The on-ramp from Ridgewood Road to I-84 west in West Hartford, is scheduled to reopen to traffic on Sept. 10.

By Ronni Newton

The Exit 40 on-ramp to I-84 westbound at Ridgewood Road, closed to traffic for the second time on April 5, 2021 for what was estimated as a 6-month period, will open nearly a month ahead of schedule, officials from the Department of Transportation said.

The ramp – which was closed while safety improvements and construction were taking place on the I-84 westbound bridge over Ridgewood Road – will reopen to traffic on Friday, Sept. 10, ahead of the estimated reopening date of Oct. 4.

“The project team was able to make modifications to the existing Incident Management System infrastructure (traffic cameras, fiber optics, conduits, junction boxes etc) on the site which needed to be carefully worked around as construction activities progressed,” Kevin Nursick, a spokesperson for the DOT, said in an email. “By making some ‘work-arounds,’ the contractor was able to speed up work activity on the bridge, hence getting the ramp opened a month earlier than we originally projected,” he said.

The ramp had been closed from May through October 2020 during an earlier phase of the construction project.

As the project continues, motorists should expect lane shifts on I-84. “In the near future all lanes of traffic will be shifted toward the median and the outside shoulder areas of I-84 and the Berkshire Road bridges will continue to be constructed,” Nursick said.

The overall $54.6 million roadway improvement project, which began in March 2020 and is being constructed by O&G Industries, still has roughly two years of work remaining before completion, estimated for the summer of 2023, the DOT said. The project is being paid for by the state.

When the project is completed, the most visible improvement for motorists will be an additional westbound lane that will stretch from the Park Road (Exit 43) on-ramp, through the exit ramp for Route 9. Eastbound traffic will have an auxiliary lane between New Britain Avenue (Exit 40) and South Main Street (Exit 43).

“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.”

A website has also been established for the project, which includes an interactive map. That information can be found here. Calls can be directed to 860-594-2560. The public can also register to receive project updates by texting “i84info” to 22828 and follow the CTDOT on Twitter at https://Twitter.Com/CtDOTtofficial.

Like what you see here? Click here to subscribe to We-Ha’s newsletter so you’ll always be in the know about what’s happening in West Hartford! Click the blue button below to become a supporter of We-Ha.com and our efforts to continue producing quality journalism.