[JayCT]

Originally Posted by hartford_renter

What is the "greater good"???

The bottom line is that people like you will vote for spending as long as you aren't the one paying for it.

What's 4.3 Billion anyway if it goes to the greater good! As god is my witness I can't fathom what I hear on this site from posters.

This is a typical "bean counter" .mentality. Shortsighted and narrow minded. Everything is strictly based on saving a penny or two. With that type of thinking, our interstate highway system would never have been built. A lot of people have been hurt or died on that stretch of highway. A lot also live near it and are indirectly affected by pollution from the cars and trucks that sit on the highway each day. Each years thousands of gallons of gas are wasted by vehicles sitting in traffic. Plus it is ugly to look at. The money for it will come from tax dollars we all pay on our gas so why not rebuild it. This is long overdue and well worth the state figuring out how to pay for it. Jay

[HeadedWest]

Originally Posted by JayCT

This is a typical "bean counter" .mentality. Shortsighted and narrow minded. Everything is strictly based on saving a penny or two. With that type of thinking, our interstate highway system would never have been built. A lot of people have been hurt or died on that stretch of highway. A lot also live near it and are indirectly affected by pollution from the cars and trucks that sit on the highway each day. Each years thousands of gallons of gas are wasted by vehicles sitting in traffic. Plus it is ugly to look at. The money for it will come from tax dollars we all pay on our gas so why not rebuild it. This is long overdue and well worth the state figuring out how to pay for it. Jay

Maybe an interesting question: why did they do it the way it was done in the first place? Were they stupid, or was it intentional, to separate parts of the city that seemed to need separation?

Added: where did anybody ever get the idea that left side exits were a good highway design?

[htfdcolt]

Originally Posted by HeadedWest

Maybe an interesting question: why did they do it the way it was done in the first place? Were they stupid, or was it intentional, to separate parts of the city that seemed to need separation?

Added: where did anybody ever get the idea that left side exits were a good highway design?

Right on! I've lived here for 9 years, and still feel like I'm taking my life in my hands when I take Exit 43 (left) onto Trout Brook from I-84 eastbound.

[htfdcolt]

Originally Posted by JayCT

This is a typical "bean counter" .mentality. Jay

Maybe so Jay but it's not a bad mentality to have, when you're talking about taxpayer (yours & my) money. This whole I-84 project seems like a perpetuation of a bad design from decades ago, when a bypass should have been built around Hartford instead. It's prudent to not throw good money after bad, especially given the dire fiscal straits CT is in. I understand the safety concerns...I personally try and avoid that stretch of I-84 by getting on at Broad St...but we do need the best return on investment.

[HumpDay]

Originally Posted by HeadedWest

Maybe an interesting question: why did they do it the way it was done in the first place? Were they stupid, or was it intentional, to separate parts of the city that seemed to need separation?

Added: where did anybody ever get the idea that left side exits were a good highway design?

The designers in the 50's and 60's wouldn't have dreamed the amount of traffic highways get nowadays. Interestingly enough, urban planners didn't design these highways. Rumor has it that people within the auto industry did. The reason why they made so many left lane exits is because they don't have the room for a right lane exit. For the Trout Brook exit in West Hartford it's the only option. Trout Brook Dr and Overbrook Rd are within feet from the highway. Building a off ramp from the right and then build a bridge going OVER the highway to Trout Brook is going to cause more stress with builders than the quick alternative left lane exit.

[hartford_renter]

Originally Posted by JayCT

This is a typical "bean counter" .mentality. Shortsighted and narrow minded. Everything is strictly based on saving a penny or two. With that type of thinking, our interstate highway system would never have been built. A lot of people have been hurt or died on that stretch of highway. A lot also live near it and are indirectly affected by pollution from the cars and trucks that sit on the highway each day. Each years thousands of gallons of gas are wasted by vehicles sitting in traffic. Plus it is ugly to look at. The money for it will come from tax dollars we all pay on our gas so why not rebuild it. This is long overdue and well worth the state figuring out how to pay for it. Jay

Wow well Jay its great we have people like you who don't have the "bean counter" mentality. Based on your expert calculation the gas wasted sitting in traffic and the extra pollution justify a 4.5 Billion dollar project.

I can't figure out if you are serious or joking? Good god CT is doomed

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by hartford_renter

Wow well Jay its great we have people like you who don't have the "bean counter" mentality. Based on your expert calculation the gas wasted sitting in traffic and the extra pollution justify a 4.5 Billion dollar project.

I can't figure out if you are serious or joking? Good god CT is doomed

I am not joking and I did not say it was the only reason. Add to it the loss of lives, the injuries, the property damages that thousand suffer each year plus the fact that we are spending millions to keep repairing the bridge and it is kind of a no brainier to someone who thinks beyond the "beans". Heck to me the lives and injuries are worth the cost but you see I value people more than a few pennies. Jay

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by HumpDay

The designers in the 50's and 60's wouldn't have dreamed the amount of traffic highways get nowadays. Interestingly enough, urban planners didn't design these highways. Rumor has it that people within the auto industry did. The reason why they made so many left lane exits is because they don't have the room for a right lane exit. For the Trout Brook exit in West Hartford it's the only option. Trout Brook Dr and Overbrook Rd are within feet from the highway. Building a off ramp from the right and then build a bridge going OVER the highway to Trout Brook is going to cause more stress with builders than the quick alternative left lane exit.

This is correct. It was built in a completely different time when highway standards were different. A lot has been learned over the past 60 years.

The route of the highway was set to follow the path of least resistance. If you look it more or less parallels the rail tracks where it would have the last impact on neighborhoods. It goes over the tracks to allow better access for large trucks on each side which was less expensive and easier than raising rail lines for truck clearances.

As for why I-84 was built through downtown rather than around it, without good access between downtown and the suburbs, planners feared businesses would leave the city core which is what was beginning to happen in the late 50's. Connecticut General Insurance had built its stunning Bloomfield campus that was the model of the future. By building I-84 and Constitution Plaza, major companies could have modern offices and their employees could commute into the city easily from the desirable suburbs. It also made it easy for shoppers to get to the venerable G. Fox Department Store as its then owner, the powerful Beatrice Auerback demanded. It also conveniently allowed the state to use the Bulkeley Bridge as a river crossing for the new highway and avoiding Riverside park to the north. Jay

[hartford_renter]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I am not joking and I did not say it was the only reason. Add to it the loss of lives, the injuries, the property damages that thousand suffer each year plus the fact that we are spending millions to keep repairing the bridge and it is kind of a no brainier to someone who thinks beyond the "beans". Heck to me the lives and injuries are worth the cost but you see I value people more than a few pennies. Jay

and this is worth 4.5 Billion dollars?

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by hartford_renter

and this is worth 4.5 Billion dollars?

Simply, YES! Jay