CT Has Some Of Most Expensive Highways In Country: Study

An annual report from the Reason Foundation found that Connecticut’s highway’s rank 46th in the nation when it comes to performance and cost-effectiveness. It ranks behind all but New Jersey, Rhode Island, Alaska and Hawaii.

The study looked at overall performance, cost-effectiveness and congestion among other factors. Connecticut ranked 46th in 2015 and 44th in 2013 and 2012.

Connecticut ranked seventh for most expensive disbursements per mile at $497,659. It takes into account capital, bridge, maintenance, administrative, highway law enforcement and safety, interest and bond retirement. New Jersey came in first at more than $2 million per mile.

Connecticut had the most expensive administrative disbursements per mile at $99,417. The next closest is Massachusetts at $77,086. The average was $10,864 per state. Administrative disbursements include general and main-office expenditures and not product-related costs, but sometimes include parked funds from bond or asset sales that are awaiting later expenditure.

On the bright side Connecticut has some of the safest highways in the nation with .84 deaths per 100 million traveled vehicle miles. That puts Connecticut as the state with the sixth-best ratio. Massachusetts came in first with a .52 ratio and South Carolina last at 1.89. The weighted average was 1.13.

Gov. Dannel Malloy and several other Democratic politicians are pushing for the state to implement electronic tolling. Malloy indefinitely postponed $4.3 billion worth of transportation projects in January as Special Transportation Fund dollars continue to dry up. Large projects such as the Waterbury mixmaster, widening I-95 in lower Fairfield County and improvements to the Hartford area have been put on hold.

Malloy pitched hiking the gas tax by seven cents to 32 cents per gallon in an effort to stabilize the STF until electronic tolling could be implement. He predicted tolls could start in fiscal year 2023 and eventually bring in $500 to $600 million per year. He also proposed a $3 per tire purchase tax.

Voters will have the option of instituting a transportation lock box on Election Day. The measure would assure that funds raised for transportation are actually used for transportation instead of being swept to close budget gaps.

Tolling is sure to be the hot-button issue of the 2018 legislative session. Logistics of tolls haven’t been ironed out, but Malloy noted that the nature of Connecticut’s highways allows for many entry and exit points, which would necessitate more catchment areas.
Many prominent Republicans have come out against the proposal. Republican Senate President Len Fasano said that taxpayers are already drained enough. He also criticized current studies and said that they adopt tolling amounts that exceed what is already in other states.

Read the full Reason Foundation study here.

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