[ads94]

Seems my musings about that giant dirt pile along River road along 15 in Wallingford were correct, the massive piles are now gone, and a new embankment was created. Looks good so far.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by ads94

Seems my musings about that giant dirt pile along River road along 15 in Wallingford were correct, the massive piles are now gone, and a new embankment was created. Looks good so far.

Those were temporary and the contractor had to remove them at the end of his construction. Glad you like what you see there. Jay

[JayCT]

After the battle with Amtrak on a proposed bypass to the Northeast Corridor in southeastern Connecticut that ould have plowed through the middle of Old Lyme's Historic District, the battle now turns to Fairfield County where Amtrak is proposing a bypass to existing tracks from New Rochelle, NY to Greens Farms in Westport. They will likely face very stiff opposition to the plan particularly from towns like Greenwich, Darien and Westport. Jay

In CT's battle with feds over rail, a new front in Fairfield County | HartfordBusiness.com

[East of the River]

Originally Posted by JayCT

After the battle with Amtrak on a proposed bypass to the Northeast Corridor in southeastern Connecticut that ould have plowed through the middle of Old Lyme's Historic District, the battle now turns to Fairfield County where Amtrak is proposing a bypass to existing tracks from New Rochelle, NY to Greens Farms in Westport. They will likely face very stiff opposition to the plan particularly from towns like Greenwich, Darien and Westport. Jay

In CT's battle with feds over rail, a new front in Fairfield County | HartfordBusiness.com

And too all those who wonder why trains are so slow in CT here is the answer. Interestingly Amtrak does not need town approval to relocate tracks they can bypass all local zoning and environmental laws, but wealthy CT residents have enough political sway to make sure that things like this still don't happen.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by East of the River

And too all those who wonder why trains are so slow in CT here is the answer. Interestingly Amtrak does not need town approval to relocate tracks they can bypass all local zoning and environmental laws, but wealthy CT residents have enough political sway to make sure that things like this still don't happen.

I am not sure why you think that Amtrak does not have to comply with environmental laws. They do, just like any other government agency. Also note that the article says the state would provide some of the funding needed for this. I doubt the state would provide any money for this project and wonder why Amtrak would think otherwise. Jay

[BPt111]

Wealthy FFC residents


These people do not care about you, your future, or this state.
They care about their property values, capital gains tax, and the "character" of their prosperous little enclave."

"High speed rail will never be built for at least a couple of decades, if ever, because Fairfield country and the wealthy baby boomers of Connecticut are opposed to any type of construction that impacts them in any conceivable way. They will have Blumenthal block it and our economy just gets lousy by the day."

"It just seems like what is good for Connecticut will be good for Greenwich. More economic development = more taxes spread out = less taxes on the super wealthy. Win win right?"

[East of the River]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I am not sure why you think that Amtrak does not have to comply with environmental laws. They do, just like any other government agency. Also note that the article says the state would provide some of the funding needed for this. I doubt the state would provide any money for this project and wonder why Amtrak would think otherwise. Jay

The state has some control if they provide funding. But there was a case in NJ about 6 years ago where a town tried to block an expansion of a rail facility for repairing rolling stock. They rezoned it federal court said that doesn't matter, so they made it wetlands area on town maps, courts overturned it. The end was that railroads only have to follow federal laws for environmental not local thanks to some laws passed during the railroad expansion of the 1800's.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by East of the River

The state has some control if they provide funding. But there was a case in NJ about 6 years ago where a town tried to block an expansion of a rail facility for repairing rolling stock. They rezoned it federal court said that doesn't matter, so they made it wetlands area on town maps, courts overturned it. The end was that railroads only have to follow federal laws for environmental not local thanks to some laws passed during the railroad expansion of the 1800's.

This is a different situation. There are different levels of environmental regulation: Federal, State and Local. There is even a different designation of what a wetland is on the Federal and State levels. One is based on plant species, the other on soil type (I can't remember which is which)).

In the New Jersey case you had a town trying to regulate a Federal agency with local laws. Amtrak still had to comply with Federal environmental law. That meant they had to map Federal wetlands (among many other things) and develop an environmental impact and mitigation statement for the project and hold public hearings on it. If the money used for the project came strictly from the Federal government, they do not have to comply with state laws. If it was partially funded by the state, they would. They do not have to comply with local regulations at all but many times if the state is involved, they will require local input.

I suspect that Amtrak had followed Federal environmental laws for the project but the town wanted more (or just did not want the project). The judge based his ruling on whether Federal law was followed and since he ruled in favor of Amtrak, I would say they did.

In the case of Amtrak wanting to build a new corridor through Fairfield County, they are going to have to follow Federal law if they are using strictly Federal money. I believe though that they expect the state to pay for part of it so then they would have to follow state law. Either way, there will have to be an environmental impact statement prepared and vetted publically. That will be a long, long process, one that I doubt I will see in my lifetime. Jay

[ads94]

I snapped a picture from Hall Avenue in Wallingford the other day. The new intersection is great so far. Turns out the awkwardness of having to cross a lane of traffic was unfounded, there seems to be no, or very little, turning right on red coming from the park.

[Henry10]

Originally Posted by BPt111

Wealthy FFC residents


These people do not care about you, your future....?"

Neither do Amtrak or Hartford politicians.