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May 10, 2019

Lamont: $213M project will ease Hartford highway backups

Image | Connecticut Department of Transportation
By Joe Cooper

Gov. Ned Lamont said work began this week on a $213 million state highway project aimed at easing congestion on an exit connecting Interstate 91 to the Charter Oak Bridge in Hartford.

The state Department of Transportation earlier this week launched a “congestion-buster project” that will lead to the development of a new two-lane exit ramp from I-91 northbound to the Charter Oak Bridge, leading to Routes 5 and 15, and I-84. The project is slated for completion by summer 2022.

To accommodate construction of the new lanes, crews will need to widen northbound I-91 from exit 27 to exit 29 for approximately 5,700 feet to allow space for the additional travel lane.

That will also require the widening of the Charter Oak Bridge over Route 15, the Airport Road on-ramp and Airport Road, in addition to lowering the roads below all three bridges to provide space for overhead clearances.

Construction of a new two-lane exit also requires: construction of a new bridge; widening a piece of the northbound Charter Oak Bridge over I-91 to four northbound travel lanes; and the removal of the current single-lane ramp at exit 29.

The project also requires widening of northbound Route 15 to add an additional lane from the existing bridge to the Silver Lane underpass in East Hartford, and widening of the bridges hovering over Main Street and Silver Lane.

Other pavement and bridge improvements will be made, in addition to other upgrades for drainage systems and guide rails to meet current standards, state officials said.

Lamont on Friday said additional projects like this are needed in Connecticut to alleviate areas of traffic congestion.

A day earlier, the governor submitted a letter to the General Assembly urging them to work together on a solution to fix Connecticut’s aging infrastructure through a comprehensive transportation bill.

“The people of Connecticut are sick and tired of sitting in traffic on outdated roadways that cannot handle the capacity of a 21st century transit system,” he said. “Connecticut needs a long-term solution to fix the 30-year patchwork that has left our state with a gaping fiscal hole that needs to be fixed.”

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