MIDDLETOWN >> Nearly 120 people showed up for a public hearing Tuesday evening that allowed criticism on plans to remove a stop sign and traffic lights from the part of Route 9 that flows through the city and the construction of a pedestrian bridge, roundabout and other components that engineers say will lessen accidents and improve traffic flow downtown.
Many who sat in the Elks Club dining room on Maynard Street — nearly filled to capacity — expressed concerns about the proposal, including local officials, business owners, residents and others who say the modifications would exacerbate already fraught traveling conditions which worsen considerably during the peak morning and afternoon rush hours.Presently motorists enter the highway where vehicles — often zipping by above the speed limit — create hazardous conditions that the DOT says are responsible for a record number of crashes At the signal lights both north and southbound, those unfamiliar with the Middletown traffic setup zoom by at high speed, never expecting to stop.At the on-ramp of Route 17 onto Route 9 north, where there is the stop sign, the plan is to “replace the existing bridge immediately north of the stop-controlled on-ramp to accommodate a full-length acceleration lane and remove the stop-controlled condition.” CLCIK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Trees come down as work begins on Route 15 ramp overhaul in Wallingford
WALLINGFORD — As the trees shielding Route 15 from Community Lake Park begin to disappear and the state prepares for the construction of a new on-ramp for Route 15, residents say the less-than-favorable sights and sounds of the expected 16-month construction project are the price paid for improving a troubling traffic area.
Crews from Empire Paving Inc. of North Haven began clearing trees along Route 15 northbound Friday as part of work to fix the Exit 65 on-ramp.
Over a dozen large trees were taken down along the northbound side leaving the highway visible from the Community Lake parking lot.
Representatives from the state Department of Transpiration did not return calls for comment Friday.
The $4.3 million project will move the Exit 65 on-ramp east of the northern bridge parapet carrying Route 150 over Route 15, significantly lengthening it in an effort to improve highway safety and ease traffic congestion in the River Road, Route 150 area. The ramp will be between Route 15 and Community Lake Park.
The current on-ramp will remain open during construction.
Ninety percent of the project is federally funded with the remainder state funded.
The project has been in the works for nearly a decade due to the frequency of accidents on the ramp, often due to vehicles rear-ending each other at a stop sign at the entrance to the highway.
“There’s a tremendous amount of rear-end accidents on that ramp now,” said Police Chief William J. Wright.
The short ramp also gives drivers little time to accelerate to proper speeds after entering the highway.
The new design includes a longer ramp that will give drivers more acceleration time and hopefully cut down on the accidents and overflow congestion caused by the short ramp. CLCIK TITLE TO CONTINUE
The hearing is to begin at 7:30 p.m. at Mystic Middle School.
Developer David Lattizori of Groton, who has a permit to build 36 homes on the site, is seeking to create a floating zone known as the Greenway Development District.
The new district, which is limited to the GBR-130, RR-80 and RA-40 residential zones, requires a project to be a minimum of 50 acres in size and preserve 50 percent of the site for open space.
Lattizori has said the development would cluster development along Interstate 95 and not be seen from Jerry Browne Road. It would leave the wooded area and meadow that front Jerry Browne Road from Coogan Boulevard to Pequotsepos Road intact.
Residents of the Stone Ridge retirement community located across Jerry Browne Road from the site have opposed previous commercial proposals for the property but have had numerous meetings with Lattizori about the new plan. Stone Ridge officials are expected to make their position known at the hearing.
City hints Dunkin' Donuts Park work resumes shortly
Hartford's corporation counsel is saying work at Dunkin' Donuts Park could resume shortly and there is no need for the Hartford Yard Goats to look elsewhere for a place to play Double A baseball.
Corporation Counsel Howard G. Rifkin's remarks came in response to a letter from Josh Solomon, owner of the Yard Goats, who said the club must act now to arrange for a home ballpark for the 2017 season because, in his opinion, Hartford cannot say when or if the stadium will be completed.
Rifkin told Solomon, in an email, it is the city's expectation that Arch Insurance, the bond insurer for the project, will act soon and take the steps necessary to reopen the stadium construction site, which was closed June 6.
Rifkin said the city also expects to have an agreed upon work plan to meet new deadlines in order to complete the project in what he said would be "a timely way." He didn't further describe what the timely way would be.