Wide spot in the median of US 6 west of Willimantic, Connecticut

[bugo]

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Connecticut&hl=en&ll=41.720177,-72.265406&spn=0.014607,0.038495&geocode=+&hnear=Connecticut&t=h&z=15

It appears that this was once going to be a trumpet interchange.  Was this interchange going to be between the infamous I-84 and US 6?  Why did they leave the WB lanes on the north side instead of building them parallel to the EB lanes?

[dgolub]

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Connecticut&hl=en&ll=41.720177,-72.265406&spn=0.014607,0.038495&geocode=+&hnear=Connecticut&t=h&z=15

It appears that this was once going to be a trumpet interchange.  Was this interchange going to be between the infamous I-84 and US 6?  Why did they leave the WB lanes on the north side instead of building them parallel to the EB lanes?

From looking at the aerial view, I'm not sure if that's what it is or if they separated the eastbound and westbound lanes due to the terrain.

[usends]

I believe it's terrain: the two roadways go around either side of a hill:
http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=41.72351,-72.27017&z=15&t=T
You alluded to the interesting thing, which is: those topos (photorevised in 1984) show today's US 6 (the Willimantic bypass) labeled as I-84, while today's I-84 is labeled as I-86 (US 6 originally ran along what is now CT 66).

[roadman65]

There seems to be a wide enough space between the EB lanes and the hill to accommodate another 3 lane carriageway, so it cannot be the terrain as an issue.  Looks to me like it was planned as a trumpet interchange for the freeway to extend westward someplace and the current WB lanes are to be its outer ramp.

Edit: I see now.  This location is just prior to where the freeway ends on the west side of Willimantic, CT.  That was for when I-84 was planned to go to Providence and not Sturbridge like it does now.  The whole bypass of Willimantic was to be originally I-84 and it would have extended west to connect with present day I-384 near Hartford.  Yes that was to be a trumpet to a connector to US 6.

[southshore720]

Kurumi should weigh-in on this one...he's very knowledgeable about the beleaguered I-84 to Providence.

[Mergingtraffic]

That does look like a loop ramp from the median heading onto US-6 WB as a left-on ramp.  What would the cross street be though?

This again raises the question, what is the love for left on and off-ramps that these early road designers had?!?  Every highway seemed to be designed the same way in the early days.  Left on-off ramps, lane drop with the left exit with a lane addition with the following left on-ramp merge.  Other states didn't seem to be in love with them during the same time-period.

I noticed myself that portions of the bypass seemed wide enough for 3-lanes and narrow shoulders in one direction. The 3-lane section issues could be the result of CTDOT taking away climbing lanes in areas over the past decade or so.

[cl94]

That does look like a loop ramp from the median heading onto US-6 WB as a left-on ramp.  What would the cross street be though?

This again raises the question, what is the love for left on and off-ramps that these early road designers had?!?  Every highway seemed to be designed the same way in the early days.  Left on-off ramps, lane drop with the left exit with a lane addition with the following left on-ramp merge.  Other states didn't seem to be in love with them during the same time-period.

I noticed myself that portions of the bypass seemed wide enough for 3-lanes and narrow shoulders in one direction. The 3-lane section issues could be the result of CTDOT taking away climbing lanes in areas over the past decade or so.

Ever been to Ohio? This one isn't all that old.

[kurumi]

Kurumi should weigh-in on this one...he's very knowledgeable about the beleaguered I-84 to Providence.

Most of you are correct; it would have been a trumpet interchange. (Aerial view makes this even more apparent; some clearing was done for the loop.)

[Roadrunner75]

Ever been to Ohio? This one isn't all that old.

Wow.  What is the point of all that?  There has to be some other original intent behind this one.

[PurdueBill]

Ever been to Ohio? This one isn't all that old.

Wow.  What is the point of all that?  There has to be some other original intent behind this one.

Here's the history of that in a nutshell.  Apologies to those with nut allergies.

The ROW occupied by US 30 coming from the west and hitting Lincoln Highway was already owned by ODOT and made up the roadway up to Lincoln Highway, so that probably played a part in the left entrance/exit ramps coming along.  As can be seen on old aerials/topos, before the 1999 opening of the US 30 expressway east of there, the expressway went up to Lincoln Highway and ended, with an underpass that was demolished in the process of building the new road to the east. 

[cl94]

Kurumi should weigh-in on this one...he's very knowledgeable about the beleaguered I-84 to Providence.

