Wilbur Cross Parkway tunnel in New Haven to finally get structural upgrades after years of delays
Austin Mirmina
NEW HAVEN — After years of delays, state transportation
officials are reviving plans to overhaul
the 75-year-old Heroes Tunnel on the Wilbur Cross Parkway.
The long-overdue
project would bring much-needed upgrades to the busy tunnel, which
carries about 74,000 vehicles per day through West Rock Ridge in New Haven,
according to the state Department of Transportation. Built in 1949, the aging,
twin-barrel tunnel no longer meets current standards and has become expensive
to maintain as it continues to wear down, officials said.
This week, DOT officials met with leaders from New Haven,
Woodbridge and Hamden to update them on the project, agency spokesperson
Josh Morgan said in an email. The meeting covered the tunnel’s current
condition and the proposed scope of work, which the state estimates will cost
about $150 million and begin in 2028, he said.
Morgan did not provide much detail about the renovation
plans, only saying that the project design is still in the works. But a DOT
presentation shared with municipal officials this week gives a better idea of
what they envision.
According to the slideshow, the project will include
structural repairs to the tunnel liners, which typically are made
of steel or concrete and provide stability and support. Plans also
call for improved ventilation and fire protection systems, enhanced
lighting and new signage to guide both drivers and pedestrians.
"The purpose of the project is to correct existing
deficiencies, enhance safety, improve travel, and ease maintenance of the
Heroes Tunnel," the DOT's presentation states.
Originally called the West Rock Tunnel, it was renamed the
Heroes Tunnel in 2003 to honor "heroes
of all kinds" in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. It is the only
highway tunnel to pass beneath a natural land feature in Connecticut.
The tunnel has shown signs of wear in recent years, with a
2022 inspection report citing several "deficiencies." In its latest
presentation, the DOT also notes that the tunnel's narrow lanes and
"substandard" shoulder widths lead to traffic congestion and
recurring bottlenecks during rush hour.
Despite the issues, DOT officials have stressed that the
tunnel remains safe for travel.
The agency has explored a range of options to improve
the structure over the past decade, but only minor repairs have been
completed.
"They’ve gone back and forth with a number of different
plans," Mica Cardozo, Woodbridge's first selectman, said in a phone
interview. "Each time they get close to actually starting the project,
something derails it."
The DOT originally planned to build a third barrel to
usher northbound traffic through the trap rock mountain, reconstruct one
of the existing barrels and reserve the other one for use during emergencies or
while the other tubes underwent repairs. That proposal carried a price tag
of about $200 million.
However, the DOT later determined that those plans were not
"feasible, either from a funding perspective or otherwise," said
Cardozo, who was briefed on this week's meeting with the state agency but
did not attend because of a scheduling conflict.
According to Cardozo, project officials plan to close
one side of the tunnel at night to complete repairs and detour
traffic through the side that remains open. The tunnel is expected to fully
reopen for normal daytime traffic, he added.
"We’re basically where it began when they first initiated some of the studies … but now it seems as if they have a definitive path forward and will be moving along with that," Cardozo said. "That’s the good news."
Woodbridge, in particular, has a vested interest in the tunnel’s renovation. For years, town officials have worked with the state on potential improvements to both the tunnel and the nearby Exit 59 interchange. During rush hour, heavy congestion on the Wilbur Cross Parkway, also called Route 15, often pushes traffic off the Woodbridge exit, jamming up local streets.
"The Exit 59 interchange is very important to us," Cardozo said. "It’s such a congestion point during rush hour that it really impacts the economic stability of that area."
With both sides of the tunnel staying open during the day, Cardozo said he does not expect traffic backups to spill onto local roads during construction.
Morgan, the DOT spokesperson, said the agency expects to hold a public information meeting by the end of this year to present the plan and get feedback from residents and businesses.
Bridgeport school board weighs new $125M school, $75M special education center
BRIDGEPORT — City school system officials are proposing to
build two new schools to replace
a handful of aging buildings, including a $125 million pre-K-8 school and a
$75 million center for special education.
Jorge Garcia, the district’s chief operations officer, said
the elementary school would be built at the site of the old Harding High School
and serve students who currently attend Beardsley, Edison and Hall
schools.
He argued the yet-to-be-approved construction project, which
would be largely funded with state money, would cost the district much less
than the tens of millions of dollars needed to renovate the three decades-old
schools.
“This is not something that we're asking for because we want
to see a new building,” Garcia said. “This is something we're asking for
because these buildings are in a state of disrepair. They're not healthy, and
they're not safe.”
Garcia said the proposals were based on recommendations
included in a
recent facilities study that urged the district to shutter seven
school buildings, construct four new ones and perform major renovations on
eight others.
The district plans to use the results of the study to create
a master plan guiding the school system’s various capital improvement projects
over the next decade, including the closure of old schools and the construction
of new ones.
Interim Superintendent Royce Avery, however, has said
the cash-strapped school
system must
first secure the funding for new school buildings before it moves
forward with a proposal to shutter any facilities.
Garcia described the proposed elementary school as a
state-of-the-art facility. He said that unlike older schools, the new one would
be fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and feature air
conditioning and proper ventilation.
“This is about us getting these kids into a building where
they have a fighting chance,” Garcia said.
The old Harding High, built in 1924, has been vacant since
2018, when students and staff moved from that Central Avenue campus into a
state-of-the-art facility on Bond Street. The city had considered
selling the 8-acre property to Bridgeport Hospital, but the deal
ultimately failed to materialize.
Garcia said a construction company told the school system
the proposed elementary school would likely cost about $125 million to build,
but it is not yet clear how much city taxpayers will need to contribute to the
project.
The state generally covers about 68% of the cost of building
a new school, but Garcia said he is hoping the city will receive a
reimbursement rate of about 90% since the proposed school would have extra
space for preschool classes and be energy efficient.
Joseph Sokolovic, the vice chairperson of the school board,
expressed skepticism about the project. He suggested consolidating three
schools into one campus would raise transportation costs and questioned why the
district would not instead renovate the facilities.
“This process feels rushed,” Sokolovic said.
In response, Garcia said the district would need to spend
about $80 million on each school to renovate the structures as new and claimed
the state will not cover the costs of fixing up the aging buildings.
Board member Robert Traber, who lives near the old Harding
High and whose two grandchildren would likely attend the new school, said he
leans in favor of the project, but that the board should seek input from
community members before making a final decision.
“The schools in my neighborhood have been neglected forever,
if you will. That's rhetorical obviously,” he said. “So something needs to be
done.”
In addition to the unnamed East End school, district
officials also recommended the construction of a center to serve more than 260
K-12 special education students, including city children who are currently sent
out of district to receive their education.
District officials hope the facility, which would also
replace the Bridgeport Learning Center, would allow the school system to save
some of the nearly $22 million it spent last year sending students to private
facilities.
“If we don't build the programs in-house, we can't bring
kids in-house,” Avery, the acting superintendent, said. “The reason why they
went out of district placements is because we could not serve them in
district.”
Garcia said the center could be built on the site of the
Skane Center on Madison Avenue. The district is in the process of
merging Skane with the nearby John Winthrop School as part of a renovation
of the 72-year-old building.
He said the proposed center would likely cost about $75
million to build, but that the city could be reimbursed for up to 95% of the
expenses from the state.
The school board’s facilities committee voted to advance the
two school construction proposals to the full board. The nine-member panel is
set to meet on May 12, but have not yet set an agenda for the meeting.