Connecticut News

[jp the roadgeek]

I was thinking that the backwards numbering of CT 72 based on the CT highway log now sets precedent for I-691 to be numbered heading west from I-91.  The only question is how the exits on CT 66 will be numbered.  Will they just be a plain Exit 1 for both Preston Ave EB and East Main St WB, or will they each be an Exit 0 to avoid confusion with the exits for I-91 and CT 15?  As for I-691 itself, I can see it looking like this:

Exit 1A: I-91 NORTH Hartford/Springfield
Exit 1B: I-91 SOUTH TO CT 15 (WCP) SOUTH  New Haven/NYC (WB); CT 15 (WCP) SOUTH TO I-91 SOUTH New Haven/NYC (EB)
Exit 1C: CT 15 NORTH Berlin
Exit 2A: US 5 (TO CT 15 NORTH EB) Broad St
Exit 2B: State St/Downtown Meriden (WB); Colony St/Downtown Meriden (EB)
Exit 3: TO CT 71 Lewis Ave (WB); CT 71 Chamberlain Hwy (EB)
Exit 5: CT 322 WEST Southington (WB); West Main St (EB)
Exit 7: CT 10 Cheshire/Milldale

Based on CT 9's removal of exit numbers at its northern terminus, I'm going to guess the I-84 ramps will no longer be numbered.  I upped the Broad St exit to 2A to avoid a major alphabet city for the 1 MP, and  I upped the CT 71 exits on the either side of Westfield Meriden Meriden Square to 3 to avoid another logjam within the 2's. plus the 3 MP would fall within the interchange (prior to the start of the EB off ramp).  I kept both Downtown Meriden exits as 2B, even though the WB exit is before the 2 MP.  Also rounded up on the CT 322 exit, as it is almost 2 miles from CT 71.

The other options would be to make the 66 exits Exit 1 and make the 691/91/15 junction 0 A-B-C.  Then you'd make Broad St and Downtown 1A and 1B, the "Square" exits 2, and the 322/West Main exit would remain as is.     

[Mergingtraffic]

CT-8 signing update: most ground mounted BGS signs are up. I noticed an error today. The "Exit 29 Park and Ride"  BGS is up on CT-8 NB just before Exit 25. Oops.
No overhead signage yet. Also no warning or regulatory signage up  yet either. 

No new foundations or anything for the ramp BGSs.

Spacing issues:
The Exit 24 SB "Exit now"  sign has the arrow too close to the CT-42 shield. And the NB "Naugatuck Town Line"  BGS has a lot of headroom above the word Naugatuck.

The CT-334 shields on the Exit 19 BGSs is a two-digit shield,  not a 3-digit shield. All route shields in the signs have no border on them.

[kurumi]

I searched for this and didn't find it; hopefully not a repost: a 5-minute time-lapse video of the I-95 exit 9 bridge replacement. It's also on https://www.i95exit9.com/, posted July 3. Took place June 2019.

https://youtu.be/Vean-1BFFUg

[shadyjay]

Here's a story WTNH, our local ABC affiliate, did today on the reopening of the Rest Area/Welcome Center on I-95 North in Westbrook...

https://www.wtnh.com/news/connecticut/middlesex/a-welcome-site-for-travelers-in-westbrook/

So, this sign has been modified to say "COMING SOON"....
95NB-Exit65 by Jay Hogan, on Flickr

Update 8/10:
I can confirm all signs for the Rest Area at this location have been modified to say "COMING SOON".  Much better than "CLOSED"!

[jp the roadgeek]

CT 174 is one of those obscure routes for which there's an exit (CT 9, Exit 28A ("Downtown New Britain")), but no mention of the route, even on the new plans. Another is CT 173 on I-84.

Unless you turn LEFT (east), CT Route 174's western end is by that ramp. CT Route 173 would be accessed from Exit 41 (South Main Street) in West Hartford. CT Route 71's northern terminus is at the same intersection. However, 71 is already signed just west of there for Exit 40 (Corbin's Corner).

According to the CT Route Log, CT 173 turns from New Britain Ave onto South Main St, and ends just north of Hooker Dr, which is the first intersection north of the I-84 interchange.  So when you exit I-84 onto South Main St, you are within the confines of CT 173.  If I had my druthers, I would have CT 173 end at New Britain Ave in Elmwood near the CVS, and extend CT 218 down North Main and South Main and down Fenn Rd to CT 175 in Newington.  Of course, I would take US 6 off I-84 and put it on New Britain Ave, but that's another story.

[KEVIN_224]

I've always found it odd how Newington has CT Routes 173, 174, 175 and 176. All back to back. (177 is in Plainville and Farmington.)

