Funding Uncertainty Clouds Future I-84 Widening

By Andrew Gorosko

Uncertainty about the availability of the massive funding that would be needed to widen Interstate 84 between Route 8 in Waterbury and the New York State line has resulted in the state Department of Transportation (DOT) no longer listing any date by which that highway widening project might start.

Although the DOT has no timetable for the highway widening project, it has started work on studying the environmental effects of the highway improvements. That environmental study is planned for completion by July 2011.

Besides the I-84 widening project, the DOT has separate projects in the planning stages to modernize the numerous interchanges along the highway, including those in Newtown at Exits 9, 10, and 11. The Exit 11 project would markedly change traffic flow in that area.

DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick said last week that construction funding sources for the I-84 widening project have not yet been identified. Also, no starting date for the project, nor a road construction schedule, have yet been identified, he said.

The highway project is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars. The work is intended to improve traffic flow and enhance public safety.

Although the overall cost of the widening project is unknown, the ongoing environmental study would seek to clarify the price of the work, according to Mr Nursick.

When construction funding is eventually designated, the cost split between federal sources and state sources likely would be 80 percent federal/20 percent state, he said.

It is unclear how long the construction project would take to complete, he said. The project likely would be broken into construction phases, he said. It likely would take ten years or longer to widen the highway in each direction along the 32-mile interstate corridor, according to Mr Nursick. One travel lane would be added in each direction.

One thing, though, is clear about the eventual road widening: when the construction work is underway, through-traffic would continue to flow on the interstate, according to Mr Nursick.

However, what remains unclear is where along the 32-mile highway corridor the road widening work would start, and also what geographic sequence that widening would take, Mr Nursick said.

Mr Nursick explained the funding problems that the DOT is facing in terms of maintaining its transportation facilities, as well as creating new and expanded facilities.

“The [DOT] currently has challenges before it in terms of infrastructure preservation — protecting and maintaining the existing transportation network. That coupled with a difficult and uncertain funding outlook, necessarily translates [into] a careful review and evaluation of projects and priorities,” he said.

“The state must carefully review and evaluate all of its potential expansion projects and preservation needs, and will work diligently with all stakeholders as this important discussion on our priorities and needs unfolds over the upcoming months,” according to Mr Nursick.

“The department is committed to improving the state’s transportation infrastructure on all fronts — but that needs to take place in the context of preservation and funding realities,” according to the DOT spokesman.

Other states, as well as Connecticut, are facing financial constraints in terms of transportation construction funding, requiring those states to review, adjust, and prioritize their exiting programs, he said.

The uncertainty over federal funding sources for transportation facility improvements creates an acute problem for Connecticut due to the age of its transportation facilities and the need to preserve those facilities, according to Mr Nursick.

The members of an advisory panel for the environmental impact study on the future widening of I-84 met October 22 in Southbury to discuss the highway widening project. Federal, state, regional, and local officials comprise the 20-member advisory panel.

The highway widening would occur in Danbury, Bethel, Brookfield, Newtown, Southbury, Middlebury, and Waterbury.

The environmental study underway addresses a range of topics, including the existing roadway and nearby railroad systems, traffic flow, noise, air quality, fisheries, wildlife, endangered species, biological diversity, wetlands, floodplains, floodways, historical and archaeological resources, farmlands, general land uses, hazardous materials and contamination issues, surface water, groundwater, recreational land, open space areas, socioeconomic conditions, and scenic roads.

The I-84 road widening would largely occur in the highway’s median. In areas where the existing median is narrow, the highway would be widened along its outer sides.