Saud Anwar

Senator Anwar Shows Need For Significant Infrastructure Investment At Deficient, 112-Year-Old South Windsor Bridge

South Windsor Mayor Andrew Paterna and State Senator Saud Anwar stand on Bridge No. 04174as they advocate for a way forward on toll funding. This bridge, which carries South Windsor’s Main Street over the Podunk River, is 112 years old and was last rehabilitated in 1981. It requires nearly $1.3 million in repairs.

SOUTH WINDSOR, CT – Today, State Senator Saud Anwar (D-South Windsor) joined South Windsor Mayor Andrew Paterna at South Windsor’s oldest bridge to emphasize the need to repair Connecticut’s degrading infrastructure. The 112-year-old Main Street bridge, slated to be repaired in 2020 for a cost of $1.28 million, is one of more than 300 bridges across Connecticut currently considered to be in deficient quality, underscoring the need for new strategies supporting significant investment in state infrastructure.

“This bridge is one of six in my district, and one of hundreds statewide, that requires immediate attention so it does not fall into further disrepair,” said Sen. Anwar. “This bridge is more than 110 years old. It has not been worked on in nearly 40 years. A weak section of its surface is sectioned off by barriers. The Department of Transportation said this bridge alone will cost nearly $1.3 million to repair – and there are 331 more just like it. We need solutions to fix this growing problem in our state. It won’t go away on its own.”

“The Town of South Windsor is extremely concerned about repairing our infrastructure, and this bridge is more than 100 years old, but we can’t do it on our own,” said Mayor Paterna. “We need the partnership with the state to help us invest. If we took this on solely on our own, it would be a major deficit to our budget.”

Sen. Anwar and Mayor Paterna spoke Tuesday at Bridge No. 04174, which carries South Windsor’s Main Street over the Podunk River. Built in 1907 and last rehabilitated in 1981, this bridge currently has a substandard superstructure and is expected to be repaired in 2020 with a project cost of approximately $1.28 million, according to the Department of Transportation. Sen. Anwar noted that one side of the bridge has concrete barriers sectioning off a portion that has deteriorated.

Bridge No. 04174 is rated as “deficient,” which means at least one section of its structure has advanced deterioration. The average age of a deficient bridge in Connecticut is 69 years old.

Sen. Anwar emphasized the need for Connecticut to find the best path forward for funding tolls. A proposed plan to implement tolls on four state highways would raise hundreds of millions of dollars annually, and Sen. Anwar noted that plan would receive up to 40 percent of those funds from out-of-state drivers who currently use Connecticut roads. A second proposed plan by Republican lawmakers, which is estimated to cost roughly three times as much as a plan utilizing tolls, would charge 100 percent of its costs to Connecticut taxpayers and add $35 billion to the state’s debt service over a 20-year period. That debt would not be paid off until 2071.

For more information about broken bridges in Connecticut, please visit http://www.senatedems.ct.gov/brokenbridges.

To watch a Facebook Live video featuring Sen. Anwar and Mayor Paterna recorded Tuesday morning on the bridge, please visit https://www.facebook.com/SenatorSaudAnwar/videos/2643157792365319/.