Connecticut News

[Duke87]

Connecticut's last toll was removed after a 1983 crash in Stratford that killed six and injured four more.

Wow! So wrong! Try the Charter Oak Bridge's East Hartford side in 1989. 

Well, the infamous crash in question was in 1983. So the statement is correct when read literally. But it is poorly written, it implies the toll removal was in 1983 - which, as you say, it was not.

[kurumi]

If you want to get picky (the best kind of correct), there are still two toll crossings in Connecticut. These are also the only two routes that have seasonal winter closures.

[Duke87]

If you want to get picky (the best kind of correct), there are still two toll crossings in Connecticut. These are also the only two routes that have seasonal winter closures.

Six, if you include ferries that connect CT with other states.

[KEVIN_224]

http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Major-Road-Construction-Begins-on-I-95-in-New-Haven-257919971.html

http://wtnh.com/2014/05/05/bridge-replacement-west-haven-begins/

Saw this mention of a 4-year I-95 construction project getting started in New Haven and West Haven today.

[shadyjay]

From the official project website, http://www.i95westriver.com/:

The West River Bridge is one of the longest and most heavily traveled bridges in the State of Connecticut. The ConnDOT project will widen the existing bridge from 92 feet wide to 136 feet wide while maintaining the existing six-lane highway and adding four full-width shoulders.

I can think of a dozen bridges in the state that see more traffic and are much longer than the West River Bridge.  Just quick, the Baldwin, Gold Star, Bulkeley, Charter Oak, Founders, Q, Yankee Doodle, Mianus, Bridgeport Harbor, Sikorsky, Bissel, and Dexter Coffin are all longer.

Regardless, at least this project is getting underway, though I still think it's another project that demonstrates the short-sightedness of ConnDOT, only building 3 lanes each direction, albeit with full shoulders. 

[connroadgeek]

http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Major-Road-Construction-Begins-on-I-95-in-New-Haven-257919971.html

http://wtnh.com/2014/05/05/bridge-replacement-west-haven-begins/

Saw this mention of a 4-year I-95 construction project getting started in New Haven and West Haven today.

So long exit 44.

[connroadgeek]

From the official project website, http://www.i95westriver.com/:

The West River Bridge is one of the longest and most heavily traveled bridges in the State of Connecticut. The ConnDOT project will widen the existing bridge from 92 feet wide to 136 feet wide while maintaining the existing six-lane highway and adding four full-width shoulders.

I can think of a dozen bridges in the state that see more traffic and are much longer than the West River Bridge.  Just quick, the Baldwin, Gold Star, Bulkeley, Charter Oak, Founders, Q, Yankee Doodle, Mianus, Bridgeport Harbor, Sikorsky, Bissel, and Dexter Coffin are all longer.

Regardless, at least this project is getting underway, though I still think it's another project that demonstrates the short-sightedness of ConnDOT, only building 3 lanes each direction, albeit with full shoulders. 

I think we just need to get over the fact that Connecticut will never have much highway over 3 lanes. There just isn't space for it, especially in Fairfield and New Haven counties along the water. Does anyone know if they are forced to do full shoulders when they redo a section of highway to bring it up to full interstate standards? I always wondered if a lot of the shortsightedness is just because they're more concerned with keeping cost low while fulfilling the standards knowing full well that they could double the size of the highway and still have the same issues so why bother. I think mass transit is the way to go in the I-95 corridor if you're forced to travel it frequently.

[Duke87]

So long exit 44.

And also so long to this hideous sign!


Interestingly, when the interchange that was exits 44 and 45 on the Merritt was reconfigured to have only one exit, 45 was the number they ditched. Here, they're keeping 45 and ditching 44. Interesting balance there.

[Mergingtraffic]

From the official project website, http://www.i95westriver.com/:

The West River Bridge is one of the longest and most heavily traveled bridges in the State of Connecticut. The ConnDOT project will widen the existing bridge from 92 feet wide to 136 feet wide while maintaining the existing six-lane highway and adding four full-width shoulders.

I can think of a dozen bridges in the state that see more traffic and are much longer than the West River Bridge.  Just quick, the Baldwin, Gold Star, Bulkeley, Charter Oak, Founders, Q, Yankee Doodle, Mianus, Bridgeport Harbor, Sikorsky, Bissel, and Dexter Coffin are all longer.

Regardless, at least this project is getting underway, though I still think it's another project that demonstrates the short-sightedness of ConnDOT, only building 3 lanes each direction, albeit with full shoulders. 

right on Shadyjay! If you look at I-95 SB through Long Wharf, the lane configuration is pretty much finished and what it'll be after the work is done.  Traffic still backs up because the 4th lane exits at exit 45.  They should really extend the 4th lane down to exit 43 or Exit 42.

but yes, short sighted and unimaginable.

[Alps]

So long exit 44.

And also so long to this hideous sign!

I'm gonna miss that button copy.

[vdeane]

So long exit 44.

And also so long to this hideous sign!


Interestingly, when the interchange that was exits 44 and 45 on the Merritt was reconfigured to have only one exit, 45 was the number they ditched. Here, they're keeping 45 and ditching 44. Interesting balance there.

The exit numbers are union.  You can't ditch one number without ditching the other.  It's in the contract.  It's also the reason why CT is still mostly sequential.

[KEVIN_224]

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-connecticut-tolls-0503-20140502,0,1708514.story

Follow-up article in The Hartford Courant about the toll debate.

[J N Winkler]

This overhead sign replacement contract (various routes, statewide) was recently advertised:

http://www.biznet.ct.gov/scp_search/BidDetail.aspx?CID=32409

I count about 45 pattern-accurate sign panel detail and sign elevation sheets.

