According to the treasurer’s office, nearly $5.4 billion in commission-approved bonding still hasn’t been issued, a backlog more than six times the size of Connecticut’s projected transportation borrowing this year. Meanwhile, the state’s approach has left construction industries and workers frustrated, and Connecticut’s gasoline station owners are calling for an immediate reduction in state fuel taxes. The STF is on pace to close $204 million or almost 10% in the black when the fiscal year ends June 30, according to Gov. Ned Lamont’s budget agency, the Office of Policy and Management. Borrowing covered by the Special Transportation Fund did rise 11.5% last fiscal year, reaching $830 million. And the Lamont administration had construction industry and trade officials excited last November when it projected the investment would grow to $1 billion in 2023-24. Federal grants under the new Biden initiative are covering 80% to 90% of the cost of many transportation projects, meaning the more states commit, the more overall funding they can leverage. But in the latest monthly debt report issued by state Treasurer Erick Russell’s office, it indicated Connecticut plans to issue $875 million this fiscal year, just a 5.4% increase.
