Funding sought for high-speed rail line
In an application jointly supported by Massachusetts and Vermont, Connecticut formally submitted its documents for $220 million in federal funding to build a high-speed rail line linking New Haven, Hartford and Springfield, Mass.
The project involves adding a second track, electrifying the corridor and building a rail link to Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks. Officials say a high-speed commuter rail service would take 4,000 cars off the roads daily in central Connecticut, and hope to eventually extend the line to Vermont and Montreal.
“We have made a point of developing this project ”¦ with the other states, our partners at Amtrak and with state and local officials up and down the line,” said Gov. M. Jodi Rell, in a prepared statement. “It will pay dividends to generations of travelers, open new pathways to economic development and educational attainment, enhance freight options (and) reduce congestion and help to remove the negative environmental effects of thousands of automobiles on the Interstate 91 corridor.”
State gets fair share of Highway Trust Fund
Since 2005, Connecticut and New York are among the 22 states that have received more than their fair share of money from the federal Highway Trust Fund, which provides money for improvements in part from federal gasoline taxes.
Connecticut received $1.64 from the Highway Trust Fund for each dollar the state contributed, according to the Government Accountability Office, while New York received $1.36.
Not including Washington, D.C., which drew $5.63 for each dollar contributed, Rhode Island led the continental U.S. in drawing $2.91 in funding for each dollar it chipped in. Texas was deemed to have received the lowest share of Highway Trust Fund money as calculated by contributions.
