Between 1917 and 1923, the state’s roads and bridges were in shambles. Maintenance and repairs were uneven, and the state did not have enough money to pay for all of the necessary improvements.
Connecticut faced a $40 million bill to fix 1,500 miles of roadways but had less than half that amount available from the state gasoline tax, automobile fees and federal funds.
Sound familiar?
It should. A viable and efficient transportation system has long been understood to be a key component of the state’s commerce, even during the state’s horse and buggy days. The close tie between the state’s transportation system and its economy has been acknowledged by the state’s earliest leaders, and it continues to be a focus. While the means of transportation change — the Windsor Locks canals had a brief moment in the sun — the need for a transportation system that moves people and products quickly through the state has never changed.
Looking back at how the state has tried to improve — and pay for — its transportation system may guide state officials as they consider dramatically revamping the Department of Transportation, as recently proposed by Gov. M. Jodi Rell.
For 68 years, the state’s oversight of its transportation infrastructure was split into specialized areas. It established the state Department of Highways in 1895, the Commission of Steamship Terminals in 1911, the Department of Aeronautics in 1927, and the Connecticut Transportation Authority in 1963. Then, in 1969, the state bundled together all of these separate transportation departments under one agency, the state Department of Transportation.
Also, consider that during the early part of the last century, as the state poured more and more state and federal money into constructing and maintaining better highways, the love affair with the automobile began to blossom. The once popular trolley — in 1902, there were 987 traction companies throughout the nation with a capacity of 4.8 billion passengers — fell out of favor. Reduced ridership along with the fact that government regulations prevented privately run trolleys from raising their fares above a nickel spelled the demise of the once popular mode of mass transit.
In the early 1900s, Connecticut followed a national trend, focusing transportation efforts not on planes and trains, but rather on making roads better suited for automobiles.
While much has been researched and written about the diminishment of the once popular and profitable trolley system, the state’s focus on highways during the last century clearly did not boost Connecticut’s mass transit system to its former heyday, even during the 1970s energy crisis.
Now, nearly 40 years later, Gov. M. Jodi Rell wants to split off the state Department of Transportation into two agencies — the Department of Highways and a Department of Public Transportation, Aviation and Ports.
What appears to be missing in this proposal is a department that focuses solely on the job of improving the state’s mass transit. The state once had a viable and efficient mass transit system. While there does exist a mass transit system that works very well in some parts of the state, it is a mere shadow of the extensive trolley system that provided affordable and frequent transportation throughout the state.
Let’s learn from yesterday’s mistakes and successes when revamping the state Department of Transportation.
