Geoff Luxenberg

I applaud Monday's approval by the State Properties Review Board (SPRB) that allows the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CT DOT) to purchase a portion of a freight rail line in Manchester, which will create an affordable and advantageous way to fix the dangerous intersection at Oakland and Woodbridge Streets.
 
The approval of this project represents the culmination of an extraordinary amount of hard work, negotiating savvy, technical expertise, local, state and federal government collaboration and teamwork and community input that has occurred for as long as I have been involved in local and state government. It is hard to overstate the environmental, economic development, public safety and community benefits. The impact for the residents I represent, and the entire north end of Manchester, will be transformative.
 
CT DOT will acquire the land parcel for $1,316,340 from Connecticut Southern Railroad, Inc., and that will allow it to address traffic concerns that currently hamper vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian safety. The rail line is along Route 83, located between the two closely spaced four-way intersections of Oakland Street at Old North Main Street and Woodbridge Street. In addition, the rail line crosses Main Street, creating a second rail crossing a short distance to the west that leads to congestion and safety issues.
 
By removing the rail crossing at the intersection of Oakland and Woodbridge Streets, CT DOT would make the northern approach from Oakland Street, which does not have a stop sign currently, a more typical four-way stop-controlled intersection, eliminating driver confusion and crashes. CT DOT reviewed the number of crashes at the intersection during the last three years, and there were 26 crashes, with five resulting in injuries.
 
Acquiring a portion of the rail corridor is considered a "no-build" alternative to the original proposal that would have cost $7.5 million for two roundabouts to mitigate the safety and traffic issues. The acquisition will also allow CT DOT to close a critical gap in the existing multi-use trail network under future project activities.

The only other way to address this dangerous intersection would cost five to six times more than this proposal costs. Now, we can address this public safety issue in the most economically affordable way for the taxpayers." 
 
The Federal Highway Administration will also provide 80% of the funding for the purchase.

In addition to public safety, environmental, quality of life and economic development benefits now unlocked, there is also an issue of social justice and equity embedded in this proposal.
 
The reality is that the north end of Manchester, where this parcel of land sits, is the section of town that is populated by racially and ethnically diverse, working-class residents whose neighborhoods have long suffered from neglect and underinvestment as compared to some of our more affluent and less racially diverse sections of town.
 
There is momentum in transforming this section of Manchester for community benefit. For example, the Whiton Branch Library was saved from being closed and made ADA accessible through State Bond Commission funding and was recently designated a polling location to make it easier for residents in this area of town to vote if they do not have transportation. In addition, Center Springs Park, which is not far from this area, is undergoing a $3 million upgrade with state bond funds.
 
We have an opportunity to leverage 80% percent of federal matching dollars to finance a project to solve the No. 1 traffic safety issue in Manchester.