What Are Gov. Lamont's Transportation Priorities for Connecticut?

2/15/2021 What are Gov. Lamont’s transportation priorities for Connecticut? Here’s the list. - Hartford Courant

What are Gov. Lamont’s transportation priorities for Connecticut? Here’s the list.

By RICK GREEN HARTFORD COURANT | FEB 15, 2021

Overhead view of the I84 and I91 interchange during afternoon rush hour during the early days of the pandemic. (Mark Mirko / Hartford Courant/Hartford Courant)

Gov. Ned Lamont has promised to make transportation improvements a priority in his proposed state budget, declaring that “this is personal.”

https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-clb-lamont-transportation-highway-improvements-connecticut-20210215-sgsevzgpqbfxjbrc5iysbrd4xq-story.html 1/17 2/15/2021 What are Gov. Lamont’s transportation priorities for Connecticut? Here’s the list. - Hartford Courant

“Annie and I went over the Mianus River Bridge down in Greenwich a few hours before it collapsed a generation ago. So I know,” Lamont said in his speech outlining his spending strategy for the next two years. “If the thinking had been, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,’ then that thinking needs to change.”

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With a proposed “highway use tax” on heavy-weight vehicles like tractor trailer trucks, Lamont says Connecticut can collect enough revenue from long-haul truckers who pass through the state to finance more than $1 billion in transportation projects over the next five years. https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-clb-lamont-transportation-highway-improvements-connecticut-20210215-sgsevzgpqbfxjbrc5iysbrd4xq-story.html 2/17 2/15/2021 What are Gov. Lamont’s transportation priorities for Connecticut? Here’s the list. - Hartford Courant

This will “address safety, traffic congestion, and modernization of our transportation system” the Lamont administration says.

Here are some of the big ticket items across Connecticut:

Improvements along I-95 to address specific safety concerns and congestion bottlenecks

Cars and trucks travel I95 in Stamford along one of seven "choke points" in Connecticut identified in a national report revealing 100 of https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-clb-lamont-transportation-highway-improvements-connecticut-20210215-sgsevzgpqbfxjbrc5iysbrd4xq-story.html 3/17 2/15/2021 What are Gov. Lamont’s transportation priorities for Connecticut? Here’s the list. - Hartford Courant the worst traffic points in the country. (Mark Mirko / Hartford Courant)

The completion of the Route 7/15 interchange in Norwalk

Traffic converges on I95 in Norwalk. (Mark Mirko / Hartford Courant)

More train service on the Waterbury line

https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-clb-lamont-transportation-highway-improvements-connecticut-20210215-sgsevzgpqbfxjbrc5iysbrd4xq-story.html 4/17 2/15/2021 What are Gov. Lamont’s transportation priorities for Connecticut? Here’s the list. - Hartford Courant

A Metro-North train at the Naugatuck station of the Waterbury branch.

Substantial cuts in support for New Haven Line and Shore Line East

https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-clb-lamont-transportation-highway-improvements-connecticut-20210215-sgsevzgpqbfxjbrc5iysbrd4xq-story.html 5/17 2/15/2021 What are Gov. Lamont’s transportation priorities for Connecticut? Here’s the list. - Hartford Courant

Gov. Lamont is proposing cutting support for the New Haven Line by $36 million and $5 million for the Shore Line East line in each of the next two years due to declining ridership. (BOB MACDONNELL / Hartford Courant)

Improvement to the I-691 / Rt. 15 Interchange

https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-clb-lamont-transportation-highway-improvements-connecticut-20210215-sgsevzgpqbfxjbrc5iysbrd4xq-story.html 6/17 2/15/2021 What are Gov. Lamont’s transportation priorities for Connecticut? Here’s the list. - Hartford Courant

I-691 in Meriden. (Ronald DeRosa / Hartford Courant)

Waterbury and Danbury congestion mitigation projects

Looking north at the intersection of Rt 8 and I-84 during rush hour. (John Woike / Hartford Courant) https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-clb-lamont-transportation-highway-improvements-connecticut-20210215-sgsevzgpqbfxjbrc5iysbrd4xq-story.html 7/17 2/15/2021 What are Gov. Lamont’s transportation priorities for Connecticut? Here’s the list. - Hartford Courant Fewer Express Buses

