Connecticut News

[shadyjay]

A redesign of the ConnDOT homepage makes looking for contractor information (plans, upcoming bids, etc) a lot easier.....

Looks like more new signs are coming on the Connecticut Turnpike.... a project will be advertised in August for the replacement of signage from Exit 25 in Fairfield to Exit 47 in New Haven.  Exit 25 is where an earlier signage project ended (after coming up from the NY state line) and also marks the beginning of the reconstructed "Bridgeport Corridor", which saw all signs replaced in the early 2000s.  Signage from Exit 31 to Exit 34 is still button copy Phase III and so is Exits 43-46.  Most likely signs from Exits 35 to 41 won't be touched since those were just replaced a year or two ago. 

After completion of this latest project, and associated sign replacement for the Q Bridge project, there will be no more button copy from the NY state line up to Exit 54.  And those signs from Exit 54 to Exit 59 in Branford and Guilford were installed 1992, replacing original turnpike signage that dated back to the 1958-era. 

[connroadgeek]

Do they ever change the signs themselves, or do they just take pictures of what's there and replace it with an exact replica?

[shadyjay]

Do they ever change the signs themselves, or do they just take pictures of what's there and replace it with an exact replica?

For the most part, most sign replacements these days are "carbon copy".  There have been some minor changes in signage over the years, mostly when Phase I or II was replaced with newer versions.  For instance, original turnpike signage replaced in 1992 at Exit 58 (for example) went from "GUILFORD - CONN 77" to "[77] / Guilford / North Guilford".  Every now and then there is some tweaking of destinations, but those replaced west of Bridgeport on the turnpike c 2008 were essentially carbon copy replacements, just without button copy.  One sign that was "altered" was for Exit 17... "Sherwood Island State Park" became "Sherwood Island Connector", and thus the sign didn't have to become a "big brown sign". 

[Mergingtraffic]

The I-84 widening between Exits 23 and 25 is supposed to start in 2014.  O

On I-84 in Danbury there have been new BGSs that aren't just CC of older ones.  The "Expressway Ends" BYS on Exit 11 are now "Signal Ahead" BYSs and a new BYS at Exit 4 EB says "Crossing Traffic 700 Feet" there was never a sign that said that before.

Drove through the same area today, nice new signs but new gantries have gone up too and they are not the pipe gantries.  I liked the pipe gantries. I wonder why the DOT keeps changing the style?

Also, I noticed they replaced some signs that used to be on gantries with some that are now on poles on the side of the road and replaced other signs that used to be on poles on new gantries. 

[connroadgeek]

Noticed DOT moved the 95 S/B Stamford city line sign from ground mounted to gantry. I can't recall any other town line sign mounted on a gantry. Looks like there is just enough space for an exit 9 advanced guide sign should they choose to add one.

[shadyjay]

On I-84 in Danbury there have been new BGSs that aren't just CC of older ones.  The "Expressway Ends" BYS on Exit 11 are now "Signal Ahead" BYSs and a new BYS at Exit 4 EB says "Crossing Traffic 700 Feet" there was never a sign that said that before.

Drove through the same area today, nice new signs but new gantries have gone up too and they are not the pipe gantries.  I liked the pipe gantries. I wonder why the DOT keeps changing the style?

Also, I noticed they replaced some signs that used to be on gantries with some that are now on poles on the side of the road and replaced other signs that used to be on poles on new gantries. 

Pics?  Anyone?

[connroadgeek]

The I-84 widening between Exits 23 and 25 is supposed to start in 2014.  O

On I-84 in Danbury there have been new BGSs that aren't just CC of older ones.  The "Expressway Ends" BYS on Exit 11 are now "Signal Ahead" BYSs and a new BYS at Exit 4 EB says "Crossing Traffic 700 Feet" there was never a sign that said that before.

Drove through the same area today, nice new signs but new gantries have gone up too and they are not the pipe gantries.  I liked the pipe gantries. I wonder why the DOT keeps changing the style?

Also, I noticed they replaced some signs that used to be on gantries with some that are now on poles on the side of the road and replaced other signs that used to be on poles on new gantries. 

DOT is using both styles now. In most cases where only one or two signs are needed, the pipe gantries seem to be favored, though recently I've seen some new box style truss gantries being used (like the new Stamford city line sign gantry just south of the DOT garage on 95 S/B) similar to those for the electronic highway signs. There are some new box style full span gantries in Darien as well around exit 10 that went up as part of the widening a couple years back, and the funny thing about those is they span both lanes of 95 with very little in the way of sign load. Wonder how they decide which to use if it is indeed an intentional choice.

[shadyjay]

My quest to track down shots of the new signage on I-84 in the Danbury area turned up this:

https://foursquare.com/v/i84--danbury/4b704f1df964a5208e112de3/photos

The second photo is I-84 WB at Exit 10 (US 6 West), while the seventh photo is WB at Exit 4.   Nice diagrammatic on the left sign, but no distance given, and no control city for I-84. 

