Hartford - Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and officials of the New York region's commuter transit system announced Monday they will review the operations of a bridge along the Metro-North Railroad that has failed to remain closed twice in eight days, snarling commutes for thousands of riders.

A longer-term solution is to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to replace the 118-year-old bridge, the Democratic governor said after meeting in New York with Metropolitan Transportation Authority chairman Thomas F. Prendergast and Metro-North president Joseph Giulietti.

The Walk Bridge, over the Norwalk River in southwestern Connecticut, was stuck in the open position on Friday, the second time since May 29.

Malloy said problems related to the proper functioning of public works began before he took office in January 2011.

"There is no doubt we are now seeing decades of neglect when it comes to investing in our infrastructure," he told reporters after the meeting. "Over the last three and a half years Connecticut has changed course, but it's going to take an extended period of time to catch up."

In April, Malloy said Connecticut applied for $600 million in federal transportation aid to help cover the capital costs of three projects. That includes $349 million to cover much of the cost to replace the Walk Bridge.

Giulietti said the bridge must be opened five or six times a week to accommodate river traffic. He apologized for the inconvenience caused by the stuck bridge.

"We've done everything we can to support the public on this, and we will continue to do that," Giulietti said.

Malloy disputed accusations by critics who say he has used transportation money for non-transportation projects.

"It doesn't happen," he said.

But Sen. Toni Boucher, the ranking Republican senator on the legislature's Transportation Committee, said Malloy has taken $184 million from a transportation fund since he took office.

Malloy touted a two-thirds increase in capital spending for all forms of transportation - highways, bridges, buses, ports - to nearly $664 million in the 2015 budget he's recommended from about $401 million in 2010.

Metro-North, which was formed in 1983 and serves 281,000 riders a day in Connecticut and New York, is the nation's second-largest commuter line after the Long Island Rail Road. The bridge failure is the latest in a string of problems for commuters, Metro-North and elected officials who are expected to find solutions.

Last year, a derailment in Connecticut injured scores of passengers and a derailment in New York City killed four passengers.

Last September, a faulty circuit in a New York suburb cut power to part of the railroad's New Haven line, forcing hundreds of thousands of commuters to find alternate ways into New York.

And in January, downed wires stranded nearly 200 passengers for about two hours in 10-degree weather in Connecticut, and crews worked in frigid temperatures to make repairs.