Long Island Sound bridge proposal 'dead' in Connecticut legislature but developer vows to fight on

The latest proposal to link Long Island and Connecticut via a bridge across Long Island Sound has failed to pass out of committee, but the project’s developer said it’s not sunk yet.

The Connecticut General Assembly’s commerce committee didn't meet a Tuesday deadline to pass a resolution to establish a "Connecticut Bridge Authority," which would study the feasibility of building a bridge from the Sunken Meadow Parkway in Kings Park to Bridgeport, Conn.

The bill "is officially ‘dead,’" Jonathan Plavcan, a legislative aid for the Connecticut State House Republican Party, said in an email.

But Easton, Conn. developer Stephen Shapiro, who is behind the bridge proposal, said he is holding out hope that the measure could make it to the Assembly floor for a vote, despite not receiving a favorable recommendation by a lower committee.

"I don’t give up. Even if, God forbid, it doesn’t see the floor this session, I’ll be back next session," said Shapiro, who believed the bill would have passed in the commerce committee if put up for a vote.

Shapiro has said the bridge would span 14 miles and cost around $50 billion to build, an amount he said could be easily recovered by charging vehicles $40 tolls.

"Our traffic isn’t getting any better on the 95. We’re even worse than the LIE," Shapiro said in a telephone interview Wednesday.

Shapiro’s is the latest of many proposals over the last century to provide a shortcut for motorists between Long Island and Connecticut. All have ultimately been abandoned over concerns about cost, and social and environmental impacts. 

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.