Posted on January 8, 2018
By Mary E. O'Leary, New Haven Register
Scott Bates, chairman of the Connecticut Port Authority, is betting on New Haven.
“Our position is that we advocate for the maritime economy of the state and that means properties in the (New Haven) port area we hope would be put to maritime use,” Bates said.
The Connecticut Department of Transportation took over several parcels in the city’s port to accommodate construction of the massive Interstate 95 Harbor Crossing Corridor.
The immediate concern for the New Haven Port Authority is a parcel in the heart of the port. Bound by Stiles, Waterfront and Alabama streets, the local authority owns a little less than an acre of this four-acre piece.
It was scheduled to automatically revert back to the port once the corridor was finished, which occured last spring.
The state DOT was using the property as a waste stock pile for dredged material. An easement on the property, signed with the state in 2006, stipulated that it be returned in its original condition.
The DOT is now looking to keep it longer, potentially for other projects, or taking it by eminent domain.
“We want those properties to be used for maritime use,” Bates. “We are focused like a laser beam driving this to resolution,” Bates said of the property issue.
He said the state authority’s most recent conversations with the DOT “are going in a positive direction.”
The chairman said there also will be a study of the best place to put additional rail lines in the New Haven port to move freight here.
“New Haven is the busiest port in Connecticut so we have got to move product quickly down there. It is not optimal just yet. Our mission is to make sure that this is an active port, that this port is filled up to capacity with work,” Bates said.
The chairman said some improvements have been made to rail travel as far as moving passengers, but investments also need to be made in freight delivery.
“In the Northeast, Connecticut needs to be able to move people and goods quicker than anyone else,” he said.
“This truly is the gateway to New England and we are going to do all we can to make sure that that remains the case and we improve our competitive status. You look at Connecticut and the logical place for real investment is New Haven,” he said.
Bates commented on the issue after a special meeting of the Connecticut Port Authority, which this month was held in New Haven City Hall.
New Haven Mayor Toni Harp said she greeted the authority and emphazied the importance of the port to the city.
She said she told the members that “the reason that John Davenport founded New Haven was because of our great rivers and our port and that our port has been a part of the life of this community for thousands of years.”
Harp told them of the importance of the upcoming dredging project that will allow more ships to come to the New Haven port and she was happy with the rail expansion.
Source: New Haven Register
