Representatives from the Town of West Hartford’s Engineering Division held an informational meeting Monday night at Town Hall to outline the Park Road/I-84 project parameters and take questions from the public.

By Ronni Newton

Construction will begin in early October on a $6.8 million project that will relocate the exit ramp from I-84 to Park Road (Exit 43) and incorporate other changes to the stretch of Park Road from Overbrook Road to Trout Brook Drive in order to improve the capacity, efficiency, and safety of the roadway.

West Hartford Town Engineer Duane Martin and Project Engineer Greg Sommer provided details of the project to a crowd that filled Town Council Chambers to hear about forthcoming changes to what is the town’s “busiest interchange.”

Martin, who said he personally has tried to avoid the intersection, said that the project is “trying to address the problems that we have there.” The interchange handles 30,000 vehicles per day, many more than it was designed to manage.

Other problems include three signals (Raymond Road, off-ramp, and Trout Brook Drive/Park Road) that are operated by two separate agencies and are not coordinated.

When the project, which is being largely funded by a federal grant (West Hartford’s share is $975,000 and state is also funding a portion) is complete, the off-ramp will be moved about 200 feet west to be next to the existing on-ramp, and all signals will be operated by the town and be coordinated. The off-ramp will be flatter and the curve will be smoothed out, and there will be left turn lanes added at several key places.

Specifically, there will be one more left turn lane provided as part of the off-ramp, so that two lanes will be able to turn left to head west on Park Road, and two lanes will be able to turn right to head east on Park Road.

One traffic signal will control vehicles exiting the highway as well as westbound cars entering I-84 from Park Road, and there will be a left-turn-only lane added to accommodate those westbound motorists. A left turn lane will also be added for westbound vehicles turning from Park Road onto Overbrook Road, and for eastbound vehicles turning left onto Raymond Road.

Sommer said the project has been awarded to Paramount Construction of Newington, which had the low bid, and a pre-construction meeting will be held with the contractor on Tuesday, with actual construction scheduled to being in early October.

Preliminary work, including the relocation of gas mains and utility poles, was done last year.

The initial – and very visible – work this fall will involve clearing trees between the on-ramp and the existing off-ramp. “Bear with us … 280 trees will be replanted as part of the project,” Sommer said.

The traffic impact this fall will be “minimal,” said Sommer, since the majority of the work will be between the ramps.

Work will shut down for the winter, and recommence in spring 2018 with construction of the new off-ramp. In late spring and early summer 2018, there will be transition to the new off-ramp, Sommer said.

In the summer and fall of 2018, work will progress to Park Road. “That’s when the fun will begin – lots of traffic impact there,” Sommer said.

Most of the landscaping will take place in the spring of 2019, and the project is scheduled to be complete by the the summer of 2019.

While the contract requires that one lane be open to traffic at all times, Sommer said he encourages motorists to use alternate routes and avoid the area as much as possible. “Especially next summer,” he said. I-84 exit 41 (South Main Street), exit 42 (Trout Brook Drive), and exit 44 (Prospect Avenue) are suggested alternates.

There will be signage on I-84 warning motorists of the construction and suggesting use of alternative exits.

The work will be done primarily between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., avoiding the morning and afternoon commute. Night work and Saturday work will be avoided as much as possible, Sommer said.

In addition to the changes to the roadway, Sommer said that there will be a new gateway “Welcome to West Hartford” sign visible from the off-ramp, which will be set in a gathering space with greenery.

One meeting attendee asked if there will be bike lanes on Park Road, and Sommer said that the West Hartford Pedestrian & Bicycle Commission was consulted in the development of plans, but rather than a bike lane the decision was made to have an 8-foot sidewalk on both sides of Park Road. Engineers tried to accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians as much as possible, but “it is not the safest area to try to introduce bike lanes,” Sommer said. The Trout Brook Trail will cross over Park Road at a fully-accessible signal.

Signage will direct motorists to West Hartford Center via Park Road to South Main Street, and to Blue Back Square via Trout Brook Drive.

When the project is complete, the signal times will be significantly reduced. Sommer said that “will really help to ratchet down the aggressive driving behaviors” of those trying to run lights rather than waiting several minutes.

The Town of West Hartford has established a special section on its website covering the project, and will continue to provide updates. Included is a LiveCam, so that anyone can check on the traffic even before departing their destination.

Questions or comments regarding the Park Road/I-84 interchange improvement project, can be emailed to [email protected]. The Town of West Hartford’s Engineering Division can be reached at 860-561-7540.

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