What to know about CT's 'flex lane' plans for Interstate 84 in Danbury
The state isn’t expected to start building it until 2028,
and it won’t open to cars until 2030 or 2031.
But commuters who drive through Danbury still may have
a lot of questions about the state Department of Transportation’s plans
to add
a “flex lane” in each direction on Interstate 84 between Exits 3 and 7.
Here’s what we know so far.
How will this “flex lane” work?
The left-side shoulder on each side of the highway will be
reconstructed so it can carry traffic at certain times.
DOT has said that on a typical day, the flex lane on I-84
westbound will be open during the morning rush hour, then the lane on I-84
eastbound will be open during the evening rush hour. In the future, the lanes
could opened at other times of heavy traffic, such as around holidays.
The flex lane will be 11 feet wide, and a 2-foot shoulder
will remain alongside the median barrier when the lane is open. When it is
closed, all 13 feet will be available only as a shoulder.
Digital signs above the highway will indicate whether the
lane is open, closed or closing soon:
A green downward facing arrow means open.
A yellow “X” means the lane is closing soon and drivers
should change lanes.
A red “X” means the lane is closed.
DOT will use cameras installed throughout the corridor to
monitor real-time traffic conditions during the day. The flex lane will open up
if:
It is a peak travel time;
Traffic is jammed; and
The lane is clear and safe to use.
It is expected to be the first
system of its kind in the state, and the final design is still in the
works.
Will the speed limit be affected?
When a flex lane is open, the speed limit for all traffic
traveling in that direction will drop to 45 mph because, DOT officials say, it
is not intended to be operated during “free-flow conditions.”
Will this make traffic flow better?
According to DOT, for commuters traveling west toward New
York in the morning, the flex lane will shave two minutes off their trip
through the corridor — from about nine minutes down to seven minutes.
The bigger change will be in the evening, when it will take
commuters heading east toward Waterbury about eight
minutes to get through the corridor instead of the current 31 minutes.
DOT has said the flex lanes will also reduce congestion on
local roads because more drivers will stay on I-84 instead of taking detours
through Danbury.
The agency has pointed
to Wisconsin, Ohio and Michigan as states where flex lanes have
already been successful.
Why not build a new full-time travel lane?
DOT has said that building a flex lane will take less time
and cost less money than widening
the highway.
“The Flex Lane would allow us to mitigate congestion only
when it’s actually needed, without the added expense and impacts of building
full-time capacity for what is fundamentally a part-time problem,” DOT
spokesperson Eva Zymaris said. “By managing demand instead of expanding the
footprint of the highway, the Flex Lane would improve travel time, reduce
bottlenecks, and help keep traffic flowing smoothly.”
Researchers have also found that such expansions end up
drawing more cars to the highway, so any reductions in congestion are
short-lived.
Flex lane construction is expected to begin in 2028
and take
up to three years. As part of the project, DOT also plans to reconfigure
part of Route 7 southbound to provide two through lanes as the highway merges
with I-84.
Who will be able to use the flex lane?
Standard passenger vehicles will be able to use the flex
lanes.
Trucks, commercially registered vehicles, vehicles with
trailers, motor buses and school buses won’t be allowed in the flex lanes.
What if someone drives in the flex lane when it’s closed?
The state legislature passed a bill this session to allow
DOT to establish a camera
enforcement program for flex lanes.
Under the bill, if a camera system catches a car traveling
in the lane when it is only supposed to be used as a shoulder, the registered
owner of the vehicle will receive a $75 fine in the mail for a first violation
and a fine of up to $200 for a subsequent violation. If a subsequent violation
occurs more than a year after an owner’s last violation, it will be treated as
a first violation.
The bill prohibits violations from affecting driver records
and insurance.
It will be similar to DOT’s highway
work zone speed camera program, with signs warning drivers that cameras are
up ahead and State Police reviewing recorded images before a ticket is issued.
How much will construction cost?
The flex lanes are one part of a project estimated to cost a
total of about $250 million.
The other part involves roadway maintenance and improvements
including median reconstruction, pavement preservation, drainage, guide rails,
lighting and sign upgrades, and wrong-way driving detection systems.
Truck stop, warehouse proposed on 86-acre site in Farmington
A prominent Connecticut gas station company wants to turn 86
wooded acres in Farmington into a sprawling travel plaza and warehouse complex,
according to zoning documents filed with the town.
Hartford-based Noble Energy Real Estate Holdings LLC, the
development arm of the rapidly
expanding Noble Gas brand, is seeking approvals for its project at 8261
Fienemann Road — including a zone change and special permits.
