Governor Dannel P. Malloy today visited one of the most complex and congested highway interchanges in Connecticut where I-91, I-691 and Route 15 converge in Meriden and called for a new design of the area to enhance safety, improve traffic flow, and reduce congestion.

“It’s about time the state stepped up to fix this situation.  For too long, we underinvested on transportation and ignored our major infrastructure problems.  That time is over,” Governor Malloy said.  “Every year, Connecticut commuters waste over 40 hours sitting in traffic, losing over $4 billion in productivity.  The success of our economy hinges on our work to transform transportation, and this complicated interchange in Meriden for too many years caused a bottleneck, resulting in all too frequent traffic jams, back-ups, accidents, and wasted time for many drivers. It’s time to act.”

Late last month, the State Bond Commission, which Governor Malloy serves as chairman, approved $1 million for the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) to begin design work on a reconfigured interchange in Meriden.

Some 195,000 vehicles travel through the vicinity every day.  In the morning rush-hour period, there are frequent backups for cars merging onto I-91 northbound from I-691 eastbound and Route 15 (the Wilbur Cross Parkway) northbound.  During the evening peak period, the southbound off-ramp from I-91 to Route 15 southbound queues up in the right lane of I-91, which creates a safety issue.  Back-ups of one or two miles are not uncommon.

Between 2012 and 2014, there were some 963 accidents in the area – resulting in three fatalities and a number of serious injuries.

Options that will be evaluated during the design phase of this project include:

• Reconfiguring the travel lanes and ramps between I-91 and Route 15 northbound
• Adding a new lane to I-91 and a second southbound off-ramp lane from I-91 to Route 15 southbound
• Eliminating the southbound I-91 “weave” of vehicle lane changes to Route 15 southbound
• Combining the entrances to I-91 southbound from I-691 and Route 15
• Adding a new lane to I-91 northbound between Exits 15 and 20

“These improvements will provide a higher level of traffic operations along this section of I-91, and enhance safety and reduce the number of accidents as vehicles transition among these three roadways in central Connecticut,” CTDOT Commissioner James P. Redeker said.

The estimated cost of reconfiguring the interchange is $90 million.  A timeline for completing the project has not been established, but would be a minimum of five years, from design through construction.

Governor Malloy’s historic “Let’s Go CT!” transportation plan was approved this year under the adopted state budget. Over the next five years, the state will invest $10 billion to transform our transportation system in order to revitalize Connecticut’s aging infrastructure and modernize the system statewide to make it best-in-class, attract business, and grow jobs.  The Governor’s plan includes roads, bridges, rail, buses, walkways, and bikeways.

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