ROADS: Connecticut is the worst rated state for roads with 57% of the 21,512 miles in poor condition.1
Urban Roads: 61% of Connecticut’s urban roads are in poor condition and 19% in mediocre condition.2
Rural Roads: 40% of Connecticut’s rural roads are in poor condition, 34% in mediocre condition.
BRIDGES: 33% of Connecticut bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, which is well above the national average of 23%. A bridge is classified as structurally deficient if the deck, superstructure, substructure, or culvert is rated in "poor" condition.3 The top 10 most-heavily traveled structurally deficient bridges in Connecticut are:4
County | Year Built | Daily Crossings | Location |
Fairfield | 1957 | 145,000 | Yankee Doodle Bridge |
New Haven | 1956 | 136,400 | I-95 over Metro North Railroad |
New Haven | 1964 | 133,900 | I-91 over N Front St. & Quinn River |
New Haven | 1965 | 133,900 | I-91 over Amtrak Railroad |
Fairfield | 1958 | 131,600 | I-95 over Byram River & S Water St. |
Fairfield | 1957 | 129,900 | I-95 over Route 33 |
Fairfield | 1958 | 127,300 | I-95 & I-95 ramps over Metro North Railroad & local roads |
Hartford | 1961 | 125,700 | I-84 over Market St. & I-91 NB |
New Haven | 1960 | 108,800 | I-84 over Mad River |
Hartford | 1964 | 88,900 | I-84 WB over Amtrak Railroad & local roads |
Over 1,000,000 drivers travel over those top 10 bridges every day. There are 308 other structurally deficient bridges across every region, throughout the state.
3 http://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,4616,7-151-9618_47418-173622--,00.html
4 ARTBA Connecticut 2019 Bridge Profile
The need for investment is clear. This isn’t only a transportation funding crisis, but a public safety crisis, an economic crisis, and a quality of life crisis.
Cost of Inaction
Every $1 of deferred maintenance on roads and bridges has been found to cost an additional $4-$5 in needed future repairs.
Traffic crashes in Connecticut imposed a total of $4.4 billion in economic costs in 2015. TRIP estimates that traffic crashes in which roadway features were likely a contributing factor imposed $1.5 billion in economic costs in 2015.
Commuting Costs
Driving on deficient roads costs Connecticut motorists a total of $6.1 billion annually in the form of additional vehicle operating costs, congestion-related delays and traffic crashes.
Drivers in the state’s largest urban areas incur annual costs as a result of driving on deficient roads as follows: Bridgeport-Stamford - $2,378; Hartford - $2,355; New Haven - $2,190.
Worsening congestion robs drivers of time and fuel. Annual time wasted in congestion for drivers in the state’s largest urban areas is: Bridgeport-Stamford, 49 hours; Hartford, 45 hours; and, New Haven, 40 hours.
Public Health and Safety
Nearly four out of five miles on Connecticut’s major roads are in either poor or mediocre condition, with 57 percent rated in poor condition and 22 percent rated in mediocre condition.
Eight percent of Connecticut’s bridges (338 out of 4,214) are structurally deficient.
34 years ago, on June 28, 1983, the Mianus River Bridge on Interstate 95 in Greenwich, Connecticut collapsed, killing three drivers because of underinvestment in transportation infrastructure.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports there were 253 fatal motor vehicle crashes, resulting in 266 fatalities, in Connecticut during 2015. Motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death and permanently disabling injuries for Americans under age 21.
Economic and Business Impact
The Federal Highway Administration estimates that each dollar spent on road, highway and bridge improvements results in an average benefit of $5.20 in the form of reduced vehicle maintenance costs, reduced delays, reduced fuel consumption, improved safety, reduced road and bridge maintenance costs, and reduced emissions as a result of improved traffic flow.
Inter-state truck shipments along Connecticut’s highway and bridge network are vital to the economic growth of the state. Connecticut businesses shipped a total of $231.1 billion in freight in 2015. Of this total, 79 percent was shipped via truck. Truck traffic alone is expected to increase by 77 percent by 2045, reaching $322.5 billion in value.
As much as $2.3 billion in financial services and $893 million in insurance services were exported from Connecticut in 2014, with 41,700 finance and insurance sector jobs tied to trade. The ability for employees of Hartford firms to travel to New York, Boston, or internationally, is significantly improved by a strong transportation system.
Tourist destinations would be useless without a transportation system enabling access to tourist locations and businesses. During high-peak tourism travel times, congestion and poor road conditions can deter travel to popular tourist areas.