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Connecticut Transportation Commissioner Believes Federal Funds May Dry Up

Posted on: Saturday, 24 September 2005, 00:00 CDT

Sep. 24--Stephen Korta, the state Department of Transportation commissioner, returned from a national conference of his peers recently and said Connecticut will have to find some creative ways to get projects done in the next decade because federal funding might be drying up.

Korta attended the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials conference earlier in the week.

Representatives of all 50 states attended the event.

Korta said Thursday that he is concerned that the Federal Transportation Fund might be empty when it is time for the reauthorization of the transportation bill in 2009.

Congress is apparently also concerned with the financial status of the fund and, in the new transportation act signed into law in August, it called for the creation of a National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission to be established.

The commission is charged to investigate if gasoline tax revenues will increase enough to cover the funding needs of the nation.

Patricia Dolan, of the U.S. Government Accounting Office, said the commissioners have not all been selected, so no work has begun on the matter. But she said it's her understanding that there is a concern that as the country moves toward more fuel efficient vehicles and alternative fuels to power them, gas tax revenues could be reduced.

But Dolan said her agency is not aware of any imminent insolvency.

Korta said he's also looking into funding more projects through private partnerships, mainly because he's concerned about federal money coming into Connecticut even under the new act.

He said Connecticut received a 19 percent boost in the amount of federal funds it receives for highway work in the new transportation act, but that was the lowest increase in the nation. The state did better when it comes to mass transit, where its funds went up 33 percent.

Korta said the good news for the state is that Connecticut residents will see progress on its roads and rails in the next four years, largely because the DOT finally has access to the federal funds it needs to move projects forward.

During the previous two years, Connecticut's DOT, like other agencies across the nation, was limited in what projects they could take on because federal funding has been frozen for two years. He did not say how many projects were delayed or affected.

"It came in drips and drabs," Korta said, and so the department couldn't move on any long-range contracts.

While this should open the door for more work, Korta said it is clear that the DOT must compress the schedules of construction jobs in the future. He said the department is reviewing the early finish incentives that other states provide to contractors, but he will have to make sure those incentives are allowed under new contracting laws in the state.

Korta also said the department is looking to ease congestion on Connecticut highways by using Long Island Sound and encouraging the development of commuter friendly housing.

On both these fronts, Korta said Bridgeport will serve as a testing ground.

"Bridgeport will be very interesting to track," Korta said.

The Bridgeport Port Authority is planning to start receiving freight by barge this year and redevelopment efforts in the downtown area could help reduce traffic on Interstate 95 by allowing workers to live within easy access of a train station, he said.

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Copyright (c) 2005, Connecticut Post, Bridgeport

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Source: Connecticut Post

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