In Final Design Phase –

Exit 11 Improvements

Still Two Years Off

By Andrew Gorosko

The state Department of Transportation (DOT) is in the final design phase of a major reconfiguration of the Exit 11 interchange of Interstate 84 in Sandy Hook, according to DOT officials.

Depending upon how soon the DOT is able to obtain required environmental permits for the project, construction work may start as soon as the late summer of 2010, or more likely in the spring of 2011.

DOT Principal Engineer Sebastian Sbalcio and Project Manager William Grant discussed the approximately $20 million construction project in a recent interview.

DOT soon expects to receive construction plans from a consulting firm that is designing the interchange reconfiguration for the state.

Before construction work starts, the DOT would need to acquire certain rights-of-way for properties adjacent to state-owned land in the area.

It is expected that the Exit 11 project will take at least two construction seasons, and possibly a third construction season, to complete. If work were to start in the spring of 2011, the project might be completed sometime in 2013. Construction seasons typically run from April 1 to November 30.

During construction work, traffic flow would be maintained through the Exit 11 area. The Exit 11 on-ramps and off-ramps, Route 34, and Wasserman Way would all remain open to traffic during construction, according to DOT.

As part of the project, the DOT is considering the installation of a traffic signal at the main entrance to Newtown High School at 12 Berkshire Road. That entrance would be moved northward as part of a planned high school expansion project.

The Exit 11 reconfiguration is intended to improve travel safety and enhance traffic flow in an area that is prone to traffic congestion during the morning and evening rush periods.

The elaborate high-speed Exit 11 interchange was constructed in the early 1970s in preparation for a linkage between I-84 and a planned limited-access version of Route 25.

But a limited-access Route 25 was never built, and the Exit 11 interchange remained in place as an overbuilt set of ramps linking I-84 to Route 34 (Berkshire Road) via Wasserman Way. The interchange has a high accident rate.

When completed, the interchange reconfiguration will contain a broad four-way intersection of Route 34, Wasserman Way, and the on-ramps and off-ramps for I-84. The large intersection will have dedicated turning lanes and will be controlled by an array of traffic signals. The two overpasses that carry the existing Exit 11 ramps over Route 34 will be removed, as will the two existing sharply-curved sections of on-ramp and off-ramp nearest to Wasserman Way.

The two Exit 11 bridges that pass above Route 34 would be removed in the nighttime to minimize traffic disruptions. To make way for the broadened four-way intersection, the Exit 11 commuter parking lot would be shifted somewhat eastward.

The intersection of Route 34 and Toddy Hill Road, which lies southeast of the planned new four-way intersection, is a traffic bottleneck. Traffic on westbound Route 34 and northbound Toddy Hill Road often backs up considerable distances during weekday morning rush periods.

The Exit 11 interchange improvements are part of a long-term state project to widen I-84 between the New York State line and Waterbury, and also to improve the many interchanges along the highway.