Our intrepid Iowan -explorer and Senator, Chris Dodd spoke in Stamford about infrastructure. Yep, my fave topics, roads, trains, bridges and the the stuff that makes them happen. The good part: He wants the federal government to start focusing on infrastructure. He says he gets it that all these local politicians spend much of the time fighting over crumbs. This is what we call identifying the problem, which gets us halfway there, on the road of good governance. Alas, Senator Dodd took a detour through a seedy truck stop somewhere along the line.

[Read more →]

Looks like tomorrow we to see the revised, and apparently agreed upon, cloverleaf interchange that will connect the route 7 connector to the Merritt. From the Advocate:

The state and the Merritt Parkway Conservancy have reached an agreement in their long-running dispute over how to redesign a busy interchange in Norwalk.

The state Department of Transportation has settled on a “cloverleaf” design for the interchange of Route 7 and the Merritt Parkway, the plan favored by the conservancy.

The conservancy, in turn, has accepted state proposals to replace the historic bridge over Main Avenue near the interchange, as long as its character is maintained.

[Read more →]

The Hartford legislature is really interested in assuming all responsibilities for society at large. Too bad they won’t take a closer look at their responsibility to provide open and transparent accounting, under GAAP, so we can all see that Connecticut does not have a surplus. Instead the transportation committee unanimously voted on a bill to send to the full legislature that includes the requirement that parents attend 2 hours, outof the 8 required for driver training for teen drivers. All because these legislators, like Sen. Donald DeFronzo, D-New Britain, think that parents aren’t reading the pamphlet the DMV supplies about teenage driving restrictions.

[Read more →]

Isn’t this sort of a dog bites man story?

Sen. Bob Duff, D-25, majority whip, and Rep. Toni Boucher, R-143, who both serve the legislature’s transportation committee, said they had no idea the rail facility would cost more than the $300 million appropriation from 2005.

Jeff Beckham, a spokesman for the state Office of Policy Management, said the office was made aware of higher costs, but he wasn’t able to determine as of press time who found out and when.

“We understand that we’re going to have to fund that in the future, and we’ve been working with DOT to identify those funding needs,” he said.

[Read more →]

This is major, major news. Governor Rell has announced that the DOT will be split into two departments, Highways and Mass Transportation, effective Jan 1, 2010. For “gubermint” this is bold, bold, bold. And much needed.

The reconfiguration will be effective Jan. 1, 2010, said Robert L. Genuario, secretary of the office of policy and management.

Rell made the announcement Wednesday morning, shortly before she was to unveil her midterm budget adjustments.

Genuario said “The old DOT has become too bureaucratic, too inefficient and too single-minded in its approach to problem solving.”

[Read more →]

With gas prices what they are, it’s no surprise that people are reluctant to fill gas tanks. It’s being noticed too. From the Hour:

Troopers noticed a dramatic jump in the number of vehicles that ran out of gas during the December snowstorms, and a local AAA branch reports an increase in similar service calls in the last three months of 2007.

“People are riding around with less gas in their tanks,” State Police spokesman William Tate said. “When they don’t expect to sit idle on the highway behind a crash or wait in the snow for a plow, they run out of gas. It was an eye-opener to see how many were stranded.”

[Read more →]

Nothing riles me more than the continued push towards the infantalism of society. Enough with the reactionary laws bent on shifting responsibility and accountability from individuals to the nebulous governmental behavior police. The Hour leads with the latest focus, on of all things, teen driving. Puh-lease. Bad drivers know no age, and as long as people are encouraged to view a car as a mobile entertainment center instead of merely transportation.

Those polled in the survey conducted by Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s Task Force on Teen Driving supported strengthening teen driving laws, toughening penalties for violations and increasing educational requirements for young drivers under 18-years-old.

[Read more →]

The Courant reported the news coming out of the report on the CT DOT. Broken is quite the understatement and the consensus summary. From The Courant,

The commission concluded, in the words of member Larry McHugh, that the DOT is “broken.” Its report recommends about 30 immediate and long-term changes that members say will refocus management, make it more responsive to the public and reverse the low esteem in which the public holds the agency.

[Read more →]

Now this is an interesting development, Rell administration officials are conducting a nationwide search for a new CT DOT chief. The possibility that stellar dynamic and forward thinking DOT head might be hired have risen. There’s not guarantees that the candidate will come from out of state, but that alone would be a good thing. Meanwhile there are 50 other states that might have a pretty good DOT department. Close to home NY seems to do a good job, but a good look at Illinois, Washington state and Ohio might be an idea.

From the Advocate:

[Read more →]

Now this is something we like to see from our political flunkies. Action words.

“I want this issue resolved once and for all, and as quickly as possible – as do the tens of thousands of commuters who get on and off the Merritt at Route 7 daily,” Rell said. “It is time for everyone to listen to one another, come up with a plan that makes sense for everyone and the environment, and get this project off the drawing board and moving toward reality.”

[Read more →]