“New Haven, Conn., had to issue bonds for a bridge after using funds for that bridge to pay for a police misconduct settlement."
Ward of the State: New Haven’s Use of Federal and State Grants in the Financing of Public BridgesNew Haven railyards, connecting the city’s downtown with its harbor. This time the city government was onboard. With the cooperation of the local congresswoman, the Mayor testified before Congress in pursuit of federal funding. A $19 million earmark was inserted into the transportation appropriations bill. The $32 million bridge opened in 2003, funded almost entirely by federal and state grants. The Grand Avenue and Church Street Bridges illustrate a dramatic change in the financing of New Haven’s bridges. One hundred years ago, all bridges within the city, even those ordered by the federal government or located on state highways, were constructed using city funds raised through bond issues. Today, almost all locally owned bridges within the city, even those that mainly benefit New Haven residents, are primarily funded through federal and state grants. Of the $12.55 million the city will spend on bridge construction and rehabilitation in 2009-2010, only $490,000 will come from municipally raised revenues. The growth in federal and state grants, for all types of goods and services, has occurred across the country.