The final phase of the Park Road/Trout Brook Drive/I-84 Exit 43 construction project is scheduled to begin Sept. 11.

By Ronni Newton

Almost exactly two years after the project began, the final phase of construction work on the Exit 43 ramps from I-84, Park Road, and the intersection with Trout Brook Drive should be completed by the morning of Sept. 17.

Assistant Town Engineer Greg Sommer said that some minor milling work is being done on Raymond Road on Tuesday, but the contractor is scheduled to begin the full-scale milling of portions of Park Road and Trout Brook Drive on Wednesday, Sept. 11.

Milling, which is expected to take two nights, will be done overnight, between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., to minimize the impact on traffic.

Paving, which will also take two nights, is scheduled to begin on Sunday, Sept. 15. Like the milling, paving will be done overnight, from the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., to minimize the impact on traffic.

Both milling and paving are weather-dependent.

Sommer said that while the work is taking place, impacted portions of the following roadways will be closed to traffic, other than residents of those roads: Overbrook Road, Park Road, Raymond Road, Thomson Road, and Trout Brook Drive.

In addition, the Exit 43 on-ramp to I-84 will also be closed intermittently, town officials said. The Exit 43 off-ramp will remain open with traffic directed around the work zone.

“Try to avoid the project area. It will be a little bit messy,” Sommer said. Motorists are encouraged to seek alternate routes as Phase 7, the final phase of this project, is completed.

Once the paving has been done, “it will be a nice, smooth, consistent surface,” Sommer said.

Following the paving, contractors will remain on sight as they complete pavement markings and the installation of guard rails and landscaping.

Landscaping work is already underway surrounding the “West Hartford” sign, Sommer said. He said that plantings will provide color and soften the look of the sign, and is hopeful that residents will reserve judgment about their opinion of the sign until work in the area has been completed.

The approximately $6.8 million project began on Sept. 19, 2017, and was administered by the Town of West Hartford, with construction inspection services provided by Weston and Sampson Engineers, Inc. and oversight by the Office of Construction, District 1, Rocky Hill. Paramount Construction is the primary contractor. Federal funds have provided 80 percent of the costs, with the state and town each providing 10 percent.

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