250 milies of road paving to start soon!
Slap, Derek
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Derek Slap
April 23, 2009 (860) 240-8641 / 519-9672
Senate Democrats: pothole patrol to start early this year
legislative action this week sets stage for 250 miles of state roads to be repaved and repaired starting in May
Hartford: Senate President Donald E. Williams, Jr. (D-Brooklyn) says thanks to the action taken last night by the legislature and the leadership of Senator Donald DeFronzo (D-New Britain) - co-chair of the Transportation Committee - Connecticut motorists will get early relief from rough rides on more than 250 miles of state roads.
Senate Bill 835 authorizes the state to designate $64.1 million in special bonds for use by the Department of Transportation for resurfacing and related road construction projects. The bonds are payable from the Special Transportation Fund, which is funded through the gasoline excise tax and a portion of the gross receipts tax. The state will also receive $67.1 million in federal highway funding for the repaving projects.
“This bill is a win-win, for motorists and workers,” said Senator Williams. “The repaving of roads will make the drive to the grocery store or commute to work smoother and safer. At the same time, it is estimated that for every $1.25 million spent on transportation infrastructure, 50 jobs are created. By that estimate, this road repair money will help create more than five thousand jobs.”
“While this is a program that the General Assembly authorizes each year, it was advantageous to the state to expedite this funding in order to take advantage of the full 2009 road construction season,” said Senator DeFronzo. “The sooner that this funding is approved and is out the door, the faster our contractors can get to work on these projects and put our people back to work.”`
The bill is done annually but this year the legislature moved up the effective date by about two weeks in order to get the projects started earlier and take full advantage of the construction season. After passage by both the Senate and House yesterday, Gov. Rell signed the bill into law. The bonds are expected to be approved by the State Bond Commission at tomorrow’s meeting.
The spreadsheet breakdown of projects by district and region is attached in PDF form. The list of towns and cities affected include: Tolland, Ellington, Coventry, Hebron, Middletown, Cromwell, New Britain, Sterling, Columbia, Mansfield, Chester, Preston, New London, Branford, North Haven, Guilford, Woodbridge, Milford, Westport, Stratford, North Canaan, Hartland, Bethlehem, Goshen, Suffield, Litchfield, Danbury, Brookfield, Woodbury, and Thomaston,
<<Road repaving.doc>> <<repaving_resurfacing_2009 program.pdf>>
-END-