Date: Fri 03-Jul-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

DOT-Route-25-widening

Full Text:

DOT Recommends Route 25 Widening Project

(with cuta

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

The state Department of Transportation (DOT) is recommending that Route 25 be

widened between Mile Hill Road in Newtown and Route 111 in Trumbull to improve

traffic flow on the heavily-traveled thoroughfare.

The widening recommendation is part of a draft environmental assessment of

proposed Route 25 road improvements prepared by DOT with the Federal Highway

Administration (FHWA).

The DOT plans to conduct public hearings in late September on its proposal to

widen Route 25, said Keith Hall, DOT's manager on the Route 25 project.

Mr Hall said no construction starting date has been set for the proposed

widening of the state road.

After public hearings on the proposal are conducted this fall, DOT planners

will be able to better gauge a schedule for such a project, he said.

The widening work proposed by DOT would cost approximately $82.5 million in

construction costs in current dollar value, Mr Hall said. Acquiring

rights-of-way for road widening would add to that price.

A more extensive road widening project which was considered but turned down by

the DOT would have cost $144.3 million.

Route 25 is a primary link between Interstate-95 to the south and

Interstate-84 to the north in southwestern Connecticut. Improvements are

needed to Route 25 due to current inadequate road geometry, inconsistent

speeds, inadequate access control, expected growth in the corridor leading to

higher traffic volumes, and safety problems, according to DOT.

The proposal to widen the road or build a new version of it has been discussed

for decades.

In reviewing what should be done to improve traffic flow on Route 25, DOT

considered: doing nothing; fully widening the two-lane Route 25 into a

four-lane road with the construction of 15-foot-wide median strip, plus wide

outside road shoulders; or doing a limited widening of the road, which is

DOT's preferred alternative.

Under the preferred alternative Route 25 would be widened on its existing

alignment to two through-lanes in each direction between Route 11 in Trumbull

and Mile Hill Road in Newtown. The road would have four 12-foot-wide travel

lanes and two two-foot wide outside road shoulders. The road's right-of-way

would be 75 feet wide. Auxiliary turning lanes would be added at major

intersections as judged feasible to do so.

The DOT states that, at a minimum, exclusive left-turn lanes would be added on

the Route 25 approaches to four existing intersections with traffic signals.

These are: Route 111 in Trumbull; Purdy Hill Road/Judd Road in Monroe; Route

59 in Monroe; and Bradford Drive in Monroe. "The intersection of Route 25 and

Mile Hill Road in Newtown... will also require additional turning lanes beyond

those provided as part of the widening of mainline Route 25 itself," according

to the DOT.

The DOT opts to terminate a widened Route 25 at Mile Hill Road because Mile

Hill Road is being rebuilt as the Fairfield Hills bypass road and will provide

good access to Interstate-84 via Exit 11.

In the 1980s, before such a bypass road was planned, DOT had been planning a

widening of Route 25 that would have terminated at the Main Street flagpole,

which was then the most direct means of getting to I-84 via Exit 10.

To reduce the effect on structures and resources adjacent to the widened road,

the DOT proposes using minimum design standards in the road widening. With

such planning used, the improved road would eliminate or reduce the severity

of conflicts between the users of Route 25 and its intersecting roads,

according to the DOT.

If a "limited" road widening occurs, the DOT estimates the total number of

structures in Newtown which might be acquired by the state are four

residential properties, and three commercial/industrial properties.

"The estimate does not include properties that could be affected by severe

parking or lot area impacts. Efforts will continue to be made to further

minimize potential impacts related to the limited widening alternative during

preliminary design through further shifts in alignment," according to the DOT

report.

"This is all in the planning stages. When it's in design (stages), we will do

all we can" to limit the state's acquisition of properties for road widening,

Mr Hall explained.

The DOT states the limited widening alternative would have substantially less

impact on properties adjacent to Route 25 than would the full widening

alternative.

Copies are of the extensive DOT report on the project are available for local

review at the town clerk's office at Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street; the

Booth Library, reference department, 25 Main Street; and the Housatonic Valley

Council of Elected Officials, Old Town Hall, Route 25, Brookfield Center.