A five-year construction project to replace the Amtrak Bridge and widen Route 1 begins Thursday with two major issues unresolved: a potentially serious noise problem in what has now been disclosed as a night-time project and a decision by the state Department of Transportation (DOT) to avoid creating local detours. Instead DOT plans to detour traffic via I‑95.
The long delayed project — the town has waited at least 15 years — is expected to take five years, Governor M. Jodi Rell announced yesterday. The project, designed to ease a severe bottleneck, has been made possible by an infusion of $70.5 million in federal stimulus funds. U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro announced a $75 million federal grant last February, saying this type of project was precisely what Congress had in mind as part of the economic recovery.
First Selectman Unk DaRos said he has asked the DOT and the project contractors not to use hydraulic rams, (high speed hammers) to pulverize ledge rock near the railroad tracks. DaRos said the only time Amtrak can close down its railroad track is roughly from 11 p.m. to before 6 a.m. when trains from Amtrak and Shore Line East do not use the track.
He said he hopes they find something other than high-speed jackhammers for the night-time project. Even dynamite would be better, he said. “They have to go a quarter-mile in each direction to raise the tracks. They have some serious work up there,” DaRos said.
Jackhammering at midnight or in the early morning hours, DaRos said, will disrupt everyone’s sleep. ““We made it clear we are very concerned about the noise,” he said. Unless other methods are used, he said “it will be unbearable down there.”
He said “this (the noise issue) has been brought to their attention as a major concern of our office. The contractors do seem concerned and are exploring other ways to get the job done. I give them credit for that and I am hoping they will use other methods.”
Judd B. Everhart, spokeman for the DoT, said the state chose the nighttime hours because “they will be least disruptive to the general public, commuters and local businesses. We are aware of the concerns about noise overnight, but that has to be balanced with the foremost desire of getting this project completed.
“We are always open to discussing work-schedule changes once a project begins and would listen to any issues raised. That said, the bottom line is, we are committed to
widening Route 1 in the vicinity of this notorious bottleneck and ultimately giving commuters and everyone else a better ride.’
So far on the state level there has been no public input concerning the noise and detour issues. DaRos said he plans to hold a series of public meetings in the next few weeks on the impact of the project, especially for those living and working in and around Branford Hill. Everhart told the Eagle that while he was not aware of any hearings right now “I am sure we would hold one or more if asked by local leaders and citizens.”
Actual construction of the bridge won’t happen right away, DaRos said. First will be utility relocation, he said, including moving phone, electric, gas and water lines. DaRos has pressed for this project for years,
In meetings with DOT and construction officials, DaRos said, the two top priorities for the town centered on noise control and using local east-west streets to detour traffic for residents and customers going to businesses all along Branford Hill and the Wal-Mart area.
There will be day-time work but work that effects traffic will be done between 10 p.m.and 6 a.m.weekdays and 9 p.m. and 9 a.m. weekends.
The area immediately surrounding the Amtrak Bridge is largely commercial. But a long city block away, up route 142 or Short Beach Road, a large residential neighborhood filled with one-family houses, is in full view. The first street opposite to Kohl’s Department Store is Plant Rd. There are eight houses on this street and many more in the blocks behind Kohl’s. They are all in earshot of the Amtrak bridge.In a press release, Gov. Rell said the project is a joint venture between Empire Paving Company of North Haven and J.F. White of Framingham, Mass. It is estimated that as many as 60 workers will be on the job during peak periods, the release said. JF White Project Manager Bob Murphy said in the release that “JF White has been doing construction and management work in Connecticut for more than a decade.”
About 38,000 cars go through the area daily, DaRos said. The Amtrak intersection, known as the pretzel, consists of West Main Street, Route 142 or Shore Drive, the Exit 53 connector from I‑95 and a national railroad. At this juncture, Main Street also veers off and Route 1 begins.
DaRos said in an interview he worries that the detour the state has accepted, I‑95, does not have a northbound entrance at the connector. To go north one would have to drive to East Haven, about five miles away. DaRos wants the DOT to make Maple Street, one of the few East-West streets in the area, an official detour road. But Maple Street is a town street not a state road.
Everhart said “there are a number of shortcuts around the project, which anyone who lives there will know — or quickly figure out — once the work begins. We cannot divert traffic onto local roads legally without an agreement with the town, and we do not presently have an agreement with the town.” DaRos says he will be seeking just such an agreement.
DaRos said the project is likely to test the patience of residents and businesses alike, especially those located in and around Kohl’s Department store at the corner of Route 1 and Route 142.
“As a community we need to support those businesses,” he said. “We need to use our secondary roads to get to these businesses. We know the traffic layouts but visitors and other customers do not.“This is why I want to go into an agreement with the state to keep every available road we have open. There are three east-west roads in Branford. The first is I 95, the second is Route 1 and the third is Maple St. Maple St.is a town road and the state does not want to assume responsibility for it,” he said.
His argument to the state transportation commissioner will be that Maple is the connector for Route 146 and 142, both state roads. He said the state needs to help out on refinishing these roads.
Plans for commercial development in the area along Commercial Parkway and the I‑95 connector have been on hold until the bridge is widened. ###
Whether the state/ town likes it or not, people are going to use Maple Street as a detour. I can see people going down West End Ave and Bradley Street to get to the Center.