View State Transportation Projects in a larger map
Important transportation projects in Derby, Seymour and Shelton have been shelved because the state says it doesn’t have the money to pay for them.
The list of “unfunded initiatives” includes a new onramp for Route 8 at Division Street and plans to revamp Route 34 in downtown Derby.
Click on the map above to view all the local projects on the list.
The local projects are among more than 100 other transportation projects across Connecticut that have been indefinitely shelved.
To view a PDF version of the complete list, click here.
“Many projects that are very much worthwhile projects are going to be on the back burner for a while because we do not have the funding to take care of them,” said Kevin Nursick, a spokesperson for the state Department of Transportation. “The existing infrastructure challenges are significant.”
In short — the state is focusing its resources on upkeep of the current transportation systems instead of paying to redesign and expand them.
Local planning officials are questioning the decision. They say some of the Valley projects now on hold already have millions of dollars worth of federal funding allocated.
That money can’t be used for other projects, said Rick Dunne, executive director of the Valley Council of Governments, a regional planning agency.
The feds doled out the money with the expectation the state would kick in a percentage. The federal money will be lost if the state doesn’t pony up, Dunne said at a Valley COG meeting Wednesday.
“It’s almost unbelievable that they’re saying we’re not going to spend this guaranteed federal money because we can’t come up with the matching funds,” he said.
Typically, the federal government funds 80 percent and the state kicks in 20 percent.
The Projects
Statewide, about $2.4 billion worth of projects have been postponed.
The Valley projects on the “not to do” list represent about $61 million. The state share of that would be about $12 million.
The following projects are on the list:
SEYMOUR
- Route 334: evaluate traffic circles, roundabouts. $2.5 million project
- Route 34: Intersection Improvements at Route 188 – $2 million project
- Route 334: realignment southwest to Commerce roads. $3.3 million project
DERBY
- Route 34: Reconstruct Bridge St. to Ausonio Drive – $5.8 million project
- Route 34: Bridge over Naugatuck River – $7.5 million
- Route 8: Improvements at Interchange 18, Division Street – $3 million project
SHELTON
- Route 8: Bridge over Route 110 and Housatonic River – a $36.5 million project
- Route 110: Intersection Improvements at Beardsley, School and Birdseye roads. $1.9 million project
- Route 110: Rehabilitate bridge over Morgan Curtis Brook – $780,000 project.
Another project in Shelton, a new ramp on Route 8 at exit 11, was already postponed when the state declined to pay the 20 percent share. Read a previous story about that here.
It Makes No Sense
Dunne said the decision is shortsighted on the part of the state Department of Transportation because the Naugatuck Valley roads are out of date and are stressed by the commuter traffic into Fairfield County each day.
Some of the projects, like the plans to put a new on-ramp for Route 8 at Division Street, are close to the final design stages.
“I don’t think they’ve looked at this projects in a sensible way,” Dunne said.
Dunne said the Valley Council of Governments also stands to lose a portion of its operating budget, which comes through the state share on the projects. The state contracts with Valley COG to implement the projects, Dunne said.
Resistance
The council is looking to get federal intervention.
Shelton Mayor Mark A. Lauretti asked Dunne to send a letter to the Federal Highway Administration, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro — and President Barack Obama.
“We should to send a letter to the Federal Highway Administration saying the state is in default of its agreement and they should deal directly with us,” Lauretti said.
Lauretti said he’d be willing to pay the 20 percent share if it meant getting the projects completed.
Meanwhile, Dunne said he will continue moving forward with the projects until he receives official, written notification from the state DOT telling him the projects are shelved.
Note: On Friday, after the Valley Indy published this story, Derby Mayor Anthony Staffieri said the DOT action is “possible.” He held a strategy meeting Friday Dunne to plan their appeal to the DOT.
