CT Mirror reports, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont (D) “is planning a major increase in borrowing to fuel the rebuild of Connecticut’s aging transportation infrastructure — something [his administration has] dangled and not delivered before. But Department of Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto, who took over the agency two years ago, said staffing enhancements and the successful launch of recent major projects leave him optimistic.”
A three-year fiscal analysis issued last week projects that the state will sell “$1.3 billion in bonds to finance transportation projects next fiscal year. And by 2026-27, it would sell $1.4 billion, a 40% increase over the $1 billion in bonds the state is projected to issue this year.” Eucalitto said he’s confident the projections are accurate, in part because of CTDOT’s recent success in filling vacancies and retaining employees. Staff shortages get part of the blame for the slow pace of project development over the administrations of Lamont and his predecessor. Senator Christine Cohen (D-12), co-chair of the legislature’s transportation committee, told CT Mirror she’s “pleased with Eucalitto’s efforts to increase DOT staff as well as with the renewed effort to grow transportation construction work.”
The article also looks at the status of Connecticut’s Special Transportation Fund, the main source of project and debt service funding. A sizeable surplus has accrued over the past three years due to an increase in tax revenue and the state’s inability to attain borrowing goals.