Substitute House Bill No. 6805
          Substitute House Bill No. 6805

              SPECIAL ACT NO. 97-13


AN  ACT  REQUIRING  AN  UPDATE  OF  THE  SOUTHWEST
CORRIDOR TRANSPORTATION STUDY.


    Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and House of
Representatives in General Assembly convened:
    (a)  The Commissioner of Transportation shall,
in cooperation with  the  South  Western,  Greater
Bridgeport  and  South  Central  Regional Planning
Agencies,   update    the    Southwest    Corridor
Transportation   Study.   The  commissioner  shall
analyze the transportation  needs  of  the  region
from  Branford, Connecticut to the Connecticut-New
York state line  which  shall  include  Interstate
Route  95, Route 15, U.S. Route 1, the Metro-North
Commuter rail line and regional  bus  systems.  He
shall  develop revised travel demand from the 1987
to 1997 period and forecast  such  demand  to  the
year   2007.   In   conducting  such  update,  the
commissioner  shall  (1)  consider  options   with
respect   to  financing  the  maintenance  of  the
current transportation system and  future  capital
improvements  to  such system, (2) evaluate travel
demand    management    strategies    and     make
recommendations with respect to the utilization of
such strategies in the southwest corridor  of  the
state,   (3)  identify  intrastate  transportation
opportunities  and  impediments,  (4)  assess  the
interregional   services  of  the  three  regional
transportation plans, and (5) develop  a  plan  of
action    to   integrate   such   intermodal   and
interregional  opportunities  into  the   corridor
transportation   system.   The   commissioner,  in
evaluating  such  strategies  and   opportunities,
shall   consider   existing   and   future  fiscal
resources, environmental  constraints,  safety  of
the  traveling public and the need for maintenance
and congestion relief. The goal  of  the  plan  of
action  shall  be  to  reduce the highway commuter
demand during peak  periods  from  the  1997  base
levels  by  five  per cent within a period of five
years. In conducting such update, the commissioner
shall  also  seek  input  on  a regular basis from
industry and civic  groups  and  other  interested
parties  with  an  interest  in  conducting such a
study.
    (b)  Not  later  than  February  1,  1998, the
commissioner shall submit a report on his findings
and   recommendations   to   the   joint  standing
committee   of   the   General   Assembly   having
cognizance  of matters relating to transportation,
in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a
of the general statutes.

Approved June 13, 1997