[JayCT]

No surprise here. Once again, Connecticut continues to lag in getting a Federal money. What I think makes us as high as we are is our defense industry. Between Electric Boat, Sikorsky, UTC Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney, we get a lot of defense contracts. That just shows how little we get for other things. Jay

https://ctmirror.org/2019/10/08/conn...tate-treasury/

[SteveM85]

Originally Posted by JayCT

No surprise here. Once again, Connecticut continues to lag in getting a Federal money. What I think makes us as high as we are is our defense industry. Between Electric Boat, Sikorsky, UTC Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney, we get a lot of defense contracts. That just shows how little we get for other things. Jay

https://ctmirror.org/2019/10/08/conn...tate-treasury/

We need Fed money to add lanes in Fairfield County.
I95 and the Parkway are severely understaffed in the lane department. A combined 5 lanes in one direction for both is an embarrassment in 2019 and there is no time for NIMBYism in 2019.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by SteveM85

We need Fed money to add lanes in Fairfield County.
I95 and the Parkway are severely understaffed in the lane department. A combined 5 lanes in one direction for both is an embarrassment in 2019 and there is no time for NIMBYism in 2019.

There currently is five lanes in each direction when you combine I-95 and the Merritt Parkway. I-95 has three lanes in each direction. The Parkway has two.

We will never get lanes added on the parkway. Too many people would be opposed to it. I do think that lanes could be added to I-95 though. Maybe even section could have two lanes added with one being an operational lane between interchanges. Jay

[JayCT]

Wow! An unnamed company has shown interest in occupying a large portion of the underutilized J C Panney warehouse in Manchester which would add 700 jobs there. Our central location between Boston and New York makes Connecticut an ideal location for distribution. Great news. Jay

https://www.hartfordbusiness.com/art...s-700-new-jobs

[SteveM85]

Originally Posted by JayCT

There currently is five lanes in each direction when you combine I-95 and the Merritt Parkway. I-95 has three lanes in each direction. The Parkway has two.

We will never get lanes added on the parkway. Too many people would be opposed to it. I do think that lanes could be added to I-95 though. Maybe even section could have two lanes added with one being an operational lane between interchanges. Jay

Yes I said 5 lanes combined between the two.

The second point is unacceptable. Its 2019 and this is a major metro. "Too many people would be opposed to it" doesn't cut it. At minimum one lane could be added to the Merritt without infringement. There is plenty of woods and buffer space from homes. It would not require eminent domain as I95 in parts may or may not. I for one know many who wouldn't be opposed to it.

I know you are going to bring up the "we don't want to turn into New Jersey" thing. I get it. I'm not suggesting we build a bunch of strip malls along the expanded Merritt Parkway.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by SteveM85

We need Fed money to add lanes in Fairfield County.
I95 and the Parkway are severely understaffed in the lane department. A combined 5 lanes in one direction for both is an embarrassment in 2019 and there is no time for NIMBYism in 2019.

I agree there’s no time for NIMBYism, but places like Los Angeles, south FL and even Atlanta are learning the downside to continuously expanding highways. 95 in Miami is 8 lanes across. 5 and 405 in LA are about 6. Guess what? They’re now full of traffic. South FL is now realizing how rail can be beneficial and are encouraging growth of Virgin Rail, but by the time it’s fully functional, people will spend many hours in 95 traffic.

One of the major issues CT has is the huge amount of on ramps. There are several spots I can think of that have multiple on ramps in a very short span. This causes a major slowdown on the highways. There should be a modernization of the highways and a reconfiguring of on and off ramps. It’s far too dated.

[SteveM85]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

I agree there’s no time for NIMBYism, but places like Los Angeles, south FL and even Atlanta are learning the downside to continuously expanding highways. 95 in Miami is 8 lanes across. 5 and 405 in LA are about 6. Guess what? They’re now full of traffic. South FL is now realizing how rail can be beneficial and are encouraging growth of Virgin Rail, but by the time it’s fully functional, people will spend many hours in 95 traffic.

One of the major issues CT has is the huge amount of on ramps. There are several spots I can think of that have multiple on ramps in a very short span. This causes a major slowdown on the highways. There should be a modernization of the highways and a reconfiguring of on and off ramps. It’s far too dated.

You're preaching to the choir. I've had more than my fill of big city automobile overload.
Given Fairfield County's lower population compared to major cities though I don't believe the "if you build it they will come" applies. I mean only so many people work in Stamford, right? either way beats sitting pat for 30 more years.

[Beeker2211]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

I agree there’s no time for NIMBYism, but places like Los Angeles, south FL and even Atlanta are learning the downside to continuously expanding highways. 95 in Miami is 8 lanes across. 5 and 405 in LA are about 6. Guess what? They’re now full of traffic. South FL is now realizing how rail can be beneficial and are encouraging growth of Virgin Rail, but by the time it’s fully functional, people will spend many hours in 95 traffic.

One of the major issues CT has is the huge amount of on ramps. There are several spots I can think of that have multiple on ramps in a very short span. This causes a major slowdown on the highways. There should be a modernization of the highways and a reconfiguring of on and off ramps. It’s far too dated.

Adding lanes just causes what's called "induced demand" and fill up because commuters, like subatomic particles, abhor a vacuum. The three biggest problems for I95 in terms of flow are: a) Too many entrances and exits which encourages intra-city travel (guilty as charged), b) absolutely horrific interchanges for Rt 7 and 8/25 (they've known 360 quarter mile exchanges cause massive backups since the 50's and yet...), and c) poor north/south flow between 95, 84, and ultimately 90 for better mid-New England flow. People kvetched about Super 7 and 25 connecting to 84, and now we're dealing with the issues that would've been made much better if they were built in the 70's, also now they kvetch about traffic on street level 7 and 25

[Mike 75]

Originally Posted by JayCT

No surprise here. Once again, Connecticut continues to lag in getting a Federal money. What I think makes us as high as we are is our defense industry. Between Electric Boat, Sikorsky, UTC Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney, we get a lot of defense contracts. That just shows how little we get for other things. Jay

https://ctmirror.org/2019/10/08/conn...tate-treasury/

This is squarely on the CT Congressional delegation. They need to step up their efforts in securing federal funds for our state. In particular our senior senator who seems focused on people riding in vintage airplanes and regulating CBD products (just two of his pressers I saw this week).

[robr2]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Wow! An unnamed company has shown interest in occupying a large portion of the underutilized J C Panney warehouse in Manchester which would add 700 jobs there. Our central location between Boston and New York makes Connecticut an ideal location for distribution. Great news. Jay

https://www.hartfordbusiness.com/art...s-700-new-jobs

Hmmmm - who else could use dozens of loading docks and one million sq. ft. of space that already has facilities on 91, 84 from Hartford down to Fairfield and nothing east of that area?