Thomas MacMillan Photo
After years of planning, the state will send out a request for proposals for a new parking garage at Union Station in the next 60 days, said Gov. Dannel P. Malloy (pictured).
That was one revelation at a Monday morning press conference at Union Station, featuring a prized speaker.
Anthony Foxx (pictured), the new federal secretary of transportation, visited New Haven’s train station in his first state visit since being sworn in on July 2. He met with the state’s entire federal delegation and afterward spoke at the press event with Gov. Malloy, U.S. Sens. Chris Murphy and Dick Blumenthal, and U.S. Rep Rosa DeLauro.
Foxx’s visit was the fulfillment of a promise he made to Blumenthal during his confirmation hearings. The governor touted it as the beginning of a fruitful relationship with the new secretary, as the state looks to improve its road and train infrastructure.
Locally, New Haven has been looking for decades to have a second parking garage built at Union Station so more people can easily commute by rail; the garage has been stalled and shelved due in the past to fights between City Hall and the state as well as continual changes in personnel. Gov. Malloy claimed the wait is nearly over. He said the state will issue a request for proposal for a new garage in 60 days. Read about the saga of the planned parking garage here, here and here.
Malloy said Connecticut has a track record of getting transportation projects done ahead of schedule and under budget. He was asked about the “change out shop” project (pictured) in the rail yard behind Union Station, which is over a year behind schedule and $26 million over budget. Malloy called that project an exception. He said Q Bridge construction is coming in under budget, as is the “busway” project.
Several speakers Monday morning highlighted the important position that trains hold in Connecticut and in the northeastern U.S. in general.
Train service in the northeast corridor is the busiest in the country: 2,200 daily trains carry 250,000 million passengers a year, Foxx said.
The northeast line is Amtrak’s only profit center, comprising 20 percent of rail passengers, said Sen. Murphy.