Gov. Lamont has proposed a $3 million cut in express bus service for next year. (MICHAEL McANDREWS / Hartford Courant)

Traffic Signal Removal on Rt. 9

https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-clb-lamont-transportation-highway-improvements-connecticut-20210215-sgsevzgpqbfxjbrc5iysbrd4xq-story.html 8/17 2/15/2021 What are Gov. Lamont’s transportation priorities for Connecticut? Here’s the list. - Hartford Courant

Traffic flows quickly through the intersection of Route 9 and Exit 16 to the Arrigoni Bridge. (John Woike / Hartford Courant)

Late night bus service in greater New Haven until 1 a.m.

https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-clb-lamont-transportation-highway-improvements-connecticut-20210215-sgsevzgpqbfxjbrc5iysbrd4xq-story.html 9/17 2/15/2021 What are Gov. Lamont’s transportation priorities for Connecticut? Here’s the list. - Hartford Courant

Connecticut Transit service would be expanded until 1 a.m. to provide transportation for essential workers in the greater New Haven area. (Stephen Dunn / Hartford Courant)

Expanded electric bus conversion program

https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-clb-lamont-transportation-highway-improvements-connecticut-20210215-sgsevzgpqbfxjbrc5iysbrd4xq-story.… 10/17 2/15/2021 What are Gov. Lamont’s transportation priorities for Connecticut? Here’s the list. - Hartford Courant

A man charges a new electric bus. (JOAQUIN SARMIENTO/Getty)

Stamford Transportation Center modernization

Commuters wait for the train at the Stamford Metro North Station. (John Krebs / Fox CT) https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-clb-lamont-transportation-highway-improvements-connecticut-20210215-sgsevzgpqbfxjbrc5iysbrd4xq-story.… 11/17 2/15/2021 What are Gov. Lamont’s transportation priorities for Connecticut? Here’s the list. - Hartford Courant Purchase of new dual power locomotives

New and old Metro-North train cars wait on lines at New Haven's Union Station. (Mark Mirko / Hartford Courant)

Highway bridge maintenance

https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-clb-lamont-transportation-highway-improvements-connecticut-20210215-sgsevzgpqbfxjbrc5iysbrd4xq-story.… 12/17 2/15/2021 What are Gov. Lamont’s transportation priorities for Connecticut? Here’s the list. - Hartford Courant

Workers on a highway bridge along Route 2 near Hartford. (John Woike / Hartford Courant)

Railroad bridge reconstruction and station Improvements in Westport

https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-clb-lamont-transportation-highway-improvements-connecticut-20210215-sgsevzgpqbfxjbrc5iysbrd4xq-story.… 13/17 2/15/2021 What are Gov. Lamont’s transportation priorities for Connecticut? Here’s the list. - Hartford Courant

A commuter train on the New Haven line of the Metro-North Railroad pulls into a station in Westport. (DOUGLAS HEALEY/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Improved pedestrian crossings and sidewalks

https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-clb-lamont-transportation-highway-improvements-connecticut-20210215-sgsevzgpqbfxjbrc5iysbrd4xq-story.… 14/17 2/15/2021 What are Gov. Lamont’s transportation priorities for Connecticut? Here’s the list. - Hartford Courant

A worker clears the sidewalk at a Dunkin' Donuts in Hartford. (Don Stacom)

Fixing up rural roads

https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-clb-lamont-transportation-highway-improvements-connecticut-20210215-sgsevzgpqbfxjbrc5iysbrd4xq-story.… 15/17 2/15/2021 What are Gov. Lamont’s transportation priorities for Connecticut? Here’s the list. - Hartford Courant

Hammertown Road, Salisbury. (Courtesy of Zillow.com)

Removing dying, dead and damaged trees along highways

https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-clb-lamont-transportation-highway-improvements-connecticut-20210215-sgsevzgpqbfxjbrc5iysbrd4xq-story.… 16/17 2/15/2021 What are Gov. Lamont’s transportation priorities for Connecticut? Here’s the list. - Hartford Courant

Several trees and power lines are seen down, making Damascus Road in Branford impassable, Friday, August 28, 2020, after Thursday's storm devastated the area. (Kassi Jackson/The Hartford Courant)

https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-clb-lamont-transportation-highway-improvements-connecticut-20210215-sgsevzgpqbfxjbrc5iysbrd4xq-story.… 17/17