Get ready for traffic jams: CT DOT has 532 active capital projects this year. See where they are.

Sean Krofssik

The Connecticut Department of Transportation is up for another busy year repairing state roads and bridges.

And that means motorists need to know: There are 532 active capital projects planned for this year to be aware of while traveling on state highways, bridges and roads.

There are currently 181 in construction, 185 in planning, 110 in final design, 40 in predesign and 16 in contract processing, according to DOT.

Among the multi-year projects are the largest in the state continuing this year: the East Lyme Interstate-95 Interchange 74 Improvements at Route 161, the I-91/I-691/Route 15 Interchange Project that spans Meriden and Middletown as well as the Norwalk Bridge Transmission Relocation Project in Norwalk.

“It’s going to be a busy construction season,” state Department of Transportation Communications Director Josh Morgan said. “We have a lot of major projects that are in the middle of the process and years two, three and four is when that really picks up.

“There’s a lot of projects happening all over Connecticut. We certainly hear the frustration from the residents in the state about getting stuck in traffic because of a lane closing. But progress is going to take some patience and there is a lot of infrastructure coming into the state in the coming months.”

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Morgan’s plea is for state drivers to be mindful of people working on roads and railways in work zones.

“There’s billions of dollars in projects out there but these aren’t only projects. These are men and women working on roadways and rail lines. We need drivers to be knowledgeable about that and drive safely through work zones so our workers can go home after their shifts,” Morgan said.

Here are the major projects:

Meriden/Middletown

Work continues on the I-91, I-691, Route 15 Interchange in Meriden. Improvements are on a segment of Interstate 91 that provides access to the Wilbur Cross Parkway, Interstate 691 and East Main Street in Meriden and Middletown, with the goal of improving safety associated with crashes caused by congestion and weaving, as well as reducing traffic congestion.

“All three highways in the project limits consist of a complex system of mainline lanes, weave sections, and ramp connections that form the I-91/I-691/Route 15 Interchange,” a CTDOT report said. “This interchange is a critical link for passengers and freight in the Northeast regional transportation network, connecting the I-84 and I-91 corridors between southern New York and Connecticut to points north in Massachusetts and beyond.”

The DOT said the project is in the first of three phases. The four parts of Phase 1 are to realign and widen the ramp from I-691 eastbound to I-91 northbound (Exit 1A old Exit 11) to two lanes to meet traffic demand; bridge replacement due to the proposed ramp realignment and widening; provide one additional lane on I-91 northbound to relieve congestion caused by a steep uphill grade, and bridge widening due to the added lane.

Phase 2 includes a new two-lane exit ramp from Route 15 northbound to I-91 northbound to reduce traffic congestion on the Exit 68 northeast ramp; closing the existing Exit 17 ramp from I-91 northbound to Route 15 northbound and re-route traffic to Exit 16 to provide a two-lane exit ramp with a right-side traffic merge onto Route 15 northbound; widening the existing Exit 68W ramp from Route 15 northbound to I-691 westbound to two lanes and reconfiguring acceleration and deceleration lanes to provide adequate traffic weaving distances.

Phase 3 includes a new two-lane exit ramp from Route 15 southbound to I-91 southbound to reduce traffic congestion on the existing Exit 67 ramp; a new two-lane I-91 southbound ramp to Route 15 SB to reduce traffic congestion on the existing Exit 17 ramp; widening the ramp from I-691 eastbound to Route 15 southbound (Exit 10) to two lanes and widening the ramp from I-91 southbound to I-691 westbound (Exit 18) to two lanes, according to DOT.

“Last I looked, that project will wrap up in 2030, we still have Phase 3 to do and then the opposite direction,” Morgan said. “There is a lot of work to do there to untangle that interchange. It isn’t meeting the travel demand. Even on good days people are getting into crashes and it’s going to take some time.”

East Lyme

Work continues on the East Lyme Interstate-95 Exit 74 Improvements at Route 161 and a bridge replacement. The project began in spring 2023 and is scheduled to be completed in spring 2027, according to DOT.

