Contents --- 1. Introduction --- 2. Roadway System
3a. I- 84 --- 3b. RT 7 South --- 3c. RT 7 North

4. Projects by Municipality --- 5. Bus Plan --- 6. Rail Plan
Other Elements 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d, 7e --- 8. Resource Center

INTRODUCTION
This section provides a summary of the costs of projects recommended in the Regional Transportation Plan. This is followed by an estimate of the revenues that will be used to finance the Plan’s recommended improvements. But since this is a long range systems level plan, many of the cost estimates and most of the revenue estimates are preliminary. The intent is to prepare an approximate, but realistic estimate of total program cost.

Federal rules require that fiscal priorities be set.

HVCEO is required by the rules of the federal transportation planning process to include this financial component within its Regional Transportation Plan to insure that the HVCEO Plan can be reasonably implemented, since overall federal and state funding will be limited.

In meeting this requirement, it is HVCEO's intent that the program's many planning bulletins and other data reports with their cost estimates be considered as documentation that is in aggregate much of the support for this financial component. Conn DOT planning documents are also used for this purpose.

Importantly, the federal process requires that the regional plan be "fiscally constrained." That is, proposed projects within the plan must be prioritized such that only those that are fundable over the period 2007 - 2035 are included.

This setting of priorities allows other processes such as air quality analysis and capital programming to proceed on a realistic basis. As required by federal rules, projects to be placed on the Region's capital program of projects will be drawn from the lists of needed transit and roadway projects in this Plan.

HVCEO certifies that it will not attempt to program projects costing more than the 28 year theoretical amounts set by Conn DOT for "financial constraint" planning purposes. Projects costing in excess of these Conn DOT determined amounts could be considered to be scheduled for the "off years", that is, beyond the scope of this current Plan.

1. TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS 2007-2035
System improvement projects are those which enhance safety, improve mobility, increase system productivity or promote economic growth. The Conn DOT estimate as of 2/27/2006 of funds to be available to the Housatonic Valley Region for the 28 year planning period is $627,376,551.

This Plan's total is a lesser amount, $202,277,000, as defined by municipality: Bethel $11,600,000; Bridgewater $2,000,000; Brookfield $15,940,000; Danbury $86,793,000; New Fairfield $2,050,000; New Milford $25,536,000; Newtown $43,900,000; Redding $622,000; Ridgefield $2,000,000; Sherman $5,836,000; Regional Enhancement $6,000,000; totaling to $202,277,000.

Thus the HVCEO Region is not near financial constraint limits as of this Plan update. The reason is that our most costly and largest projects are fortunately removed by Conn DOT into the "Major Projects of Statewide Significance" category (see Section 3 below).

Therefore there is room to program some additional municipal improvement projects, and federal fiscal constraint issues are not being violated by this Plan.

Please note that the Region anticipates at a later date the addition of significant additional capital costs to be documented by a Danbury Branch Rail Line Passenger Improvement Plan. This plan is being prepared by Conn DOT. No cost estimate is yet available, and the Council has not yet officially endorsed inclusion into this Regional Transportation Plan.

2. TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM PRESERVATION 2007-2035
Preservation projects are such as state roadway repavings, bridge repair or replacement, and other reconstruction in place, as required under Conn DOT maintenance schedules. The amount projected for the Housatonic Valley Region by the methodology of the Conn DOT 2/27/2006 memo for a twenty eight year period is $611,028,000.

Such projects are not listed directly in the HVCEO Transportation Plan. Rather, HVCEO will work cooperatively with Conn DOT during the 28 year period to maximize the effectiveness of such expenditures on the Region and not exceed its share, thus remaining fiscally constrained.

It should be noted that as Connecticut places a high priority on maintenance, the funds to pay for it have already been identified in the State’s financial planning guidelines. Accordingly, individual planning regions are not required to identify funding sources for the costs of keeping state roads in good repair.

3. TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM MAJOR
PROJECTS OF STATEWIDE SIGNIFICANCE 2007-2035
Within the statewide umbrella of financial constraint, Conn DOT has reserved certain additional theoretically available funds for "Major Projects of Statewide Significance."

According to the Conn DOT estimate of 2/27/2006, over the next twenty eight yeas there will be $60,000,000 for Route 7 in Brookfield, $268,000,000 for I-84 improvements in the Region, and $18,100,000 for Route 7 in Danbury and Ridgefield, for a total of $346,100,000 in "Major Projects of Statewide Significance " funding support for these Housatonic Valley needs.

4. TOTAL COST FOR CATEGORIES 1-3 ABOVE FOR 2007- 2035
The three figures above total to $1,159,405,000, which is less than the allowed maximum of $1,584,404,617. Thus costs are within this theoretical funding maximum.

As the above HVCEO system improvement costs are below the ceiling for that category, and "statewide" and "preservation" categories are maximums already set by Conn DOT, this HVCEO Plan conforms to the fiscal constraint rule.

1. System Improvements: $202,277,000
2. System Preservation: $611,028,000
3. Statewide Significance: $346,000,000

Total included (1-3 above) in this Plan: $1,159,305,000
Total still available to this Plan: $425,100,000
Combined "included" and "still available": $1,584,405,000

Maximum allowable: $1,584,405,000

Overall, HVCEO will advance projects in accordance the theoretical maximums and agrees to maintain a fiscally constrained plan.

5. TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM TRANSIT 2007-2035
Included in this section are capital and operating costs for Housatonic Area Regional Transit (HART) system services as well as commuter rail services. A maximum amount projected to be available by planning region has not been calculated by Conn DOT.

Rather, all transit capital spending for the Housatonic Region will be based upon Conn DOT's latest Capital Project Management Plan. This Conn DOT Plan consists of the projects and estimated costs required to bring the existing public transit systems to a state of good repair, to maintain them in that condition, and to replace rolling stock as life cycles dictate. The cost to operate rail and bus transit systems are additional.

In order to meet the condition of financial constraint, HVCEO will work within the confines of the Conn DOT Capital Project Management Plan. HVCEO will request that priority projects be included on that program.

Since Conn DOT approval is mandatory for funding and state totals are limited, and since the Capital Project Management Plan is itself appropriately fiscally constrained, meeting the financial constraint requirement for transit for the Region is assured.

The current Conn DOT Capital Project Management Plan can be accessed thru Conn DOT.

For the future, it is understood that once the rail passenger improvement plan is completed, then Conn DOT and this planning process will need to cooperatively identify new revenue sources before the service can be implemented.

Transportation Plan Sections 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6- 7- 8