DOT Projects in the Granbys Now In Jeopardy

GRANBY-EAST GRANBY, CT — Plans to redesign an awkward intersection in Granby and repair a bridge in East Granby are now in question, following an announcement by Gov. Dannel Malloy that all Department of Transportation projects may be postponed indefinitely.

Malloy warned Wednesday that $4.3 billion in DOT projects could be postponed indefinitely unless more money is added to the Special Transportation Fund. The fund is set to be in a deficit by July 1, 2018 if no action is taken. It funds the state's transportation system, including the DOT and all the services it provides.

The planned intersection improvements on Route 10 at East Street and Notch Road in Granby are budgeted at $4,695,000. Repairs to the Floydville Road bridge over Salmon Brook in East Granby is slated for $333,500.

Funding for improvements and additions to the Hartford railroad line, including Enfield, Windsor and Newington, amounts to just over $400 million.

See the full list of affected projects here.

"If Connecticut does not take the necessary action to allow us to restart these vital projects, not only will it put the state's infrastructure into a further state of disrepair, it will hurt our economy," Malloy said.

State Representative Tony Guerrera, who co-chairs the Transportation Committee, suggested instituting tolls or finding another stable source of revenue to avert the mass project shutdown.

"This isn't a problem that can be punted until future years. Connecticut needs immediate action," DOT Commissioner James Redeker said. "As Gov. Malloy noted last month, the solvency of the Special Transportation Fund is in doubt without new revenues. In real terms, that means we need to postpone indefinitely important projects today."

Senate Republican President Pro Tempore Len Fasano said that the state's transportation woes didn't come out of nowhere and that Malloy and Democrats took $164 million over the past four years from Special Transportation Fund to balance budgets.

"Now, Gov. Malloy and Democrats are trying to use the problem they created to force the legislature to approve new taxes and more burdens on commuters," Fasano said. "That has been their game plan all along."

Patch Editor Rich Scinto contributed to this story.

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