The Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced that a Pavement Preservation Project involving milling and resurfacing will be performed on I-84 in Danbury, Bethel, Brookfield, and Newtown.

State Representative Mitch Bolinsky (R-106), whose district covers most of Newtown and all of Sandy Hook, was not happy to hear about the additional construction.

“I will be contacting the state Department of Transportation and asking for more information about this ‘new paving project,’” he stated in an email blast Friday morning to his constituents. “Their current roadwork has turned Newtown into a traffic nightmare for local residents and town businesses with daily miles-long backups and choking surface road bypasses.”

The project consists of milling and resurfacing a 3.24-mile segment from Exit 8 to 9, including the Exit 8 off and on-ramps. The milling portion of the project is scheduled to occur Monday August 16, through Sunday, September 12.

The resurfacing portion of this project is then scheduled to occur Sunday, September 12, through Friday, October 8.

Motorists can expect lane and ramp closures on I-84 East and West between Exits 8 and 9 and also for the Exit 8 eastbound and westbound on/off-ramps. Traffic control personnel and signing patterns will be utilized to guide motorists through the work zone.

The night work schedule for this project is 7 pm to 5 am Sunday through Thursday, according to the CT DOT announcement. The notice states that no work will performed on the day before or the day after the Labor Day Holiday.

Motorists should be aware that modifications or extensions to this schedule may become necessary due to weather delays or other unforeseen conditions. Motorists are advised to remain alert, drive cautiously, and to maintain a safe speed when driving in this vicinity.

Bolinsky on Friday said the advisory issued by the DOT means additional milling and paving added to similar work already being done on I-84 in Newtown “will add alternating delays and local congestion, on top of the convoluted traffic flow that this same construction vendor, Waters Paving, has been tearing up, time after time again along the same Exit 9 to 10 areas."

Bolinsky highlighted projects in town that already slow traffic on Mt Pleasant Road and Main Street; Hawleyville Road, Mt Pleasant Road and Church Hill Road; and Wasserman Way, South Main Street and Queen Street.

The lawmaker is promising to update constituents with additional information. He also invited residents to contact him with any questions about this issue or concerns on any other topics relating to state government.

Bolinsky can be reached at Mitch.Bolinsky@housegop.ct.gov or 800-842-1423.