Connecticut News

[shadyjay]

Exit 1 on a state line (in Interstate 95's case) would only make sense to me if there was an interchange to a road that hugged the state line. Exit 2 should have been Exit 1 from the get-go.

Since I've seen some maps identify the interchange between the turnpike and US 6 at its east end as Exit 91, its possible that Exit 1 was the NY border and Exit 91 was the RI border.  They may not have been signed in the field as such, but may have been more of an internal designation. 

[noelbotevera]

Hilarious error with exit numbers here.
http://ctarttrail.org/attraction/foxwoods-resort-exit-855-off-i-395/

Also, why did the CT 34 freeway stub get removed? I thought it was nice to get in and out of New Haven in a jiffy.

[jp the roadgeek]

Hilarious error with exit numbers here.
http://ctarttrail.org/attraction/foxwoods-resort-exit-855-off-i-395/

Maybe after the I-395 extension to Bermuda.  Exit numbers now start at 0 in Hamilton and go up from there.

[Rothman]

Hilarious error with exit numbers here.
http://ctarttrail.org/attraction/foxwoods-resort-exit-855-off-i-395/

Stupid hippies should take a shower.

[abqtraveler]

Hilarious error with exit numbers here.
http://ctarttrail.org/attraction/foxwoods-resort-exit-855-off-i-395/

Also, why did the CT 34 freeway stub get removed? I thought it was nice to get in and out of New Haven in a jiffy.

The removal of Route 34 in New Haven was the brainchild of former mayor John DeStefano, but its roots has its origins with the construction of the freeway back in the '50s and '60s. As the Route 34 freeway was being built, the city and state bulldozed entire neighborhoods from the New Haven Railyard, through downtown to Route 10 to make way for the Route 34 freeway, which was envisioned to ultimately continue west through Orange, then across the Housatonic River to either Derby or Shelton, and continue further west, following the Housatonic River to intersect I-84 and the (planned, but never finished) Route 25 freeway near Newtown.  The short section that used to end at the Air Rights Garage at Yale Avenue was the only portion of the freeway built before the remainder of the highway was blocked by lawsuits. 

Connecticut still had plans on the books until the 1990s to extend the Route 34 freeway to Orange; there is a commuter parking lot off Route 34 in Orange that was originally built as the freeway's anticipated tie-in to the existing Route 34.  The land cleared for the freeway between the Air Rights Garage and Route 10 remained vacant and under state ownership (ready for the freeway extension to be built), until it was sold off in the early 2000s to deal with the state's budget crisis at the time; much of that land has already been redeveloped with Pfizer building its medical research facility adjacent to the Air Rights Garage. 

Mayor DeStefano's prime motivation for removing the Route 34 Freeway was two-fold:  1) to reconnect portions of downtown divided by the highway, and 2) free up more land for development and add to the city's tax base.  At the time, DeStefano wielded significant political influence within the state, and using his political power, he was able to convince state leaders into converting the Route 34 freeway into a boulevard west of the New Haven Railyard so his vision of redeveloping the Route 34 corridor and reconnecting downtown could be realized.

[vdeane]

But does it actually allow for more development (aside from one building where exit 3 was)?  It looks like it just converts the freeway into an express lane for the garage and forces everyone else to sit at a couple more traffic lights.

[tckma]

I was looking at the I-95 crossing of the CT/NY state line and noticed it skips right to Exit 2. I can't find satellite evidence of there ever being an Exit 1. Does anyone know if there ever was an Exit 1? 

"Exit 1" was the former toll booth at the state line.  The same kind of thing happens with "Exit 16" on the NYS Thruway (that's the toll booth at the start of the ticket system by Exit 17 for NY-17, which I'm sure is part of why that was done), as well as "Exit 1," "Exit 18W," and "Exit 16E" on the NJ Turnpike.  Toll roads seem to like to do things that way.

[jp the roadgeek]

Getting back to the CT 34 expressway, I believe there were plans at one time to extend it and tie it in with a proposed NY/CT 35 expressway that would connect to the US 9 expressway in Peekskill and maybe even to I-86/NY 17 in Woodbury.

[dgolub]

Getting back to the CT 34 expressway, I believe there were plans at one time to extend it and tie it in with a proposed NY/CT 35 expressway that would connect to the US 9 expressway in Peekskill and maybe even to I-86/NY 17 in Woodbury.

Yes, Steve Anderson discusses it here: http://www.nycroads.com/roads/CT-34/

[abqtraveler]

But does it actually allow for more development (aside from one building where exit 3 was)?  It looks like it just converts the freeway into an express lane for the garage and forces everyone else to sit at a couple more traffic lights.

With property values being sky-high in downtown New Haven, even just one or two parcels being redeveloped into multi-story buildings would bring in a significant amount of tax revenue. 

[Mergingtraffic]

Remember Route 11? Remember the push it got a couple years back? Oh yeah and that studt that started 2 years ago, what happened to it?

http://www.theday.com/columnists/20160214/route-11-lite-new-life-for-a-dead-end-road-project

[vdeane]

I was looking at the I-95 crossing of the CT/NY state line and noticed it skips right to Exit 2. I can't find satellite evidence of there ever being an Exit 1. Does anyone know if there ever was an Exit 1? 

"Exit 1" was the former toll booth at the state line.  The same kind of thing happens with "Exit 16" on the NYS Thruway (that's the toll booth at the start of the ticket system by Exit 17 for NY-17, which I'm sure is part of why that was done), as well as "Exit 1," "Exit 18W," and "Exit 16E" on the NJ Turnpike.  Toll roads seem to like to do things that way.

