HARTFORD — - A new report says that a significant number of Connecticut's highways and bridges are in substandard condition, a finding that Bristol state Rep. Frank Nicastro called "scary."

But Transportation Commissioner Joseph Marie countered that Connecticut actually is in better shape than other New England states, and said that even the bridges that a federal agency ranks as "deficient" aren't actually dangerous.

"We have a very rigorous monitoring program. We'd close a bridge before we'd see anything catastrophic happen," Marie said Monday at a hearingo f the General Assembly's transportation committee.

During the session, Nicastro brought up the new report from the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a nonprofit advocacy group for mass transit. It cites Federal Highway Administration figures showing that more than 75 percent of Connecticut's highway miles are rated in "less than good" condition, compared with 45 percent nationally. About a third of Connecticut's bridges are listed as "deficient," compared with an average of 25 percent nationally.

However, the report also commends the state Department of Transportation for steadily shifting money away from building new highways and toward maintaining existing ones.
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