Major road construction could impact travel across CT this summer
Joshua Eaton
It’s officially summer, and that means summer travel. But with major construction projects along Connecticut’s highways, it could also mean summer traffic.
The Connecticut Department of Transportation lists 24 major construction projects statewide – encapsulating some of the biggest and most expensive projects in the state.
Some of those are still in the planning phases, while others are already complete. Still others will have minimal impacts on traffic.
Here we highlight six of those projects that could have an impact on summer travel.
Merritt Parkway project
CTDOT is working on a major project on Route 15, better known as the Merritt Parkway that will resurface the road in both directions and make other improvements along a three-and-a-half-mile stretch from Norwalk to New Canaan. That work is expected to continue until late October 2024.
Traffic impacts, which include nighttime lane closures, are listed on the project website. There, travelers can find a map of project-related detours and closures and a real-time traffic map.
I-95 East Lyme Interchange Improvements, East Lyme
This spring, CTDOT began work on I-95, Route 161 and Frontage Road in East Lyme that it says will make entering and exiting the highway at Exit 74 safer.
Once the work is completed, which is scheduled to happen by the spring of 2027, there will be new on and off ramps at Exit 74 and a new bridge on I-95 over Route 161.
CTDOT says the work will include closures on Route 161 and nighttime lane closures on I-95, along with detours for Exit 74 and Exit 75. The biggest disruptions will happen at night, when there is less traffic, according to CTDOT.
This week’s traffic impacts will include nightly lane closures on I-95.
Motorists can see current traffic disruptions on the project’s website.
Route 82 East Haddam Swing Bridge Rehabilitation, East Haddam
CTDOT began a three-year project last summer to rehabilitate the bridge that carries Route 82 over the Connecticut River in East Haddam.
The East Haddam Swing Bridge project will include some lane closures and changes to the direction of traffic, which will be indicated by road signs and traffic signals.
The biggest disruption, however, will come from a series of 63-hour bridge closures almost every Sunday through Wednesday from the second week of June through the second week in November.
Detour information and a projected schedule of bridge closures are on the project’s website.
I-691 Resurfacing and Bridge Rehabilitation, Cheshire/Meriden
Work continues on a project to resurface the road and rehabilitate bridges along a stretch of I-691 in Cheshire and Meriden.
“The roadway improvements address the failing concrete pavement and provide safety refinements between Exit 5 and 4 in the Westbound direction,” CTDOT says online.
Roadwork will close down one or two lanes on I-691 this week from 6 p.m. – 7 a.m. Up-to-date traffic impacts are listed on the website for the project, which is scheduled to wrap up in late August.
Route 8 Design Build Rehabilitation Project, Seymour, Ansonia, Derby, and Shelton
Work began this spring to make various improvements along the Route 8 corridor between Exit 22 and Exit 13 — an area that includes Seymour, Ansonia, Derby and Shelton.
The project website is sparse on details about potential traffic impacts, but the latest update says much of the work is happening at night, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
CTDOT also said in a press release in March that it had deployed automated speed safety cameras to the workzone. The project is due to finish in December 2024.
I-84 - Rt 8 Mixmaster Rehabilitation, Waterbury
CTDOT has been working to rehabilitate the bridges and overpasses that make up the Route 8 and I-84 Interchange in Waterbury — called the Mixmaster — since 2018. The project should finally be completed this December.
In the meantime, the project website lists long-term closures at the Exit 21 off-ramp, the Exit 30 on-ramp and the Exit 31 on-ramp.
Short-term impacts this week include daytime closures on Route 8 southbound and a series of nighttime lane and exit closures along Route 8, I-84, Riverside Street and Meadow Street.
How to keep tabs on construction and traffic delays
Beyond these major projects, roadwork is happening everyday across the state, CTDOT officials said.
While that work may not be a multi-year project that costs many millions of dollars, it can still disrupt traffic for a few days or weeks, according to CTDOT spokesman Josh Morgan.
CTDOT maintains an interactive map of its active projects, including the ones above and hundreds more.
“That’s all important too and could have an impact on someone’s morning or evening commute or could impact their vacation,” Morgan said in an interview.
Motorists can use the website CTroads.org to check for traffic delays before they hit the road, according to Morgan. The site even allows travelers to set up email and text alerts.
