U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Rep. John B. Larson (D-CT) recently met in East Hartford, Conn., to discuss Connecticut’s infrastructure.
Larson updated DeFazio on a $10 billion plan to build two tunnels intended to remove gridlock at Interstates 84 and 91. The junction is the nation’s 14th most congested bottleneck.
The proposed tunnels would be toll routes, but the state legislature must first vote on the tolls. The legislature has not approved many tolls in the past.
“The tunnel proposal addresses some of Greater Hartford’s most complex infrastructure challenges, including the I-84/I-91 interchange,” Larson said. “The plan also would allow Hartford to recapture its riverfront, reconnect the North End of the city to downtown, allow for more intermodal transportation options, and repair the levees along the Connecticut River.”
“This is a project of national significance, and I fully intend when I write the policy and we do the bill, that we are going include projects of national and regional significance in that bill,” DeFazio said.” We’re going to fund them and we’re going to make those investments that are long overdue.”
The congressmen also discussed Great River Park on the Connecticut River.