Most of you are correct; it would have been a trumpet interchange. (Aerial view makes this even more apparent; some clearing was done for the loop.)

Figured as such. Aerial reminds me of the US 4 expressway at the NY-VT border.

[shadyjay]

Threw this image compilation together to help those make sense of the interchange and what could have been/what may happen sometime in the future:



That "cross street" running just south of the red mainline is not a street at all, but the right of way of the old Highland Division rail line which ran from Hartford to Willimantic, then on to Putnam and Boston.  Today it's a rail trail from Bolton to Willimantic, and still active as a railroad west of Manchester to Hartford.  It crosses US 6 again at I-384's eastern terminus in a tunnel/culvert in Bolton Notch.

[southshore720]

Thanks ShadyJay, seeing it "completed" like that makes more sense.  It would be neat to see how the other end of the bypass would look if completed.

[cl94]

Thanks ShadyJay, seeing it "completed" like that makes more sense.  It would be neat to see how the other end of the bypass would look if completed.

Bolded and italicized the important modifier. Probably the traffic to warrant it, but I'd be shocked if it ever happens.

[Duke87]

Thanks ShadyJay, seeing it "completed" like that makes more sense.  It would be neat to see how the other end of the bypass would look if completed.

Bolded and italicized the important modifier. Probably the traffic to warrant it, but I'd be shocked if it ever happens.

As far as I'm aware ConnDOT has no current plans to build a freeway connecting this to I-384. They did as recently as 10 years ago, but were unable to come to an agreement as to what the alignment should be. It was the original intent and was still ConnDOT's proposal then that the freeway would have run adjacent to the north bank of the Hop River most of the way. But this would have resulted in substantial environmental impacts to the river and thus became untenable. Meanwhile, the Army Corps of Engineers had proposed an alternative southerly alignment which would have kept the freeway further away from the river but resulted in more direct impacts to local landowners, who of course balked at that idea.

Lacking a solution that everyone could agree on, the idea sat in limbo for a while, and it eventually got dropped from planning once ConnDOT realized they had no money to build the road anyway.

Which is a shame since that section of US 6 is quite congested and has a very high accident rate. It sorely needs to be bypassed or at least widened, but neither will ever happen.

[roadman65]

The diagram makes sense that you drew shady.  However to those who speculated on strange left on and offs in Connecticut, how about the US 7 and VT 289 interchange in Bennington?  I think if you want to criticize those you should take a look at this one as it is one weird set up as it is two trumpets looped together into one.  VTrans could have thought of something much more simpler instead of all movements basically using ramps as the current situation is there.

[shadyjay]

However to those who speculated on strange left on and offs in Connecticut, how about the US 7 and VT 289 interchange in Bennington?  I think if you want to criticize those you should take a look at this one as it is one weird set up as it is two trumpets looped together into one.  VTrans could have thought of something much more simpler instead of all movements basically using ramps as the current situation is there.

Oh I agree.  The US 7 setup before VT 279 was built/extended was very strange.  I could've forseen, with the latest extension of VT 279 through the interchange, the route from VT 9 to US 7 going two ways within the interchange:
(1)  the way it goes now, exiting from itself
(2)  staying on the "mainline" through the trumpets, through the site of what is now a welcome center

Though last time I was down that way, VT 279 was still under construction, but what I've seen from the pics, it looks good (except some of the signage - which looks god awful).  Wonder if the new extension will get signed as US 7 once the final southern extension is built (one of these days). 

[cl94]

However to those who speculated on strange left on and offs in Connecticut, how about the US 7 and VT 289 interchange in Bennington?  I think if you want to criticize those you should take a look at this one as it is one weird set up as it is two trumpets looped together into one.  VTrans could have thought of something much more simpler instead of all movements basically using ramps as the current situation is there.

Oh I agree.  The US 7 setup before VT 279 was built/extended was very strange.  I could've forseen, with the latest extension of VT 279 through the interchange, the route from VT 9 to US 7 going two ways within the interchange:
(1)  the way it goes now, exiting from itself
(2)  staying on the "mainline" through the trumpets, through the site of what is now a welcome center

Though last time I was down that way, VT 279 was still under construction, but what I've seen from the pics, it looks good (except some of the signage - which looks god awful).  Wonder if the new extension will get signed as US 7 once the final southern extension is built (one of these days).

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that is the long-term plan. Certainly needs it.