Connecticut rest areas may close in July, eliminating more than 600 parking spaces

Rest areas in Connecticut may close by July, according to the Connecticut Department of Transportation. A lack of funding is threatening the closures, but service plazas will not be affected.

CTDOT spokesman Judd Everhart told Land Line that if funding is not approved by the Connecticut General Assembly, all seven rest areas will shut down. According to CTDOT’s website, there are four rest areas off of Interstate 84, two on Interstate 91 and one on Interstate 95. In total, 400 passenger vehicles spaces and 222 truck parking spaces will be eliminated if the rest areas close.

However, service plazas in the state will remain open. There are currently 23 service areas throughout the state located off of Route 15, Interstate 395 and I-95.

Everhart pointed out the key differences between rest areas and service plazas. Rest areas in Connecticut “have vending machines, restrooms and little else,” Everhart said. However, service plazas include fuel, restaurants and convenience stores. Since the service plazas are privately operated, they are not affected by any budget woes.

According to Jason’s Law survey results, Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association respondents listed Connecticut as one of the top states with parking shortages. Only New Jersey, New York and Illinois ranked higher.

Funding woes in Connecticut
CTDOT has been fighting to keep the rest areas open and has barely kept its head above water. Kevin Nursick, spokesman for CTDOT, told Land Line Now that when the fiscal year 2017 budget was put together, funding for CTDOT to operate and maintain rest areas was taken away, effectively forcing closures.

Throughout the fiscal year from July 2016 to July 2017, CTDOT managed to keep the rest areas open by reducing staffed hours at all seven rest areas to just one staffed shift each day. Rest areas remained available 24/7, but the buildings were closed after each shift. The DOT installed portable restrooms for travelers arriving at the rest area after hours. The staff reduction saved about $2 million a year.

Theoretically, the rest areas were in a position to shut down in July 2017 due to defunding. However, CTDOT knew rest areas were important and managed to keep them open with a skeleton crew.

Recently, the CTDOT commissioner and governor announced that the special transportation fund is headed for “imminent insolvency” in the next few years, according to Nursick. If the funding issue is not resolved, CTDOT must cut back on approximately $5 billion worth of future projects and operations.

Since July 2016, CTDOT has barely managed to keep the rest areas open with the already limited funding. If the special transportation fund is not resolved, there will be “no money left to scrape up,” as Nursick framed it. If that turns out to be the case, the rest areas will close in July.

Land Line Now’s Mary McKenna contributed to this report.