Connecticut News

[Beeper1]

Ideally, to really accommodate the needs of the public if the state wasn't being driven into the ground by incompetent leadership, you would see something like the following:

The existing rest areas would all remain open, with some parking expanded if possible. 
The development of an additional 4 or 5 private truck stops/rest areas, with state partnership like the new area in VT, along the I-84, I-91 and I-95 corridors.
The existing large weigh station on I-84 in Union to be turned into a large trucks-only parking/rest area. It can continue to also be a weigh station, as that is the only weigh station in all of New England that is regularly actually open.

These developments would be complimented by existing private areas just over the state lines on I-84 in Mass and I-95 in RI.

The fact is that CT has to bear the heaviest burden of truck traffic of all the New England states, with all trucking from points south and most from the west having to pass through en route to the rest of the region, and it all gets funneled along just two primary corridors. A such they require the most investment and creative solutions in addressing truck congestion and needs compared to the rest of the region.   

[Pete from Boston]

I'm a little puzzled at the hours they chose. 8:30 AM opening covers very little of rush hour. 3:30 PM closing — why bother?

Another option, but one that would change the state's liability picture, would be to install an exterior door on the rest rooms as is the case in the Johnny Appleseed rest area on Mass Route 2.  This allows basic rest room access at least.

[MikeTheActuary]

I'm a little puzzled at the hours they chose. 8:30 AM opening covers very little of rush hour. 3:30 PM closing — why bother?

Just a guess: consider the hours that normal, non-professional (and non-viatologist) drivers are on the road and likely to inquire about assistance from the attendant

The other thought that has crossed my mind was that if you factor in travel time to/from some off-site location, you get up to an 8-hour duty day.

[shadyjay]

I'm a little puzzled at the hours they chose. 8:30 AM opening covers very little of rush hour. 3:30 PM closing — why bother?

Another option, but one that would change the state's liability picture, would be to install an exterior door on the rest rooms as is the case in the Johnny Appleseed rest area on Mass Route 2.  This allows basic rest room access at least.

CT's rest areas have nothing inside them but a foyer with vending machines and access to the restrooms.  Would it kill them if this was left "unattended" during the overnight hours?  Or just have a "state-y" on duty. 

[kurumi]

ConnDOT unveiled its new traffic and roadway incident site, https://cttravelsmart.org/. Looks interesting.

With a Google Maps base, you can select overlays for traffic congestion, construction projects, accidents, traffic cams, Park and Ride lots, and more.

There's also a link that shows you the current messages displayed by 99 VMS (Variable Message Signs for traffic info) around the state: https://cttravelsmart.org/list/messagesigns?start=0&length=25&order%5Bi%5D=0&order%5Bdir%5D=asc

[MikeCL]

ConnDOT unveiled its new traffic and roadway incident site, https://cttravelsmart.org/. Looks interesting.

With a Google Maps base, you can select overlays for traffic congestion, construction projects, accidents, traffic cams, Park and Ride lots, and more.

There's also a link that shows you the current messages displayed by 99 VMS (Variable Message Signs for traffic info) around the state: https://cttravelsmart.org/list/messagesigns?start=0&length=25&order%5Bi%5D=0&order%5Bdir%5D=asc

That's pretty cool with the message sign but I might need to get on the DOT again for the VMS at the weigh station NB for Greenwich, it no longer lights up again.. last time i sent a email every day to them until one day I jumped on and it was lit. My complaint was because it was snowing out and it's the florescent type and not backlit I could not see it.. My issue is the next sign is not until Stamford and what if I had a lane closure or something?

IMHO they should replace this and the one in Darien because they are starting to cloud over.. Whatever the state is doing to the LED signs they glitch out whenever I guess they are updating if it changes part of the LED remain lit and it gets garbled then corrects it's self.

[Mergingtraffic]

I'm a little puzzled at the hours they chose. 8:30 AM opening covers very little of rush hour. 3:30 PM closing – why bother?

