7/25/2013
Contact: Allison Lantero 
202-366-8224

STAMFORD, Conn. – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) today celebrated the groundbreaking of Phase 2 for Stamford Urban Transitway, a broad, multi-lane road providing direct access for rapid bus service, shuttle vans, cars, bikes and other vehicles heading from I-95 into the Stamford Intermodal Transportation Center, where passengers board Metro-North commuter rail, Amtrak trains and commuter buses. The FTA is contributing $94.2 million toward the $117.2 million project, which is part of a larger plan to connect this busy transportation hub with downtown Stamford and the city’s business district, while reducing congestion on local streets. FTA Deputy Regional Administrator Peter Butler joined local officials at the event.

“In America today, a simple commute to work can involve two or more modes of transportation,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “This transitway will save time and effort for the more than 36,000 commuters who pass through Stamford’s main transit hub every day, by making it easier for them to make the transition from their cars and local buses to the trains and commuter buses that take them to work and back again.” 

The transitway alleviates the need for drivers to navigate one-way streets through downtown Stamford, while making the trip to the transportation center quicker, thanks in part to partially dedicated lanes for high-occupancy vehicles and efficiently timed signals to keep buses moving.  Phase 1, completed in November 2010, spurred major local employers, including NBC Sports and financial service companies RBS and UBS, to relocate their headquarters alongside the transitway, further streamlining the commute for thousands of employees.

“Stamford is not only the fastest-growing city in Connecticut, it’s also home to the second-busiest commuter rail station on the New Haven Line after Grand Central Station in New York,” said FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff, who visited Stamford to announce funding for the transitway extension in July 2010. “The transitway is a vital part of Stamford’s long-term vision to build an efficient, integrated transportation network that will support this city’s growth for years to come.”

The FTA contribution to the project includes $52.8 million for Phase 1 and $41.4 million for Phase 2. 

Upon its completion next year, the transitway will become part of a plan to open Stamford’s south waterfront as part of a $4 billion brownfields revitalization and mixed-use redevelopment that is already under way.