Interstate-84 Improvement Plan Available For Public Review

By Andrew Gorosko

The state Department of Transportation’s (DOT) final report on its planned $268 million Interstate-84 improvement project between the Housatonic River and the New York State line is available for public review at Booth Library on Main Street.

The voluminous report, which is contained in two large books, describes the traffic improvement analysis which was prepared for the DOT by a private consulting firm. The report is available at the reference department of the library on the third floor.

DOT officials have stressed that the I-84 improvement project is still in the planning stages and the various road changes they recommend are years away.

Short-term improvements are planned between 2000 and 2005. Medium-term work is projected for the period between 2005 and 2010. Long-term improvements are projected for 2010 and beyond. Widening I-84 is listed as a long-term improvement.

The most pressing I-84 issue in Newtown is the need for a third travel lane in each direction on the highway, according to DOT.

Jonathan Chew, the executive director of the Housatonic Valley Council of Elected Officials (HVCEO), said Tuesday he expects that making I-84 improvements in Danbury will take the first priority among the many improvements proposed for the 18.8-mile long stretch of highway. HVCEO is the regional planning agency. It serves as an intermediary between towns and the state on transportation issues.  

Mr Chew said he expects that Newtown may be one of the last places in the region to have its three I-84 interchanges modernized. Newtown, though, is higher on the priority list for highway widening than for interchange improvement, Mr Chew said.

Mr Chew said a plan to create a new entryway to the Exit 11 interchange in Sandy Hook by extending an on-ramp from Toddy Hill Road to the interchange would be an effective way to reduce the number of left turns which are made on state and local roads in the vicinity of Exit 11, thus reducing traffic congestion in that general area.

State planners will examine highway I-84 reconstruction issues which have been raised by a Church Hill Road woman when studying how to construct a reconfigured Exit 10, Mr Chew said.

Faith Gulick has contacted DOT officials to express her concerns about how rebuilding Exit 10 could adversely affect her property at 68 Church Hill Road by bringing the westbound exit ramp closer to her home.

When highway planning work proceeds to the next level, the DOT will review the historic aspects of Ms Gulick’s 1712 farmhouse in considering how to reconfigure the Exit 10 interchange, said Francis Zapatka, a DOT supervising traffic planner.

The $268 million price tag on the construction project does not include design work, environmental studies, and rights-of-way acquisition, Mr Zapatka said.

Short-term highway improvements are planned to be made within the next five years, he said. He said, however, it is unclear when within that five-year period those improvements will be made.

The timing of I-84 improvement work is not clear because the DOT must address a wide range of planned transportation improvements throughout the state, of which the I-84 project is one element, he said.

Exit 9

The DOT plans various short-term improvements to the Exit 9 interchange in Hawleyville. These include extending the acceleration and deceleration lanes for the eastbound and westbound on-ramps and off-ramps; installing a new traffic signal where Hawleyville Road intersects with the I-84 eastbound on-ramp and off-ramp; and adding a “left turn” lane on eastbound Mt Pleasant Road for left turns onto northbound Hawleyville Road.

Long-term improvements for the Exit 9 interchange include a widened Hawleyville Road north and south of the interchange; a widened I-84 eastbound off-ramp and on-ramp; a redesigned and relocated I-84 westbound off-ramp; a redesigned and relocated I-84 westbound on-ramp; and an improved section of Barnabas Road near Hawleyville Road, among others. The proposed new westbound ramps would have much gentler curves than the current ramps.

Exit 10

Planned short-term improvements at Exit 10 include revised traffic signal timings at the intersection of Church Hill Road and the westbound on-ramp and off-ramp; an extended acceleration lane on the I-84 westbound on-ramp; and new low-clearance warnings for the Housatonic Railroad’s Church Hill Road overpass.

Planned long-term improvements for the interchange include building a new gently curved I-84 westbound off-ramp on the south side of Church Hill Road to replace the existing sharply hooked westbound off-ramp on the north side of Church Hill Road; constructing a new gently curved I-84 eastbound off-ramp on the north side of Church Hill Road to replace the existing sharply hooked eastbound off-ramp on the south side of Church Hill Road; improving Church Hill Road between its intersections with Walnut Tree Hill Road and Commerce Road; and improving a section of Commerce Road near Church Hill Road.

Exit 11

 The DOT plans a more elaborate set of changes for Exit 11 in Sandy Hook, involving short-, medium-, and long-term improvements there.

Planned short term improvements include revising the traffic signal timings at the intersection of Wasserman Way with the Exit 11 on-ramp and off-ramp; installing rumble strips and/or variable speed warning signs on the eastbound and westbound Exit 11 off-ramps; and adding a left-turn lane at the intersection of Wasserman Way and Route 34 to facilitate left turns from Wasserman Way onto westbound Route 34.

Medium-term improvements include improving and widening the intersection of Route 34 and Toddy Hill Road; and creating a new on-ramp that would extend directly from that intersection to I-84 eastbound and westbound on-ramps, thus eliminating much traffic flow on Wasserman Way and Route 34.

Long-term improvements at Exit 11 include building a simplified set of on-ramps and off-ramps for eastbound and westbound I-84 which would eliminate some of the sweeping curved ramps in the interchange. The proposed set of ramps would meet Route 34 and Wasserman Way in a redesigned four-way intersection where Wasserman Way now meets Route 34.

The Exit 11 interchange was built almost 30 years ago as a link between I-84 and a then-planned Route 25 expressway. That Route 25 expressway was never built. Traffic planners propose simplifying the sweeping Exit 11 interchange to reduce traffic congestion on nearby roads.