Improvements the project will make to I-95 in the work zone include improving the vertical geometry and increasing design speeds throughout; left and right 12-foot shoulders in both directions; adding a six-foot raised median, added auxiliary lanes between interchanges 74 and 75 and to extend and rebuild on-off ramps to increase acceleration and deceleration lanes, according to DOT.

The bridge will be replaced and widened with improved vertical/horizontal distances and clearances, which will allow for turning lane improvements on I-95 and additional capacity of Route 161.

The Route 161 improvements include widening the road to accommodate a roadway cross-section of four 11-foot travel lanes and 11-foot auxiliary turn lanes; five-foot shoulders; four-foot utility buffer; five-foot concrete sidewalk, as well as commuter lot relocation and improvements.

“Due to the existing conditions, this area of I-95 has a posted speed limit of only 50 MPH. The on and off ramps at Exit 74 on I-95 lack the proper acceleration and deceleration lanes that merge on and off I-95. The existing ramps also have very tight turns. Additionally, motorists driving on Route 161 southbound are required to make a near-hairpin left turn to access the I-95 northbound on-ramp. This improvement will include a dedicated right-hand turn exit lane to enter I-95 northbound,” according to DOT.

The work on I-95 is 1.33 miles and the work on Route 161 is 0.59 miles, while the work on Frontage Road is 0.25 miles long. There will be a total of six stages of construction.

East Lyme First Selectman Dan Cunningham said the project has been on schedule and crews will be dismantling the old bridge sometime next month, which may lead to some road closures and delays.

“If you’ve driven in that area lately, you can’t miss that big mountain of dirt on the side of the highway. That’s where the highway is going to be and that will be used to elevate the road up 14 feet or so,” Cunningham said. “They are working where the old northbound lane was and because of that we haven’t seen much interruption at all on 161 or the highway.”

Cunningham said as of Feb. 4 the project was at the halfway point; he said 58 percent of the funding of the original estimate had been used.

Cunningham said there has always been a bottleneck in that area of Exit 74, but the project will streamline traffic.

“The biggest thing is safety on I-95 and expanding those lanes that were originally built in the late ‘50s,” Cunningham said. “There have been a shocking number of bad accidents, fatalities in that area over the years. That part of the highway would dip and rise up again. It had to be corrected. Part of it is the radius of the exits themselves. They weren’t designed right. The exits should have an increasing radius.”

“When this project is done it’s going to be a safer passage through East Lyme,” he said.

Morgan confirmed the project is more than 50 percent done and will be finished in a year and a half to two years. He said the project includes correcting road geometry and has included rock blasting.

Norwalk

A project for the Norwalk Bridge Transmission Relocation Project is in the design stages. The Norwalk River Railroad Bridge, also known as the WALK Bridge, is the centerpiece of the project, which comprises several inter-related rail and infrastructure projects.

“The WALK Bridge is a four-track railroad bridge that serves as a critical link in the busiest rail corridor in the nation, the Northeast Corridor,” according to the project website.

The WALK Bridge is 564-feet-long and is 128 years old and the project “will enhance commuter rail safety, commuting reliability and increase operational efficiency along the New Haven Line and Northeast Corridor,” the report states.

The bridge is a four-track railroad that crosses the Norwalk River and is one of the oldest moveable bridges in the region. Pre-pandemic, an estimated 125,000 passengers and 175 trains traveled over the WALK Bridge daily.

The Department of Transportation commissioner signed an emergency declaration in 2014 on the structure. The bridge failed 16 times of 271 openings in 2013 and failed twice within a two-week period in 2014.

“That one has been going on for a couple of years and it’s not just the WALK Bridge, there are several other bridges we are working on in that area. This is a very large project. We can’t just shut down the road, so we have to do a section at a time and that makes projects stretch out over the years,” Morgan said.

