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Hundreds Of Connecticut Transportation Projects Halted For Lack Of Funds

Ryan Caron King
/
WNPR
I-84 in Hartford in March 2017.

The Malloy administration is halting work on hundreds of transportation infrastructure projects, because the state’s Special Transportation Fund has run out of money. 

The list of projects that are now indefinitely postponed total about $4.3 billion in investment.

They include the Charter Oak Bridge, the mixmaster interchange in Waterbury and the rebuilding of I-84 in Hartford.

Governor Dannel Malloy had warned last year that the Special Transportation Fund was close to insolvency - and urged the legislature to take action. But lawmakers could not agree on additional revenue-raising proposals including tolls.

Now, Malloy said, the cupboard is bare.

“I think a lot of members of the legislature thought we were bluffing, or that we were kidding, or that we were somehow mistaken,” he told a news conference Wednesday. “The chickens have come home to roost, and unless the funding of these programs is committed to, then they are dead in the water.”

Don Shubert of the Connecticut Construction Industries Association joined the governor. He said if these projects remain in limbo for months or years, it may be hard to restart them.

“To build a workforce we can’t just snap our fingers and get started right away,” he said. “And at the same time you have to remember, equipment dealers, material producers, suppliers, everyone down the line needs to tool up if you’re going to stop and start.”

The governor says he will issue a series of recommendations to revive the Special Transportation Fund in coming weeks.

Harriet Jones is Managing Editor for Connecticut Public Radio, overseeing the coverage of daily stories from our busy newsroom.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.