The Advocate recently reported that Governor Jodi Rell does not support the idea of using I-95 breakdown lanes in Fairfield County as extra rush hour travel lanes.

This is good news for transportation reformers, elected officials, and emergency responders who have been fighting the plan since its inception as a measure that would extend rather than address gridlock and because highway shoulders are needed in emergency situations caused by road crashes and other incidents. Widening a highway with significant "latent demand" for peak road capacity would quickly create an additional lane of creeping traffic.

Former Governor John Rowland, who wanted to open the 12 miles of I-95’s emergency lanes to car traffic during rush hour, first proposed the project in 2000, shortly after Connecticut’s "transportation summit" (MTR #412). It appeared that the governor initially saw the plan as a quick-fix, but local opposition and pressure from groups such as the Tri-State Campaign, CT Fund for the Environment and Environmental Defense appeared to push the project into an extended environmental review (MTR #300).

Governor Rell said that she is also unenthusiastic about a plan to close down certain entrance and exit ramps on busy sections of I-95. Some officials believe that could speed traffic by reducing the number of highway merge and weave points. Rell has asked the Department of Transportation to study I-95 congestion, and if it is shown that closing some entrances and exits will help, she will consider it. That plan is opposed by some who fear the disruption of traffic patterns on the roads that connect to I-95.

It’s unclear when the new study will commence and what other projects may be under review in the new Rell administration. Rell said shortly after taking office that improving transportation would be a priority. As another winter comes closer, it is likely that Hartford is seeking to speed replacement of the New Haven commuter rail line’s ageing car fleet. However, that process is likely to drag out unless a consensus favoring new transportation revenues can be forged. The governor recently asked state senators William Nickerson and Andrew McDonald to propose ways to propose ways to pay for the new train cars. Both have been pushing hard for the fleet’s replacement.

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