DeLauro, Connecticut Transportation And Building Leaders Call For Congress To Shore Up Highway Trust Fund

NEW HAVEN, CT – May 19, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) today joined Don Shubert, President of the Connecticut Construction Industries Association; Craig Metz, Business Manager of the Operating Engineers Local 478; Chris Cozzi, President of the New Haven Building and Construction Trades; and Anna Barry, Deputy Connecticut Department Of Transportation Commissioner to call on Congress to shore up the Highway Trust Fund. Without action, the Highway Trust Fund will see its authorization expire on May 31, severely limiting its ability to provide money to states, including Connecticut.

“Like many states, Connecticut badly needs investment in its transportation infrastructure,” DeLauro said. “For months now, I have been calling for a long-term reauthorization of the Highway Trust Fund as a matter of urgency. In the past six years there have been 32 short-term extensions of the Highway Trust Fund. We must stop simply patching it up and ensure multi-year funding to give Connecticut officials the certainty they need to plan ahead.”

DeLauro for many years has supported a long-term, responsible solution to the problem which would allow transportation officials to plan for the future.

According to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), 41 percent of Connecticut’s roads are in poor condition. This costs Connecticut drivers $1.6 billion, or $661.26 per person, annually in unnecessary vehicle repairs and costs. The ASCE’s 2013 Infrastructure Report Card gave U.S. infrastructure an overall grade of D-.

That same report card estimated 41 percent of Connecticut’s major roads are in poor condition and a quarter of the state’s bridges are considered functionally obsolete. Connecticut’s full report card can be viewed here