Critics of the proposed busway between New Britain and Hartford have new hope they can hit the brakes on the $573 million plan.
But supporters of the project – which would create nearly 1,000 construction jobs – say the 9.4-mile roadway must go forward.
“We’re full steam ahead,” Mayor Timothy Stewart of New Britain said Monday.
Two transportation-related items that critics hope may sway Gov.-elect Dan Malloy to kill the controversial busway are a new scheme to reconstruct Interstate 84 through Hartford and the legislature’s failure to approve a plan to replace Hartford’s Broad Street bridge.
For Stewart, the issues are designed “to create controversy just to muddy the waters” and have no merit.
He said Malloy “would be kind of silly” to shelve the busway project, losing $100 million in the process and making it likely the federal government won’t shovel any more transportation money to Connecticut.
Critics argue, however, that a commuter rail alternative can be done within a reasonable time frame at lesser cost. They said they’re sure the federal government, which is pushing rail, would back it. Click here to see the full story.
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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Showing posts with label I-84. Show all posts
Showing posts with label I-84. Show all posts
November 15, 2010
March 3, 2009
Bristol man killed in I-84 crash in East Hartford
Angela Ostrowski had hoped her husband Stanley, who worked as a medical courier, would get a different job that kept him closer to home and away from the highway.
But Tuesday morning, police came to the door of their ranch home on Federal Hill to tell her that Stanley Ostrowski had died in a crash on I-84.
“When they came, it shocked the hell out of me,” said Angela Ostrowski, remembering the awful moment.
According to state police, 62-year-old Stanley Ostrowski was heading west on near Exit 58 on I-84 a little before 6 a.m. when his vehicle, a 2006 Kia Sedona minivan, hit the back of a state snowplow headed in the same direction.
According to the state police accident summary, Ostrowski “suffered fatal injuries and was presumed dead on scene” at 6:10 a.m.
Stephen Petrello, 45, of Ashford, was driving the state Department of Transportation plow. He was not injured, police said.
“The investigation’s still ongoing,” said Sgt. Chris Johnson of the Connecticut State Police. He said the investigations typically take four to six months to complete.
The Associated Press reported the East Hartford crash shut down three lanes of traffic and caused a nine-mile back up. Traffic was slowed for more than four hours as a result.
Angela Ostrowski said her husband was working at his job for RAA Greenfield Transportation in Plainville – delivering medication to nursing homes – at the time of the crash Tuesday morning.
“He was a good driver,” said Angela Ostrowski. “He was no maniac. He took his time.”
The Ostrowskis met on the job in 1995, she said, and fell in love.
They got married in Las Vegas 13 years ago, she said, and were living a happy life in Bristol.
“We did everything together,” Angela Ostrowski said.
She said her husband recently took her to see “Jersey Boys” at the Bushnell in Hartford.
For more than a decade, the couple has lived in their little light blue house on historic Merriman Street near the Congregational Church.
Three wind chimes dangle from the front gutter and a small wreath hangs over the blue and white garage.
Inside the comfort of their cozy home, a big gray cat slept in the dining room and a big white teddy bear with a red heart sat on the sofa.
A stream of friends and relatives came to the house to offer solace, and Angela Ostrowski wept softy as she spoke about her husband.
“He was a good man,” she said. “He treated me like a queen.”
She said she is upset at the lack of information she’s received from the police about the crash. She said she learned more about the accident from news reports than she did from the police who delivered her husband’s driver’s license.
The trooper investigating the accident, she was told, is off for the next three days, so she doesn’t expect to learn much more very soon.
Stanley Ostrowski moved to Bristol after living in Middletown. He had served in the Connecticut National Guard.
Phil Dutremble, a neighbor, called Ostrowski’s death tragic. He said he felt especially bad for Angela Ostrowski.
But Tuesday morning, police came to the door of their ranch home on Federal Hill to tell her that Stanley Ostrowski had died in a crash on I-84.
“When they came, it shocked the hell out of me,” said Angela Ostrowski, remembering the awful moment.
According to state police, 62-year-old Stanley Ostrowski was heading west on near Exit 58 on I-84 a little before 6 a.m. when his vehicle, a 2006 Kia Sedona minivan, hit the back of a state snowplow headed in the same direction.
According to the state police accident summary, Ostrowski “suffered fatal injuries and was presumed dead on scene” at 6:10 a.m.
Stephen Petrello, 45, of Ashford, was driving the state Department of Transportation plow. He was not injured, police said.
“The investigation’s still ongoing,” said Sgt. Chris Johnson of the Connecticut State Police. He said the investigations typically take four to six months to complete.
The Associated Press reported the East Hartford crash shut down three lanes of traffic and caused a nine-mile back up. Traffic was slowed for more than four hours as a result.
Angela Ostrowski said her husband was working at his job for RAA Greenfield Transportation in Plainville – delivering medication to nursing homes – at the time of the crash Tuesday morning.
“He was a good driver,” said Angela Ostrowski. “He was no maniac. He took his time.”
The Ostrowskis met on the job in 1995, she said, and fell in love.
They got married in Las Vegas 13 years ago, she said, and were living a happy life in Bristol.
“We did everything together,” Angela Ostrowski said.
She said her husband recently took her to see “Jersey Boys” at the Bushnell in Hartford.
For more than a decade, the couple has lived in their little light blue house on historic Merriman Street near the Congregational Church.
Three wind chimes dangle from the front gutter and a small wreath hangs over the blue and white garage.
Inside the comfort of their cozy home, a big gray cat slept in the dining room and a big white teddy bear with a red heart sat on the sofa.
A stream of friends and relatives came to the house to offer solace, and Angela Ostrowski wept softy as she spoke about her husband.
“He was a good man,” she said. “He treated me like a queen.”
She said she is upset at the lack of information she’s received from the police about the crash. She said she learned more about the accident from news reports than she did from the police who delivered her husband’s driver’s license.
The trooper investigating the accident, she was told, is off for the next three days, so she doesn’t expect to learn much more very soon.
Stanley Ostrowski moved to Bristol after living in Middletown. He had served in the Connecticut National Guard.
Phil Dutremble, a neighbor, called Ostrowski’s death tragic. He said he felt especially bad for Angela Ostrowski.
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
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