Connecticut News

[connroadgeek]

If you really want to extend Route 9 north, I'd take it west of the reservoirs. There's a lot of empty space over there, and in fact, you could almost make it to Simsbury/Bradley Airport area without much effort as it looks like a whole lot of nothing in those areas, though I'm not sure why you'd bother servicing nothing unless you could hook the terminus of 9 up with a state highway in that area (terminating at CT-185 would provide a way to get to 291 from there). Going west also keeps the highway away from most residential areas on the NW side of Hartford (Bloomfield) which would certainly raise concern from home owners. One problem is passing a highway through a reservoir/watershed...tends to not go over well these days. Extending 9 further north would also allow suburbs to the west and south to bypass Hartford on their way to Mass. & points north and Bradley Airport.

[HighwayMaster]

If you really want to extend Route 9 north, I'd take it west of the reservoirs. There's a lot of empty space over there, and in fact, you could almost make it to Simsbury/Bradley Airport area without much effort as it looks like a whole lot of nothing in those areas, though I'm not sure why you'd bother servicing nothing unless you could hook the terminus of 9 up with a state highway in that area (terminating at CT-185 would provide a way to get to 291 from there). Going west also keeps the highway away from most residential areas on the NW side of Hartford (Bloomfield) which would certainly raise concern from home owners. One problem is passing a highway through a reservoir/watershed...tends to not go over well these days. Extending 9 further north would also allow suburbs to the west and south to bypass Hartford on their way to Mass. & points north and Bradley Airport.

I second that.

[shadyjay]

Connecticut Turnpike NB service plaza in Milford has reopened:
http://www.ct.gov/dot/cwp/view.asp?A=1373&Q=500814

What I find interesting is that a ConnDOT press release prominently says "CONNECTICUT TURNPIKE", with I-95 in parenthesis.

And this isn't the first time the turnpike reference has appeared on their site, either:
http://www.ct.gov/dot/cwp/view.asp?a=3535&q=292578
(scroll towards the bottom)


What next.... the turnpike trailblazer appearing on reassurance signs or on BGSs??? (which I'm all for, BTW)

[KEVIN_224]

Yikes! The heavy emphasis on CONNECTICUT TURNPIKE...considering it hasn't carried a toll since 1983 or so. What that press release doesn't mention is that the whole statewide project is way behind schedule!

[shadyjay]

CDOT's Danbury traffic cams are finally pointed in a direction that yields some of the new mile markers and signage.  Not the best shots but it'll have to do for now:





Could that be an orange LEFT in the aligned exit tab for Exit 7?   

[agentsteel53]

Could that be an orange LEFT in the aligned exit tab for Exit 7?   

my guess is yellow... the black text darkens the overall image a bit because the resolution is so low.

[shadyjay]

Could that be an orange LEFT in the aligned exit tab for Exit 7?   

my guess is yellow... the black text darkens the overall image a bit because the resolution is so low.

I meant it as a shock of a LEFT being in the exit tab.  Is this the first signage contract in CT to have that feature in an exit tab? 

[Mergingtraffic]

Could that be an orange LEFT in the aligned exit tab for Exit 7?   

my guess is yellow... the black text darkens the overall image a bit because the resolution is so low.

I meant it as a shock of a LEFT being in the exit tab.  Is this the first signage contract in CT to have that feature in an exit tab? 

Yes, that is correct a yellow LEFT.  The same for Exit 3 going WB.  Also, new "Welcome to CT" signage went up at the state line. 

The exit tabs in general in this project, are quite large even with the border around them. 

and, although, Exit 7 EB & Exit 3 WB are the same type of exit but are signed differently.  WB has a diagramical sign while the EB side has the signs shown above. 

[wytout]

As Part of the new signing Project on CT 20 The Bradley Connector, it is apparent that CT is now following suit on Surface Street Guide signage as well.   Those panels have gone mixed case:


IMG_1922 by wytout, on Flickr


IMG_1923 by wytout, on Flickr

But in truly tasteless CT fashion, the need to "fill" the panel is resulting in Mixed Series FHWA fonts and Mixed Kerning in many assemblies, just as in the old all-caps assemblies

[KEVIN_224]

Ewwwww! I hate those signs already!

[Mergingtraffic]

I looked at the US-7 signing plans and noticed it's not the contractor that makes mistakes but whoever wrote the plans in the first place.

The US202 shield should be a 3d sign but it's only like that on BGSs.  They put up some new US202 shields but they are 2d shields.  ugh! It's written that way in the plans!

[shadyjay]

Surprised this hasn't been brought up here yet:

http://www.wfsb.com/story/17858651/senate-votes-to-allow-tolls-on-conns-route-11

Under the proposal, the tolls would be used to pay for the extension of Route 11, which ends abruptly in Salem. The highway was originally supposed to continue another 8.5 miles to Interstate 95, but the project was been stalled for two decades.

Seems like tolls on CT 11 wouldn't yield that much revenue.  The locals would most likely jump off onto CT 85 and head right down to Salem and points south.  Or maybe they'd patronize the tolls just to see CT 11 finished. 

[wytout]

If tolls were what it took, and they actually finished it... I'd use it every time and happily pay the tolls.  That's one road I would like to see done.

[KEVIN_224]

That will be one hell of an interchange with I-95/I-395 in Waterford...IF they actually finish it!

[Duke87]

Indeed, any toll would be ridiculously easy to shunpike - CT 85 isn't exactly choked with traffic.

