CT Transportation Fast Facts
The information below was taken from the Connecticut Department of Transportation’s Connecticut…on the move! 2015 Transportation Fast Facts booklet.
Additional facts can be found here.
Connecticut National Highway System
CTDOT is responsible for all aspects of the planning, development, maintenance, and improvement of the state roadway transportation system.
Fueling Transportation
More than 60% of Connecticut’s Special Transportation Fund (STF) revenue comes from State motor fuel and oil company taxes. While oil prices fluctuated up and down over the last several years, motor fuel taxes remain relatively flat.
Federal Gas Tax = 18.4 cents/gallon (since 1993)
State Gas Tax = 25 cents/gallon (since 2001)
Gross Receipts Tax = 8.1% of wholesale price
(adjusted in 2013 with assessment capped at $3.00)
Data collected from the following sources: AAA Connecticut Fuel Gauge Prices, FHWA Highway Statistics-Table FE-101A, Connecticut Department of Revenue Service Annual Reports, and Oil Price Information Service.
Connecticut and the Federal Highway Trust Fund (HTF)
Over the last several years, Connecticut has received almost twice as much Federal funds than it contributed in motor fuel and other tax payments to the HTF. However, due to the insolvency of the HTF, today, most (if not all) states receive more apportionment funding from the HTF than they contribute in tax payments to the HTF. Since 2008, in the absence of a sustainable revenue source for the HTF, Congress has approved transfers of almost $60 Billion from other funds to the HTF to keep it afloat.
Rule of Thumb: A one cent increase in the federal gas tax generates about $1.5B for the HTF.
Sources of Highway and Bridge Capital Funding
NOTE: The funding amounts reflected here represent new funds made available to CTDOT each year, whereas CTDOT’s Capital Plan (not shown) represents funds programmed by year for projects.
1 For FY15 it is assumed funds will be level with FY14, including a $12 million additional ceiling that will be received at year-end as a result of the annual August Redistribution. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) Funds are not included.
2 Includes apportionment amounts for federal earmarks, Emergency Relief funds and other allocated federal funds.
3 State Highways (Bonds Authorized) includes: Bridge, Urban, Interstate, Intrastate, and Resurfacing bonds.
4 In FY12, Town Aid Road program was funded out of appropriated funds.
*"Local" bonds are State bonds used for local projects.
Roads, Bridges, and Pavement
*2014 Inventory data (NBI submittal to FHWA in April 2015)
**Inventory approximate as of April 1, 2015. CTDOT inspected these bridges 1991-1992 and will inspect again 2015-2016.
Components of a Typical Highway Bridge
Bridges Maintained by CTDOT (Inspected by CTDOT)
A majority of existing bridges were built with an expected 50-year structural design life. Bridges built today have a 75-year structural design life.
The Pavement Condition Index (PCI) attempts to categorize the overall conditions of a section of pavement based on environmental and structural distresses. Pavement Condition is calculated based on five components: cracking, rideability (as expressed the International Roughness Index/IRI), rutting (distortion in the wheelpaths), raveling, and drainability.