Hartford

The Dutch Point Viaduct along Interstate-91 southbound in Hartford is under construction. The project is to upgrade integrity of the bridge and repair the bridge drainage system.

The viaduct carries 1-91 southbound over Connecticut Southern Railroad, the I-91 north to westbound Whitehead Highway Turning Road (state road 598 westbound), eastbound Whitehead Highway to northbound I-91 Turning Road (Turning Road 803), and the Park River Conduit, according to DOT.

“On Dutch Point, we are breaking ground and getting going on that,” Morgan said. “The project is going to have nightly closures in I-91 in the overnight hours. We try to work after the (evening) rush and before the (morning) rush.”

Multiple bridges are in the design phase on I-84, including the Bulkeley Bridge, over the Connecticut River as well as the Founders Bridge for repairs and better drainage.

Middletown

The Route 17 on-ramp to Route 9 in Middletown project is in the works to reduce crashes on the northbound exchange. The northbound crash rate is “significantly higher than adjacent freeway segments.”

The project will construct a full-length acceleration lane for Route 17 northbound to merge with Route 9 north and the road will “require a full structure replacement” and the road will be widened.

The Harbor Drive on-ramp to Route 9 will be closed and will eventually be replaced with an acceleration lane.

“The existing weave on Route 17 northbound was analyzed and it was determined that the congestion experienced on the weave was a result of the traffic signals on Route 9 and that a two-lane cross section has adequate capacity. This two-lane section allows us to maintain the existing sight distance through the curve,” the DOT report stated.

The Main Street Extension and Route 17 interchange will serve as primary access to Route 9
for the southern section of downtown Middletown, following the Harbor Drive interchange being closed.

With added traffic to that area, improvements are proposed to add dedicated lanes to the Main Street Extension and the Route 17 off-ramps to increase traffic capacity.

“The Route 17 southbound on-ramp will be realigned with the Route 17 southbound off-ramp to create a more typical intersection configuration and will be signalized,” according to DOT.

Middletown Mayor Ben Florsheim said the Route 17 project is under way and shoulders or lanes have been closed as work has been done.

“On the 17 interchange we are seeing rear-end accidents almost every day,” Florsheim said. “The Harbor Drive entrance will be closed into a full acceleration lane. Drivers floor it to get to a stop sign. Then you have to floor it go get up to speed and it has made for a dangerous situation. The road will turn to a dead-end street to the harbor.”

Florsheim said the timeline is for the project to be completed sometime this year.

Also on Route 9, a project to remove to traffic signals on Route 9 in Middletown is in the design phases with the goal to improve safety and reduce congestion. Florsheim said this project wouldn’t start until 2027.

According to the CTDOT report, the two traffic signals “directly contribute to crash rates significantly higher than adjacent segments of freeway.”

The plan calls for the removal of the traffic signals on Washington Street (Exit 15) and Hartford Avenue (Old Exit 16).

On Hartford Avenue, removal of the traffic signal is expected to free the flow for acceleration from Hartford Avenue to Route 9 northbound crossing under southbound. The acceleration lane will be constructed in the existing median or Route 9 northbound until Exit 18, according to DOT.

As far as Washington Street, a new off-ramp from Route 9 northbound is proposed to provide access to River Road, about 3,500 feet south of Washington Street. The acceleration lane to Route 9 will provide access from Washington Street prior to Exit 13. Existing access to Route 9 southbound will be direct towards previous access to Route 66, according to the DOT.

A 200-foot right turn lane is proposed on Rapallo Avenue at Main Street to alleviate traffic from building up into Washington Street intersection onto the Route 9 northbound ramp. The lane will be widened about by five feet.

“We are a little ways out but we are no longer in the early phase of planning,” Florsheim said. “The highway was once a local road and that’s why it has stop lights on it. This latest proposal is the most workable one. There are constraints with the river on one side and the railroad tracks on the other side. There’s not a lot of flexibility. There is a daily reality of accidents and congestion. The proposal is one that makes Route 9 in Middletown operate more like a local road rather than a huge structure that brings cars over.”

