Today I had an opportunity to participate in a meeting with Commissioner Marie of the State D.O.T. regarding the future of many projects in the Danbury area and the I-84 corridor.
It was a good news-bad news type of meeting. This state is delaying funding on a number of projects throughout our region as they come to gripes with the new economy-that’s the bad news, they have I-84 on their radar as well as some of our local streets that surround the area-that’s the good news.
So what does this mean? The State of Connecticut is taking a realistic approach to what is “doable” given the economics that we are living in and will prioritize some projects while defering others to a later date.
They will not waste staff time on projects that cannot be completed within the next several years.
This is the right approach. Since most state D.O.T. projects around Danbury require staff support, our engineering department spends a lot of time working on projects with the state that will never get built (think how long it took the state to widen Rt. 7- about 80 years), and on projects that are too costly with little return.
We agreed that the focus for the state D.O.T should be I-84 from Danbury to Waterbury. The D.O.T. has also agreed to continue the work at exits 1 and 2 as you enter our city.
This work will be critical as we are working on several new corporations that are considering a move to Danbury.
A well designed I-84 will allow us to market Danbury in the new economy.
We have some very, very intriguing companies who are past the tire kicking stage. Stay tuned….
Special thanks to State Senator Mike McLachlan for arranging our meetings.
