Phase 6 of the Park Road construction project, which began in late July, was completed Friday and the busy West Hartford road has been reopened to traffic.

Traffic flows in both directions on Park Road between the I-84 ramps and Trout Brook Drive. LiveCam as of Aug. 23, 3:10 p.m.

By Ronni Newton

The most disruptive stage of construction on Park Road at Trout Brook Drive and I-84 in West Hartford has come to an end, and Assistant Town Engineer Greg Sommer said Friday afternoon that the road has been completed reopened in all directions and detour signs have been removed.

“It’s fully open to traffic,” he said.

The project is not 100 percent complete, and raised utility structures remain in the project area, Sommer said, requiring motorists to still use extra caution. The roadway was intentionally paved a few inches low to accommodate a final course of pavement which should be installed in the middle of September.

That paving will take place overnight, and should take no more than two nights, Sommer said.

A new gateway sign now welcomes motorists to West Hartford from the off ramp for I-84 at Exit 43.

Sommer said additional landscaping will be installed – trees behind the sign as well as planters – in mid-September. Flags will fly from the flagpoles behind the sign as soon as the wiring for the illumination has been completed.

In addition to the final course of pavement, Sommer said that other remaining work includes landscaping of the project area, which should be completed during September and October.

“We will continue to tweak the traffic signals as regular flow of traffic returns,” he added.

Any activities in the future should cause only minor and temporary traffic disruption.

“This is an exciting milestone,” Sommer said. The project was completed on schedule.

“We didn’t have any weather issues, despite the recent storm events,” he said.

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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