Several experts on Seattle’s recent tunnel project presented their lessons to Hartford leaders and community members, Monday.
The event was organized by Congressman John Larson, who represents Hartford, and has lobbied for dismantling the current highways that cut through the capital city, and instead putting them underground to alleviate surface level congestion and create new open space and commercial development.
"The City of Hartford has an amazing asset in the Connecticut River,” said Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin of the idea of putting the city’s highways below ground. “I think there's amazing possibilities for economic development, for recreation, for improving quality of life if we were able to reconnect, truly reconnect the city to the river."
In Seattle, the project there is called the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement, which reshaped what’s known as the SR99 corridor. The highway had been a viaduct, similar to both interstates 91 and 84 through Hartford, but over the past decade, a tunnel was bored beneath the existing route, and it’s set to open before the end of October of this year.
Overall, the project cost $3.2 billion, which was a combination of state and private funding sources.
Since Connecticut’s highways are both part of the interstate highway system, the federal government would have some level of input, and the state would likely need to rely on an appropriation from Congress to make any changes to the highways.
Connecticut Transportation Commissioner Jim Redeker said, "Our model is very very constrained. Typically, we use federal money and we bring state money in to match it and we sell 20 year bonds, and that's it."
Local
In Seattle, both state and local officials expect the change to the viaduct into a tunnel to transform the waterfront in the city. They have already seen billions in investment for both commercial and residential properties that would not have been built without removing the viaduct. Once the tunnel opens, it will take the state six months to remove the old infrastructure.
Paula Hammond, the former Secretary of the Washington Department of Transportation, said Hartford and Connecticut leaders could see the same kind of transportation progress with a similar process.
"I think what we learned on our viaduct replacement project was to realize it wasn't just a transportation project and when you're in a community and you have the ability to have multiple benefits from a project, that it's time to work together and really think about how you can really improve the quality of life and the economy in a city like Hartford."
