Murphy Discusses I-95 Closure And Reductions In Travel Time For Connecticut Commuters With Secretary Buttigieg

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Thursday spoke at a U.S. Appropriations Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies subcommittee hearing on President Biden's Fiscal Year 2025 budget request for the U.S. Department of Transportation. In his questions to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Murphy called attention to this morning's closure of I-95 in Norwalk and highlighted the importance of continued investment in the Federal-State Partnership program to upgrade rail in Connecticut and cut commute times.

Murphy noted this morning's emergency closure of I-95 in Norwalk and urged the Secretary to swiftly and safely resolve the issue: "This morning, there was a major tanker fire that erupted on Interstate 95 near Exit 15, Fairfield Avenue overpass in Norwalk. No major injuries reported, but I-95 right now is closed down and may be closed down for days depending on how fast we are able to make that bridge structurally sound and understand the extent of the fuel leakage. Early estimates are that they are 8,500 gallons of fuel that have leaked from this tanker, and we've got to make sure that the surrounding communities and watershed are safe. I know you've already put out a statement on this, but I just wanted to get your commitment that you'll be working all throughout the day, personally and through your staff, to make sure that we assess the damage, we get crews out there, and we get the highway and the overpass open as safe as it is possible for commuters and residents."

On the importance of maintaining federal investment in the Northeast Corridor to drive down commute times from Connecticut to New York, Murphy said: "It is obviously so maddening that Bridgeport sits only 70 miles away from New York, but still requires an hour and 40-minute train ride to get into the city. There is no reason in 2024 that that should be the case… I guess it is concerning to me to continue to look at accounts like the Fed-State Partnership, like CRISI, that are continuing to be underfunded visa vie where they were in 2022 or 2023. I just want to make sure that we are working with you to make sure that those numbers get back up, at the very least, to their high watermarks over the last 10 years and hopefully far beyond so that we don't have this interruption in momentum for the projects that we're undergoing to try to help a community like Bridgeport once the bipartisan infrastructure dollars expire."

He continued: "What we had hoped to see with this big commitment of federal dollars is that states would step up and make their own commitments. Connecticut has done that- the Governor's Time for Connecticut plan is all about matching the federal investment with significant state investment to ultimately get a 25-minute change in travel time on the Metro North line from New Haven to New York, which would continue to transform and grow New Haven. Even more critical, as I mentioned, for even lower income communities like Bridgeport."

A full transcript of his exchange with Buttigieg can be found below:

MURPHY: "Thank you very much Mr. Chairman. Good to see you, Mr. Secretary. First, let me note an emergency situation in Connecticut that you, I think, have already been briefed on. This morning, there was a major tanker fire that erupted on Interstate 95 near Exit 15, Fairfield Avenue overpass in Norwalk. No major injuries reported, but I-95 right now is closed down and may be closed down for days depending on how fast we are able to make that bridge structurally sound and understand the extent of the fuel leakage. Early estimates are that they are 8,500 gallons of fuel that have leaked from this tanker, and we've got to make sure that the surrounding communities and watershed are safe. I know you've already put out a statement on this, but I just wanted to get your commitment that you'll be working all throughout the day, personally and through your staff, to make sure that we assess the damage, we get crews out there, and we get the highway and the overpass open as safe as it is possible for commuters and residents."

BUTTIGIEG: "Absolutely. I spoke to Governor Lamont earlier this morning and the Federal Highway Administrator is tracking this personally. We'll get PHMSA involved, if appropriate, given any spillage that might be in play. And we'll do everything we can to help everybody get back to normal there. We know and of course have been reminded through experience just how important a smooth and normal ride on I-95 can be."

MURPHY: "Good. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Secretary. I wanted to stay in that part of my state for a second. In Stamford, Connecticut, the average income is about $47,000 a year. Not enough, but you can find a way to get by. Just a couple of miles up the road in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the average income is $29,000 a year, which is simply not enough to get by in a state with a relatively high cost of living like Connecticut. There are a multiplicity of reasons for those differences, but the primary one is distance from New York City, which is the driving economic engine for Fairfield County.

"It is obviously so maddening that Bridgeport sits only 70 miles away from New York, but still requires an hour and 40-minute train ride to get into the city. There is no reason in 2024 that that should be the case. The great news is that through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, we are finally delivering some serious money to allow us to do the bridge repairs, track additions, and general upgrades to be able to get 1:40 down to maybe 1:25 in the next 10 years.

"But as you know, and Senator Coons has already asked you about Amtrak funding, once this big chunk of bipartisan infrastructure money runs out, we're going to be scrambling as a committee to fill in the gaps. And I guess it is concerning to me to continue to look at accounts like the Fed-State Partnership, like CRISI, that are continuing to be underfunded visa vie where they were in 2022 or 2023. I just want to make sure that we are working with you to make sure that those numbers get back up, at the very least, to their high watermarks over the last 10 years and hopefully far beyond so that we don't have this interruption in momentum for the projects that we're undergoing to try to help a community like Bridgeport once the bipartisan infrastructure dollars expire."

BUTTIGIEG: "Thank you, and I certainly agree people experience distance not in terms of miles but in terms of minutes. And we know that we can do something about that by finally tackling the backlog in terms of state of good repair and accelerating things on the Northeast Corridor. That's what we're going after with all of the improvements taking place funded by the Federal-State Partnership, and we think CRISI plays a role here too. Of course, the $250 million requested here sits on top of the advanced appropriation for a total of about $1.2 billion, but the Fiscal Responsibility Act of course has required us to make challenging choices in terms of making it all add up. As you can imagine, the only person more enthusiastic than me - I thought I would be the most enthusiastic about passenger rail- is the president. And you can certainly count on this administration to be highly committed to improving travel times and reliability on the northeast corridor and any passenger rail corridor in the US."

MURPHY: "Well, and listen, what we had hoped to see with this big commitment of federal dollars is that states would step up and make their own commitments. Connecticut has done that- the Governor's Time for Connecticut plan is all about matching the federal investment with significant state investment to ultimately get a 25-minute change in travel time on the Metro North line from New Haven to New York, which would continue to transform and grow New Haven. Even more critical, as I mentioned, for even lower income communities like Bridgeport. So grateful for your recognition that we've got to have a plan to get these accounts back up to the proper levels so that we keep that really important momentum going. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman."

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