aging I-84 viaduct in Hartford that needs to be replaced.
While Lamont’s budget offers an option for truck-only tolls, he told reporters that tolls on all vehicles would generate far more money to address the billions of dollars of projects needed in the future.
“I think it’s the best long-term solution,” Lamont said of electronic tolling for all vehicles, which could raise $1 billion a year, according to a recent Department of Transportation study.
The Democratic governor was accused of flip-flopping after stating repeatedly during the election campaign last year that he favored truck-only tolls like Rhode Island has. But truckers have filed a lawsuit in Rhode Island, and Lamont said his attorneys have told him truck-only tolls might be allowed only on highways where bridges are under repair.
Lamont’s budget calls for an estimated 53 tolling gantries under an all vehicles option, but where the gantries would be located and what the tolling rates would be have not been determined. State residents would receive a significant discount, Lamont has said.
The governor dramatized the state’s
transportation problems Thursday by holding a news conference on a terrace directly outside the office of his state budget chief, Melissa McCaw. The terrace on Capitol Avenue faces the Hartford viaduct, which is an elevated, aging section of I-84 overlooking Aetna’s headquarters.
The future of the 50-yearold viaduct has been debated for years, but officials said Thursday they still do not know exactly when and how it will be fixed. A study that will be completed later this year is expected to provide answers and a roadmap f or the viaduct’s future.
Construction on the viaduct could take three to four years, but the new transportation commissioner, former Metro-North President Joseph J. Giulietti, could not provide a cost estimate Thursday.
Currently, the state spends $20 million a year on maintenance to keep the viaduct in good repair.
As part of his “debt diet” to reduce the amount of the state’s borrowing, Lamont is calling for cutting $250 million in bonding for transportation projects.
Senate Republican leader Len Fasano of North Haven, who has had a cordial relationship with Lamont during his early days as governor, criti- cized him after the news conference.
“I’m disappointed to hear Gov. Lamont repeatedly say one thing but do another,” Fasano said. “The reality is Gov. Lamont’s budget shortchanges transportation. He is repeating the sins of past administrations, stealing from the Special Transportation Fund and crippling transportation funding. He is undoing the bipartisan policies lawmakers adopted to immediately stabilize and invest in transportation.
“His budget makes it more difficult to start infrastructure projects. It will force the state to put needed repairs on hold until tolls are up and running. So instead of building bridges and repairing roads today as the Republican Prioritize Progress would allow for, under Gov. Lamont’s budget, Connecticut will have to wait to figure out how many tolls, where they are going, and what they will cost.”
“I’m disappointed to hear Gov. Lamont repeatedly say one thing but do another. The reality is Gov. Lamont’s budget shortchanges transportation. He is repeating the sins of past administrations, stealing from the Special Transportation Fund and crippling transportation funding.” — State Sen. Len Fasano, R-North Haven