But, maybe if the toll is low enough (say, $2), drivers won't consider it worth driving around. And if ConnDOT does it all-electronic (and I see no reason why they wouldn't), psychologically the toll will be less noticed and people won't be as driven away from the road by it as they would be by a toll booth.

There's also the option of banning through trucks from CT 85, though the corridor doesn't have much truck traffic.


As for the concern of it opening up the possibility of putting tolls on other roads in Connecticut, I say, so? If that's what it takes to actually get some decent road improvements done in the state, bring it on.

[shadyjay]

As for the concern of it opening up the possibility of putting tolls on other roads in Connecticut, I say, so? If that's what it takes to actually get some decent road improvements done in the state, bring it on.

As I've said for years, tolls at strategically-placed locations would bring in quite a bit of revenue and not piss off too many locals.  For instance, the Greenwich toll, which would occur near the site of the present Weigh Station on the "turnpike".  Make it at least $2 for cars, higher for trucks.  This would get the traffic heading in/out of state, rather than "in-state" traffic.  Next, slap a toll on the Mohegan-Pequot Connector, between the turnpike and CT 32.  You're looking at primarily casino traffic using that ramp, and any local traffic would appreciate a widening of the bridge over the Thames River and extension of the expressway east, off local roads.  Finally, up in Plainfield, just before the last turnpike service area.  And quite possibly some other locations would be adequate.  How bout the Rocky Neck connector during peak season?   And, why not, how bout resurrecting the Madison toll plaza site? 

The CT 11 tolling idea would help to get the ball rolling on this, and if it means other tolls in the state, then so be it, if it meant it would help to get much needed improvements off the ground (such as widening east of New Haven).

[wytout]

I find this utterly disgusting: For 45 years we can't get any reasonable highways finished in this state, between funding issues and "ENVIRONMENTAL RED TAPE".

This stupid busway, that is a political pet project to collect stimulus dollars the state would otherwise lose, and a boondoggle that will operate at a loss for the forseeable future (I haven't heard of one single human being that will actually use this thing).   Well they fastracked the funding and they fasttracked the enviro issues.....  and in less than 4 years............... it's here.


and without further ado....
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
NEWS RELEASE

2800 BERLIN TURNPIKE P.O. BOX 317546
NEWINGTON CONNECTICUT, 06131-7456
   
FOR RELEASE: April 25, 2012    
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS
TELEPHONE: (860) 594-3062
FAX: (860) 594-3065
WEB SITE: www.ct.gov/dot

Busway Groundbreaking Scheduled as Final Environmental Permit is Approved

        The Department of Transportation (DOT) received word today that the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) has approved the final wetlands permit needed for the New Britain-Hartford Busway, clearing the way for a formal groundbreaking next month.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FULL PRESS RELEASE: http://www.ct.gov/dot/cwp/view.asp?A=1373&Q=503076


And Just Remember... most of this is FEDERALLY funded... which means it's not just CT taxpayer dollars.... IT'S ALL OF YOUR TAX PAYER DOLLARS!  Enjoy.

[Duke87]

Honestly, my key beef with the busway is that it chews up a section of the rail ROW along the line from Waterbury to Hartford, guaranteeing that it will never see trains again. Maybe it's the railfan in me, but I'd rather see them run trains if they want to do something with that ROW.

[shadyjay]

Remember my disgust on the turnpike median replacement project in East Lyme?  When the project was first announced, I thought it would have been a carbon-copy of median replacements to the west, where the entire grassy median was paved and the guardrail replaced by a jersey barrier.  This provided for inside shoulders as well as outside. 

Well, here's a shot from the traffic cam on 5/5/2012 which shows the completed median near Exit 74 in East Lyme.  Note the new barrier remains in the grassy median and isn't even centered....

[hbelkins]

Looks like a lot of the medians along I-30 in Texas and on I-20 east of Dallas.

[relaxok]

Does anybody know what exactly was done in the waterbury I-84 'straightening' from exit ~18-25 or whatever that took an eternity?  Is it done?

I commuted through that stretch everyday for 3 awful years about 10 years ago, and in my visits back there the past couple years, it still seems horrible.  I don't notice it being any 'straighter' or more safe.   Plus, the concrete-filled median area and ugly light poles leave a lot to be desired.

Maybe it had just been too long since I was on it, but for such a major and expensive undertaking for me to fail to notice any significant difference is pretty disturbing.

[shadyjay]

They haven't made it west of Exit 25A yet.  In fact, I have no idea when that project is even supposed to start, but that is where the straightening I think will occur, near Exits 24-25.  So it looks like those giant '69' shields on button copy non-reflective background for Exit 23 will stick around for a while longer.

[relaxok]

They haven't made it west of Exit 25A yet.  In fact, I have no idea when that project is even supposed to start, but that is where the straightening I think will occur, near Exits 24-25.  So it looks like those giant '69' shields on button copy non-reflective background for Exit 23 will stick around for a while longer.

Wow, really?  Weren't they working on it from 2005 on (or even earlier)?

[shadyjay]

I left CT in 2005 and I believe the I-84 reconstruction was [trying to be] wrapping up around then.  There were some major contractor blunders (such as storm drains which didn't lead anywhere) that had to be repaired by a new contractor after the old one went belly-up.  But that work was only between Exit 25A in Waterbury and Exit 30 in Southington. 

West of there, there is a plan to reconstruct, widen, and straighten (still?) the section from Exit 25A, west to Exit 22.  It was supposed to kick off right after the "eastern" project was finished but... well, you know. 

[Alps]

And then sometime after that, widening all of I-84 to three lanes each way. Yeah, right.