Florsheim said there are also plans for a pedestrian bridge over the highway that would give access from downtown to the harbor. He said there have been formal efforts to remove the lights since 2014, but it’s been discussed for much longer.

“One of our strongest assets of our city is the riverfront,” Florsheim said.

West Haven

Two bridges on Interstate-95 between Exits 43 and 44 are being replaced and widened, one is over Metro-North Railroad, the other is over First Avenue, according to DOT.

Drainage repair and improvements, guardrail and barrier upgrades, illumination and Incident Management System upgrades will be among work. There will be a new southbound lane between Exit 44 on-ramp and the Exit 43 southbound off ramp. There will also be standard shoulders in each direction between the bridge on First Avenue and the bridge over the West River, according to DOT.

New London and Groton

DOT is in Phase 1 of the Gold Star Memorial Bridge Rehabilitation. The project is on Interstate-95 northbound over the Thames River between New London and Groton.

The project will address “structural deficiencies” of the bridge and to extend its service life.

“The project involves a series of steel repairs and strengthening of truss members by adding additional steel plates to the existing structure. Existing rivets will be removed and replaced with high-strength bolts. All newly installed steel members will be galvanized,” DOT said.

Ansonia/Derby/Seymour/Shelton

The project is on Route 8 northbound, beginning in Shelton at Platt Road and extends 8.80 miles through Derby, Ansonia and Seymour.

The work includes resurfacing, bridge rehabilitation and safety improvements that include improved illumination and updated roadside safety hardware.

Workers will repair “deteriorated underlying concrete pavement on the mainline and ramps which will require milling of the existing bituminous wearing surface to expose the concrete pavement,” according to DOT.

Milling will be performed curb to curb on the highway for about 6.5 miles and ramp work will finish at the end of the on/off ramps. Drainage pipes beneath Route 8 will be rehabilitated or replaced. Also, the existing barrier will be replaced by a 45-inch-tall concrete median barrier.

East Haddam

The East Haddam Swing Bridge on Route 82 over the Connecticut River is under construction after being “identified as being structurally deficient due to the deterioration and poor condition of the steel truss members and floor beams.”

The swing span has also had operational problems, and the work will improve the swing span.

According to the DOT, the swing bridge is a four-span structure that is west-to-east in orientation. All four spans will have parts rehabilitated, repaired or replaced.

Connecticut DOT to remove stop signs, add merge lanes on Route 15 in Hamden

Austin Mirmina

HAMDEN — An outdated strip of the Wilbur Cross Parkway near the townline could get a much-needed makeover in the next few years, according to state officials.Ad

The state Department of Transportation is developing plans to improve the Wilbur Cross Parkway and Whitney Avenue interchange at exit 61, it announced in a press release.

The project, designed to reduce crashes on the parkway and improve accessibility on Whitney Avenue in Hamden, is the extension of a plan set in motion more than 15 years ago to modernize the scenic highway, also called Route 15, and prevent rear-end crashes.

As part of the project, DOT crews will remove those pesky stop signs and add auxiliary lanes to the on- and off-ramps of interchange 61, allowing traffic to safely merge onto or pull off the parkway. 

The DOT also wants to remove the Route 15 south exit 61 off-ramp. Southbound traffic will access Whitney Avenue from exit 62 instead, said Joe Cooper, a DOT spokesperson. Route 15 south's exits 61 and 62 are less than 300 feet apart.

In addition, the DOT plans to re-configure that stretch of Whitney Avenue and add bicycle lanes and sidewalks. To do this, Cooper said, officials are considering reducing that area of Whitney Avenue to one lane in each direction, with a dedicated two-way left turn lane, which would "allow for the addition of bike lanes or a widened shoulder to enhance the safety and comfort of bicyclists."

This setup, Cooper said, was being pursued as the result of an "observed reduction in annual traffic counts over the past 15 years." The roadway reconfiguration also could involve adding two traffic signals that would allow vehicles coming off Route 15 to more easily turn onto Whitney Avenue.

