National Firm Finds CT's Roads, Bridges Are Obsolete and in Disrepair

NORWALK — A report prepared by a national transportation research firm finds Connecticut has let its roads, highways and bridges become obsolete and fall into disrepair.

As the economy rebounds, it says, the state will have to improve the physical condition of its transportation network in order to provide efficient and reliable mobility for residents, businesses and visitors.

Making needed improvements, it says, also will provide a "significant boost to the state's economy," creating jobs and stimulating long-term economic growth because of enhanced mobility and access.

The report was prepared by TRIP of Washington, D.C., which is funded by insurance companies; equipment manufacturers, distributors and suppliers; businesses involved in highway and transit engineering and construction; and organizations concerned with an efficient and safe highway transportation network.

The firm is in the process of preparing a report for all 50 states.

The report's release was announced Thursday morning at a news conference held on the Stuart Avenue overpass of Interstate 95 in Norwalk, during which local and state officials commented on its significance, and Frank Moretti, TRIP's Director of Policy and Research, provided an overview of its findings.

The report says the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided Connecticut with $302 million in stimulus funding for highway and bridge improvements and $137 million for public transit improvements.

"This funding can serve as a down payment on needed road, highway, bridge and transit improvements," the report says, "but is not sufficient to allow the state to proceed with numerous projects needed to modernize its surface transportation system."

Meeting the state's need to modernize and maintain its system of roads, highways, bridges and transit, it says, "will require a significant, long-term boost in transportation funding at the federal, state or local levels."

State Sen. Donald J. DeFronzo, D-New Britain, Berlin, and chairman of the General Assembly's Transportation Committee, said during the news conference the report offers a compelling argument for the need to plan for the state's transportation needs, and include not only the physical aspects of projects, but a long-term financial plan to safeguard the integrity of the planning process into future years.

DeFronzo said the report notes Connecticut has a very heavy reliance on federal funding and, as a result, it is imperative the state's Congressional delegation and Congress in general reauthorize the Surface Transportation Act.

State Sen. Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, said the report gives a blueprint for what we need to do in the future.

Duff said the state's next governor must put transportation on the "front burner," and the legislature must be behind that to make sure we are doing what we need to do to make our economy work.

"Our economy will literally win or lose depending on the actions we take based on this report today," Duff said.

Moretti said the overall finding of the report is that Connecticut is failing to maintain its core road, highways and bridge system, and the consequence will be increased costs to the public.

In the short term, Moretti said, addressing the state's infrastructure challenges will create jobs and help get the economy moving forward. But more critically, in the long term, he said, infrastructure improvements will improve the economic environment for the state and will help create long-term economic growth.

TRIP says it estimates a lack of safety features costs the state's driver's $2.7 billion annually in the form of traffic crashes, additional vehicle operating costs and congestion-related delays.

Vehicle travel in Connecticut increased 19 percent from 1990 to 2008, the report says, and is projected to increase another 20 percent by 2025. In 2008, it says, 58 percent of the Interstate highways in Connecticut's urban areas were considered congested, "carrying a level of traffic that is likely to result in significant delays during peak travel hours."

Also, in 2009, the report says, nine percent of the state's bridges showed significant deterioration or did not meet current design standards, and 25 percent were functionally obsolete.

The report says the traffic fatality rate on Connecticut roads is lower than the national average. However, the state's rural traffic fatality rate is nearly double the rate on all of its other roads.

The report points to "roadway characteristics," such as insufficient lane widths, guardrails, paved shoulders, lighting and traffic lights, as factors in fatal and serious traffic crashes Connecticut, and says the cost of serious traffic crashes in 2008 in the state where roadway design was likely a contributing factor was approximately $1.1 billion.

Download the movie