Despite the recession, infrastructure improvements march on.
Connecticut Light & Power and the Connecticut Department of Transportation — both on the Berlin Turnpike in Newington — saw drawbacks in the past few years; but nothing stopped them from dropping billions of dollars on maintaining, upgrading and growing the state’s road, transit and power infrastructure.
“It is business as usual for us. People expect a safe and reliable system,” said Mitch Gross, CL&P spokesman. “Electricity is the lifeblood of the economy.”
While CL&P’s sales typically grow 1-2 percent each year, the past two years have seen decreases of 2-3 percent, mostly due to people conserving their electricity. Also, new service hook-ups, which occur when new buildings come online, dropped 50 percent from a year ago.
Despite the declines, CL&P spent $41 million to upgrade its system for this summer season. Electricity demand is typically the highest during the summer as air conditioners click on. CL&P tries to be proactive with its system upgrades to avoid costly breakdowns as demand rises, Gross said.
The next major undertaking for CL&P is a transmission upgrade called the Greater Springfield Reliability Project, which will cost in excess of $700 million. The project adds a more powerful transmission line between North Bloomfield and the Massachusetts line.
“We are not a 100-percent recession proof business, but we are essential,” Gross said. “The work goes on.”
The state DOT found while the cost of materials increased during the recession, the price tag for state projects decreased because contractors would work for less.
“Contractors are hungry, very hungry, for work. We have seen bid prices some in much lower than expected,” said Kevin Nursick, DOT spokesman. “We have a great opportunity to get things done.”
Construction of the New Haven Rail Yard, now underway, was estimated at more than $200 million, but instead the winning bid came in at $125 million.
Now is the time to take advantage of these decreases, Nursick said, because costs inflate over time. The funding for DOT’s 2010-2014 capital plan is $4.6 billion, roughly the same as its funding during non-recession years.
In addition, the federal stimulus American Recovery and Reinvestment Act awarded $22 million to Connecticut transportation projects, such as the $2.2 million set aside for the 16-mile, multi-use Farmington River Trail in Canton.
While DOT moves forward with billions in construction, the majority of the funding is dedicated to preserving the existing system, rather than expansion with projects such as extending Route 11 from Salem to Interstate 95.
These unfunded transportation projects — totaling nearly $4 billion — are shelved not because of the recession, but because of the existing system is too old, Nursick said. The average age of a bridge in Connecticut is 50 years old.
“We couldn’t responsibly move forward with new big projects without taking care of what we have first,” Nursick said. “You don’t put a new kitchen in your house when you have a leaking roof.”
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