Residents Get Look At Road Work Plan

Town Has $1.6 Million In State Funds For Milling, Paving Project On Mountain Road

WEST HARTFORD — Residents living in the area of Mountain Road and Albany Avenue critiqued a proposed $1.6 million milling and paving project for the area during a meeting at town hall last week.

The project is tentatively slated for summer 2020, and would include widening the north and southbound lanes of Mountain Road, extending an existing culvert and fortifying a retaining wall. About 1,500 feet of road will be improved by the project’s end, according to West Hartford Civil Engineer Greg Sommer, about 600 feet on either side of Moun- tain Road.

Residents said they were concerned about bottlenecking of traffic turning left onto Flag Road and Lovelace Drive.

Gail Fine, a real estate agent in West Hartford, Avon and Farmington who has lived on Mountain Road for over 50 years, spoke critically of the project. She said with continued development in the Farmington Valley, the area needs another major thoroughfare for people to connect to Hartford.

“This is a Band-Aid where major surgery is needed,” Fine said. “It’s not solving the problem.”

One resident asked how the project would impact traffic at Farmington Avenue and Fern Street and if those traffic lights could be adjusted to address potential backups there. Sommer said that would be something the town could address since those are town-managed roads.

Another resident asked if the town has considered including sound-proof walls to block the noise from the roadway. Sommer said he could ask about installing sound-proof walls but that it is unlikely that could receive funding, as some portions of major highways don’t have sound-proof barriers for residents, like parts of I-84.

Other residents said they were thankful the town was taking on the project and that after minor tweaks it would be an improvement to the area.

Sommer said Mountain Road averages 11,530 vehicles per day, and Albany Avenue in that area averages 21,620 vehicles a day. There have been about 12 vehicle crashes a year at that intersection, Sommer said.

Sommer said the town has tried to use state funding for the project four times and successfully secured $1.6 million for the project this year.

Currently there are two lanes running northbound and southbound at the Mountain Road and Albany Avenue intersection. After construction is completed, each side of Mountain Road would be three lanes at the intersection — with dedicated left turn lanes, through and right turn lanes and a dedicated right-turn lane, Sommer said.

The eastbound lane of Albany Avenue would maintain the “No Turn On Red” sign, but traffic could turn right at red lights at the other intersection points, Sommer said. Sommer said a portion of sidewalk from Lovelace Drive to Albany Avenue would be removed to accommodate a bike lane.

Sommer said final design of the project is expected next fall, the project is expected to go out to bid over the winter before construction tentatively begins in summer 2020.

Sommer said the road will be open during construction.