“We are counting on motorists to slow down, avoid distracted driving and pay attention when traveling, particularly through work zones, to keep themselves, workers, and all travelers safe,” Morgan said in an email.
While some work on these projects happens during the day, Morgan said CTDOT tries to limit major disruptions to days and hours when traffic is light.
“To maintain enhanced traffic flow, we halt all non-emergency roadway work around major holidays, such as the upcoming Fourth of July weekend,” he said. “Travelers should be mindful that emergency work may still be needed.”
Emily M. Olson
TORRINGTON — An extra $5 million for the school building project could be used to add turf and lighting to the property's new playing fields, and members of the project's building committee are eyeing a grant to pay for it.
But when the committee's co-chairmen, Ed Arum and Mario Longobucco, recently asked the city to apply for the funding, which would come from the state's highly competitive Community Investment Fund, one city councilman balked.
"What's this for?" Councilman Paul Cavagnero asked, during the City Council's June 19 meeting. "Why are we $4.5 million behind on a $180 million school project?"
"We're not behind on anything. We're generally improving on what's already there," Longobucco said, explaining that the money for the athletic fields and other improvements was already approved in 2021. "We're trying to take what will be a very good facility and improve upon it."
In 2020, residents approved building a new 310,000-square-foot middle-high school with central offices, replacing the older building on the city-owned property with a state-of-the-art facility and outdoor upgrades. The initial cost was under $159 million; in 2022, the school building committee returned to the City Council, requesting to bond another $20 million based on increased material and construction costs. Voters approved that amount in January 2022.
Construction began in mid-2022, and the middle-high school project is well underway on Major Besse Drive. Construction crews are working on the actual buildings, which are being built on steel beams and concrete foundations. The new school campus, which has separate spaces for middle and high school students, and shared areas, such as the cafeteria, gym, auditorium and athletic spaces, is taking shape.
In spite of Cavagnero's objections, Longobucco said there was nothing new needed for the project. "The building will be done, and for the fields, there will be grass, which will have two growing seasons to stand up to sports (activities)," he said. "If you don't (apply for) this grant, you won't have turf."
Turf fields last much longer than grass, and because the high school's athletic fields are used by students as well as outside groups, turf would be a better option, he said.
"If you're familiar with the term 'add/alternate' in the plans, it means turf would be installed if there's money available. But if we have to live with grass, we'll live with grass," Longobucco said.
City Council members approved the request, except for Cavagnero.
The grant request came to the City Council with a grant application for their review, defining the reasons why the grant was needed. The application also defined the high school's athletic fields and the adjacent city swimming pool, playground, basketball courts and other community facilities as a "Community Fitness Complex" that would be used by the whole town, not just the high school.
The money would pay for turf on the school's baseball, softball and multipurpose fields, as well as a solar-powered scoreboard and field lights, that "will help to increase field usage after hours and utilize green technology," according to the grant application.
"With the park in front (of the high school with) the playground, the pool, basketball courts, and what we have going on in the back, we have as close to a community fitness complex as we can get," Longobucco said.
Cavagnero said a grant still represents taxpayer money. "When people cringe at their tax bills, this is where that money goes to," he said. "Being fiscally responsible in the granting process is the responsibility of every council member."
Longobucco and Arum said they didn't know if Torrington would get the grant. "We're hoping they'll see our project, and we'll get it," he said, adding that this particular program, the Community Investment Fund, was limited to the state's 54 Alliance Districts, meaning fiscally challenged, and that it was competitive.
"We've applied in the past, and been denied," said Mayor Elinor Carbone. "It's a shot in the dark; this money only comes through twice a year."
New England Energy Officials Challenge ‘Optimistic’ Study on Natural Gas Supply
Brendan Crowley
After years of dire warnings that limited natural gas supplies could lead to winter blackouts on New England’s gas-reliant electric grid, a new analysis from grid operator ISO-New England found there’s a lower chance of issues over the next five years.
But at a Tuesday conference held in Portland, Maine, federal regulators, officials from New England states and energy companies questioned the “180-degree turn” from the potential catastrophe ISO warned about in September. The change in tone caused confusion for many energy officials who gathered to discuss the winter reliability crisis.
