[NewJeffCT]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Simply, YES! Jay

agreed, and I'm a bean counter IRL. And, I'm a CT resident, so my tax dollars will be going towards the construction as well. it's not just the maintenance saved - it's gas saved, wear & tear on cars, time saved, pollution lessened, frustration lessened due to not sitting in traffic, etc.

So, while it may take 30 or 40 years for the actual highway reconstruction to pay for itself, the other benefits of easing traffic that Jay and I mentioned above will make the payoff come a lot sooner. If north of the highway property values increase and new businesses open, it will increase tax revenues for both Hartford and the state as well.

We can't go back in time and tell the designers from the 1950s to not put a raised highway through Hartford, so we have to deal with the situation as it is.

[JayCT]

I am not sure if anyone has been following this but there is some pretty interesting things happening on Route 8/25 in Bridgeport with the replacement of the Lindley Street bridge. You can expect to see this type of construction happening more and more around the state in the future. Jay

Route 8 bridge project a quick, but not simple job - Connecticut Post

Live Feed – Route 8 Bridgeport, CT

[NewJeffCT]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I am not sure if anyone has been following this but there is some pretty interesting things happening on Route 8/25 in Bridgeport with the replacement of the Lindley Street bridge. You can expect to see this type of construction happening more and more around the state in the future. Jay

Route 8 bridge project a quick, but not simple job - Connecticut Post

Live Feed – Route 8 Bridgeport, CT

I love that these things can be done much more quickly. Better a very short complete disruption than years of construction slowdowns.

[Mr_250]

Originally Posted by NewJeffCT

I love that these things can be done much more quickly. Better a very short complete disruption than years of construction slowdowns.

Design/build is a a delivery method used in almost every other state. I bid work in Mass, Florida and New Hamphire and they are almost always D/B (large project anyway). CT is late to the party on this method. You will be seeing more and more around CT because it saves a lot of time and manpower from the state.

This is also being used on other segments of construction. I am on a project now with no road work (utility project) and it is design build.

Neat concept.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Mr_250

Design/build is a a delivery method used in almost every other state. I bid work in Mass, Florida and New Hamphire and they are almost always D/B (large project anyway). CT is late to the party on this method. You will be seeing more and more around CT because it saves a lot of time and manpower from the state.

This is also being used on other segments of construction. I am on a project now with no road work (utility project) and it is design build.

Neat concept.

It is not only Design/Build which is a project delivery method, it is Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC). The Route 8/25 project is supposed to be completed by September so traffic disruptions are limited to only a few months instead of years. CTDOT is considering doing something similar on the Aetna Viaduct project (I-84 in Hartford) by closing the road for a year to build the new highway in its place. Of course this is only a proposal and that project has a long way to go before this is even considered. Jay

[7express]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I am not sure if anyone has been following this but there is some pretty interesting things happening on Route 8/25 in Bridgeport with the replacement of the Lindley Street bridge. You can expect to see this type of construction happening more and more around the state in the future. Jay

Route 8 bridge project a quick, but not simple job - Connecticut Post

Live Feed – Route 8 Bridgeport, CT

And yet on route 8, even though it goes from 4 lanes to 2 lanes in each direction there is hardly a backup through this stretch! Imagine how much of a backup there would be on 84, 95 or 91 if 2 lanes got shut down??

[htfdcolt]

New Plan Would Rid Route 9 Of Middletown's Highway Stoplights - Courant Community

The first smart, cost-effective idea I've seen come out of CT DOT in my 9 years here!

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by htfdcolt

New Plan Would Rid Route 9 Of Middletown's Highway Stoplights - Courant Community

The first smart, cost-effective idea I've seen come out of CT DOT in my 9 years here!

The plan is interesting but I wonder if Middletown would accept it since it involves raising Route 9 Southbound and constructing two bridges. There have been multiple proposals over the last 30 or so years and most were shot down by local opposition. Middletown does not want anything that further obstructs it from the river. Raising the highway would do that. I believe something similar was proposed in the past and got shot down but maybe the state is ready to fight for it and the town more open to fixing the problem. Will see. I do think that the missing piece of this is the Route 17 interchange. That has one of the highest accident rates in the state and needs to be fixed also. The article mentions CTDOT working on a plan but does not say what it is. Would need to see that one too. Jay

[htfdcolt]

Originally Posted by JayCT

The plan is interesting but I wonder if Middletown would accept it since it involves raising Route 9 Southbound and constructing two bridges. There have been multiple proposals over the last 30 or so years and most were shot down by local opposition. Middletown does not want anything that further obstructs it from the river. Raising the highway would do that. I believe something similar was proposed in the past and got shot down but maybe the state is ready to fight for it and the town more open to fixing the problem. Will see. I do think that the missing piece of this is the Route 17 interchange. That has one of the highest accident rates in the state and needs to be fixed also. The article mentions CTDOT working on a plan but does not say what it is. Would need to see that one too. Jay

Yes, but roundabouts are the wave of the future. I urge interested readers to look at the recent US 31 reconstruction (in my hometown Indianapolis north suburbs) for how this kind of upgrade can be done in record time. Eliminating stoplights and increasing safety. I visited there last month and was amazed at how good it looked and how fast it was done. Really a model for CT DOT to follow.

The New US 31 Hamilton County

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by htfdcolt

Yes, but roundabouts are the wave of the future. I urge interested readers to look at the recent US 31 reconstruction (in my hometown Indianapolis north suburbs) for how this kind of upgrade can be done in record time. Eliminating stoplights and increasing safety. I visited there last month and was amazed at how good it looked and how fast it was done. Really a model for CT DOT to follow.

The New US 31 Hamilton County

If you look, the roundabout is not on Route 9, it is at the bottom of the ramps on Dekoven Drive. Connecticut has been adding roundabouts as well. CTDOT had been cautious to start building them but now does consider them in all projects if appropriate. The biggest problem we have though is lack of sufficient right-of-way to construct them. They take a lot of land and the northeast just does not have the room for them. Jay