Larson Testifies Before Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Hartford Region Priorities
Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01) appeared before the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure to advocate for the Hartford Region's infrastructure priorities. This hearing comes on the heels of the release of the Biden-Harris administration's American Jobs Plan, and ahead of the Committee's plan to markup a surface transportation bill next month.
"It's as if President Biden and Transportation Secretary Buttigieg had the Hartford region and the I-84/91 Interchange in mind when they laid out their bold plan for infrastructure, the American Jobs Act.
"The I-84/91 infrastructure was created during the Eisenhower administration when Interstates 84 and 91 were installed, bisecting the City of Hartford, isolating or eliminating thriving neighborhoods and cutting off access to the Connecticut River. Now, those highways make up the number one chokehold in Connecticut, the number two in New England, and depending on who you talk to between number 11 and number 30 in the Nation. Additionally the levee system that is in need of repair due to sandpiping, and the current situation rises to the height of urgency. An investment to fix these problems incorporates all the various elements of the Biden infrastructure proposal.
"Chairman DeFazio has been to the district no less than half a dozen times, and predecessor, Chairman Shuster has been many times as well. Both have recognized the importance and significance of this, and that is why we are before the committee to ask for this important infrastructure funding.
"Both the City of Hartford and East Hartford have been blocked from the Connecticut River by virtue of being bisected by I-84 & I-91 and the mixmaster, a massive interchange that contains the equivalent of all the concreate used in downtown Hartford, and takes up the land equivalent of that downtown. This design has created racial isolation in the city. The North End of Hartford, which was once a thriving community, has been cut off from the city and cut off from their waterfront. As a result, the 06120 is now Connecticut's poorest zip code.
"This has long been a posterchild for bad planning for the region and now is the historic opportunity to correct that. Now, this project will be the model and prototype of the American Jobs Plan.
"We can end this racial isolation, fulfil a fifty-year goal of recapturing the only National Blueway-designated river, and fix a traffic chokehold which is currently a tri-state concern.
"Connecticut DOT Commissioner Joseph Giulietti and Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont have embarked on a design-build study to do just this, by realigning I-84 and 91, and eliminating the mixmaster and Aetna viaduct. I'm glad to be working hand in glove with Governor Lamont and Commissioner Giulietti on this because of its vital importance to the State of Connecticut."
After Larson's testimony, Chairman DeFazio stated:
"I do think the 84/91 [interchange] is the sort of project that the President and Secretary Buttigieg had in mind when they proposed this new program....I thank the gentleman for his persistent advocacy."
Every four years, the American Society of Civil Engineers grades the state of U.S. infrastructure and identifies needed investment. Last month, the American Society of Civil Engineers released its 2021 Infrastructure Report Card, giving the U.S. a ‘C- grade'. According to ASCE, the country's total infrastructure needs over the next decade total more than $2.5 trillion to repair what we have. The I-84/I-91 interchange remains the number one chokehold in Connecticut, number two in New England, and is in the top 30 nationwide.
A Connecticut sheet from the White House can be found here.
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