[BPt111]

Is It possible to widen I-95 ? Tax Increase coming state your thoughts.



MERIDEN -- Proclaiming "the transportation system in Connecticut is terrible," the governor said he wants to add a lane in both directions of congested, confounding Interstate-95 in Southwestern Connecticut. Without a better flow of traffic and a vision for all forms of transportation, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said, the state's economic development will continue to lag. During a news conference to drum up statewide support for the multi-decade, multi-billion-dollar transportation initiative he outlined to the General

Assembly the day before, the governor deflected questions about particular plans he may support for new tolls on state highways -- and made no mention of how much it might cost. Instead, he said the decision will be up to a consensus among lawmakers in the General Assembly. A long-term study of tolls is already underway, however, and James P. Redeker, commissioner of the state Department of Transportation, said it will be completed within months. The tolls will have to be spread equitably throughout the state or the proposal will be the target of bipartisan opposition, Sen. L. Scott Frantz, R-Greenwich, said. Malloy's legacy-setting transit plans also include widening Interstate-95 from Greenwich to Stonington to relieve the traffic that routinely bogs down for hours, discouraging drivers and regional development. "It's time to do what should have been done long ago," said Malloy, a former 14-year mayor of Stamford.

He said that a successful strategy in New Jersey that Redeker helped develop when he worked there was the construction of parallel highways next to existing ones. "We've got to take this issue on big," Malloy said. "The reality is that the three-lane portion is in worse shape than the two-lane portion and they're both in terrible shape." Malloy reiterated a report that came out last week shows that underinvestment in transportation costs the state $4.2 billion. "A lot of that has to do with (Interstates) 84, 95 corridors, less of it to 91 but there are improvements that need to be made to 91," Malloy said. "These are gigantic projects that should have been taken on in the past and I intend to have a very, very thorough discussion of our transportation needs. The Merritt Parkway is absolutely gorgeous, but you get over to 95, in substantial portions of our state you can't go more than 15 or 20 miles an hour on an interstate highway for substantial portions of the day." Asked what type of toll program he foresees,

Malloy deferred judgment. Frantz, whose Senate district includes Greenwich and parts of Stamford and New Canaan, said that there are many questions surrounding both tolls and highway widening. "No road is better than its weakest link and some of these (Interstate-95) bridges are less than three-and-a-half or four lanes," Frantz said. "I'm all for everything we can possibly do to increase the through-put on all interstates, but I don't know how they're going to do it." Frantz recalled that the idea of reinstituting tolls has been floated in four of the last six years. "

We've been vociferous and we'll be loud on the issue and fight it. If they go through with tolls, they have to spread out the transponder stations throughout state, including Norwalk, New Haven, Meriden, places like that." Redeker said that the agency is still collecting toll data, which has to be studied further. "That goes into models. The models feed the outputs and we'll have to see what it looks like," he said, adding that it will be several months before the study is concluded.



Malloy held the meeting room in the local Chamber of Commerce offices downtown, with a sweeping view of this city's new 14-acre park, housing, flood-control project and adjacent intermodal center, to highlight enhanced train service between New Haven and Springfield, Mass. that will begin in late 2016. "We want people to be able to live in Connecticut with a car and without a car," Malloy said. "We want this train apparatus throughout our state on the additional lines to the existing ones to run more like a subway system than a train system. To have more-constant availability of trains."

http://www.greenwichtime.com/busines...95-6002957.php

http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/...ur-6002810.php

[nep321]

Here is a good link, with a video:
http://wtnh.com/2015/01/08/malloy-se...ncluding-i-95/

Finally!!!

I knew I voted for the right guy!!!

[basehead617]

"I'm all for everything we can possibly do to increase the through-put on all interstates, but I don't know how they're going to do it."

I literally laughed out loud. The King of the NIMBYs can't wait to oppose this.

Anyway, widening from Greenwich.... to STONINGTON???

We should set our sights on something achievable in our lifetimes.

[GIANT_ENEMY_CRAB]

Yay finally. Only took Malloy 4 years.

[NewJeffCT]

some good points from Democratic-leaning columnist Colin McEnroe on the "lockbox" for transportation...one being that the transportation money is already supposed to be in a lockbox as it is.

Raid On Gov. Malloy's Transportation Lock Box Likely - Hartford Courant

I'm not sure if we need tolls, or if a real lockbox will actually work, but we need to do something to improve transportation in Fairfield & New Haven counties. As a resident of the Hartford area for most of my life, I'm in support of that part of the state coming first. Plus, for the long term, I'd rather think big and then scale back on a big idea where needed, than to keep nickel & diming the situation.

[mikelizard860]

Originally Posted by basehead617

"I'm all for everything we can possibly do to increase the through-put on all interstates, but I don't know how they're going to do it."

I literally laughed out loud. The King of the NIMBYs can't wait to oppose this.

Anyway, widening from Greenwich.... to STONINGTON???

We should set our sights on something achievable in our lifetimes.

It would be MUCH EASIER to widen 95 NOW from branford to stonington than the fairfield country portion. It's not just about now, but the future. Also, 95 from the route 9 interchange to 395 is routinely backed up during the summer and is a bad stretch and outdated.

[BPt111]

Originally Posted by mikelizard860

It would be MUCH EASIER to widen 95 NOW from branford to stonington than the fairfield country portion. It's not just about now, but the future. Also, 95 from the route 9 interchange to 395 is routinely backed up during the summer and is a bad stretch and outdated.

How they going widen the highway up to New Haven ?


Will traffic be much worst ?

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by mikelizard860

It would be MUCH EASIER to widen 95 NOW from branford to stonington than the fairfield country portion. It's not just about now, but the future. Also, 95 from the route 9 interchange to 395 is routinely backed up during the summer and is a bad stretch and outdated.

I don't think occasional summer traffic has even a sliver of the economic impact constant gridlock has in southwest CT. It should be a massive priority for the state's economic future.

[MiaMia411]

I find it amusing that with all the taxes, high property taxes, and highest gas tax Malloy doesnt know how to come up with the money to fund this but isnt that the point of all those other taxes?

[larsm]

IMHO what Malloy proposes is a 20th century solution to a 21st century problem. It took the state how many decades to get Route 7 progress? The problems of widening 95 are magnitudes greater and would therefore take at least as long a time frame, if it can even realistically be done . To me the only practicable solution to this issue is technology: automated systems that can move cars with efficiency, which means ultimately driverless vehicles.

I have to believe that driverless vehicles will be viable long before 95 could be widen.

What the state ought to do is convene "experts" to start the process of figuring out the legal/insurance issues of driverless vehicles so that these can be resolved/discussed as the technologies get perfected.