Without actually saying specifically where all the money would come from, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Wednesday proposed spending $10 billion on Connecticut transportation projects over the next five years, the start of a program he is branding Let’s Go CT!
Malloy’s budget guru – Ben Barnes, secretary of the Office of Policy & Management – was elusive Wednesday morning when asked where the increase in spending would come from, saying the governor right now has it budgeted as transfers from the state’s cash-strapped general fund, although Barnes didn’t think that would be the actual revenue source once the legislature approves the plan and Malloy signs it into law.
Barnes did list tolls as a possible source of funding, although he added an increase in state taxes could be another source.
“[Tolls] are not an obvious magic bullet to solve these problems,” Barnes said.
The leadership in the Connecticut House and Senate have supported tolls as a way to raise revenue for transportation projects and Malloy said he would support tolls on the state’s highways if the legislature set up a special lockbox to keep the government from raiding transportation funds to pay for other state spending.
The five-year plan calls for projects such as the redesign and engineering of the Hartford I-84 viaduct; the I-95 expansion between Stamford and Bridgeport; completion of the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield rail line, including new train cars, repairs to the New Haven rail line, additional stations on the New Haven rail line, building more parking facilities near rail stations; and expanding the state’s bus service.
Malloy’s budget did identify where some of the $10 billion would come from over the next five years, including $3.4 billion in assumed federal funding, although Barnes did note that collections from the state’s gasoline taxes are expected to decline every year, leaving less to draw on from existing revenue sources. Malloy budget also proposes $2.8 billion in new state bonding.
The five-year ramp up of Let’s Go CT! is only the start of what Malloy expects to be a 30-year program to create a comprehensive intermodal transportation system in the state that includes highways, rail, bicycle paths, airports, and seaports. After the initial 5-year, $10 billion ramp up, Malloy is proposing another $100 billion in spending (in 2013 dollars) over the next 30 years.
