The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
OFFICIALS SEEK INPUT ON ‘PROBLEMATIC INTERSECTION’
Project to reengineer traffic lights on Route 9, remove a yield sign at Route 17 awaits traffic study
MIDDLETOWN — The state project to reengineer two traffic lights on Route 9, as well as the removal of a yield sign at Route 17 that acts as an on-ramp, is awaiting a traffic study that will help shape future work.
Decadeslong safety concerns as well as frequent motor vehicle crashes along the city’s portion of the highway have driven this project for some time.
State Department of Transportation Chief Communications Officer Kafi Rouse said public comments at previous meetings will drive the next iteration of the proposal.
“A traffic simulation of each alternative is being performed,” she said. “This included initially performing an origin/destination study to determine current traffic patterns. This is used to ensure there is a better understanding of traffic patterns as the traffic analysis is performed and completed.
“Once all analysis is completed and alternatives reviewed, depending on the results, next steps will be considered at that time,” she continued.
She said a public meeting will then be considered “to move any project alternative forward,” she said.
The DOT is seeking various opportunities for public outreach in Middletown with the goal of making representatives available to answer questions and present the design, Rouse added.
The project calls for work on exits 13 (Route 17
South), 15 (to Route 66 West) and 16 (Route 17 north to Route 66).
Exit 13 has a yield sign rather than an on-ramp, which has led to numerous accidents, officials said. Mayor Ben Florsheim said it is “an incredibly problematic intersection.”
In fact, he drove past a rearend crash there on his way to work Friday morning, as he has “on many days,” Florsheim said.
He and his staff meet with DOT officials on a monthly basis, most recently to coordinate construction, now complete downtown, and work that continues on the Arrigoni Bridge.
Stakeholders have also been discussing upcoming Route 9 work “and how it dovetails with the riverfront (master plan),” the mayor said.
“One of the things that has kept it in a holding pattern is, they’re doing a traffic study of cars getting on and off of Route 9 in Middletown and coming through Middletown — where are they coming from, what is their destination and what do they take to get there,” he said.
This examination is key to the project, Florsheim said.
“One of the problems with the last couple of plans the DOT brought forth is they didn’t reflect the actual usage of people coming on and off of Route 9 through downtown and the traffic impact on downtown Middletown in the plan they proposed.”
“They’re taking a real objective look at that impact,” the mayor said.
There have been some delays attributable to the pandemic, the mayor said. “It’s a hard thing to do virtually, and a hard thing to do outdoors, because you need those materials to present. It seems to me they are really taking this time to really take a deep look at the traffic patterns, the engineering — what didn’t work about the previous plan. Using that process to rule out things that are not going to work,” Florsheim said.
The off-ramp that earlier DOT plans had proposed for Rapallo Avenue was met with public criticism, especially among residents of the densely populated historic North End.
“The analysis [the DOT has] done has caused them to rule out some of old proposals,” Florsheim said, after the community widely “panned” the idea.
What the next iteration will look like has yet to be determined, Florsheim said. “I feel good about the communication we’ve been able to establish with them.”
Timing will also work to the city’s advantage, he added. “We’re going to be able to plan Route 9 in coordination with the planning of the riverfront and making sure those things are complementary to one another.”