The westbound entrance ramp to I-84 at Ridgewood Road in West Hartford has been closed since May 11.

Overview of I-84 traffic and safety improvement project in West Hartford. Project website

By Ronni Newton

The detour that has been in place for the on-ramp to I-84 westbound at Ridgewood Road in West Hartford will be removed as the ramp reopens on or before Oct. 19, 2020, the Department of Transportation said in an update.

The ramp had originally been scheduled to reopen on Oct. 5, but had to be rescheduled for a few weeks “due to delays in receiving construction materials during the current pandemic that were critical to the new bridge construction,” the DOT said.

Construction teams have been actively at work on the site in multiple shifts, six to seven days a week, to complete work on the I-84 westbound bridge, that crosses Ridgewood Road, so that the ramp could be opened as soon as possible.

The ramp closed to traffic on May 11, to accommodate a project that has been in the planning stages since the early 2000s.

“Key aspects of the project include three bridge replacements, the addition of an auxiliary travel lane in each direction, noise barrier improvements, and repaving,” Jim Brennan, a civil engineer with the Town of West Hartford said previously. “The auxiliary lanes, located between Exit 43 and Exit 39A in the westbound direction and between Exit 40 (New Britain Avenue) and Exit 41 (South Main Street) in the eastbound direction, will help facilitate weaving movements of entering and exiting vehicles and increase overall highway capacity.”

The project was also made part of the governor’s CT2030 transportation plan, which recommended a toll gantry on I-84 near Berkshire Road in West Hartford to finance it, but even without tolls is one of the projects that is now moving forward as part of the improvement of the state’s infrastructure.

According to Brennan, the overall project is intended to “improve safety and reduce congestion on I-84 between exits 39A (Route 9) and 43 (Park Road).”

The total project costs are estimated at $54.6 million, all of which will be paid by the state. O&G Industries, Inc. is the contractor for the project.

The same ramp is scheduled to be closed again between April 2022 and October 2022. The entire project is scheduled to be completed by summer 2023.

A website has also been established for the project, which includes an interactive map. That information can be found here. The public can also register to receive project updates by texting “i84info” to 22828.

Portion of I-84 in West Hartford that will be impacted by additional lanes between exits 43 and 39A. Project website

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