Route 6 construction in Bristol to end later this year
BRIAN M. JOHNSON
BRISTOL - Most of the original contract work on the Route 6 project is now completed, says City Engineer Ray Rogozinski, but final touches will have to wait until later this year as the road is temporarily closed back up for winter.
The $12.87 million state project, which spans from the intersection of Carol Drive and Route 6 in Bristol to the intersections of Peggy Lane and Route 6 in Farmington and is contracted to Empire Construction, originally began in April 2017. It was originally slated for completion this month, but delays occurred due to the necessity of relocating utilities. Current estimates from Juan Ruiz, project engineer with the Department of Transportation, place it as completing in fall of 2019.
Ruiz said that 80 percent of this project is covered by federal funding, while the rest is matched by municipalities.
The purpose of the project was to add an eastbound lane between the two intersections to reduce congestion, gridlock and safety concerns. The pavement cross slope is being adjusted and draining modifications and upgrades are being made. Traffic signals are being changed to fit with the alterations and sidewalks are being planned along the corridor in addition to bicycle lanes. Rogozinski said that most of this work is now complete.
“Right now they are working on the curbing and sidewalk and re-grading the affected areas,” said Rogozinski. “They are installing temporary pavement and asphalt for the winter. Then, the road will be re-opened next spring to continue the utility relocation work. Residents can expect to see some poles being relocated.”
Ruiz explained that the reason for the utility relocation is that they were buried too shallow in the roads. As a result, the lines are not protected from rust. Ruiz said that they need to be moved deeper. The water main around Camp Street had to be relocated as well as a portion of the gas main around ShopRite.
“Back in the day, no one worried about how deep they were going and took the path of least resistance,” said Ruiz. “Twenty or 30 years later, we are paying the price.”
The planning for the Route 6 project was based on input from an online community study conducted in 2016.
Only 1 percent of those who filled out the survey said they felt the corridor was fine as is. Seventy percent said there should be additional turning lanes and half said travel lanes should be added. Thirty-five percent said improvements to sidewalks and crosswalks were needed in some areas.
Bristol residents interviewed while shopping at Farmington Avenue business plazas seemed to find the construction to be a minor inconvenience for the most part.
“It’s been kind of a pain, but they’re doing well,” said Jay Johnson. “The traffic has been getting better. At first it was pretty stop and go but it’s a lot better than it used to be.”
Bill Senzer said that he has not had too much trouble when he came to shop in the area.
“That’s pretty hard to do with road construction,” he said.
Alexa Ruiz said that the construction is “not too bad.”
“It’s been a little tough sometimes, but I manage,” she said.
Claire Goodman said that the construction “can be a problem at times.” When possible, she said, she tries to find an alternate route to get where she needs to go.
However, recently, the local Sonic announced that it would be closing Saturday as a result of the construction. Owner/partner Gina Mueller said that it had put a big dent in her business.
“The declining profits all started with the construction,” she said. “Between that and the changing demographics, it was like a perfect storm. We decided that it was in our best interest if we put our location in a different area.”