By Justin Muszynski
Governor Dannel Malloy signed a deal last week that will give the New Britain to Hartford busway the funding it needs to break ground in the spring of 2012.
Malloy, who was joined by Senator Joseph Lieberman, Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff and others, says even in times of economic uncertainty, Connecticut needs to be firm with developments like this.
“Now some folks might say, ‘in years of decline, which Connecticut has experienced in employment, why do we care so much about transportation?’” asked Malloy. “And I suppose if you are banking on another 22 years of decline in state government, then perhaps we shouldn’t commit to these investments.”
The funding that was approved was a grant agreement of $275 million which is a little less than half of the total cost of $567 million. Eighty percent of that is from federal funding.
The busway is estimated to transport about 16,000 passengers per day between New Britain and Hartford. It’s also projected that the busses will only take about 20 minutes to get commuters to their destination, a trip that would normally take them between 42- and 52-minutes depending on the time of day.
Rogoff says he’s pleased that this vision is finally a reality, as it has been debated for years.
“This certainly is a great day for Connecticut, it’s a great day for jobs in Connecticut, it’s a great day for congestion relief on interstate 84,” said Rogoff. “After years and years of study and debate, after years of engineering and design, we are finally here to commit the federal government to $275 million to the Hartford-New Britain bus line.”
The busway is said to be complete by 2014.
Rogoff also says that the travel time that the busway will cut down on will allow people for more time to do homework, enjoy dinner with their families and make it to things like church and PTA meetings.
“These are the kinds of projects that really improve the quality of people’s lives,” said Rogoff.
In addition to providing people with a better source of transportation, the busway is expected to increase travel speeds by 10 percent in congested areas of I-84. Malloy estimates that this project alone will create approximately 4,000 construction jobs, and an additional 100 jobs that will be permanent.
Lieberman says this is a great example of all parties working together to accomplish something for the greater good of the community.
“This is a project that has been brought to a successful conclusion with the support of Republicans and Democrats, a great partnership between the federal, state and local government,” said Lieberman.
Lieberman also says that it was decided in 2001 that this would be the most cost effective and environmental friendly alternative to cut down on congestion. In 2005, he and others worked hard to make sure this would be seen through, he added. But he gives much credit to Malloy who came into office and immediately worked to finish the deal and get things started.
The buses will feature diesel-electric hybrid technology to limit their environmental impact. They are scheduled to run more than 18-hours per day and only leave people waiting for three minutes during peak time and five minutes during off times.
The press conference, which took place in Founder’s Hall, had a strong turn-out.
