West Hartford’s Engineering Division has advised the roadways slated for the second round of repaving, beginning the week of July 9, and has also provided updates reconstruction projects underway in 2024.

By Ronni Newton

Road construction season for 2024 began in May in West Hartford, with the second round of resurfacing beginning on July 9 while reconstruction projects also remain in progress.

“Just over eight miles of roads will be paved in 2024,” Town Engineer Greg Sommer said Wednesday. “That’s pretty much average, and the number we strive toward.”

Repaving

The following roads (in alphabetical order) are scheduled to be resurfaced in the second round, Sommer said.

• Belknap Road
• Buena Vista Road (Gin Still Lane to Mountain Road)
• Everett Avenue
• Flatbush Avenue (South Quaker Lane to New Park Avenue)
• Glenbrook Road
• Golf Road
• Sherwood Road
• Vardon Road (Asylum Avenue to Kirkwood Road)
• Webster Hill Boulevard (Crestwood Road to Ledgewood Road)
• West Ridge Drive (North Main Street to Hartwell Road)

The portion of Webster Hill Boulevard that is being repaved at this time is between two sections of the roadway that were previously repaved and marked with bike lanes. Bike lanes will be added to the remaining stretch between Crestwood Road and Ledgewood Road in accordance with the town’s bicycle facilities plan.

“We will be doing infill to make the connection with the bike lanes to the north and south,” Sommer said. Work on Webster Hill Boulevard will begin on July 11.

An additional round of roads will be repaved in September, and that schedule will be announced later this summer.

Repaving projects generally take two to three weeks from start to finish. Traffic flaggers will help direct motorists and pedestrians around the work zones. According to the Engineering Division, the milling of the existing roadway is expected to take four to five days, and will be followed by approximately two weeks of paving. Work generally occurs between the hours of 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

West Hartford has 217 miles of roadways maintained by the town, and on average 8.5 miles are repaved each year, with some of those roadways being fully reconstructed. Based on annual assessment by the Engineering Division, road conditions are rated from “excellent” to “extremely poor” and those in the latter category are prioritized for repaving, with the schedule also impacted and coordinated with infrastructure work scheduled by utility companies.

Reconstruction

Roadway reconstructions are more complicated than repaving and take one to two months from start to finish. The work generally includes replacing the existing curb with granite curbing, replacing the existing driveway aprons with concrete aprons, catch basin and drainage structure replacement as needed, selective sidewalk replacement, and re-establishing the roadway base material before a final paving.

The following is the status of reconstruction projects, which began in May:

• St. Augustine Street – 50% complete
• Highland Street – complete
• Warwick Street (Trout Brook Drive to Robin Road) now underway
• Pleasant Street – will begin at the end of July

Sidewalks

In addition to the sidewalk replacement that takes place along with roadway reconstruction, the Engineering Division has been replacing other sidewalks throughout town. “There are between 800-1,000 work orders in the system for sidewalks,” said Sommer, but funding will allow for only about 200 of those to be completed during a season. “We are trying to focus on the areas of greatest need, and work orders that have been in the system for a long time,” he said.

Crosswalks and Vision Zero

Sommer said that a raised crosswalk will be installed on Boulevard at Wardwell in late July or early August. “It will be installed, painted, and signed before the start of the school year,” he said.

The raised crosswalk, which is one of the items on the Vision Zero Action Plan scheduled for implementation in 2024, will be a pilot. If it’s well-received and effective, Sommer said, more raised crosswalks may be added in school crossing areas and other locations throughout town.

Pedestrian warning signs will also be added in various locations before the end of the summer, he said.

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.