The proposed development includes an 18,000-square-foot
warehouse, 8,437-square-foot travel center, 16 standard fuel pumps, five
high-speed diesel pumps for tractor-trailers, and a coffee shop, convenience
store and outdoor seating.
The land has an unusual owner: the Municipal Employees’ Retirement Fund of the City of Hartford, which paid $5 million for the property in July 2017, according to town assessor records. The pension fund has held the parcel as vacant residential land — currently appraised at roughly $2.1 million — and Noble is now under contract to buy it.
Farmington’s Town Plan and Zoning Commission is set to
receive the application and schedule a public hearing at its meeting at 2 p.m.
Monday. The hearing will likely be scheduled for July 27, when neighbors and
the public will have a formal chance to speak.
Bordered by Fienemann Road to the north, Slater Road and
homes to the east, residential properties to the south and I-84 to the west,
the parcel’s eastern boundary is also the dividing line between Farmington and
New Britain.
About a dozen New Britain homes along Slater Road sit
directly across the street.
Project engineer Solli Engineering, of West Hartford, outlined the plans in an application submitted to the town. Trucks would enter and exit only through the driveway closest to I-84, while passenger vehicles could use a second driveway farther east on Fienemann Road or a third on Slater Road.
The warehouse would offer 30 tractor-trailer spaces and 20
employee spots. The travel center would have 80 customer parking spaces.
According to the project narrative, the warehouse is meant
to function as a short-haul hub, with trucks heading out in the morning and
returning each evening. The travel center, meanwhile, is pitched as a quick
stop for both passenger vehicles and trucks off I-84.
The design mirrors the new generation of upscale fueling
plazas Noble has been building across Connecticut and into Massachusetts.
Co-owner Michael Frisbie has previously said the company’s strategy is to blend
traditional fuel sales with name-brand food, ice cream and quality coffee, plus
rapid electric vehicle chargers, to keep customers coming back throughout the
day.
Noble has already opened or broken ground on similar plazas in Enfield, East Lyme and Sturbridge, Massachusetts, and recently paid $1.2 million for a site in East Hartford.
The Farmington site is currently split between residential
zones that do not permit gas stations or warehouses. Noble is asking the town
to rezone roughly 26 acres of the parcel to the B1 business district.
The remaining 75 acres, including wetlands and two vernal
pools, would be placed under a permanent conservation easement, according to
the project narrative.
Construction would disturb about 7.5 acres and affect 470
square feet of wetlands along Fienemann Road.
A traffic study estimates the development would generate 393
net new trips during the weekday morning peak hour, 357 during the afternoon
peak and 316 on Saturday midday.
The project is targeted for completion in 2028.
New Haven apartment redevelopment proposed for former Winchester site
A development team has proposed a 242-unit apartment
redevelopment on two Shelton Avenue properties in New Haven, including the
conversion of a historic former Winchester Repeating Arms factory building and
construction of two new apartment buildings.
The applicant, Elm City Lofts LLC, is controlled by Aaron
Greenblatt, a managing principal and counsel at Simsbury-based multifamily
developer Vesta Corp., an active affordable housing developer in Connecticut.
The project is planned for properties at 71 Shelton Ave. and 89/91 Shelton Ave.
in the city’s Newhallville neighborhood.
The properties are owned by SZV Development LLC and New
Haven Success Center LLC, according to application materials submitted to the
city.
The proposal includes three residential buildings. A
five-story, roughly 148,000-square-foot former Winchester factory building
dating to about 1915 would be renovated into 98 apartments with a community
room.
Two new buildings are also planned. One, called “Lofts on
the Avenue,” would be a four-story, 76,800-square-foot building with 60
apartments and about 2,150 square feet of retail space. The other, “Lofts at
the Greenway,” would be a five-story, 106,325-square-foot building with 84
apartments.
The development — scheduled for site plan review at the New
Haven City Plan Commission’s May 20 meeting — would include studio, one-bedroom
and two-bedroom apartments, along with nearly 68,900 square feet of open space
and 265 parking spaces.
According to the application, all apartments would be leased
to households earning 60% or less of area median income, with 58 units reserved
for households earning 50% or less of area median income under the city’s
inclusionary zoning ordinance.
The retail component could include food specialty stores or
restaurants. The applicant has filed a separate special exception application
with the Board of Zoning Appeals seeking approval for those uses.
The proposal also includes environmental remediation work.
The application says the former Winchester property was previously designated a
Transfer Act site and requires cleanup to allow residential use.
The city has received conditional approval for a $6 million
state brownfields grant from the Department of Economic and Community
Development to support remediation work at the Shelton Avenue properties,
according to the application.
Pending city approvals, construction is expected to begin in
the first quarter of 2027 and conclude in the first quarter of 2029, according
to the filing.