The DOT said in the press release that the project would reduce crashes, provide "operational improvements" to the Route 15 interchange and "improve mobility" for everyone who travels on Whitney Avenue.

From 2020-22, a total of 369 crashes and 66 injuries occurred at the on- and off-ramps of the Route 15 exit 61 interchange, Cooper said, citing crash analysis data.  

Cooper said the project is "still very early in the design phase" and that the DOT's plans "are subject to change as more analysis, review, and public feedback is submitted and reviewed." A preliminary project design will not be available until late fall, he added.

Construction is anticipated to start in spring 2028, according to the press release.

The project is estimated to cost $19.6 million, Cooper said, with federal and state funds accounting for 80% and 20% of that total, respectively. 

Anyone who has driven the parkway knows that several of its on-ramps have stop signs and no acceleration lanes, forcing stopped cars to speed up quickly to enter traffic. 

When the Wilbur Cross and Merritt parkways were built in the 1940s, the designers purposely wanted stop signs at the on-ramps, officials have said. That way, drivers would stop, observe the parkways' rural beauty and then leisurely move along.

In 2009, the South Central Regional Council of Governments commissioned a study of the Wilbur Cross that identified critical safety issues at seven interchanges and two service areas on the parkway, including exits 60, 61 and 62 in Hamden and 63 in North Haven. 

The report, completed by an engineering firm based in Albany, N.Y., classified the exit 61 interchange as a "high accident location." Nearly all of the crashes during the study period were rear-end collisions, which traffic engineers believed was the "direct result" of the stop signs and absence of acceleration lanes, the report states.

The state's Route 15 work aligns with Hamden's vision of improving the nearby intersection of Dixwell and Whitney avenues, part of a larger plan to create a more "vibrant, walkable, transit-oriented and successful downtown area," Town Engineer Stephen White said.

White said he believes the parkway project will provide an opportunity for DOT to enhance pedestrian and bike safety along Whitney Avenue, something many residents have called for. It also will make the roadway safer for motorists, he added.

"The town will very much be involved with DOT and is excited to work with them on it," White said.

Meriden seeks funding for the senior center's second phase to prevent the cost from increasing

Crystal Elescano

MERIDEN –– Although phase one of the plans for the senior center is in motion, the city is still looking for funding to start phase two once phase one is completed, said Meriden City Manager Brian Daniels.  

Recently, the committee designated 116 Cook Ave. as the site for the new senior center. However, before construction can begin, the existing structures on the property must be demolished, and necessary site preparations must be completed to prevent flooding.  

Phase one of the project involves the removal and reconstruction of the Hanover Street Bridge and Butler Street Bridge, with completion expected by spring 2027. The project is backed by $16.8 million in funding, and LaRosa Construction began working in October. 

Right now, only 75% of the design for phase two is complete and if the project doesn’t get funding for another three to four years, inflation could continue to affect the total cost of the project, Daniels said. 

Phase two's design could be finalized by spring 2026, officials said.

Phase two involves dredging Harbor Brook to become a raising retention area with four feet of elevation for the property to prevent flooding. Although, the project may not be able to control all of the flooding in the Cook Avenue area.  

Phase two of the project is estimated to cost between $10.6 million and $16.2 million. Daniels said the city has $2 to $3 million secured for this phase, leaving a funding gap of $8 to $13 million. To bridge this shortfall, the city is actively seeking grants and additional funding sources. 

“They aren’t any grants for us to apply to right now, but we're constantly looking and will apply when they come up,” he said.  

Daniels said the federal government isn’t going to provide funding for phase two. 

“The $12 million they’ve put in is based on the entire project,” Daniels said. “Any other funding has to come from the state or city.” 

