Date: Fri 27-Nov-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

traffic-HVCEO-Chew-I-84

Full Text:

Planners Seek Traffic Relief On I-84

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

Regional planners want sections of Interstate 84 widened between the New York

State border and the Housatonic River to improve I-84 traffic flow and to

reduce the traffic burden on local roads when I-84 becomes congested.

But considering the complexity of making traffic studies, obtaining funding,

producing design plans, and doing construction work, it may be at least a

decade before sections of I-84 in Newtown are widened.

"Heavy traffic is bad for Newtown," said Jonathan Chew, executive director of

the Housatonic Valley Council of Elected Officials (HVCEO).

When traffic snarls on I-84, motorists get off the interstate and seek a

detour to their destinations via Route 6, congesting the center of town as

traffic crawls past the historic Main Street flagpole, he said.

"Newtown is a mess...Bethel has the same problem," he said.

Widening I-84 would improve its traffic flow and alleviate congestion on local

roads that result from back-ups on the interstate, according to Mr Chew.

But expanding a major artery like I-84 isn't possible until such a project is

thoroughly studied, Mr Chew explained.

Early next year, the state Department of Transportation (DOT) plans to start

an 18-month study of traffic flow on I-84 between the Housatonic River and the

New York State border, a preliminary step to any widening of the highway, he

said. HVCEO has lobbied hard to have the $1 million traffic study performed,

he said.

The study, known as the Interstate 84 Corridor Analysis, will address what

improvements need to be made to the highway's 11 interchanges between the

Housatonic River and New York State. The study will include subjects such as

air quality, noise levels, stormwater runoff, traffic volume, mapping and

bottlenecks.

HVCEO's recommendation to widen I-84 is included in its 1998-2018 Regional

Transportation Plan.

"One of the beauties of I-84 is that when it was originally designed...it was

designed to be widened in the median, without ripping all the bridges down,"

Mr Chew said.

I-84 was increased to six lanes in Danbury in 1988 by widening it in the

median, meaning that road embankments didn't have to be extended outward.

Widening interstate highways in the median is less politically controversial

that widening the overall width of the road, Mr Chew said.

Widening work on I-84 in Newtown might progress eastward in construction

phases from the Brookfield town line toward the Housatonic River, according to

the regional planner.

If transportation studies and construction planning proceed well, sections of

I-84 in Newtown might be widened in 10 years, Mr Chew said.

In the Newtown section of its 1998-2018 Regional Transportation Plan, HVCEO

calls for initially widening I-84 from four to six lanes between the

Brookfield town line and Exit 10, and later widening I-84 from four to six

lanes from Exit 11 to the Housatonic River. I-84 between Exits 10 and 11

already is six lanes wide.

Other Recommendations

Also, HCVEO calls for expanding the traffic capacity of the intersection of

Hawleyville Road and Mt Pleasant Road in conjunction with the anticipated

commercial/industrial development of Hawleyville. The planning agency also

recommends increasing the traffic capacity of the intersection of I-84 and

Hawleyville Road at Exit 9.

In its transportation plan which was approved last February, HVCEO had

endorsed DOT's proposal to widen South Main Street from two to four lanes from

Mile Hill Road southward to the Monroe town line.

But First Selectman Herbert Rosenthal's recent opposition to such a general

widening of South Main Street means HVCEO will be withdrawing its support of a

four-lane-wide South Main Street, Mr Chew said.

In a recent letter to DOT, Mr Rosenthal wrote that a four-lane-wide South Main

Street would hurt the town's residential character and negatively affect

residential and commercial properties along the road, terming a four-lane road

"overkill."

Mr Rosenthal instead supports "spot improvements" to specific sections of

roadway to correct certain safety hazards and intersection capacity problems.

In its regional transportation plan, HVCEO also recommends studying installing

traffic signals at the Main Street flagpole, a potential installation which

the regional planning agency acknowledges may not be locally popular due to

aesthetic concerns.

For Route 34, HVCEO recommends making minor improvements at Route 34's

intersection with Toddy Hill Road and also improving stopping sight distances

on Route 34 there.

The agency also calls for properly controlling development near the

intersection of Route 34 and Mile Hill Road to limit traffic congestion

problems there.

The HVCEO's transportation plan is a collective statement of the chief elected

officials of its ten member towns about what work is needed to maximize

mobility within the region. The plan is intended to establish transportation

priorities and attract federal funding for road improvement projects.