New project-filled year is expected on CT roads after busy 2025. Many are in the works; not for cars
Connecticut has continued its investment in transportation
with hundreds of projects completed or in the works in 2025 involving state
roads and rails, highlighted by the completion of East
Haddam Swing Bridge in May.
In 2025, the Connecticut
Department of Transportation won the 2025 America’s Transportation
Awards grand prize for its emergency project demolishing, and then rebuilding,
the Fairfield Avenue Bridge over I-95 in Norwalk in 2024.
For 2026, the Connecticut
Department of Transportation has currently more than 400 projects in
design and more than 200 construction project are on
the books.
The upcoming year is expected to be just as busy with the
expected completion of Hartford’s Dutch Point Viaduct project and ongoing
construction on multi-year projects such as the Interstate 91/Interstate
691/Route 15 Interchange, the I-95
Exit 74 (Route 161) project in East Lyme and work on I-95
near Exit 43 in West Haven.
Donald J.
Shubert, president of the Connecticut
Construction Industries Association, said the last two years have been the
best for the state construction industry in nearly 20 years.
“We’ve seen momentum from the DOT and the transportation
sector that we haven’t seen since 2008 and we just really appreciate the volume
of work that’s coming out still,” Shubert said. “This momentum that we have is
something we haven’t seen in years and we’re just hoping that it continues
because it’s great. Infrastructure spending is one of the as one of the highest
returns on investments of any government spending.”
Major construction
Connecticut transportation workers expect to remain busy in
2026.
Workers are currently working on Phase 2 of the I-91/I-691/Route 15 three-phase
project, which is expected to be completed in 2030. Phase 3 remains in design.
The project is “to address traffic operational and safety concerns associated
with capacity, congestion, and weaving,” according to the Connecticut Department
of Transportation.
“This project isn’t going to be done in 2026, but it’s
making really significant improvements and changes in that area,” Connecticut
Department of Transportation spokesperson Josh Morgan said.
Morgan said the Dutch Point
Viaduct two-year rehabilitation project on I-91 South in Hartford is
scheduled to be completed in September 2026. The project involves the
1,800-foot-long elevated bridge structure that carries three lanes of I-91
South over the Connecticut Southern Railroad and the I-91 North ramps to and
from Whitehead Highway.
The rehabilitation includes a new bridge deck, upgraded
drainage system, new parapets, new highway lights and strengthened bridge
girders to increase load capacity.
I-95 Exit 74 improvement project in East Lyme continues in
2026 with an expected completion in the spring of 2027. The work began on the
project in spring of 2023. The project is currently in Phase 4 of work. The new
Exit 74 southbound on-ramp opened in October.
“During this stage of construction, I-95 southbound will be
shifted adjacent to the previously completed northbound alignment. This shift
will allow the current southbound travel lanes and bridge to be brought up to
final grade,” according to the CTDOT.
Work on I-95 near Exit 43 in West Haven is scheduled to be
completed in November 2027. The purpose of the project is to reduce
traffic congestion, enhance traffic flow and increase safety. There will
be widening and reconstruction as well as the replacement of two bridges that
carry I-95 over First Avenue and the Metro-North Railroad tracks.
Morgan also noted the continued work on the
Gold Star Memorial Bridge. The northbound bridge has five travel lanes and
carries highway traffic from New London to Groton. It is 6,000 feet in length
and has a deck area of 500,000 square feet. The bridge carries estimated 60,000
vehicles daily over the Thames River, railroads and local roads. Morgan said
the CTDOT has been working on the project for a number of years but was just
awarded a $600 million contract that will begin in 2026 and continue for
several years.
According to Morgan, all of the Connecticut’s biggest road
projects continue to be on schedule in order to finish on time.
“It’s going to be another busy year,” Morgan said. “We have
more than 200 active projects happening across the state of Connecticut, and we
need to do that while keeping people moving through the area. There definitely
will still be barrels and cones and work crews out there across Connecticut.
It’s really about the improved safety and to keep people moving and getting to
their destination safely.
“We have no shortage of projects, and we are ready to
deliver to the people of Connecticut,” he added.
Morgan also noted that the CTDOT’s work zone speed camera
program is now permanent and will be in work zones in 2026. The pilot program
allowed the devices to be at three active work zones at a time. The permanent
program will allow up to 15 locations at a given time.
According to Morgan, there will also be mobile units that
can go up for 48 hours while CTDOT staff are fixing guard rails, potholes or a
drainage project. He added that the CTDOT will be transparent and will have
camera locations listed online with an interactive map. Community leaders will
also be alerted when these devices are installed. Morgan emphasized that safety
remains the top priority.
The CTDOT
celebrated the 10th anniversary of CTfastrak in
March. The program, which has carried 30 million passengers, is “recognized as
the nation’s top bus rapid transit network,” according to the CTDOT.
CTfastrak initially launched in March 2015 and is a system
of 10 bus routes operated by the CTDOT. It provides service to and from
Waterbury, Cheshire, Southington, Bristol, Plainville, New Britain, Newington,
West Hartford, Hartford and Manchester,” according to CTDOT.
Morgan said there are plans of expanding the service into
New Haven.
“We’re going to be looking toward replicating the success of
CTfastrak as a bus rapid transit system in New Haven,” Morgan said. “We’re
going to have the first of several public info sessions in early 2026. I
believe the first one is January 28 in New Haven to start talking about how we
can replicate the bus rapid transit system that we have in New Britain and
Hartford into New Haven and West Haven.
“That’s going to be a game changer, we think, to get more
people out of their cars and on to public transportation and next year as well
on the rail side. They won’t be ready for passenger use, but we’re going start
testing them on the new
state-of-the-art rail cars that we’re going to be using on the
Hartford line,” he added.
Some of the amenities include work-comfortable seats,
workstations, chargers and USB ports at every seat, bike racks and spacious
restrooms. According to Morgan, those will be added to CTfastrak as it plans to
transition to 100% battery-electric buses by 2027.
Also on the rail line, Morgan highlighted the CTDOT and
Metro-North’s announcement in July of the groundbreaking of the
state-of-the-art train station on the Waterbury Branch Line in Naugatuck. The
new station includes a high-level heated platform, electric vehicle charging,
LED lighting and ADA-compliant infrastructure. The $33.2 million project is
located in downtown Naugatuck.
“One of the projects happening along our rail line is the
relocating the Naugatuck train station to compliment the borough’s
transit-oriented development,” Morgan said. “Rehabbing the Waterbury station
and reopening and reimagining that waiting room to passengers, which hasn’t
been open in a generation. Finding those amenities and finding those upgrades
for those who are using public transportation is going to be a huge win.
Shubert said the Connecticut Construction Industries
Association is putting a lot of people to work, and “we have some great
innovative training programs going on with the technical high school system and
other groups. It’s nice to see the DOT firing on all cylinders and really
getting the job done.”
Shubert credited Gov. Ned Lamont and the state legislature
for the investment into infrastructure.
“It’s all falling into place and that’s the way it should
be,” Shubert said. “When my contractors or material producers get a positive
message or indicator, they start spending on equipment, building inventories
and hiring people. If they get any inclination things will slow down, they pull
back faster than anyone else.
“But right now we’re in the investment stage,” he added.
“We’re in a positive stage for the first time in a very long time. We
appreciate everything that’s going on and everybody that’s pulling in the right
direction to get this work out there and to put people to work. … It just
resonates through our industry which is great.”