Conn. State Rep. Mitch Bolinsky is no stranger to traffic on Interstate 84 in his state.
He knows the bottlenecks along the route from his home to the State Capitol in Hartford, including places where traffic merges in what he deems a chaotic or unsafe way, leading to frequent accidents. He knows he is not alone in being frustrated at the situation.
"I experience it every day," Bolinsky said. "But the most important thing is, I hear [it] from the constituents every day."
As a result, Bolinsky has proposed a possible solution by submitting a bill calling for the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) to study building an additional traffic lane, both eastbound and westbound, along more than 30 mi. of I-84, from Exit 7 in Danbury through Exit 20 in Waterbury.
"The economic future of Connecticut is tied to our transportation system," he told CT Insider. "If we don't have the capacity to handle the traffic that's flowing through here, it's going to find another way."
Though the bill, which has been referred to the legislature's Transportation Committee, is not likely to pass, Bolinsky said his primary goal is to "start some conversation" around the primary question: Would adding a lane to the highway actually reduce traffic?
Research has shown that adding lanes does relieve congestion in the short-term, as one would expect. Within a few years, though, studies show that expanded highways typically attract more cars, which leads to increased traffic once again.
This principle, known as "induced demand," has led some advocates and policymakers to oppose adding lanes to roads as a way of mitigating traffic. As they see it, making highways wider costs enormous sums of money without meaningfully reducing congestion.
"It doesn't work," said Jay Stange, Transport Hartford coordinator of the Center for Latino Progress. "Inevitably, that extra capacity draws additional interest in using [the highway] until eventually that's full and you end up with a 20-lane interstate with 10 lanes going in either direction."
Stange lamented that I-84 cuts through Connecticut's cities and expressed hope the state would move away from its reliance on highways as part of its near- and long-term development plans.
Still, fears over induced demand haven't stopped highway expansion projects nationwide, from Texas to New England, according to CT Insider.
Could More Transit-Related Projects Be the Answer?
Bolinsky noted that in his state, I-84 in western Conn. has been barely upgraded in decades, and it is not sustainable to have just two lanes in each direction. That contrasts with segments of the freeway east of Waterbury that have three lanes or more heading to and from Hartford.
"The backups are pretty monumental," he said of the location.
A spokesperson for CTDOT pointed out that the state recently completed a $223 million project to upgrade the interchange between I-84 and Connecticut Highway 8 in Waterbury — an area of exits and ramps known locally as the "mixmaster" — and is currently exploring options to reduce congestion in the Danbury area.
Stange argues the best way to alleviate traffic on congested highways is to build a society less reliant on cars, by such measures as improving public transit options and building more housing near train stations. This would additionally provide environmental benefits, he said, such as reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
"Everybody is now stuck driving in a car, often by themselves, everywhere they go," Stange said. "And if you try and change the system by adding extra pavement, it's really a zero-sum game. It's impossible."
Bolinsky also has proposed other pieces of transit-related legislation this session, including a bill that would increase the use of automated traffic enforcement on highways and another that would bar GPS devices from detouring drivers toward local roads.
CT Insider also reported that the Connecticut Legislature's Transportation Committee will consider several bills during the current session, including proposals to fully restore service on the Shore Line East rail line, reform laws around towing practices and allow high school students to access public transportation more easily.
