[nhctguy]

Full List: America's Worst Intersections - Forbes.com

I hope the link works. New Haven shows up twice on the 100 worst traffic intersections for both sides of the I95/I91 merge. Only NYC, LA, Chicago, and San Francisco had more congested bottlenecks. sheesh. I knew it wasn't just me.

[JayCT]

The two listings in Connecticut are both in the vicinity of I-95/I-91/Route 34 interchange in New Haven. As noted the I-95/I-91 interchange is the worst in the state at #22 and Exit 2 (Hamiliton Avenue) on I-91 is #51. The I-95/I-91/Route 34 interchange is being reconstructed as part of the Q Bridge project so congestion at this interchange will be relieved in a few years. The problems at Exit 2 are also related to that same congestion and should also be releived in a few years. Looking at listings for the state in general though I do not see a lot of other CT highways in the top 1000. This makes me wonder though since I-95 from Stamford to Bridgeport has some of the worst congestion in the state and are listed that high. Jay

[pulpfiction]

How is the I-95/Route 7 interchange in Norwalk not on that list?! It's virtually guaranteed to be backed up from 1pm-7pm every weekday. The 8/25 interchange in Bridgeport is nearly as bad. How I deal with all that traffic for so long is beyond me...I-84 east of the river is such a pleasure in comparison.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by pulpfiction

How is the I-95/Route 7 interchange in Norwalk not on that list?! It's virtually guaranteed to be backed up from 1pm-7pm every weekday. The 8/25 interchange in Bridgeport is nearly as bad. How I deal with all that traffic for so long is beyond me...I-84 east of the river is such a pleasure in comparison.

How is the 8/25 interchange bad? There are five lanes going in each direction and I've never experienced traffic on that part of RT 8. The worst RT 8 traffic is in Shelton and north through Seymour.

[jdhall1]

What about I-84 eastbound in Danbury where route 7 joins just past the mall & where the offramp & onramp for exit 4 is.

[pulpfiction]

Sorry--I meant the interchange for Routes 8/25 on I-95 (exit 27A?)

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

How is the 8/25 interchange bad? There are five lanes going in each direction and I've never experienced traffic on that part of RT 8. The worst RT 8 traffic is in Shelton and north through Seymour.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by pulpfiction

Sorry--I meant the interchange for Routes 8/25 on I-95 (exit 27A?)

Oh ok - apologies. That is a busy stretch of road, and something should be done about that onramp to RT 8 N. That bend is pretty bad.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Oh ok - apologies. That is a busy stretch of road, and something should be done about that onramp to RT 8 N. That bend is pretty bad.

The state just rebuilt it a couple of years ago. They had a major battle because there was opposition to making it a two lane ramp like it should be. this would have required a different type of interchange with a flyover type ramp which would have been much higher than the current ramp. Widening the existing ramp and making that turn is not possible because it butts up to the Metro-North train tracks to the south. As bad as it is, it is better than it was before, just not as good as it could be. Jay

[pulpfiction]

Something should be done about ALL of 95 from Greenwich to Rhode Island, actually. It's really quite pathetic that the busiest freeway corridor on the east coast is so narrow and OLD. 25+ mile backups (Greenwich to Bridgeport) are the norm during rush hours--and the two lane stretch east of New Haven is a complete nightmare during beach/holiday season.

Here in the Hartford area, we get significantly less traffic--but our freeways have HOV lanes, and are much more modern and wide. The HOV's on I-91 are helpful, as the Hartford-Windsor stretch does have some rush hour delays (nothing like fairfield county, however). The HOV's on I-84 almost seem unnecessary--traffic east of the river is rarely ever an issue along 84. Given the steps the DOT took to minimize issues along 84/91, you'd think they'd be able to do something with 95. But, no--it's a complete disaster area, and one of the reasons I find Fairfield County to be unlivable.

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Oh ok - apologies. That is a busy stretch of road, and something should be done about that onramp to RT 8 N. That bend is pretty bad.

[JayCT]

I-95 does not have the right-of-way (or land) that I-84 and I-91 have so there is little or no room to widen it. The towns along the corridor are very vocal about further widening of the right-of-way for the highway and are resistant to change. Plus the cost to rebuild would be through the roof. The Q-Bridge project is now estimated to be about $2 Billion when it is complete. Where will the money come from. People are opposed to tolls. Also the current administration is now touting mass-transit as the answer so it is unlikely you will see a significant change anywhere on I-95. At best there may be spot improvements. Jay