Just a guess: consider the hours that normal, non-professional (and non-viatologist) drivers are on the road and likely to inquire about assistance from the attendant

The other thought that has crossed my mind was that if you factor in travel time to/from some off-site location, you get up to an 8-hour duty day.

The hours were chosen because of DOT staff shifts.  They do 7a-3p, so the rest areas are maintained from 8:30-2:30pm, it gives them time to get to and from without OT.

[Mergingtraffic]

ConnDOT unveiled its new traffic and roadway incident site, https://cttravelsmart.org/. Looks interesting.

With a Google Maps base, you can select overlays for traffic congestion, construction projects, accidents, traffic cams, Park and Ride lots, and more.

There's also a link that shows you the current messages displayed by 99 VMS (Variable Message Signs for traffic info) around the state: https://cttravelsmart.org/list/messagesigns?start=0&length=25&order%5Bi%5D=0&order%5Bdir%5D=asc

The VMS signs on US-44 Avon Mtn are still not listen nor is the lone VMS that CT maintains on the NE Thruway in NY.

[jp the roadgeek]

ConnDOT unveiled its new traffic and roadway incident site, https://cttravelsmart.org/. Looks interesting.

With a Google Maps base, you can select overlays for traffic congestion, construction projects, accidents, traffic cams, Park and Ride lots, and more.

There's also a link that shows you the current messages displayed by 99 VMS (Variable Message Signs for traffic info) around the state: https://cttravelsmart.org/list/messagesigns?start=0&length=25&order%5Bi%5D=0&order%5Bdir%5D=asc

The VMS signs on US-44 Avon Mtn are still not listen nor is the lone VMS that CT maintains on the NE Thruway in NY.

The NE Thruway sign is on there:   95N Mamaroneck NY S/O Old White Plains Rd

Speaking of I-95:  http://wtnh.com/2017/02/02/malloy-working-to-add-a-lane-in-both-directions-along-i-95/

Guess is our great-grandkids will still be paying for this

[MikeCL]

ConnDOT unveiled its new traffic and roadway incident site, https://cttravelsmart.org/. Looks interesting.

With a Google Maps base, you can select overlays for traffic congestion, construction projects, accidents, traffic cams, Park and Ride lots, and more.

There's also a link that shows you the current messages displayed by 99 VMS (Variable Message Signs for traffic info) around the state: https://cttravelsmart.org/list/messagesigns?start=0&length=25&order%5Bi%5D=0&order%5Bdir%5D=asc

The VMS signs on US-44 Avon Mtn are still not listen nor is the lone VMS that CT maintains on the NE Thruway in NY.

The NE Thruway sign is on there:   95N Mamaroneck NY S/O Old White Plains Rd

Speaking of I-95:  http://wtnh.com/2017/02/02/malloy-working-to-add-a-lane-in-both-directions-along-i-95/

Guess is our great-grandkids will still be paying for this

OMG why don't they start at that damn exit 25A in bridgeport? each time I get on NB from home I'm always greeted by the sign that says 25 mile delay to exit 25A, Figure out how to make that damn interchange from one lane to two lanes  jesus it's not that friken hard.. sometimes during the summer I have to sit home until after 7 just because I'm so worn out of being stuck in traffic getting home but to go to Norwalk get stuck in it again just to go so little.

[RobbieL2415]

Why not start allowing travel in the breakdown lane during rush hour like on parts of MA 128?  Its supposed to go away once the add-a-lane project is done.

[Beeper1]

The add-a-lane project won't be done in this century.

[abqtraveler]

The add-a-lane project won't be done in this century.

The only thing Connecticut is good at doing is wasting millions of taxpayer dollars in conducting one study after the next to analyze and reanalyze the same problem, yet in the end each study reaches the same general conclusions, but the state takes no action on any of these studies.  They've been talking about widening I-95 in one form or another for at least 40 years, yet only a couple of sections around Bridgeport and New Haven were actually widened. 

