I-84 widening Danbury to Waterbury, CT scrapped

[Arkansastravelguy]

I will be spending 10 days in the northeast with my amazing girlfriend who wholly accepts my roodgeekiness. I will be spending my couple thousand dollars of tourist money in all the states...except Connecticut. I'm taking the Long Island ferry around the clusterf*ck that is known as Connecticut because of its horrible highway system. If the state wants tourist money, it better figure out visitors want to do other things than sit in traffic.

The Taconic is a scenic and much easier way to make the small businesses of Connecticut feel the hurt of your non-crossing wrath.

Of course, you could also enter Connecticut far enough to give this piece of your mind to the people st a tourist info center.  They love this kind of feedback, particularly with colorful invective thrown in.

Ah, true New England spirit here, bash the horrible Connecticut highways until a tourist does, then defend the highways


iPhone

[kurumi]

Ah, true New England spirit here, bash the horrible Connecticut highways until a tourist does, then defend the highways

It's like having a little brother: at home, you show no mercy, but if someone outside the family gives him trouble, you kick their ass

[Duke87]

Re: HOT lanes

I don't see that working too well for I-84, since the existing road is only four lanes. But if widening it means adding tolls to it in general, then I say fine. Slap an electronic toll gantry on the Housatonic River crossing (since that would be the most difficult point between Danbury and Waterbury to shunpike around) and use that money. I can actually get behind this idea.

[Mergingtraffic]

Re: HOT lanes

I don't see that working too well for I-84, since the existing road is only four lanes. But if widening it means adding tolls to it in general, then I say fine. Slap an electronic toll gantry on the Housatonic River crossing (since that would be the most difficult point between Danbury and Waterbury to shunpike around) and use that money. I can actually get behind this idea.

I think that's the idea to widen it with HOT lanes.  Of so I'm for that.  hey widening is widening.

but yeah CT does have a crappy road system, not expanded enough compared to other population centers of the same size.  If this were Maryland, heck even Hershey, PA US-1 would be expressway type in spots.

[Pete from Boston]

I will be spending 10 days in the northeast with my amazing girlfriend who wholly accepts my roodgeekiness. I will be spending my couple thousand dollars of tourist money in all the states...except Connecticut. I'm taking the Long Island ferry around the clusterf*ck that is known as Connecticut because of its horrible highway system. If the state wants tourist money, it better figure out visitors want to do other things than sit in traffic.

The Taconic is a scenic and much easier way to make the small businesses of Connecticut feel the hurt of your non-crossing wrath.

Of course, you could also enter Connecticut far enough to give this piece of your mind to the people st a tourist info center.  They love this kind of feedback, particularly with colorful invective thrown in.

Ah, true New England spirit here, bash the horrible Connecticut highways until a tourist does, then defend the highways

Sure, just remind me when I bashed "the horrible Connecticut highways."

Was it in the other thread where I explained how easy it is to get around traffic in Connecticut?

[DJStephens]

but yeah CT does have a crappy road system, not expanded enough compared to other population centers of the same size.  If this were Maryland, heck even Hershey, PA US-1 would be expressway type in spots.

Didn't they (Conn Dot) widen the interstate 84 corridor in the say - early to mid eighties in both east Waterbury and the general Danbury area to six lanes?   Used to live in New england in the seventies and eighties and clearly remember the removal of the double decker stretch east of the so called "mix master" just north of the Jesus statue on top of the rock hill right in Waterbury itself.  Also remember widening to the inside and the addition of a "jersey barrier" in the general Danbury area.   And finally, the incremental replacement of the antiquated Route 15 with the Interstate 86 / 84 work from the early 70's to mid 80's.   There used to be pit toilets on Route 15!  Frankly Connecticut at one point had one of the best highway networks in the country (circa 1970)  if they had been able to complete their network, they would still rank way up there.   

[Mergingtraffic]

but yeah CT does have a crappy road system, not expanded enough compared to other population centers of the same size.  If this were Maryland, heck even Hershey, PA US-1 would be expressway type in spots.

Didn't they (Conn Dot) widen the interstate 84 corridor in the say - early to mid eighties in both east Waterbury and the general Danbury area to six lanes?   Used to live in New england in the seventies and eighties and clearly remember the removal of the double decker stretch east of the so called "mix master" just north of the Jesus statue on top of the rock hill right in Waterbury itself.  Also remember widening to the inside and the addition of a "jersey barrier" in the general Danbury area.   And finally, the incremental replacement of the antiquated Route 15 with the Interstate 86 / 84 work from the early 70's to mid 80's.   There used to be pit toilets on Route 15!  Frankly Connecticut at one point had one of the best highway networks in the country (circa 1970)  if they had been able to complete their network, they would still rank way up there.   

Interesting perspective. Yes, I-84 from the mixmaster to CT-69 was straightened (the highway was opposite EB on left and WB on right with left exits) The bottleneck occurs when that 3rd lane, that was added in the 1970s ends just after Exit 23.  The concrete lanes from that project are still there and as of now, NOT paved over.

Danbury was widened from Exits 2-3 in 1983 and 3-7 in 1988ish.  But planners just filled in the median and didn't undo some of the ramp traffic flow issues, so traffic remains.