To Get Connecticut Growing Again, We Have to Get Connecticut Moving Again
“I am open to a real discussion about the state of our transportation system — not only to make repairs, but to truly put Connecticut in a position of strength when it comes to infrastructure upgrades and bold economic visioning.”
— Governor Ned Lamont
FUELING ECONOMIC GROWTH: Connecticut's transportation fund is on track to soon become insolvent. For the sake of the state's future, Governor Lamont is urging action to produce a modernized and efficient transportation system that works for everyone.
- Provides options for a discussion about a sustainable path for long-term investment, and solvency to upgrade Connecticut’s transportation system to the 21st century.
- Prevents taxpayers from paying for out-of-state wear and tear.
News
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May 21, 2019
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May 10, 2019
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May 9, 2019
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April 11, 2019
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April 10, 2019
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April 9, 2019
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March 18, 2019
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March 11, 2019
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March 6, 2019
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March 6, 2019
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March 6, 2019
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March 6, 2019
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March 4, 2019
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March 1, 2019
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March 1, 2019
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February 26, 2019
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February 21, 2019
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February 21, 2019
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February 16, 2019 
I recently announced a reinvigorated economic development team, whose mission it is to promote and champion Connecticut to businesses who wish to locate or grow here. On paper, we have it all — access to world-class talent; equidistant between Boston and New York without the exceptionally high cost of living; vibrant cultural and educational institutions. But our reputation in one area in particular precedes us, and not in a good way. Our economic development team must be prepared to answer the question that everyone who knows anything about Connecticut will ask: “What about the congestion on your highways?” READ MORE |
Governor Lamont and legislative leaders have agreed to prioritize a final budget and vote on it in both chambers by the end of next week. The governor also released a working draft of the Transportation Infrastructure Investment proposal. 
Governor Ned Lamont today said that he is determined to fix notorious problem areas of traffic congestion in Connecticut, pointing to Exit 29 on I-91 northbound in Hartford as a prime example of a situation that is finally on its way to being fixed after nearly four decades of causing drivers too many hours of headaches and congestion. 
Governor Ned Lamont delivered a letter to the members of the Connecticut General Assembly regarding transportation investments in Connecticut. 
Drivers received a clearer picture of the tolls scenario this week. 
Governor Ned Lamont and the co-chairs of the General Assembly’s Transportation Committee, Senator Carlo Leone and Representative Roland Lemar, today provided an update on their efforts to pass a transportation infrastructure investment proposal that helps support and grow Connecticut’s economy. 
If Connecticut installs highway tolls, then it will not risk losing any of its federal funds meant for infrastructure upgrades, Gov. Ned Lamont said Tuesday. 
Governor Ned Lamont and a group of transportation advocates today joined near the Devon Bridge in Milford to call for increased investments in the state’s aging infrastructure, noting that the 114-year-old bridge is in serious need of replacement and has long surpassed its intended lifespan. 
Governor Ned Lamont and Department of Transportation Deputy Commissioner Anna Barry today visited the area near Exit 9 on I-95 in Stamford, where over two weekends this summer the state will utilize a cost-effective and innovative method to replace a two-span bridge that carries Route 1 (East Main Street) over I-95. 
There’s a chance that if electronic highway tolls are installed around Connecticut, the state’s gasoline tax would be reduced from the current 25 cents per gallon. That was the potential sweetener offered Wednesday, when Gov. Ned Lamont joined local leaders and union leaders in pushing for tolls ahead of a daylong public hearing on the issue that brought out hundreds, from either side of the issue, to the state Capitol. 
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont and a coalition of business leaders, labor officials and lawmakers called Wednesday for the establishment of highway tolls as a way to pay for upgrades to the state’s crumbling transportation system. 
Supporters of highway tolls were making their case in front of the cameras in Hartford on Wednesday. Governor Ned Lamont, the Mayors of Hartford and Waterbury, and a Coalition of Business and Labor leaders were among those speaking out in Hartford. 
