'Super 7' belongs on lawmakers' agenda
from The Advocate Editorials
Jan. 27, 2007

Practical or not, the early defeatism - though some would say realism - greeting a proposal to move forward on the Super 7 expressway is disheartening.

Legislators who say it can't be done, at least this year, should reconsider their thinking and see if progress can be made. It's a project we need in order to help alleviate the clogged arteries that bring our region to a halt every day, making it hard for employees to get to work and for businesses to make a buck.

As usual, the person behind the initiative is state Sen. Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, who for some time has been the most vocal proponent of building the multi- lane highway from Norwalk to Danbury, linking interstates 95 and 84.

Mr. Duff has submitted a bill, referred to the Legislature's Transportation Committee, that would set a timeline for the Department of Transportation to complete the project, which has been delayed for so long that many have left it for dead.

Environmentalists and the town of Wilton, in particular, have blocked the plan for 50 years. But during that time, the problems it was intended to fix have grown enormously.

There's no doubt that Mr. Duff has the odds stacked against him. A spokesman for the DOT says a Super 7 "is not in the DOT's long-range plans." And the South Western Regional Planning Agency's long-term transportation plan lists it as an "unfunded need."

The Route 7 expressway now runs from Norwalk north to near the Wilton border, where it stops and becomes a local road. The state currently has settled on a $35 million compromise to widen the road from two lanes to four in Wilton, and study ways to improve the Danbury line of Metro-North Railroad. That could provide some relief, but whether it will be enough, especially in the long term, is questionable.

But Mr. Duff says the intense interest currently focused on improving transportation in our region gives the Super 7 idea a good chance of gaining support - even if others don't agree with him.

State Sen. William Nickerson, R-Greenwich, a Transportation Committee member, agrees there's great focus on improving transportation, but says it's currently directed at increasing mass transit and dealing with the lawsuit delaying construction at the Merritt Parkway-Route 7 interchange in Norwalk.

"Given those two items, this bill does not have legs," Mr. Nickerson told Staff Writer Lauren Klein. "This is a transit year. We don't have room or time to discuss this bill."

Others oppose Super 7 outright. State Rep. Antoinetta "Toni" Boucher, R-Wilton, two years ago tried unsuccessfully to get the DOT to drop the Super 7 idea altogether. She says Mr. Duff's bill has no chance of passing.

That might be true - as it might be that several more years will pass before decent progress is made on building a highway adequate to the region's needs. But that's no reason to not make an attempt.

Mr. Duff is right that we need a major north-south roadway. His colleagues should make the time to listen to him.

###