SNOW, SALT AND UNPLUGGED PROMISES

Connecticut seems to be surviving the recent series of winter storms the way it always does: with salt, overtime, and lowered expectations.  Life must go on and we’re all counting on CDOT to keep us moving.

So kudos to their 900 drivers and 650 trucks that worked tirelessly to first, pre-treat some 10,000 “lane miles” our state highways with salt brine, then plow the snow when it came. 

If only our municipalities did as good a job.

Drive from town to town and you’ll see a vast difference in road clearing.  In some, because cars were taken off the road before the storm, streets are clear.  In others where cars were left parked at the curb, it may take days to chisel them out from the icy berms caused by plowing… like some sort of archeological dig.

Still to be excavated as well are dozens and dozens of bus stops across the state.

Kudos also to our railroads which, even in the teeth of a giant snow and ice storm, kept service running, albeit at a reduced level.  Where other states’ railroads pre-emptively shut down before the storm (think NJTransit), Connecticut’s trains kept running.

Amtrak did what Amtrak always does in a storm: run enough trains to claim victory while canceling enough to remind you who they are.  A week later and they’re still struggling.

As I wrote last week, rail riders deserve open waiting rooms and cleared platforms at stations (a service usually provided by local towns).  But one experiment in keeping platforms clear of ice and snow without using tons of rock salt has proven something of a disappointment.

I refer to the state’s boldest experiment yet:  electrically-heated station platforms in Darien!  What could possibly go wrong?

Back in 2023 a $32 million contract was awarded by CDOT to rebuild crumbling station infrastructure at Darien with new platforms heated by electricity… the first such project in the state. 

Now, explain the math to me:  how will we pay some of the highest electric rates in the US to melt snow vs the cost of human shovelers and bags of salt?  Where’s the savings?

Admittedly there’s more to this particular contract… better speakers for train announcements, improved lighting, public information display boards, new elevators, ADA-compliant ramps and sidewalks, and EV charging infrastructure. But we’re talking 32 million taxpayer dollars!

Work on the whole project was due for completion by the middle of this year, but almost immediately the project ran into trouble. 

Demolition of the old platforms encountered unmapped underground utilities and unexpected infrastructure requiring extra work.  The original steel railing vendor went bankrupt.  The completion date was pushed back and another $6 million was added to the cost.  Funny how that happens.

Last November the first half of the project was finally done but they’re far from being finished.  The elevators still aren’t running and only half of the platforms have been replaced.

But how did the one new electrically-heated platform do in the recent ice and snow storm?  Just OK.

Heated Platform - Darien

The one platform that is working (on the NY-bound side of the station) seems to have fared well in the recent storm.  But Eversource says it is still waiting for paperwork from CDOT as well as state and local inspections before they can throw the switch on the other side.  And CDOT says they’re waiting for Eversource to return a signed agreement.

And we’re all waiting for Spring.