On Wednesday, Governor Ned Lamont took to social media and spoke at the Connecticut Legislative Office Building pushing the need to upgrade the state's entire transportation system and gave more specifics than he has in the past on the plan to do so. He held a press conference in support of tolls with other lawmakers, Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, construction advocates and labor advocates ahead of a public hearing on. 
In a wide-ranging interview with Connecticut Public Radio, Governor Ned Lamont Monday touted some of his policy and personnel changes in the crucial areas of transportation and economic development. 
“Thank God the train was on time,” Gov. Ned Lamont proclaimed Friday on the Metro-North platform after his New York-bound train arrived in Bridgeport and he joined dozens of people amid the morning commute. So what if it was actually two minutes late? It’s close enough for government work. Lamont was on Day 3 of his statewide campaign underscoring the need for more investment in transit infrastructure at an uncertain moment in history, when an embattled president is wallowing in Washington gridlock and the state’s fund for transportation projects is draining. 
Governor Ned Lamont today said that the New Haven Line, which connects rail commuters in areas along the southwestern Connecticut coast from New Haven to New York City, is a critical resource in the region and for the sake of the state’s future and the thousands of jobs it supports, it needs to be maintained and fully modernized in order to best capitalize on the economic benefits it can provide Connecticut residents. 
Governor Ned Lamont today said that the Gold Star Memorial Bridge, which carries I-95 across the Thames River between Groton and New London, is a key representation of why the state needs to be more forward-thinking, strategic and thoughtful about its transportation strategy. The 76-year-old bridge, which thousands of people depend on for their daily commute, has been rated as “structurally deficient” and in “poor condition,” with costs for a rehabilitation project estimated at around $300 million. 
A highway tolling system that could raise $800 million a year would include at least 30-percent discounts for Connecticut residents, according to details in Gov. Ned Lamont’s budget announced Wednesday.
Community Support
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March 28, 2019
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March 20, 2019
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March 15, 2019
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March 4, 2019
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February 20, 2019
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February 18, 2019
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February 18, 2019
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The fact is that the state needs a new revenue source to fix transportation and grow our economy. As economists and residents of Connecticut, we want taxes that are simple to administer, provide good rather than bad incentives and are in large part paid for by people who benefit. Tolls fit the bill. 
After much consideration, we concluded that the need for a highway toll system with 21st century technology, coupled with the transportation lockbox and carve outs for Connecticut residents, would well serve our state far into the future. 
Hartford has a habit that I’d like to break. Last month, as Gov. Ned Lamont delivered his budget address to the General Assembly, I remember the sinking feeling that came when I learned that 13% of Connecticut’s budget will be consumed by debt services. As a new lawmaker, I can’t help but feel saddled by the debts of our parents’ and grandparents’ generations. For years, lawmakers have kicked the can down the road, burdening future voters, taxpayers and lawmakers with a legacy of debt. 
As members of Connecticut’s business community gather at the Capitol today, it’s important to note that members of the legislature’s Transportation Committee have the opportunity to vote on proposals which will fundamentally support and enhance our state's economic competitiveness for decades to come. Everyone agrees that we need to repair our aging roads and bridges, speed up rail and support other modes of transportation, such as ferry and air travel, to best support our economic competitiveness and quality of life. The only issue is how to pay for it. 
Let’s be honest, if we want Connecticut to grow — to be a place that attracts new jobs, new opportunities, higher home values and talented workers — we need to upgrade our outdated transportation network. We cannot seriously expect to achieve our state’s full potential with aging bridges and highways that are clogged with cars, and trains that don’t arrive or depart on time. 
Recently, the state has embarked upon a series of planned infrastructure upgrades near the Stamford Transportation Center including a new large-scale parking facility that will enhance this critical component of the region’s mass transit network. We believe that Gov. Ned Lamont’s new policy initiatives, which aim to create a predictable and sustainable funding stream for additional enhancements across all modes of transportation, will further improve the state’s business climate. Modernizing the state’s roads, bridges, and railways will enable goods to flow more efficiently, services to be provided more promptly, and commuters and drivers to confront less congestion. 