NY 17 is exit 16.  Exit 17 is for I-84.  The next exit to the south is exit 15A (also for NY 17), and further south, exit 15 for I-287.  Additionally, the end of the ticket system used to be between exits present day 14A and 14B (then 15; 14B wasn't built yet) at Spring Valley.

[Mergingtraffic]

btw, with the I-84 widening project underway, THIS:



is the oldest remaining sign on the mainline for I-84 WB.

this is gone

[Alps]

Remember Route 11? Remember the push it got a couple years back? Oh yeah and that studt that started 2 years ago, what happened to it?

http://www.theday.com/columnists/20160214/route-11-lite-new-life-for-a-dead-end-road-project

There's a better chance of I-484 being resurrected.

[abqtraveler]

Remember Route 11? Remember the push it got a couple years back? Oh yeah and that studt that started 2 years ago, what happened to it?

http://www.theday.com/columnists/20160214/route-11-lite-new-life-for-a-dead-end-road-project

I think the closest Route 11 got to being built was during the Rowland years, when the EIS was nearly finished, which would have resulted in a Record of Decision enabling construction to start.  But the state never really had the money to pay to extend Route 11, so the FHWA wouldn't sign off on the EIS and issue a ROD.  When Jodi Rell became governor, the Route 11 extension was one of the projects she directed ConnDOT to remove from its list, effectively killing it.  Malloy has talked about resurrecting Route 11, but the state still doesn't have the money to build it. While Route 11 was mentioned in the governor's 30-year $100 billion transportation plan, that plan is nothing more than a pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking since there's too much opposition in the legislature to establish a transportation "lock-box" to finance the plan.

[tckma]

NY 17 is exit 16.  Exit 17 is for I-84.  The next exit to the south is exit 15A (also for NY 17), and further south, exit 15 for I-287.  Additionally, the end of the ticket system used to be between exits present day 14A and 14B (then 15; 14B wasn't built yet) at Spring Valley.

Hmm, I coulda sworn that... well, I'll trust the NYSDOT employee versus my memory; I last lived in NYS about 15 years ago.

I've always wondered why there was that random tollbooth in Spring Valley.  Now I know.

[Beeper1]

I think there should be a contest to see what badly-needed but unfunded project will get built first, if ever:  CT-11 or a third Cape Cod Canal bridge.

[Alps]

I think there should be a contest to see what badly-needed but unfunded project will get built first, if ever:  CT-11 or a third Cape Cod Canal bridge.

Or Rye-Oyster Bay Bridge/Tunnel/Bridge-Tunnel. Or widening/double-decking Garden State Parkway in Essex County.

[cl94]

Or widening/double-decking Garden State Parkway in Essex County.

I wish. They could quadruple-deck it and it would still be a traffic nightmare.

[RobbieL2415]

I think there should be a contest to see what badly-needed but unfunded project will get built first, if ever:  CT-11 or a third Cape Cod Canal bridge.

Without getting too far OT I don't think a third Canal bridge is necessary.  Two new bridges?  Maybe.  I don't know how bad regular rush hour traffic is but travelling off-peak during the summer is fine. Its the rental changeover days (Sat.-Sun) that can be hectic.

[Alps]

Or widening/double-decking Garden State Parkway in Essex County.

I wish. They could quadruple-deck it and it would still be a traffic nightmare.

Since this isn't Fictional Highways, I stuck to actual proposals.

[Rothman]

Is the extension of CT 11 really "badly-needed"?  It's been that way for decades and doesn't seem to cause many problems.

Only went down that way to get to Ocean Beach Park, anyway.

[kurumi]

This veers into "Fictional Non-highways"; but if the northern portion of CT 11 had not been built, I'm guessing no one (except us) would be talking about a freeway along CT 85. The DOT would probably consider some piecemeal upgrades and possibly a "Go Around" sign in Colchester, as there is on I-91 in Meriden ("To Middletown use CT 9" (instead of CT 66))

[KEVIN_224]

http://wnpr.org/post/tunnels-plans-pitfalls-and-promises#stream/0

A short piece from WNPR, a.k.a. Connecticut Public Radio. One of the things they touch on is about a tunnel proposal under Long Island Sound.

The funny thing is the picture shown under "Related Content" about other highway articles. It's about Connecticut and funding, yet they show a big green sign from I-195 West in Providence, at the junction with I-95.

[shadyjay]

This veers into "Fictional Non-highways"; but if the northern portion of CT 11 had not been built, I'm guessing no one (except us) would be talking about a freeway along CT 85. The DOT would probably consider some piecemeal upgrades and possibly a "Go Around" sign in Colchester, as there is on I-91 in Meriden ("To Middletown use CT 9" (instead of CT 66))

I wonder if ConnDOT will consider dismantling CT 11 if the southern portion to I-95/I-395 never gets built.  Sign CT 2 as "New London", or better yet, just "phase out" the New London control city on the rest of CT 2 (and on I-91 and I-84).  Make a new interchange on CT 2 EB with CT 85 to handle the "Salem" traffic.  And there you go... just rip up what's there of CT 11 as if it never even existed.  Then, just like magic, the hopes and dreams of a completed CT 11 disappear.  Just like CT 34 in New Haven. 

Personally, I'd still like to see CT 11 make it to I-95/I-395.