The biggest obstacle to doing any more widening of I-95 is getting the money and environmental clearances for construction.  A recent study showed that DOTs are spending as much (and in some instances more) on environmental studies as they are for actual construction.  Even if Connecticut manages to find a funding stream to finance the widening of I-95, I doubt it'll ever get all of the environmental approvals and permits needed before the first shovelful of dirt can be moved.  I think there'd be a better chance of getting funding and environmental clearance to widen I-84 from New York to Danbury than widening I-95, just because of where I-95 is situated with respect to Long Island Sound and adjacent estuaries.

[MikeCL]

Hey I've always been wondering about this i guess abandoned on-ramp in Stamford just after the exit 9 ramp most of the time you just see troopers on it.. Yesterday while driving the UPS truck was the first time I saw at the very bottom of the ramp and saw it had a gate with two large stop signs on it..

What happened with this ramp?

https://goo.gl/maps/JUWvTCcmMNK2

[abqtraveler]

Hey I've always been wondering about this i guess abandoned on-ramp in Stamford just after the exit 9 ramp most of the time you just see troopers on it.. Yesterday while driving the UPS truck was the first time I saw at the very bottom of the ramp and saw it had a gate with two large stop signs on it..

What happened with this ramp?

https://goo.gl/maps/JUWvTCcmMNK2

That ramp was closed off when I-95 was reconstructed and widened in that area in the late '90s/early 2000s timeframe.

[shadyjay]

Interesting... I never realized there was a closed ramp there.  Though looking at the map, I'm guessing its a reentry point for state trucks coming from the maintenance garage that abuts the service plaza just to the north.  IIRC, there used to be an emissions testing station located at that garage, perhaps the ramp was open to the public then.

[abqtraveler]

Interesting... I never realized there was a closed ramp there.  Though looking at the map, I'm guessing its a reentry point for state trucks coming from the maintenance garage that abuts the service plaza just to the north.  IIRC, there used to be an emissions testing station located at that garage, perhaps the ramp was open to the public then.

If you go to the site http://www.historicaerials.com/ you can see the onramp still being used in the 1991 aerial image (which doesn't have very good resolution), but there are better resolution aerial images of that ramp available for 1960 and 1971.

[MikeCL]

Interesting... I never realized there was a closed ramp there.  Though looking at the map, I'm guessing its a reentry point for state trucks coming from the maintenance garage that abuts the service plaza just to the north.  IIRC, there used to be an emissions testing station located at that garage, perhaps the ramp was open to the public then.

If you go to the site http://www.historicaerials.com/ you can see the onramp still being used in the 1991 aerial image (which doesn't have very good resolution), but there are better resolution aerial images of that ramp available for 1960 and 1971.

It would suck for those living right by the ramp just to make everyone go around to The Post Rd just to get on the ramp.. I wonder why they did not keep it.. I mean I know the on-ramp from 9 must be like less then 3,000 Ft away I mean you can tell it's old just by the worn pavement I just hate to see something go to waste.. But I guess the came can be said about the stacks on I-84 as well...

[abqtraveler]

Interesting... I never realized there was a closed ramp there.  Though looking at the map, I'm guessing its a reentry point for state trucks coming from the maintenance garage that abuts the service plaza just to the north.  IIRC, there used to be an emissions testing station located at that garage, perhaps the ramp was open to the public then.

If you go to the site http://www.historicaerials.com/ you can see the onramp still being used in the 1991 aerial image (which doesn't have very good resolution), but there are better resolution aerial images of that ramp available for 1960 and 1971.

It would suck for those living right by the ramp just to make everyone go around to The Post Rd just to get on the ramp.. I wonder why they did not keep it.. I mean I know the on-ramp from 9 must be like less then 3,000 Ft away I mean you can tell it's old just by the worn pavement I just hate to see something go to waste.. But I guess the came can be said about the stacks on I-84 as well...

