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[Mergingtraffic]

New Haven is taking out even more of the CT-34 Expwy.  Now it's another intersection added.  I thought the DOT had gripes about traffic backing up almost to I-95.  I see they caved again.

https://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/downtown_crossing2/

Read the comments on the article too

[SectorZ]

New Haven is taking out even more of the CT-34 Expwy.  Now it's another intersection added.  I thought the DOT had gripes about traffic backing up almost to I-95.  I see they caved again.

https://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/downtown_crossing2/

Read the comments on the article too

You mean the comment where someone says that New Haven isn't congested, like Portland Oregon?

[vdeane]

So... why did CT build a large flyover to CT 34 anyways?

[Duke87]

So... why did CT build a large flyover to CT 34 anyways?

Keep in mind that when that ramp was designed and broken ground on... even when it opened, the idea of removing the Oak Street connector was just the city of New Haven and some new urbanist groups making noise - it wasn't something the state had any particular intention of doing. That changed shortly thereafter.

At any rate, it's still the main route into downtown, so there's a decent amount of traffic using that ramp. If nothing else, they eliminated a left exit.

[vdeane]

Sounds like the Inner Loop project in Rochester... something that was talked about for a long time with people outside of the stakeholders advocating for it thinking it wouldn't happen any time soon, until it suddenly did.

[connroadgeek]

The signage at the new exit 74 is just weird in general. Hoping it gets fixed at some point to Connecticut standards.

[bluecountry]

So what happened to the CT tolls?

[PHLBOS]

So what happened to the CT tolls?

After the recent blowback on a plan that would have placed tolls along the tiny piece of I-684 that's in CT from Westchester County, NY (something that was never originally considered when all this (re)tolling talk started); Gov. Lamont has since retreated to just doing a RI-style of implementing tolls only for trucks... for now.    Such is still only in the planning stages.  See prior posts/pages in this thread for the discussions.
 
However & regardless of what tolling plan in is ultimately decided upon, federal permission for (partially) tolling existing free Interstates still needs to be sought & approved before the first AET gantry on any Interstate in CT is erected.

[RobbieL2415]

So what happened to the CT tolls?

After the recent blowback on a plan that would have placed tolls along the tiny piece of I-684 that's in CT from Westchester County, NY (something that was never originally considered when all this (re)tolling talk started); Gov. Lamont has since retreated to just doing a RI-style of implementing tolls only for trucks... for now.    Such is still only in the planning stages.  See prior posts/pages in this thread for the discussions.
 
However & regardless of what tolling plan in is ultimately decided upon, federal permission for (partially) tolling existing free Interstates still needs to be sought & approved before the first AET gantry on any Interstate in CT is erected.

Friendly reminder that CT is free AT ANY TIME to put tolls on regular-old state highways.

[PHLBOS]

Friendly reminder that CT is free AT ANY TIME to put tolls on regular-old state highways.

They certainly can but the majority of those state-route expressways aren't long-distance and/or don't connect to other freeways at both ends.  Additionally, and this was mentioned several pages back, if tolls are (re)imposed on CT 15 but not I-91 or I-95 where both highways run somewhat parallel to 15; guess where the majority of traffic will be going?  That's one reason why CT presently won't place tolls on just non-Interstate highways.

[RobbieL2415]

Friendly reminder that CT is free AT ANY TIME to put tolls on regular-old state highways.

They certainly can but the majority of those state-route expressways aren't long-distance and/or don't connect to other freeways at both ends.  Additionally, and this was mentioned several pages back, if tolls are (re)imposed on CT 15 but not I-91 or I-95 where both highways run somewhat paral to 15; guess where the majority of raffic will be going?  That's one reason why CT presently won't place tolls on just non-Interstate highways.

I don't think that just because an expressway isnt long-distance should mean it isn't worth tolling.

[PHLBOS]

Friendly reminder that CT is free AT ANY TIME to put tolls on regular-old state highways.

They certainly can but the majority of those state-route expressways aren't long-distance and/or don't connect to other freeways at both ends.  Additionally, and this was mentioned several pages back, if tolls are (re)imposed on CT 15 but not I-91 or I-95 where both highways run somewhat paral to 15; guess where the majority of raffic will be going?  That's one reason why CT presently won't place tolls on just non-Interstate highways.

I don't think that just because an expressway isnt long-distance should mean it isn't worth tolling.

In general, a long distance road usually carries more through and out-of-state traffic.  NYC-Boston truck traffic will typically use I-95-91*-84 (*I-91 north to I-84 east involves using CT 15 for a short distance & vice-versa).  Boston and/or Northeastern New England-bound traffic from points south of NYC as well as west will use I-84 from end-to-end (I-691-91-CT 15 alternate in the Hartford area during rush hours).  In contrast, short highways that do not connect to other continuous highways at both ends will typically attract more localized traffic (origin/destination).

Since CT is a pass-through state (being a CT resident, you probably already know that); one intent of CT's proposed tolling plans is geared to collect toll money via AET from through-traffic/out-of-state vehicles.  The long-distance/through Interstates is where the majority of that traffic demographic is.

[MikeTheActuary]

Looks like ConnDOT wants to re-study the I-84 Aetna Viaduct

https://www.wtnh.com/news/connecticut/hartford/brakes-pumped-on-5b-i-84-viaduct-replacement-in-hartford/

[Alps]

looks like politics are not in this thread oh ok

[PHLBOS]

Looks like ConnDOT wants to re-study the I-84 Aetna Viaduct
https://www.wtnh.com/news/connecticut/hartford/brakes-pumped-on-5b-i-84-viaduct-replacement-in-hartford/

“It was originally designed for about 55,000 vehicles per day in the 1960s,” said Rich Armstrong Former Principal Engineer, CT DOT. “Right now, we have 175,000 vehicles per day.”

