[mike0421]

Now that I have moved out of the northeast for good, one of my greatest wishes has seemingly come true: to never have to drive in Connecticut ever again. It's not just the Merritt: every single arterial highway in CT is abysmal. Without exception.

[Stylo]

What's with all the accidents on the Merritt lately? It seems like EVERY DAY multiple times.

[7 Wishes]

I didn't take a picture, but there was an accident just before exit 49 in Trumbull on the northbound side that backed it up all the way to exit 40 in Norwalk. This was around 4pm and I was stuck in it for 45 minutes (was going to a hotel in the New London/Norwich area for a seminar tomorrow morning.......the other big traffic spot was on I-95 from exit 43 to just past the Q Bridge, then super smooth-sailing after that.....I actually wasn't going to stay overnight but my wife convinced me I'd probably have to leave mighty early with my luck).

[elvisluvs]

Originally Posted by Stylo

What's with all the accidents on the Merritt lately?

It's the compound interest of the vacationers blowing through with our usual distracted drivers #%€? dam, I almost got in an accident typing this! The sassy is strong with this one

[7express]

Traffic on Merritt northbound between exits 35-36; traffic southbound right at exit 33. Not sure how long that goes till because I got off at 33. This was about 30 minutes ago, so may be clear by now.

[retiree2011]

I made the mistake of getting on I-91 6:30 pm yesterday. Traffic was so slow my speedometer didn't move off the "0", definitely below walking pace. Each lane was blocked by a state trooper car crawling and several orange DOT trucks but no way to tell which lane they were going to block. With traffic getting on and people trying to get into the exit lane (exit 8) to get this mess, turned out they were closing off the 2 left lanes. I got off at exit 8, even though it was nowhere near where I wanted to be and took surface streets. I could see traffic backed up as far as I could see. There was still rush hour traffic out of New Haven and it was close to 90 degrees. Can't believe they would start something like this at that time of day. No hint of what lane was going to be closed till you got to a row of orange cones closing off the lane that entering and exiting traffic all wanted to be in. Now I remember why I am happy to be retired and not on the highway very often.

[retiree2011]

Originally Posted by retiree2011

I made the mistake of getting on I-91 6:30 pm yesterday. Traffic was so slow my speedometer didn't move off the "0", definitely below walking pace. Each lane was blocked by a state trooper car crawling and several orange DOT trucks but no way to tell which lane they were going to block. With traffic getting on and people trying to get into the exit lane (exit 8) to get this mess, turned out they were closing off the 2 left lanes. I got off at exit 8, even though it was nowhere near where I wanted to be and took surface streets. I could see traffic backed up as far as I could see. There was still rush hour traffic out of New Haven and it was close to 90 degrees. Can't believe they would start something like this at that time of day. No hint of what lane was going to be closed till you got to a row of orange cones closing off the lane that entering and exiting traffic all wanted to be in. Now I remember why I am happy to be retired and not on the highway very often.

After I posted this, I see I made an error - they were closing the 2 RIGHT lanes, in between an entrance and an exit, so people were getting on and other people trying to exit and with that heavy traffic, not moving, no way to change lanes safely. Situations like this no doubt contribute to some of the accidents that happen on a daily basis.

[7express]

Sitting in the car and it's taken 25 minutes to get from exit 7 to 287 on 95 south. Why is 95 so awful both directions any time of day through Stamford??

[Cambium]

Originally Posted by 7express

Sitting in the car and it's taken 25 minutes to get from exit 7 to 287 on 95 south. Why is 95 so awful both directions any time of day through Stamford??

Bottom Line? Volume & Population. I stopped telling people to move here hoping 1 less will help. lol But then I see 20 unit condos being built right on Post Road in Darien and I just shake my head.

[DarkWolf]

Originally Posted by Cambium

Bottom Line? Volume & Population. I stopped telling people to move here hoping 1 less will help. lol But then I see 20 unit condos being built right on Post Road in Darien and I just shake my head.

Depends how you integrate it into the towns fabric. CT has a problem of not building alt Transit links to connect into the Rail network thus people drive everywhere in the dense coastal areas. You don't have the option of taking a LRT or Bus like in NJ. CT also have laxed zoning laws and other problems like Broken sidewalks and no bike lanes. The Key is to focus on developing in Urban Connecticut then do the suburbs.