Gov. Dannel Malloy today proposed the State Bond Commission approve $90 million in funding for the New Britain-Hartford busway and extending commuter rail to Bristol and Waterbury.
Even though the busway is estimated to cost a total of $570 million, Malloy said he supported the project on Monday because it is ready to be built. Plus, the Federal Transit Administration is promising 80 percent of the funding. There’s no guarantee $275 million of that federal money would come back to Connecticut if the state turned it down for the busway.
The busway linking New Britain and Hartford originally was proposed in 1998 at a cost of $75.3 million as a way of reducing congestion on Interstate 84. Property acquisitions and other factors have driven up the costs.
The proposed commuter rail link to Waterbury and Bristol still is in the planning and design phase, but Malloy asked the bond commission to approve $1 million to study a central Connecticut rail project. He also asked the bond commission for $89 million for busway funding.