One has to wonder had I-291 been built in its entirety as a full beltway, how much of that 175,000 daily vehicle total along I-84 in that area would've been diverted?

[kurumi]

Looks like ConnDOT wants to re-study the I-84 Aetna Viaduct
https://www.wtnh.com/news/connecticut/hartford/brakes-pumped-on-5b-i-84-viaduct-replacement-in-hartford/

“It was originally designed for about 55,000 vehicles per day in the 1960s,” said Rich Armstrong Former Principal Engineer, CT DOT. “Right now, we have 175,000 vehicles per day.”

One has to wonder had I-291 been built in its entirety as a full beltway, how much of that 175,000 daily vehicle total along I-84 in that area would've been diverted?

Looks like about 25-30k:

From http://www.i84hartford.com/documents/misc/I84-Viaduct-Report110216.pdf:

The I-84 Viaduct carries daily traffic volumes of 175,000 vehicles, making it Connecticut’s most heavily used highway. Approximately 45% of the vehicle trips on the Viaduct have origins or destinations in the City of Hartford; approximately 45% of the trips are regional with origins and destinations outside of the City of Hartford; approximately 10% of trips have origins and destinations within Hartford. Of the regional trips that pass through the city, approximately 2/3 are shorter regional trips—for example a trip from East Hartford to West Hartford; 1/3 of regional trips are longer trips. These longer regional trips representing approximately 15% of overall traffic on the Viaduct are the most likely candidates for diversion to another highway corridor should such a strategy be considered, and if necessary capacity is in place on other roadways. 

[KEVIN_224]

The northwest quadrant of the beltway, which was never built. It would've run from the I-84/CT 9 "stack" in Farmington, through West Hartford and up into Bloomfield, in the area of CT Route 218, connecting at I-91 in Windsor. Thanks to a couple of reservoirs, it was never built.

[RobbieL2415]

I always thought, why not build a parkway into the Talcott Mountain range, from the Stack to US 44.  Keep the speed limit at 55 and prohibit trucks.

[MikeTheActuary]

I always thought, why not build a parkway into the Talcott Mountain range, from the Stack to US 44.  Keep the speed limit at 55 and prohibit trucks.

That would impact three of the wealthiest towns in the metro Hartford area, places that actively resist four-lane roads, and one of which seems actively hostile to private motorized transportation in general.

While I think the reservoir concerns are legitimate, it was really NIMBYism that doomed the north-south leg of that quadrant of I-291.

[RobbieL2415]

I always thought, why not build a parkway into the Talcott Mountain range, from the Stack to US 44.  Keep the speed limit at 55 and prohibit trucks.

That would impact three of the wealthiest towns in the metro Hartford area, places that actively resist four-lane roads, and one of which seems actively hostile to private motorized transportation in general.

While I think the reservoir concerns are legitimate, it was really NIMBYism that doomed the north-south leg of that quadrant of I-291.

And yet those same people complain about traffic.  You can't have it both ways.

[jp the roadgeek]

Having commuted that way for 11 years, I-291 would have been an absolute dream to have.  Instead of having to take back roads through Farmington, Avon, and West Hartford, I-291 would have let me out within 2 minutes of my destination.  Instead, you see Mountain Rd in West Hartford backed up almost a mile to get through the lights at US 44.  And North Main St through West Hartford Center is often a nightmare.  NIMBYism has created some major bottlenecks, and we passed up a nice reliever for I-84 in Hartford for traffic headed to the airport and Springfield, and even as a northern bypass for Boston bound traffic by taking 291 all the way back to 84 in Manchester.

[vdeane]

I always thought, why not build a parkway into the Talcott Mountain range, from the Stack to US 44.  Keep the speed limit at 55 and prohibit trucks.

That would impact three of the wealthiest towns in the metro Hartford area, places that actively resist four-lane roads, and one of which seems actively hostile to private motorized transportation in general.

While I think the reservoir concerns are legitimate, it was really NIMBYism that doomed the north-south leg of that quadrant of I-291.

And yet those same people complain about traffic.  You can't have it both ways.

It's how development often is.  People want to be free to move to whatever community they want but don't want anyone to move in after them.

[Beltway]

The unbuilt I-291 beltway probably exacerbates this need as well.  Another fantastically expensive bridge replacement of an original Interstate highway bridge viaduct.

https://www.enr.com/articles/48387-expanded-mobility-study-pauses-hartford-viaduct-replacement
Expanded Mobility Study Pauses Hartford Viaduct Replacement
December 18, 2019

Plans to replace the I-84 viaduct in downtown Hartford have been put on hold for up to three years while the Connecticut Dept. of Transportation seeks to better coordinate the $5-billion project with other area transportation needs.  With a current $60-million repair project expected to keep the 60-year-old, two-mile system of structures safe and functional to at least 2040, the agency will conduct a broader mobility study that incorporates other potential transportation improvements, including relocation of the existing I-84/I-91 interchange, as well as improvements to bus and rail lines.

[Rothman]

Relocation of I-84/I-91?  Yeesh.

[jp the roadgeek]

Relocation of I-84/I-91?  Yeesh.

Lest us forget Larson's Big Dig