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There was a time, not long ago, when there was little political will to make mass transit a serious part of Connecticut's transportation system. Cars were king. Trains were seen as a relict of a bygone era. The smart money was on building bigger highways and letting our neglected train system take a backseat.
A few of us took every opportunity to point out that a modernized, efficient and workable mass transit system would boost our economy, encourage business development and help the environment by making it possible for more people to leave their cars at home.
Fortunately, Gov. M. Jodi Rell heard us and sought transit-oriented leadership at the Department of Transportation. With her leadership, the improvement and modernization of Connecticut's mass transit system took off. As Rell said, people talked about it, but little was done until she took office in 2004.
Now, DOT considers our bus and train system to be as equally important as our highways and she has made much-needed investments in all of these areas.
Consider the Rell-era investments in mass transit and highways, including:
$667 million for 300 new rail cars on the New Haven Line;
$300 million for new rail maintenance facilities;
$103 million for a new train station in West Haven;
$187 million for operational improvements and congestion mitigation measures for Interstate 95;
$150 million for improvements to other state and interstate roads; and
$7.5 million for new transit buses.
Other transportation initiatives during the Rell administration include:
Enhancing rail service, including station improvements on Shore Line East;
Purchasing 24 new M-8 rail cars for Shore Line East;
Redeveloping the service plazas on Connecticut's highways through a public/private partnership;
Developing new rail station parking in Stamford;
Adding a new "511" traveler information system; and
Creating separate Engineering and Highway Operations Bureaus within DOT and reorganization of the Bureau of Finance and Administration.
Also, I expect the next big project to be completed will be the replacement of manual signals along the Danbury branch line with modern remote-controlled computerized signals. This much-needed project had been stalled and its state and federal funding jeopardized for more than a decade.
Thanks to Rell's willingness to listen me and other transportation advocates, the computer signalization project will be finished in 2012. This will make other much-needed improvements possible, such as electrification, which would make the Danbury branch line compatible with the main line. Meanwhile, just finishing the computerized signalization project will make it possible to add seven more trains for the morning and evening commutes.
Transportation news is just as good in other parts of the state. Rell has led the way for the development of a high-speed commuter rail line linking New Haven, Hartford and Springfield, Mass. Just last month, Rell joined members of Connecticut's Congressional delegation to announce a $121 million federal grant for the much-anticipated Springfield-to-New Haven rail line.
Although critics abound, no one can deny that we owe a great deal of our transportation infrastructure progress to Rell's determination, leadership and vision. After decades of neglect, she jump-started numerous stalled road and rail projects and has seen them through to completion, a transportation legacy that will endure long after her term concludes.
You can see the relief on the faces of weary commuters. The governor's efforts to make our mass transit system more efficient, more modern and more commuter-friendly should continue after she leaves office. After all, a sound transportation system is an economic imperative in revitalizing our great state.
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