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Lawmakers Question Secrecy On New Bridgeport Train Station

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – The ranking members of the State Transportation Committee are questioning what they are calling the apparent secrecy behind a proposed second train station in Bridgeport.

Bridgeport will be getting another Metro-North train station.

Bridgeport will be getting another Metro-North train station.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

State Sen. Toni Boucher (R-Wilton) and state Rep. David Scribner (R-Danbury) have sent several letters to Gov. Dannel Malloy requesting information on the plan and design for a proposed Barnum Rail Station in Bridgeport. To date, they have not received any answers, both said in a statement. 

A report done by Hearst Connecticut Newspapers said the State Department of Transportation was caught off guard by the announcement, too. 

“Why all the secrecy and how can questions respectfully asked of this administration go unanswered?” Boucher, who represents Bethel, New Canaan, Redding, Ridgefield, Weston, Westport and Wilton, said in a statement.

“It is troubling that information about a major infrastructure change on our rail lines would be announced without informing the leaders of the state’s transportation committee and with some apparent confusion within the walls of our very own Department of Transportation,” Scribner said in a statement. 

On July 18, two days after the Malloy administration made the public announcement of the proposed second train station, Boucher and Scribner said they wrote to the governor and asked a series of questions, including:

• When did discussions begin on the need for this project? 

• Have any members of the legislature’s Transportation Committee received a briefing on this project and its scope? 

• How much will state taxpayers be asked to pay and how much will come from the federal government?

Boucher and Scribner said they were hoping to get answers for constituents before the money was approved by the State Bond Commission. But on July 25, the commission voted to allocate $2.75 million for the planning and designing of the new station.

"The entire scope and cost of a second train station, whether justified or not, would be substantial. It is not financially responsible to spend nearly $3 million on a station design unless the project is certain to be approved and built. We have a number of 100-year-old railroad bridges in desperate need of repair," said Boucher. “Shouldn’t they be fixed first?”

“These are taxpayer dollars. The idea that this administration would not be transparent with leaders of a major committee who are representing taxpayers is unbelievable,” said Boucher.

Scribner said, “While we applaud the recent focus on rail infrastructure, we are very concerned that current pressing needs will take a back seat to new projects.”

On Aug. 20, a second request was sent to the Governor’s Office. In part the letter said: "We understand that you have a full schedule and are quite busy. The letter may have not reached you, as we have not received a response to date. We are making another attempt and have included the questions for your response."

Once again, the legislators said they did not receive any response from the governor or his staff.

It remains unclear how much the Barnum Station project will cost and whether the design will ever be made.

Read more about the Barnum Train Station here on the Daily Voice. 

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