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Dougtone:
They stopped work due to "loss of character"? That's a new one!
Mergingtraffic:
--- Quote from: dougtone on November 05, 2009, 04:53:35 AM ---They stopped work due to "loss of character"? That's a new one!
--- End quote ---
Yes Doug, a group called the Merritt Conservancy complained that the US-7/CT-15 interchange project was ruining the character of the parkway. The construction actually started in 2005 and they sued to halt the prject. It would've been complete by now.
Currently, the DOT is adding shoulders and clearing away brush via stimulus dollars and the conservancy is complaining about that.
A state trooper I know told me that the state police requested the DOT add new signage for safety such as reflectors, curve signs etc and the conservancy complained about that too!
shadyjay:
Why couldn't they just build the missing ramps and make it a full cloverleaf? No flyovers or new bridges would be needed. Or would the Main Ave. people get ticked off due to lack of access and would have to drive 1 mile out of their way to get to the parkway?
Mergingtraffic:
Shadyjay, actually the cloverleaf was proposed. The DOT tried to push that through to satisfy the conservancy. Since the cloverleaf ramps really extended out, surrounding neighborhoods voiced their displeasure with it claiming the ramps came too close to their homes. People also cried fowl because the cloverleaf would be a traffic nightmare. (I also wrote public comments saying the colverleaf would be a mistake given outdated designs and the amount of traffic on the parkway) So, the DOT went with a modification of the original 1992 design, where the flyover ramps wouldn't be as high.
Here the current proposal: http://www.ct.gov/dot/lib/dot/documents/deng/102-269&102-312/Alternate-21_with_bike_path.pdf
More details here:
http://www.ct.gov/dot/cwp/view.asp?a=3403&q=410316
At the bottom are PDFs of all the design choices. Alternate 21 with bike path will be the new design. Now we have to wait (ugh!) for funding.
Mergingtraffic:
The US-7 Expressway extension is set to open sometime this week! Complete with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Locals call it a bypass, but it's actaully extending the expressway 3 miles!
http://www.newstimes.com/search/ci_13755330?IADID=Search-www.newstimes.com-www.newstimes.com
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