[ipeters61]

I've always found it odd how Newington has CT Routes 173, 174, 175 and 176. All back to back. (177 is in Plainville and Farmington.)

If you're talking about the pattern, Enfield has 190, 191, and 192.

[jp the roadgeek]

I've always found it odd how Newington has CT Routes 173, 174, 175 and 176. All back to back. (177 is in Plainville and Farmington.)

If you're talking about the pattern, Enfield has 190, 191, and 192.

And 181, 182, and 183 are all in the same general area
185, 187, and 189 all lead into Hartford from the northwest

77, 79, and 81 are parallel routes that pass north-south in 3 adjacent towns from west to east, all lead to the shore, and all end at or near Route 1 (77 is the only one that crosses Route 1 and ends at 146)

[KEVIN_224]

New Britain has parts of 71, 71A and 72. Does that count?

[shadyjay]

Took a drive today on most of I-91 and CT 9 and parts of I-84 and CT 72 today.  No progress on any of the 2017 spot sign replacement projects I drove past (on I-91) and little, if any progress being made on I-84 Southington-Farmington project.  While exiting onto CT 72 EB, I did observe the new Exit 36 "exit now" sign for Slater Road, which is remounted on the overpass. 

Lots of clearing on I-91 around the Middletown rest stop, and the old button copy brown signs for CARS/BUSES/TRUCKS/TRAILERS signs are gone, replaced with small sheet panels.  Did not get a chance to stop and check out the rest stop since its 24/7 reopening. 

[kurumi]

The ConnDOT site was recently re-skinned (new CSS, fonts, layout) but behind the front pages much of it is the same.

I did notice a few things I hadn't before:

* Maps page:
** Town maps are easier to find, and revised to Dec. 2018
** State Highway System map (PDF) with all town outlines, signed routes, and unsigned routes (899 and below) on one sheet

* Studies page:
** I-95 East of New Haven Study Update 2018. In the appendix (IIRC) are new diagrams for the proposed I-95/395 interchange. Route 11 is gone, so I-95/395 would be a complete semidirectional 3-way interchange
** I-95 West of New Haven: spot improvement recommendations include 2-lane ramp from 95N to 25/8N; flyover from 796S to 95N; and replace US 1 cloverleaf with diamond or SPUI.

[Mergingtraffic]

** I-95 West of New Haven: spot improvement recommendations include 2-lane ramp from 95N to 25/8N; flyover from 796S to 95N; and replace US 1 cloverleaf with diamond or SPUI.

Not a big fan of the SPUI as it takes away free movements. They need to make the I-95 loop ramp to CT-8 a flyover.  That loop is terrible, tight and almost a 360.  There's a down grade and then an upgrade and back down again during the loop.  Not enough signage either.  Just a small ramp speed-warning sign with a loop arrow.

Also, CT-15 SB to CT-34 WB ramp will lose a free movement as they make the ramp a two-lane ramp but with a traffic signal.

Took a drive today on most of I-91 and CT 9 and parts of I-84 and CT 72 today.  No progress on any of the 2017 spot sign replacement projects I drove past (on I-91) and little, if any progress being made on I-84 Southington-Farmington project.

Foundations going in for an overhead gantry finally on US-7 SB at I-95 for a spot improvement project

Other updates:

Some button copy has disappeared on CT-15 for the US-7/CT-15 interchange.  main Ave button copy signs all gone at the ramps.  New signage elsewhere on CT-15 as the signs look exactly the same except they are now extruded aluminum.  The font is NOT highway gothic that was showed in the plans. Boo! Ramp signs have the "No Trucks" symbol and black on yellow "Passenger Cars Only" at the bottom.

Here's the last button copy sign going NB.  You can see the new ones in the distance...barely.


CT-8 project picking up speed, new ground mounted signs are appearing almost daily.  Most are up except for the overheads. 

[shadyjay]

Thanks for the updates regarding CT 8 and CT 15 projects.  Gonna have to head "downstate" at some point to lens them. 

The ConnDOT "Projects Scheduled for Advertising" has been updated, and it shows, on the very last page, "CT 9/17 - Replace Highway Signs & Sign Supports", with an advertising date of 7/22/2020.  Now, this could include CT 9 all the way from Middletown south to Old Saybrook, in which case, we could see mile-based exits coming to CT 9 sometime around 2021-2022.  It has a project cost code of up to $10mil, so whether that covers the whole distance to OSB or not, remains to be seen.  The distance would be 25 miles, and for the first few miles in Middletown south to Exit 13, those signs may not even be in the contract.  Most signs from Exit 12 down to I-95 would be ground-mounts anyways, with just overheads at I-95 interchange itself.  We will see.

