Connecticut recently announced a multimodal agreement that establishes a unified federal review process and delegates authority to the state to accelerate the review of individual transportation projects.
The agreement applies to historic properties under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
The agreement is the first of its kind in the United States. It brings together multiple federal agencies and delegates certain responsibilities to the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) regarding the evaluation of historic properties and the potential impacts to compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act.
Agencies include CTDOT, the Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office, the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.
“This agreement is the result of productive collaborations between CTDOT and our federal and state partners, and we deeply appreciate the support from the U.S. Department of Transportation in making it a reality,” Garrett Eucalitto, CTDOT commissioner, said. “By streamlining environmental reviews and cutting government red tape, we can more efficiently advance projects and ultimately reduce costs.”
The new streamlined agreement could eliminate six weeks or more from the schedules of at least 90 projects in Connecticut annually, according to U.S. Department of Transportation estimates.