If full funding is secured, Daniels said the project would be development-ready by spring 2028. The design for phase two is expected to be completed by spring 2026, with bidding taking place throughout the summer and fall of that year. Construction for phase two is projected to begin in late 2026 or early 2027 and is anticipated to be completed by spring 2028. Demolition of the building on 116 Cook Avenue is estimated to begin in 2027. 

Daniels said they can include the design work before spring 2028 as long as the city completes the project. 

For example, if there is a $50 million project and the design work costs $5 million and it turns out the city can’t complete the project, they have to pay back the $5 million due to the grant.  

“It’s only done if they have a good sense of what the project is going to cost,” Daniels said. “If it’s too much and the city council decides not to do the building then they have to pay the design costs unless the grant for dredging was approved.” 

In addition to the project on 116 Cook Avenue, the City Council also recently approved allowing the Senior Center Building Review Committee to study the feasibility of renovating the city's health department, located at 165 Miller St.  

Lea Crown, director of health and human services, said an application for a planning grant was submitted in December 2024, with the expectation of receiving approval for the funding by June 2025 to get an assessment of the building. The next step is to apply for a construction grant which has a Dec. 31 deadline and the those accepted will be notified in March 2026.  

“I am 100% supportive of the city looking at renovating 165 Miller Street as far as the needs of the community,” Crown said.

New $15.5 million recreation center in South Norwalk will restore community feeling, officials say

Kalleen Rose Ozanic

NORWALK — South Norwalk lost some of its sense of community about a decade ago when the nonprofit NEON went bankrupt and vacated 98 S. Main St., but that may be changing soon.

“When it went away, the community suffered,” District B Common Councilor Darlene Young said Friday. “You could come here and get resources, you could come here and get assistance. So, then where would you go when this place was gone?”

State Rep. Kadeem Roberts, D-Norwalk, narrowed the scope even more.

“I’ve got to be clear: the African-American community,” Roberts said Friday after a ceremonial groundbreaking for the new Norwalk Community Recreation Center.

The South Norwalk Community Center, which used to be the home of nonprofit Norwalk Economic Opportunity Now, served the Black population in the city, Roberts and Young said.

Recent U.S. Census Bureau data shows that 18% of Norwalk's residents identify solely as Black; recent data from the city shows that over a fifth of the residents of District B, comprising South Norwalk, identify as Black. The voting district has the highest proportion of Black residents in the city, according to the data.

Restoring a sense of community to South Norwalk with the $15.5 million renovation project funded by federal, state and city dollars is crucial, officials said — especially with the rapid development that bolsters South Norwalk.

“You’re gonna see market rate housing, you’re gonna see development, you’re gonna see new businesses,” U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4th District, said of South Norwalk’s growth. “I think we all cheer for that, unless it leaves behind the generations of people who grew up in that neighborhood, which happens. We call that gentrification.”

The new community center will reinvigorate the generational community in South Norwalk, officials said. It is slated to open in the early spring of 2026, according to Robert Stowers, recreation and parks director.

“It’s so gratifying to see this building now being repurposed, put together back as a recreational center or community center for all of Norwalk, but for the people who live in this area particularly,” Mayor Harry Rilling said at Friday's event. “It is located in a way that is accessible to them.”

District B Common Council member Dajuan Wiggins, who donned a blazer over a graphic T-shirt bearing Malcolm X’s face, said that when the city’s youth have opportunities to make better choices and feel a sense of community, they don’t make poor choices. 

Norwalk Police Chief James Walsh, who attended the groundbreaking, said he “sees the advantages and opportunities of keeping kids involved.”

And with renovations that will add two commercial kitchens, meeting rooms, a full-size gym, podcast and music recording space, an art room, computer lab, sensory needs accommodation space, STEM programming, and a single-floor addition at the building’s rear, according to Stowers, it will be easier to keep the youth involved in Norwalk, officials said.

The project is funded by about $2 million from the U.S. Department Housing and Urban Development; $1.2 million in state economic and community development funds; and about $12.3 million of Norwalk’s American Rescue Plan Act dollars, according to the city’s Building and Facilities Manager Alan Lo.