We write this article as a group of people who have worked for and with the state and federal governments on transportation policy for more than three decades. We are writing because we care about Connecticut. We are unanimous in believing that a statewide tolling system limited to interstate highways is a necessary and equitable transportation finance solution for the state. 
Connecticut has four cities, Hartford, New Haven, Waterbury, and Bridgeport, in the top 30 in the nation for zero-car households. In seven neighborhoods in Hartford, more than 40 percent of the households have no cars. Almost two-thirds of Hartford’s workforce, many of them using bus transit, work outside of Hartford. 
Chances are you’ve taken some form of transportation in the past week, to get to work or bring your kids to school; and chances are you’ve noticed the traffic, the crowded Metro-North train, and the potholes. We are a society on the move, and our ability to get around safely and easily is tied directly to our quality of life and economic growth on the municipal and state level. That is why we at the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities and the Council of Small Towns, as representatives of the towns and cities of Connecticut, believe that we need to have an honest conversation about tolls. 
Connecticut can only realize its full economic potential when we upgrade our infrastructure to 21st century standards using 21st century financing. Fast, reliable trains and highways are essential to a thriving economy and Connecticut is crippled by having neither. As Gov. Ned Lamont and his economic chiefs court Amazon and other companies, the rest of us should be asking: what are we doing to help? While both parties claim to be “pro-business” the truth is more complex. Slow trains and congested highways are costing us billions. So instead of reducing this situation to a simplistic yes/no on tolls, we should ask the bigger question: what are we doing to bring businesses to Connecticut? 
IBTTA salutes Governor Lamont for proposing “a reliable, sustainable source of revenue to bring the state’s transportation system into the 21st century.” In his budget address, the Governor said, “I cannot fix this state unless I fix the transportation system. After 40 years of underinvesting in our transportation system, we cannot borrow our way out of this mess.” He also acknowledged that while “People in the state are getting squeezed and the middle class is getting hammered,” the state must look at other promising ways to pay to rebuild its infrastructure. One of those ways is implementing tolling on cars and trucks on major highways in the state. 
Connecticut is the only state on the entire eastern seaboard that doesn't have some type of tolling system. With deteriorating infrastructure, we simply don't have the luxury of relying on the gas tax alone to fully fund our Special Transportation Fund. In fact, 33.5 percent of Connecticut's bridges are either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, which is well above the national average of 23 percent. Electronic tolling will keep our STF solvent for generations to come. This will ensure that we can make the investments necessary to address our infrastructure and transportation needs, while creating a steady pipeline of jobs for our state's residents. 
We commend Gov. Ned Lamont for announcing that he’s considering proposals to toll cars and heavy trucks to raise funds needed to rebuild Connecticut highways and tackle the persistent problem of congestion. Connecticut is not alone in considering tolling to rebuild and maintain vital highway infrastructure. There are more than 6,300 miles of tolled highways, bridges and tunnels in 35 states. Without tolling, some of the most heavily traveled roads and bridges in the U.S. would never have been built. 
The Governor’s proposal is considered a dependable, dedicated, and long-term user fee based revenue stream to support Connecticut’s future transportation systems.
Editorial Support
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May 15, 2019
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April 15, 2019
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March 7, 2019
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March 4, 2019
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February 24, 2019
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February 19, 2019
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The latest U.S. News & World Report rankings of the best states to live in bolsters Gov. Ned Lamont’s argument that central to getting Connecticut headed in the right direction is providing a reliable funding source to improve its transportation infrastructure. 
Life is a struggle enough without 20 hours a week spent parked on I-95 or the Merritt Parkway, in the sad, twice-a-day commuter conga lines. 
Gov. Ned Lamont made a mistake when he suggested, as a candidate, that Connecticut might get by with tolling only the big rigs that travel the state’s highways. It was an example of mismanaging expectations. But in the end, he’s come to the correct conclusion: Connecticut needs to establish a fair tolling system on its highways, and that means cars and trucks.