[Zeffy]

This overhead sign replacement contract (various routes, statewide) was recently advertised:

http://www.biznet.ct.gov/scp_search/BidDetail.aspx?CID=32409

I count about 45 pattern-accurate sign panel detail and sign elevation sheets.

Thanks for that link. Is there any reason that some of the signs place an arrow in a rather ugly spot compared to the right of the legend / the bottom line of the sign? The EXIT 30 {CT 40} Hamden Chesire sign is a good example of this.

[J N Winkler]

Possible reasons could include economy in sign panel area, wind loading, and (in the case of ground-mounted signs, such as SR 71/Corbins Corner) a desire to keep the assembly down to two posts instead of three.

In the case of the sign you mention, the design needs to be fixed since "Chesire" is a misspelling--the town is actually Cheshire, just like the county in England (or the cat in Alice in Wonderland).

[connroadgeek]

This overhead sign replacement contract (various routes, statewide) was recently advertised:

http://www.biznet.ct.gov/scp_search/BidDetail.aspx?CID=32409

I count about 45 pattern-accurate sign panel detail and sign elevation sheets.

The replacement in Old Saybrook is wasteful. The existing signs are fine. Not sure why they need replacement.

[Mergingtraffic]

This overhead sign replacement contract (various routes, statewide) was recently advertised:

http://www.biznet.ct.gov/scp_search/BidDetail.aspx?CID=32409

I count about 45 pattern-accurate sign panel detail and sign elevation sheets.

The replacement in Old Saybrook is wasteful. The existing signs are fine. Not sure why they need replacement.

Glad to see I-84 WB in Waterbury is getting some "LEFT" advance BGS notice for CT-8 SB.

ANNNND, a hint of things to come, the plans for the "LEFT EXIT" tab is left with extra space for the future addition of an "A", "B", or "C" etc.  I would say mileage based exits!


Also, on I-91 SB they have Exit 40 signed as a double lane exit only, when it's not because there is an option lane there.  Wtf!?!

and is the Exit 21 "exit now" sign on I-84 WB getting replaced again?  Isn't that the 3rd time?

[Mergingtraffic]

Also, I mentioned this in the I-84 thread but it really belongs here.

HOT lanes or the likes on I-95?

http://www.ct-congestion-relief.com/

[vdeane]

Is that actually extra space, or just the new dimensions for the tab as mandated by the feds?  Unfortunately I can't load the PDF as it refuses to display in anything other than Adobe Reader.

[J N Winkler]

Are you trying to load the spec book, or the plans portfolio?  The spec book has the sign panel details while the plans portfolio has the elevations.  I'd expect the spec book to load without trouble in third-party PDF viewers, but the plans portfolio might cause difficulty; if that is the case, I suggest unpacking the portfolio using pdftk.

[OracleUsr]

I was able to view the spec book, but not the portfolio PDF in Firefox.  Being more of a sign person myself, I liked looking at those plans.

It may not be so much that they're going to use that for distance numbering, but to abandon the practice of numbering every off-ramp.  Ideally, the I-84/CT 8 interchange should be an A&B not two consecutive numbers.  So the new sign might eventually look like this (number approximate of distance number):

LEFT
EXIT 31A                                                EXIT 31B
8 South                                                  8 North
Naugatuck                                              Torrington
Bridgeport

(cardinal directions in mixed case to indicate raised caps)

Will be interesting how they use the left banner under the Eastbound viaduct such that it is visible.  Also glad they decided to use the more standard LEFT tab placement rather than how they tabbed I-84 West at US 7 South in Danbury:

LEFT
EXIT                3

7 South
Norwalk

[shadyjay]

This overhead sign replacement contract (various routes, statewide) was recently advertised:

http://www.biznet.ct.gov/scp_search/BidDetail.aspx?CID=32409

I count about 45 pattern-accurate sign panel detail and sign elevation sheets.

The replacement in Old Saybrook is wasteful. The existing signs are fine. Not sure why they need replacement.

I agree, but pretty sure it has something to do with the load on the bridge.  CT is moving away from attaching signs to overhead bridges.

Also interesting to note that in the plans, some I-84 signs in Farmington are going from overhead to ground-based.  CT in recent years seems to be moving more and more signs to the ground.  It makes me wonder if we'll see I-91 in North Haven and Wallingford go ground-based in the future.  If I-91 in Middletown and Cromwell is, I see no reason why not to eliminate the overhead supports further south. 

[connroadgeek]

Glad to see I-84 WB in Waterbury is getting some "LEFT" advance BGS notice for CT-8 SB.

ANNNND, a hint of things to come, the plans for the "LEFT EXIT" tab is left with extra space for the future addition of an "A", "B", or "C" etc.  I would say mileage based exits!


Also, on I-91 SB they have Exit 40 signed as a double lane exit only, when it's not because there is an option lane there.  Wtf!?!

and is the Exit 21 "exit now" sign on I-84 WB getting replaced again?  Isn't that the 3rd time?

Well it does say right on the drawing of the standard exit tab that it should be big enough for double digit exit numbers or double digit mileage for future mileage based exits. I'd say the future is spelled out pretty clearly.

[vdeane]

Looking at those plans and comparing the signs to each other, it definitely looks like there's extra space built-in for mile based numbers on SEVERAL of the signs.  One even has "future overlay panel" written in!

[kurumi]

The state added a new unsigned route in Stamford on May 30: SR 790, paralleling I-95 and serving the multimodal transport center.

Where I stumbled across this: http://www.boardofreps.org/Data/Sites/43/userfiles/mail/2014/140331_dot_south_state_street.pdf

Updated secret route list: http://kweb/roads/ct/secretlist.html#d_790_route