State Codes and Statutes
Statutes > Connecticut > Title13b > Chap242 > Sec13b-15Sec. 13b-15. Master transportation plan. (a) The commissioner shall develop and revise biennially a comprehensive, long-range, master transportation plan designed to fulfill the present and future needs of the state and to assure the development and maintenance of an adequate, safe and efficient transportation system. In developing the plan, the commissioner shall investigate and study all existing transportation facilities and services in the state and shall examine the feasibility of planning a long-term commercial transportation system, with the goal of coordinating all transportation services, including airports, seaports, rail, freight and transit systems. The commissioner shall give particular consideration to reports and studies prepared under the auspices of the Connecticut interregional planning program relating to the planning and development of the state and any existing reports, surveys, plans or studies relating to transportation prepared for or by any agency of the state.
(b) In such plan the commissioner shall: (1) Set forth the commissioner's recommendations for planning, engineering, acquisition of rights-of-way, construction and reconstruction and rehabilitation and modernization of transportation facilities; (2) consider, among other things, federal air quality standards, conservation and cost of energy supplies, present and projected travel volumes, reduction in travel volumes due to the implementation of transportation management programs, safety, maintenance costs and other sufficiency factors where appropriate, as well as long-range land use, environmental impact, energy impact and economic development patterns of the state; (3) indicate the order of priority of need for improvements within each mode of transportation, according to the commissioner's judgment; and (4) indicate the priorities for the next two and five-year periods, both by need and by fiscal capability, in the area of public transportation. The indication of such priorities for public transportation shall include an individual accounting of the amount and source of all funding for each potential program and an approximate timetable, including the starting and completion dates for each potential program.
(c) The commissioner shall, relative to the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century: (1) Identify the funds to be received annually in the following categories: Interstate construction, interstate maintenance, national highway system, bridge, surface transportation program, interstate transfer, congestion mitigation and air quality, metropolitan planning, special projects and any other category designation under the act; (2) identify the projects to be funded annually through each funding category; (3) identify the projects to be funded annually through each category, as a result of the change in formulas and new flexibility allowed under the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century; (4) identify which projects will require the expenditure of state funds to leverage federal funds; (5) identify the amount and percentage of state funds that must be expended for each project in order to leverage federal funds; (6) identify the amount of federal funds that may be expended annually to repair local bridges identified as being in poor condition; (7) identify the economic impact of the federal funds allocated to the state in terms of job creation or retention; (8) identify the mass transit projects to be funded; (9) identify the manner in which the department intends to comply with the requirements of the Clean Air Act, as amended by P.L. 101-549, and how the department intends to expend any funds allocated to the department to achieve the goals of the act; and (10) identify with specificity the expenditures to be made from funds received in the congestion mitigation and air quality grant in relation to the needs identified by employers in their compliance plans submitted pursuant to substitute house bill 5659 of the February, 1992, regular session*.
(d) In such plan the commissioner shall identify the amount of funds and projects to be undertaken pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
(e) The plan shall be completed and submitted biennially to the Governor on or before January thirty-first of each odd-numbered year. The commissioner shall, biennially, on or before January thirty-first of each odd-numbered year, notify all members of the General Assembly of the availability of the plan. The commissioner shall send a written copy or electronic storage media of the plan to any member requesting the plan.
(f) In developing and revising the plan, the commissioner may: (1) Conduct public hearings; (2) consult and cooperate with officials and representatives of the federal government, neighboring states, interstate commissions and authorities, local agencies and authorities, interested corporations and other organizations concerning problems affecting transportation in the state; (3) request and receive from any agency or other unit of the government of the state or of any political subdivision of the state, or from any public authority, such assistance and data as may be necessary to enable the commissioner to carry out the commissioner's responsibilities under this section; (4) to the extent the commissioner may deem appropriate, make use of, and incorporate in the plan, any existing long-range transportation plan, survey or report developed by any public or private agency or person; and (5) employ consultants.
(g) Copies of the plan, as revised, shall be kept on file as a public record in the office of the commissioner.
(1969, P.A. 768, S. 17; P.A. 73-451, S. 2, 3; P.A. 79-23; 79-449, S. 5, 7; P.A. 88-297, S. 15; P.A. 90-230, S. 19, 101; P.A. 91-216, S. 1; P.A. 92-204, S. 1; P.A. 96-222, S. 3; P.A. 98-222, S. 2; P.A. 00-148, S. 6.)
*Note: Substitute house bill 5659 of the February, 1992, regular session did not become law, but see May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-13, S. 2 (Sec. 13b-38p) re compliance plans required pursuant to transportation management programs.
History: P.A. 73-451 revised Subsec. (a) by deleting all four subdivisions and the material containing specific references to a new major airport, the long-range highway plan and material prepared by the Connecticut Transportation Authority and substituting general reference to reports and studies prepared under the Connecticut interregional planning program relating to planning and development and material relating to transportation prepared by any agency of the state and transferred to new Subsec. (c) the reporting requirement, provided for specifics of the plan in new Subsec. (b) and in former Subsec. (b), relettered as Subsec. (d), authorized employment of consultants; P.A. 79-23 added in Subsec. (b)(2) consideration of "federal air quality standards, conservation and cost of energy supplies" and further added requirement in new Subdiv. (4) that priorities for next one, two and five-year periods by need and by fiscal capability in the area of public transportation be indicated and provided in Subsec. (c) for submission to the general assembly as well as to the governor on or before January tenth; P.A. 79-449 added "energy impact" in Subsec. (b)(2); P.A. 88-297 amended Subsec. (e) to substitute "record" for "document"; P.A. 90-230 made a technical change; P.A. 91-216 added new provision to Subsec. (a) requiring the commissioner to include in the master transportation plan an examination of the feasibility of a long-term commercial transportation system; P.A. 92-204 amended Subsec. (b) by adding provision re reduction of traffic volume due to transportation management programs, added new Subsecs. (c) and (d) re report concerning funding received pursuant to the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 and relettered remaining Subsecs. accordingly; P.A. 96-222 amended Subsec. (a) to require commissioner to develop and revise master transportation plan biennially instead of annually and Subsec. (e) to require completion and submission of plan biennially, instead of annually, by January thirty-first of each odd-numbered year instead of January tenth; P.A. 98-222 amended Subsec. (e) by replacing the submission of the plan to the General Assembly with a requirement that the commissioner notify all members of the General Assembly that the plan is available upon request in a written format or as electronic storage media; P.A. 00-148 replaced references to "Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991" with "Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century" and made technical changes.
See Sec. 16a-27 re identification of major transportation proposals in the state plan of conservation and development.
Cited. 35 CS 157.