[jp the roadgeek]

While exiting onto CT 72 EB, I did observe the new Exit 36 "exit now" sign for Slater Road, which is remounted on the overpass. 

That is still the old sign mounted on the South Mountain Rd overpass EB.  Can still see the buttons within the lettering, plus there's no LEFT above the Exit 36.  Plus the old sign is STILL on the 84W/72E ramp overpass  behind the 1/4 mile cantilever sign.  It's been almost 14 months.  Last new signage for 39 and 39A was installed in April.

[shadyjay]

While exiting onto CT 72 EB, I did observe the new Exit 36 "exit now" sign for Slater Road, which is remounted on the overpass. 

That is still the old sign mounted on the South Mountain Rd overpass EB.  Can still see the buttons within the lettering, plus there's no LEFT above the Exit 36.  Plus the old sign is STILL on the 84W/72E ramp overpass  behind the 1/4 mile cantilever sign.  It's been almost 14 months.  Last new signage for 39 and 39A was installed in April.

Could'a sworn I saw a LEFT EXIT 36 tab on that sign while on the overpass, though I could be wrong.  Maybe I wanted to see it... I wanted to see progress being made.  But, alas...none.

[RobbieL2415]

Quick update on the I-91 projects in Hartford:

-Drainage work and utility relocation continues at Exit 86.
-Rumble strips in various locations have been paved over
-CT 15 NB lanes at the split to I-91 N have been shifted to accommodate work at the gore point.  Grading has also begun there.
- Resurfacing is nearing completion from exit 26-28.  Bridges have not been done yet because they are being refurbished.
- Cranes have been delivered to the site.
-Nightime closures of 15 SB Exit 86 has ended for now.

[shadyjay]

A couple signing project updates:

Merritt Parkway:
only travelled from Exit 54 down to Exit 52, and the replacement signage is up.  The signs are almost identical to the old ones.  The main difference is the back, which was sheets connected together on the old signs, and extruded aluminum on the new ones.  If it wasn't a Sunday in the summer, I would have travelled farther south, but traffic was building right where I got off.

Route 8:
No progress to report on the Bridgeport-Shelton resigning project.  For the Derby-Waterbury project, most ground-based signs are in place.  No new overheads yet, and in areas where a ground-mount has replaced an overhead, the overhead signage remains.  Also, I found interesting, no new sheet signs yet (speed limits, mile markers, etc).  In fact, I didn't see a single mile marker within project limits (not even an old one).  I found this odd, since most sign replacement projects start with replacement of sheet/regulatory signs.  Also, the temporary Route 8 NB roadway is open in Waterbury, which bypasses the upper level viaduct.  It opened last night.

Other news:
Signs for the Rest Area/Info Center in Westbrook on I-95 NB have had "COMING SOON" placques removed.  So I'm guessing this area has reopened.  I did not get a chance to stop at the area to confirm or not.  Local news a couple weeks ago has reported the building will be open 24/7, with the info center open 9am-6pm.  Not sure if this will be year-round, because in the past, during the late fall->spring period, the building was only open Thu-Sun.  I'll try to confirm this week.

CT 8 NB Exit 29 1/2 mile (this overhead will be taken down as both signs are ground-mounts now):
DSC00141 by Jay Hogan, on Flickr

Start of the temporary CT 8 NB roadway in Waterbury:
DSC00146 by Jay Hogan, on Flickr

Rest of the shots on my FLICKR page, link in the sig below.

[jp the roadgeek]

CT always seems to drag its feet when it comes to mile marker signage.  I-84 mile markers are spotty at best east of the Rochambeau Bridge all the way to the MA border, and the ones between there and Route 8 aren't standard MUTCD enhanced markers.   That includes the Southington-Farmington project, and it's been almost 2 years since new signage started going up.  Meanwhile, most of I-91 BGS signage is button copy or 2000 era Phase IV, but the entire highway has MUTCD enhanced markers.  The same can be said of I-95 with the mile markers, even though you have older signage between East Haven and Groton.

[ipeters61]

Start of the temporary CT 8 NB roadway in Waterbury:
DSC00146 by Jay Hogan, on Flickr

Generally I've been okay with CT's new signage, but this I'm not happy with.  I like the idea of the pull through sign for CT-8, but it's too cramped and I don't like the off center CT-8 (though I get why).

The I-84 sign...just no.  The arrow is too small, the left should be on top nowadays (I get that CT's old practice was "LEFT EXIT" in that yellow background, which I would have preferred to what they have there).

