Phone: 860-951-6614
CSEA SEIU Local 2001
P-4 Council Blog Jun 09, 2021
P-4 DOT Members Meet with Senator Blumenthal about the American Jobs Plan

On Tuesday, April 13th P-4 DOT members met with Senator Richard Blumenthal to discuss the American Jobs Plan and its impact on the Connecticut Department of Transportation. Specifically members voiced their hopes for this plan to fund critical infrastructure work in Connecticut while empowering state employees and reducing the use of outside consultants to both drive down costs and improve quality.

P-4 President Travis Woodward, Michael Washington, Ned Stratchen, former P-4 President, and Amber Berry, P-4 Steward, attended this small-circle meeting to discuss their unique and personal experiences while working in DOT. They spoke about the need for cost comparison for architectural, engineering and related services on surface transportation projects using federal funding and how a government agency should prepare an estimate of the cost of procuring the services under a private contractor and an estimate of having the services performed by employees of a government agency to ensure the taxpayers receive safe, high quality transportation services at the best price. It is becoming increasingly more common that states and local departments are spending hundreds of millions of federal dollars on private contractors without competitive bidding and without determining whether these are cost-effective.

They also addressed the disastrous nature of outsourcing mandates or incentives that are an inappropriate use of federal authority that infringes on a state’s ability to choose how best to deliver its transportation program. During the last authorization, a broad coalition of transportation groups including AASHTO, NASHTU and other public and private sector stakeholders, worked together to block the inclusion of language that would mandate or incentivize the outsourcing of engineering design and inspection design services.

Members also urged the Senator to remember the I-84 project debacle where the Contractor put in roadway drains in the shoulder but did not connect them to the pipes to carry the water. The Consultant inspectors weren’t on site enough to catch such an obvious problem, thus pointing to the need for public employees to carry out the construction inspection functions on federally-funded surface transportation projects.

And finally members reminded the Senator that increased transportation funding creates jobs and economic competitiveness.  According to ASCE’s latest Report Card on America’s Infrastructure, 42% of the nation’s urban highways are congested, costing the economy $101 billion annually in wasted time and fuel. Adequate transportation funding is critical to job creation and the country’s economic competitiveness.

These points were positively taken into consideration by the Senator and CSEA looks forward to working with his office in the future on these important issues.

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