House passes major transportation bill

(April 28, 2006) The state House of Representatives has passed a significant measure to address Connecticut’s serious transportation shortcomings. By a vote of 143-4, the House approved HB-5844, “An Act Concerning The Roadmap For Connecticut’s Economic Future,” and sent the bill to the Senate for its consideration.

Connecticut’s economic future could in fact depend on whether the state’s transportation infrastructure is efficient enough to move people quickly to job centers and state attractions. The bill proposes approximately $2.5 billion in new spending for the planning and implementation of a variety of statewide, multimodal transportation projects.

At the beginning of the session, Gov. Rell emphasized the importance of continuing the effort — begun last year with her $1.3 billion transportation initiative — to resolve the state’s transportation challenges. Speaker of the House James Amann (D-Milford) challenged House members to take a bold step and find the resources to implement the priority projects identified by the state’s Transportation Strategy Board. Projects specifically targeted for implementation in HB-5844 include:

• Commuter rail service on the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield rail line with shuttle service to Bradley International Airport
• Improvements to Shoreline East commuter rail
• Completion of the New Britain-Hartford busway
• Completion of the Norwich Inter-modal Transit Hub Roadway improvements
• Highway improvements along I-84 between Waterbury and Danbury along with other highway improvements in the Hartford area
• Improvements in branch line service in New Canaan, Waterbury and Danbury
  

Also under the bill, the state’s Transportation Strategy Board would move into the state budget office, and the governor’s office would be required to explore regional transportation solutions with officials in Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island. The projects and studies would be funded by $1 billion in bonding and the allocation of approximately $1.5 billion in revenues from the gross earnings tax on petroleum products. Building a first-class transportation system will create the opportunity for the state’s economy to keep flourishing.

For more information, contact CBIA’s Eric Brown at browne@cbia.com or 860-244-1900.