[shadyjay]

** BREAKING NEWS **

The new northbound lanes of the "Q" Bridge in New Haven on the Connecticut Turnpike (I-95) are opening, with traffic delays expected, weekend of June 22-24, 2012.

See press release here:  http://www.ct.gov/dot/cwp/view.asp?A=2135&Q=505954

I'll imagine later this year that southbound traffic will also be shifted to the new span, which when completed will host northbound traffic only.  But in the interim, all traffic will eventually use the new span while the old one is torn down and the new southbound bridge is built.

Full website here:  http://www.i95newhaven.com

[connroadgeek]

** BREAKING NEWS **

The new northbound lanes of the "Q" Bridge in New Haven on the Connecticut Turnpike (I-95) are opening, with traffic delays expected, weekend of June 22-24, 2012.

See press release here:  http://www.ct.gov/dot/cwp/view.asp?A=2135&Q=505954

I'll imagine later this year that southbound traffic will also be shifted to the new span, which when completed will host northbound traffic only.  But in the interim, all traffic will eventually use the new span while the old one is torn down and the new southbound bridge is built.

Full website here:  http://www.i95newhaven.com

That's crazy. I just drove through there a few weeks ago, and it didn't look like it was any where close to being ready to open.

[Alps]

** BREAKING NEWS **

The new northbound lanes of the "Q" Bridge in New Haven on the Connecticut Turnpike (I-95) are opening, with traffic delays expected, weekend of June 22-24, 2012.

See press release here:  http://www.ct.gov/dot/cwp/view.asp?A=2135&Q=505954

I'll imagine later this year that southbound traffic will also be shifted to the new span, which when completed will host northbound traffic only.  But in the interim, all traffic will eventually use the new span while the old one is torn down and the new southbound bridge is built.

Full website here:  http://www.i95newhaven.com

That's crazy. I just drove through there a few weeks ago, and it didn't look like it was any where close to being ready to open.

Once the bridge deck is paved, it only takes one night to stripe (short distance). Approach work probably takes a week on each side to fill it in and pave each layer (one layer per night, figure four layers).

[vdeane]

** BREAKING NEWS **

The new northbound lanes of the "Q" Bridge in New Haven on the Connecticut Turnpike (I-95) are opening, with traffic delays expected, weekend of June 22-24, 2012.

See press release here:  http://www.ct.gov/dot/cwp/view.asp?A=2135&Q=505954

I'll imagine later this year that southbound traffic will also be shifted to the new span, which when completed will host northbound traffic only.  But in the interim, all traffic will eventually use the new span while the old one is torn down and the new southbound bridge is built.

Full website here:  http://www.i95newhaven.com

That's crazy. I just drove through there a few weeks ago, and it didn't look like it was any where close to being ready to open.

Keep in mind that this is not a final opening, just a traffic pattern change.  I-95 won't even be using the final approaches, just temporary ones.  The southbound side hasn't even been built yet and requires the demolition of the old bridge to be done.

[Mergingtraffic]

New Q-Bridge opens this weekend, well part of it anyway.
Front page news on the New Haven paper
http://www.nhregister.com/

[KEVIN_224]

http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/traffic/traffic_news/detours-before-opening-of-new-q-bridge#.T-VFb8VQSF8

Just looked at the Conn-DOT traffic cameras. I-91 looked to be flowing fine for the most part. The northbound backup was back to between Exits 41 and 42 in West Haven. Of course, those are only going to get worse as the night goes on.

http://interactives.wtnh.com/photomojo/gallery/3255/65250/pearl-harbor-memorial-bridge/the-ribbon/

Assorted photos from the ribbon cutting. Again, it's only the NORTHBOUND side of the bridge which is opening.

[connroadgeek]

Anyone drive it today? I considered it, but opted to watch via DOT cam. Plenty of line painting and barrier placement shown on those cams this morning. Going pretty much according to schedule. Still don't see how I-91 to I-95 N/B gets rerouted onto the new segment, but it appears all three lanes are now open on the new bridge with no traffic flowing over the old bridge. Will have to look over the traffic shift diagrams.

[shadyjay]

Strange looking at this cam and seeing no traffic NB/EB across the old span:
http://www.ct.gov/dot/cwp/view.asp?a=2354&q=415620

Probably won't get a chance to drive across the new span until late July at the earliest.  Still, nice to see some substantial progress being made on the bridge replacement.  The surveying/engineering company I used to work for had the contract for the bridge's replacement.  It was sketchy, to say the least, working underneath the old span in '03-04.  Pieces of concrete from the bridge were falling off at one point when one of our crews was working nearby.  We also had the contract to reconstruct Waterfront Street - not a fun place to work, with a constant stream of trucks and diesel exhaust all day long.  The plus side was I was able to snag an old wooden US 1 sign that was in the weeds at the end of the old Exit 49 off-ramp.

Soon enough, the old bridge will be but a memory and Waterfront Street's railroad spurs will be reactivated once again, hopefully relieving some truck traffic in the port area. 