CONNDOT has been removing and consolidating ramps during some of the construction projects on I-95, as having too many interchanges closely spaced together along the highway is a contributing factor to chronic congestion on I-95.  Southbound Exit 28 (and corresponding northbound onramp) and all of Exit 49 were both removed in the past 15 or so years.  Exits 44 and 45 were recently consolidated into a single interchange as part of the West River Bridge replacement project.   

[MikeCL]

Interesting... I never realized there was a closed ramp there.  Though looking at the map, I'm guessing its a reentry point for state trucks coming from the maintenance garage that abuts the service plaza just to the north.  IIRC, there used to be an emissions testing station located at that garage, perhaps the ramp was open to the public then.

If you go to the site http://www.historicaerials.com/ you can see the onramp still being used in the 1991 aerial image (which doesn't have very good resolution), but there are better resolution aerial images of that ramp available for 1960 and 1971.

It would suck for those living right by the ramp just to make everyone go around to The Post Rd just to get on the ramp.. I wonder why they did not keep it.. I mean I know the on-ramp from 9 must be like less then 3,000 Ft away I mean you can tell it's old just by the worn pavement I just hate to see something go to waste.. But I guess the came can be said about the stacks on I-84 as well...

CONNDOT has been removing and consolidating ramps during some of the construction projects on I-95, as having too many interchanges closely spaced together along the highway is a contributing factor to chronic congestion on I-95.  Southbound Exit 28 (and corresponding northbound onramp) and all of Exit 49 were both removed in the past 15 or so years.  Exits 44 and 45 were recently consolidated into a single interchange as part of the West River Bridge replacement project.

I understand the state has done yet another "study" to widen the whole length of 95..  Ok.. if I get on the ramp from where I live and I see the VMS near exit 2 saying a 26 mile delay to 25A wont it make sense to figure out how to fix exit 25A??

My understanding is only 1 lane to exit and the ramp/bridge is only 2 lanes which then opens to I think it's 3 until you can get to Rt 8..

I mean I said it before but during the summer I just hate going north.. sometimes I just get what I need in Yonkers like for say I need to go to Best buy or whatever.

[cpzilliacus]

What happened with this ramp?

https://goo.gl/maps/JUWvTCcmMNK2

I have driven by there a few times on I-95 and never noticed the ramp.  But looking at the south end of Brookside Drive, where it ties into U.S. 1 (Post Road), might an explanation (Brookside Drive itself is not on GSV). 

It appears that this is a private street (see GSV here and here)

[MikeCL]

Yeah I tried last night to get a street view but it's not on it.. I only saw the gate with the stop signs on both when I was in the UPS truck on Friday I never knew it had a gate at the far end of it.


iPhone

[PHLBOS]

What happened with this ramp?

https://goo.gl/maps/JUWvTCcmMNK2

I have driven by there a few times on I-95 and never noticed the ramp.  But looking at the south end of Brookside Drive, where it ties into U.S. 1 (Post Road), might an explanation (Brookside Drive itself is not on GSV). 

It appears that this is a private street (see GSV here and here)

If one zooms out a little further, one will notice that there's a service plaza (Darien Service Plaza) at the southbound of I-95.  Such is likely an access ramp to I-95 north for either official vehicles or service plaza employees.

[cpzilliacus]

What happened with this ramp?

https://goo.gl/maps/JUWvTCcmMNK2

I have driven by there a few times on I-95 and never noticed the ramp.  But looking at the south end of Brookside Drive, where it ties into U.S. 1 (Post Road), might an explanation (Brookside Drive itself is not on GSV). 

It appears that this is a private street (see GSV here and here)

If one zooms out a little further, one will notice that there's a service plaza (Darien Service Plaza) at the southbound of I-95.  Such is likely an access ramp to I-95 north for either official vehicles or service plaza employees.

Yes, I think that is reasonable.  Especially for road maintenance vehicles and Connecticut State Police.

[TravelingBethelite]

Another article on the possible rest area closures, with more detail...

http://www.newstimes.com/local/article/Rest-areas-proposed-to-close-in-governor-s-10941642.php