Connecticut's Roads & Rails
One of Connecticut’s economic strengths is our proximity to the economic power centers of New York and Boston. But this strength is waning as our transportation arteries get more and more clogged—and Connecticut commuters are getting more and more fed up. One of my top priorities in Congress is securing robust transportation funding for our state and dramatically increasing the amount of federal support for mass transit. I helped secure over $3.5 billion in federal funds for Connecticut's roads and rails.in the long-term highway bill that was passed in 2015.
High-speed rail is essential to bringing our nation’s aging infrastructure into the 21st Century. We need $4 billion in investment over the next ten years to simply keep up a state of good repairs along the Metro North line, but I am committed to doing more than simply upholding the status quo. Speeding up the travel time by 15 minutes from Bridgeport to Manhattan will open up economic development opportunities for that city. Finishing the New Haven–Springfield commuter rail line, for which I helped secure $191 million in federal funds, would better link the interior of our state with the rail lines along Connecticut’s shoreline and open up development opportunities in Enfield, Hartford, Meriden, and New Haven, to name a few cities. And it’s time to understand the importance of rebuilding the branch lines connecting Norwalk to Danbury, and Bridgeport to Waterbury. That’s why I worked hard to secure $19 million in the federal budget specifically for rail improvements on the Northeast Corridor – the first time funds have been dedicated specifically for the region.
Finally, I want to make sure that I continue to hear from Connecticut commuters on these issues. That’s why I launched the Fed Up initiative to hear from real people about their commutes and how we can make things better. Traffic means stress. Congestion means being late for work. Delays mean missing dinner with your kids night after night. I want to do whatever I can to help make sure that we’re working to make commutes in Connecticut more manageable so that people can spend time with friends and family instead of sitting in traffic or on stalled trains.
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