Despite criticism from one quarter on how federal stimulus funds are being used for transportation, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dominated the attention of Connecticut policymakers in the first half of 2009.
Drawing analogies to the revered Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 that committed $25 billion to build more than 40,000 miles of interstate roads over two decades, the transportation components of the ARRA are not accompanied by a similar strategic roadmap beyond vague goals already encapsulated in other federal and state programs.
Instead, $26.6 billion in ARRA money was committed to projects that could be started immediately, and that otherwise would stall due to government coffers running on fumes. As a result, the current funding will not address thorny bottlenecks such as Fairfield County”™s stretch of Interstate 95 and New York”™s Tappan Zee Bridge.
In the rush to comply with an ARRA “use it or lose it” mandate for putting funds to use, states have failed to make as much progress as possible on pressing transportation needs, according to a study published last month by Smart Growth America using data from Charlier Associates Inc., a Boulder, Colo.-based transportation planning firm.
ARRA required states to commit at least half of their funding to transportation projects by June 29, and the remainder by next March.
From a jobs perspective, Connecticut”™s focus on road repair work is the best short-term use of the ARRA funding according to Smart Growth America, which notes that researchers estimate repair work provides anywhere from 16 percent to 32 percent more jobs than new projects, due to a higher percentage of funding going to wages rather than permitting and heavy equipment; and due to a wider range of workers being able to partake in such projects due to less-rigorous expertise needed to perform repair work versus new construction.
In Connecticut, two-thirds of roadways were not in good condition as of 2007 ”“ the third worst percentage in the Northeast according to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. The state had 165 bridges deemed structurally deficient as of last year.
Still, by focusing overwhelmingly on road projects most states met only two of the nine objectives laid out by the Obama administration and Congress for the transportation stimulus, according to Smart Growth America.
Those goals were:
- create and save jobs;
- fix crumbling infrastructure;
- modernize the transportation system;
- promote long-term economic growth;
- improve public transportation;
- reduce energy dependence;
- cut greenhouse gas emissions;
- not contribute to additional sprawl; and
- reduce commute times and congestion.
As of mid-June, Connecticut had received $181 million of $302 million in total ARRA transportation funding, including more than $70 million for repairs to the Merritt Parkway in Fairfield County.
At that point in time, Connecticut was one of just four states to have committed all of its ARRA transportation funding received to highway system preservation, along with Vermont and the Dakotas.
That does not include, however, some $100 million in capital grants to Amtrak that will be used to rebuild a key rail bridge in Niantic, and the state has applied for funding to establish commuter rail service connecting Hartford and Springfield, Mass. ”“ a project that has drawn private snickers from some in Fairfield County as a track to nowhere.
A closer look at the ARRA funding shows money trickling into a range of projects aimed at improving public transportation systems large and small. The state recently announced $8 million for runway improvements at Bradley International Airport outside Hartford; more locally, $400,000 will be used for upgrades at the Noroton Heights train station in Darien.
“There have certainly been some challenges, some frustration and a great deal of learning over this time,” said Gov. M. Jodi Rell, in a statement issued in mid-July reviewing various ARRA initiatives. “We are sure to encounter more challenges in the months ahead as we all work to balance expectation with reality.”
Last week, Rell and other New England governors unveiled their own “Eisenhower” plan for creating high-speed rail lines servicing much of the region, with the goal of doubling ridership by 2030. New York is working on a similar goal for the upstate portion of the state between Albany and Buffalo.
