I-84 Expansion Project in Danbury Named Among Worst in the Country, Report Says

DANBURY, CT — Many residents welcome the expansion of I-84 between exits 3 and 8, with its December 2016 announcement giving traffic-plagued commuters a light at the end of the tunnel. However, a new report released Tuesday says that the expansion project will waste $715 million in taxpayer dollars and is among the most worst projects in the country.

The Connecticut Public Interest Research Group (ConnPIRG) Education Fund and the Frontier Group identified nine of the nation's most wasteful highway expansion projects in the report "Highway Boondoggles 3." The I-84 project is set to rebuild the eight-mile stretch between exits 3 and 8, and begin in 2022.

"With more than half of the state’s public roads in poor condition, it’s high time the state of Connecticut reassess its priorities when it comes to big highway projects or we’ll never truly solve our transportation issues,” said Kate Cohen in a press release, State Director at the ConnPIRG. “Prioritizing the I-84 expansion in Danbury at the expense of transit and rail improvements that would move people off the road is irresponsible.”

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Data from the Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration says that 338 bridges in the state are structurally deficient, accounting for eight percent of the state's bridges. The project is included in the state's "Let's Go CT" initiative, Gov. Dannel Malloy's 30-year transportation investment plan, but the study says that the funds would be better used elsewhere.

“The State's ambitious Let's Go CT initiative is already endangered by a soon-to-be insolvent Special Transportation Fund and push back on capital funding,” said State Rep. Jonathan Steinberg of Westport in a statement. “We need to set strategic priorities focused on the most urgent and essential infrastructure projects. Expanding lanes on the interstates, with benefits arguable at best, should not be prioritized.”

The report suggests that ridership is increasing on the state's rail lines such as the Danbury branch, and that investing in those rail lines would be more beneficial to the area.

"Ridership on rail lines like the Danbury branch of Metro-North is rising, even as growth in driving
has stagnated," reads the report."Yet Connecticut is preparing to spend tens of billions of dollars to widen and rebuild highways, including I-84 in Danbury."

The following are the eight other biggest "highway boondoggles" identified in the report

• Interstate 405 Expansion, Orange County, California
• Interstate 4 “Beyond the Ultimate,” Florida
• Interstate 75 North Truck Lanes, Georgia
• Illinois State Route 53/120
• Interstate 66 Expansion “Within the Beltway,” Virginia
• Interstate 30 Widening, Arkansas
• Madison Beltline, Wisconsin
• Interstate 73 in South Carolina

You can read the full report here.

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