“It’s very difficult for me to go on the last year and a half telling the powers that be in Rhode Island that the sky might be falling this winter, then go back and say it’s all manageable,” said Ron Gerwatowski, chair of the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission [the equivalent of Connecticut’s PURA]. “And maybe it is manageable, but I still worry about that.”
Assuming the grid can manage a normal winter, Gerwatowski added, New England is still one contingency away from something bad happening.
The analysis found that solar power had lowered the demand for energy in the region and fewer power plants had retired, putting New England in a better position to manage gas constraints in the winter.
ISO-New England President and CEO Gordon van Welie cautioned, however, that the study is not complete and that there are still serious concerns about long-term winter reliability.
The study assumes that the gas distribution system will operate without issues, and that new offshore wind resources will compensate for oil plants shutting down. But recent delays and canceled contracts for Northeast wind projects have raised doubts, van Welie said.
Additionally, the study hasn’t created models for the early 2030s, when ISO projects a massive spike in demand for electricity.
“I’m not feeling sanguine about the risks,” van Welie said. “In the short run, I’m feeling a little bit more relaxed about where we are given the analysis, but in the longer run, I’m still as concerned as I’ve ever been. There’s just too many variables out there that could break in the negative direction for us.”
Van Welie acknowledged if one of the nuclear power plants in New England or connections to Quebec’s grid failed for just a week during the winter, it could lead to a real crisis.
Speakers questioned ISO’s assumption that the region’s gas distribution system will run without issue. Gerwatowski recalled the 2019 Newport gas shortage, when low gas pipeline pressure in Massachusetts forced the utility National Grid to suspend gas to Aquidneck Island for a week in January. He worried that allowing the Everett liquefied natural gas facility in Massachusetts to close could lead to a “Newport on steroids” event.
Other speakers questioned ISO for changing its outlook based on new solar, considering its dependence on sunny weather. Earlier this month, ISO said smoke from wildfires in Canada had significantly lowered solar production in the region.
Eversource Vice President of Energy Supply James Daly said the study used “optimistic” assumptions that should be questioned, including projections of 1,600 megawatts of offshore wind and 1,400 megwatts of energy storage coming online, most of which isn’t under contract.
“There are three major offshore wind farms, totaling 3,200 megawatts, that have asked that their contracts be terminated because they’re not financially viable,” Daly said. “That is enormous. Two years ago, that was not on the horizon at all, and new infrastructure in New England continues to get significant challenges in terms of opposition of all sorts that delay these projects.”
Connecticut DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said the analysis doesn’t give the region a license to relax. The analysis needs to include data up to 2032, she said, and they must immediately prepare for widespread electrification in the next decade.
“It takes five to seven, eight, 10 years to build transmission, to get offshore wind – a nascent resource that’s in a very dynamic moment right now – deployed,” Dykes said.
Does the region need Everett?
The fate of the Everett liquefied natural gas facility in Boston Harbor has been central to discussions about winter reliability in New England. The facility, owned by Constellation Energy, is set to close next year unless it secures enough contracts.
New England is heavily reliant on liquified natural gas imports in the winter when home heating draws more gas from the region’s pipelines. ISO-New England has said that keeping the facility open after its sister facility – Mystic Generating Station – closes next year is crucial for the region to manage the transition to renewable energy.
But the latest study shifted that opinion, saying the region’s electric system could manage without Everett in the near term. Still, ISO officials insisted during the forum that the region should work to keep the facility open, and shouldn’t close natural gas infrastructure until it has an acceptable replacement.
“To me, it’s a simple decision,” van Welie said. “The region should retain Everett. That’s why we said it’s prudent to do so. I think it would be extremely unwise if we were to let that facility go.”
James Holodak Jr., vice president of energy supply at National Grid, which provides electric and gas service in Rhode Island, said the terminal is important to the company’s operation and crucial should issues arise on the interstate gas pipelines.
Van Welie said one problem that remains is a lack of oversight and analysis of the gas system. ISO only oversees the electric grid, he said, and more information is needed from the gas system to get a full picture of how Everett impacts the entire energy supply.
“We’re making an assumption [in the study], which has been challenged today, that the gas system will be reliable,” he said.