Rail Center Runs Millions Over Budget

By Susan Haigh

HARTFORD (AP) — Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s budget chief acknowledged Tuesday that he should have told lawmakers sooner that construction of a major rail maintenance center in New Haven was running millions of dollars over budget.

“If I had it to do over again, I would have brought you into the loop early,” Robert Genuario told a joint hearing of the Transportation and Finance committees.

He said he knew about the cost overruns in June 2006. Many lawmakers weren’t apprised of it until last week and expressed frustration with the Rell administration after a recent request for $250 million more to design the center took them by surprise.

Initially billed as a $300 million facility in 2005, when Rell unveiled her massive transportation improvement plan, the project is now supposed to cost at least $1.2 billion by its planned completion in 2012. Part of the project is being funded with federal money.

Everything from inflation to changes to the master plan, such as adding a new parking garage and a warehouse, are being blamed for the cost increases.

“What we’ve learned today is that, for literally for years, the top administrators of the Rell administration have known that they were hundreds of millions of dollars short and yet they never disclosed that to the legislature,” said Sen Andrew McDonald (D-Stamford), whose district includes many MetroNorth commuters. “And even as we stand here today, they still don’t have a plan of action.”

Mr Genuario said the administration needs lawmaker approval of the additional bonding before the end of the session on May 7, or by early next session. He acknowledged that if legislators don’t agree to authorize the funding, the project would have to be overhauled.

Sen Robert Duff (D-Norwalk), called the situation “a huge embarrassment” for the administration and said transportation officials’ testimony at Tuesday’s hearing “was nothing more than typical smoke and mirrors.”

Mr Genuario and acting Department of Transportation Commissioner H. James Boice both acknowledged that lawmakers should have been notified sooner.

“It is clear that I could have done and should have done a better job anticipating the need for legislative [action] this year. The responsibility is solely my own,” he said.

He also said that state officials need to “take a hard look” at how they examine costs for major, multiyear DOT projects.

Three Democratic senators, including Mr McDonald, said they didn’t learn about the additional request until last week, following a meeting they requested with DOT. Some lawmakers have known since last year, however, that the project is in the red.

Sen Donald DeFronzo, the transportation committee co-chairman, said lawmakers held a hearing in January, but didn’t think to ask if the DOT needed more bonding approved this year to complete the first phase.

Mr Genuario learned in 2006 that DOT estimated the cost had jumped from $300 million to $732 million. He said he was upset with the revised estimate and instructed his staff to work with DOT to bring the cost down, but did not tell lawmakers.

DOT now estimates that $732 million will be closer to $1.2 billion after considering inflation. But Mr Boice warned that those numbers could also be wrong.

The project is a key component of Gov Rell’s plan to reduce gridlock in southwestern Connecticut. It will be built in the exiting rail yard behind the New Haven train station and service the 300 to 380 new rail cars the state is buying, as well as existing MetroNorth and Shoreline East cars. The new cars are due to begin arriving in 2009.