[vdeane]

Personally I'm wondering how this project will fix the I-91 left exit on I-95... couldn't find plans for the final configuration on the site, just the interim one.

[Mergingtraffic]

Strange looking at this cam and seeing no traffic NB/EB across the old span:
http://www.ct.gov/dot/cwp/view.asp?a=2354&q=415620

I want to know too, as you can see on the NB span that is now built, in the end, that will be 5 lanes in ONE direction, but I noticed they have a temp jersey barrier with a pipe gantry for the temp SB traffic that will use the NB bridge at the end of this year.  It looks permanent, but amazing that it's only temporary.

Personally I'm wondering how this project will fix the I-91 left exit on I-95... couldn't find plans for the final configuration on the site, just the interim one.

I-91 will exit to the right in the end and I-95 will be on the left side when all is said and done. 

I am also curious to see how the new 4th lane on I-95 NB from Exit 45 to the interchange will go?  Exit 46 was just rebuilt and there is a jersey barrier between the Exit 46 off and on ramp that is NEW but it's too close to the mainline for the 4th lane. 

Will the new lane go to Exit 47 Route 34 or I-91 Exit 48?  I can't find any plans anywhere. i95newhaven.com doesn't have detailed ones up yet.

[vdeane]

The ramp to CT 34 does go off at an odd angle... maybe that's why.  When I was there I thought CTDOT was just being dumb.

[KEVIN_224]

That flyover ramp is an improvement in the fact that it took the left exit away from I-95 North. The downside is that there's now little room to merge between that ramp and the on ramp from Long Wharf Drive.

Playing around with Google Street View and satellite images, I'm wondering how Exit 48 for I-91 North will fit as a right side on-ramp?

[Mergingtraffic]

That flyover ramp is an improvement in the fact that it took the left exit away from I-95 North. The downside is that there's now little room to merge between that ramp and the on ramp from Long Wharf Drive.

Playing around with Google Street View and satellite images, I'm wondering how Exit 48 for I-91 North will fit as a right side on-ramp?

If you go under Contracts on i95newhaven.com

http://www.i95newhaven.com/pdfs/contracts/contract_e_0510.pdf

[relaxok]

Are there any current bills considering mileage-based numbering on interstates like I-84 and I-91 in CT?

What do you all think of the idea w/rt I-84 specifically? It seems like everything would change but only very slightly - which would be a recipe for confusion (at first).

[vdeane]

Ditto for I-95 south of New Haven.

[Mergingtraffic]

What does this mean? I used to check the agendas each month to see what new turn lanes were being added and such. 

From the CT DOT website:

As of July 1, 2012 the State Traffic Commission is now
the Office of the State Traffic Administration.
There are no more monthly meetings

Connecticut State Traffic Commission
2012 Public Meeting Schedule


DATE  TIME LOCATION
*January 19, 2012
AGENDA
MINUTES 10:00 am ConnDOT Headquarters
2800 Berlin Tpke, Newington, CT
Conference Rm. A
*February 23, 2012
AGENDA
MINUTES 10:00 am ConnDOT Headquarters
2800 Berlin Tpke, Newington, CT
Conference Rm. A
March 20, 2012
AGENDA
MINUTES  10:00 am ConnDOT Headquarters
2800 Berlin Tpke, Newington, CT
Conference Rm. A
April 17, 2012
AGENDA
MINUTES 10:00 am ConnDOT Headquarters
2800 Berlin Tpke, Newington, CT
Conference Rm. A
May 15, 2012
AGENDA
MINUTES  10:00 am ConnDOT Headquarters
2800 Berlin Tpke, Newington, CT
Conference Rm. A
June 19, 2012
AGENDA - REVISED
MINUTES - DRAFT 10:00 am ConnDOT Headquarters
2800 Berlin Tpke, Newington, CT
Conference Rm. A
July 17, 2012

CANCELLED 10:00 am ConnDOT Headquarters
2800 Berlin Tpke, Newington, CT
Conference Rm. A
August 21, 2012

CANCELLED 10:00 am ConnDOT Headquarters
2800 Berlin Tpke, Newington, CT
Conference Rm. A
September 18, 2012

CANCELLED 10:00 am ConnDOT Headquarters
2800 Berlin Tpke, Newington, CT
Conference Rm. A
October 16, 2012

CANCELLED 10:00 am ConnDOT Headquarters
2800 Berlin Tpke, Newington, CT
Conference Rm. A
November 20, 2012

CANCELLED 10:00 am ConnDOT Headquarters
2800 Berlin Tpke, Newington, CT
Conference Rm. A
December 18, 2012

CANCELLED 10:00 am ConnDOT Headquarters
2800 Berlin Tpke, Newington, CT
Conference Rm. A

[relaxok]

Not sure, doofy, maybe they thought the meetings were unnecessary.  Lots of things being cut these days..  I wonder if the office got a reduced headcount and folded in somewhere else or if it was literally just a name change..