[roadman]

Start of the temporary CT 8 NB roadway in Waterbury:
DSC00146 by Jay Hogan, on Flickr

Generally I've been okay with CT's new signage, but this I'm not happy with.  I like the idea of the pull through sign for CT-8, but it's too cramped and I don't like the off center CT-8 (though I get why).

The I-84 sign...just no.  The arrow is too small, the left should be on top nowadays (I get that CT's old practice was "LEFT EXIT" in that yellow background, which I would have preferred to what they have there).

NORTH           EAST
   8        TO      84
         Hartford
   (down arrows)

is how I would have formatted the pull-thru sign


It appears that both signs were deliberately downsized so the existing sign support could be re-used.

[PHLBOS]

Start of the temporary CT 8 NB roadway in Waterbury:
DSC00146 by Jay Hogan, on Flickr

Generally I've been okay with CT's new signage, but this I'm not happy with.  I like the idea of the pull through sign for CT-8, but it's too cramped and I don't like the off center CT-8 (though I get why).

The I-84 sign...just no.  The arrow is too small, the left should be on top nowadays (I get that CT's old practice was "LEFT EXIT" in that yellow background, which I would have preferred to what they have there).

NORTH           EAST
   8        TO      84
         Hartford
   (down arrows)

is how I would have formatted the pull-thru sign

It appears that both signs were deliberately downsized so the existing sign support could be re-used.

I think that the legend on that pull-through could've been formatted per your description without increasing the sign panel size.  Granted, the spacing between the Hartford listing and the down-arrows would be somewhat limited/compromised.

[jp the roadgeek]

Totally agree with Roadman's formatting, except I would include Torrington as a second control for people staying on CT 8.  The Exit 33 sign should read

LEFT
Exit 33

            WEST
       84

     Danbury

[roadman]

I think that the legend on that pull-through could've been formatted per your description without increasing the sign panel size.  Granted, the spacing between the Hartford listing and the down-arrows would be somewhat limited/compromised.

Could possibly work, if you used a maximum of 8 inches vertical space between all lines/shields/arrows.  The sign would definitely have a squeezed look to it though.

[shadyjay]

Let's keep in mind that the Exit 33 sign pic I posted above is TEMPORARY.  So I see no reason to fault a sign that will (hopefully) only be up for a couple years.  Now why its not orange is beyond me. 

Mile markers on I-91 are MUTCD-compliant because they were replaced under a project that was just designed to do that... replace the mile markers along I-91 from New Haven to Enfield.  I-95 has them from Bridgeport to Branford, as that section has had its signs replaced in recent years, as a result of either sign projects or larger projects (Q Bridge).  The project from Greenwich to Fairfield was done prior to CT adopting the new mile markers.  It also pre-dates exit tabs with borders (but was one of the first roads in CT to get aligned exit tabs) and predates the blue logo signs for Attractions (including colleges). 

Same goes for I-84 from Southbury east to (western) Waterbury.  Those exit tabs are centered and the mile markers are the old style.  Those signs went up c 2002.   But you're right, there are no MUTCD-compliant mile posts on the Southington-Farmington section.  And its not just I-84 to the east that has bad mile markers... many on Rt 9 are more white than green, and then there are the roads that have never had any... I-291, I-691, I-384(?).  Then there's the ones on Rt 11 that count up from a promise that will [most likely] never be fullfilled. 

[Mergingtraffic]

Let's keep in mind that the Exit 33 sign pic I posted above is TEMPORARY.  So I see no reason to fault a sign that will (hopefully) only be up for a couple years.  Now why its not orange is beyond me. 

Mile markers on I-91 are MUTCD-compliant because they were replaced under a project that was just designed to do that... replace the mile markers along I-91 from New Haven to Enfield.  I-95 has them from Bridgeport to Branford, as that section has had its signs replaced in recent years, as a result of either sign projects or larger projects (Q Bridge).  The project from Greenwich to Fairfield was done prior to CT adopting the new mile markers.  It also pre-dates exit tabs with borders (but was one of the first roads in CT to get aligned exit tabs) and predates the blue logo signs for Attractions (including colleges). 

Same goes for I-84 from Southbury east to (western) Waterbury.  Those exit tabs are centered and the mile markers are the old style.  Those signs went up c 2002.   But you're right, there are no MUTCD-compliant mile posts on the Southington-Farmington section.  And its not just I-84 to the east that has bad mile markers... many on Rt 9 are more white than green, and then there are the roads that have never had any... I-291, I-691, I-384(?).  Then there's the ones on Rt 11 that count up from a promise that will [most likely] never be fullfilled. 

The I-95 West River bridge project had a nice orange extruded aluminum sign going SB just before the project warning of a road split.

I expected more BOSs in the Mixmaster project tin Waterbury