Governor Ned Lamont, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Representative John Larson (CT-01), U.S. Representative Joe Courtney (CT-02), U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), U.S. Representative Jim Himes (CT-04), and U.S. Representative Jahana Hayes (CT-05) today announced the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has selected ten projects in Connecticut for a total of nearly $2 billion in federal funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The grants are funded through the Northeast Corridor (NEC) Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program, which received an increase of $24 billion thanks to the IIJA.
This NEC Federal-State Partnership investment will be supported by nearly $400 million in state funding that Governor Lamont and members of the State Bond Commission voted to approve in October.
Connecticut will receive a total of $1,998,799,600 in funding for ten projects, including:
- $826.65 million for the Connecticut River Bridge Replacement Project: This project includes construction to replace the existing 116-year-old Connecticut River bridge between Old Saybrook and Old Lyme, with a modern and resilient new moveable bridge immediately to the south of the existing structure. The bridge serves the NEC main line as well as Amtrak’s intercity services, Connecticut Shore Line East commuter service, and freight operators.
- $465 million for the WALK Bridge Replacement Project: This project will replace the existing deteriorated bridge with a resilient bridge structure to improve safety and reliability of rail service along the New Haven Line and NEC, while improving navigational capacity and dependability for marine traffic in the Norwalk River.
- $245.92 million for the Devon Bridge Replacement Project: This project will provide a safe and reliable bridge crossing for rail over the river and marine navigation under the rail. The Devon Bridge serves as a critical transportation link between Stamford and New Haven on MNR’s New Haven Line and between New York and Boston on Amtrak’s NEC and carries 6,300 passengers every day.
- $122.8 million for the New Haven Line Power Improvement Program: This project is a phased approach to replace power equipment across three areas of the New Haven Line Power System, including replacement of two signal substations, two balancing substations, and power apparatus at three supply substations.
- $119.32 million for Devon Bridge Interim Repairs: This project will ensure the bridge can be structurally reliable until a major rehabilitation or replacement can occur as described in the Devon Bridge Replacement description above.
- $104.87 million for the Hartford Line Rail Program Double Track Phase 3B Project: This project will improve three single-track sections (totaling approximately 6.2 miles of track improvements) to double track sections to increase the frequency and speed of passenger rail service and to address the intercity transportation needs of Connecticut, Central Massachusetts, Boston, and Vermont.
- $71.65 million for the New Haven Line Track Improvement and Mobility Enhancement Part 1 and 3: This project includes project development and final design for track improvements between mileposts 56.8 and 60.1 on the New Haven Line in Connecticut as well as reconstruction of seven rail overpass bridges and upgrade of all tracks to FRA Class 6 standards, track realignments, installation of a new interlocking, replacement of catenary system components, and railbed drainage improvements.
- $23.2 million for the Saugatuck River Bridge Replacement: This project will replace the bascule bridge which carries four railroad tracks over the Saugatuck River in Westport, which will improve safety and allow increases to the maximum authorized speed through this section of track.
- $15.4 million for the New Haven Line Network Infrastructure Upgrade Project: This project will provide security infrastructure upgrades at stations throughout Metro-North Railroad territory and at Cos Cob bridge and network connectivity at 60 locations by connecting them into the 144-fiber optic back bone.
- $4 million for the New Haven to Providence Capacity Planning Study: This project is a planning study for future infrastructure, speed, and capacity improvement options between New Haven and Providence, Rhode Island.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Grant Program funds capital projects that reduce the state of good repair backlog, improve performance, or expand or establish new intercity passenger rail service, including privately operated intercity passenger rail service.