CT's worst roads...

[mikel]

Some goog points you have there. However, right now rt 44 over the mountian IS a superhighway. Even though the problems on that road can be largely attributed to sprawl, it doesn't mean we should just leave it alone. People are dying all too often. At the top of the mountain there's still paint marking where a 21 year old kid on a motorcyclet died a couple weeks ago. The Farmington Valley isn't goint to stop growing anytime soon and Avon mountain is already handling too many cars as it is. I like everything about the DOT's plan (softening curves, adding left turn lanes, putting in a center median w/ cable-wire guardrails) except that they plan to widen each lane to 11ft. I think that will only encourage people to speed.

If the road was 2 lanes and took people an hour to cross the mountain, that would stop sprawl right there. The cowardly DOT is only encouraging sprawl by fixing the road. And who's taking responsibilty? I personally wouldn't raise a family on the other side of Avon Mountain, forcing my kids to cross a mountain to go anywhere.

[runawayjim]

I think you might have been joking, but does a 14 lane monstrosity that makes me embarassed to take guests east of the river count as a good road? That road is a joke, completely destroyed East Hartford.

i have a feeling he meant farther than that... like beyond manchester. once you get out of manchester, it's a great road.

[SOCOM]

If the road was 2 lanes and took people an hour to cross the mountain, that would stop sprawl right there.

Not only is that unrealistic, it's un-American. Stopping sprawl is a noble cause, but that reaks of socialism.

Let's adopt measures to limit lot sizes or something like that, but turning a busy 4 lane thoroughfare into a 2 lane road with the intention of forcing people to sit in hours of traffic is beyond ridiculous.

[mikel]

Not only is that unrealistic, it's un-American. Stopping sprawl is a noble cause, but that reaks of socialism.

Let's adopt measures to limit lot sizes or something like that, but turning a busy 4 lane thoroughfare into a 2 lane road with the intention of forcing people to sit in hours of traffic is beyond ridiculous.

Oh please! You sound like one of the people who allowed everything in Hartford to be bulldozed away forever in the 60's.

It's socialistic now to think it's stupid to keep upgrading and expanding a road that leads to nowhere when the roads in the city of Hartford are absolutely appaling?!?!? Fine, then I guess I'll become a socialist.

[runawayjim]

Oh please! You sound like one of the people who allowed everything in Hartford to be bulldozed away forever in the 60's.

It's socialistic now to think it's stupid to keep upgrading and expanding a road that leads to nowhere when the roads in the city of Hartford are absolutely appaling?!?!? Fine, then I guess I'll become a socialist.

people are going to move to where they want regardless of the roads. and they still pay taxes to the state (44 is a state road, or at least gets state funding, and probably federal funding too since it's US 44). so yes, the road will continue to be upgraded regardless of what condition hartford's roads are in. it sucks, but people want to live where they want to live and they do have that right. remember, CT isn't new hampshire (although it'd be nice if the state treated the remote places like the remote places of new hampshire and focused more on the cities).

[SOCOM]

Oh please! You sound like one of the people who allowed everything in Hartford to be bulldozed away forever in the 60's.

It's socialistic now to think it's stupid to keep upgrading and expanding a road that leads to nowhere when the roads in the city of Hartford are absolutely appaling?!?!? Fine, then I guess I'll become a socialist.

Come on man, you've got to be kidding. Road that leads to nowhere? 100,000 people live in the Farmington Valley and many of them use that road daily as a means to get to their jobs in Hartford. Your solution is to choke off these people from Hartford by sufficating them in traffic? What a wonderful idea!

Aside from some serious sprawl that has sprouted over the last 20 years, it is a major destination for lots of people. Not only is it a fabulous setting, but the schools are all top notch and the quality of life is unparelleled. Great restaurants, nice parks, huge reservoirs with hiking, biking, and running trails...the Farmington Valley Greenway (see pic below)...I could go on and on. Furthermore, let's keep in mind that the Farmington Valley is not even 10 miles outside of downtown Hartford, and that it's been a destination for centuries.

By the way, I never said I was against upgrading the roads in Hartford - I'm all for that. You can't sabotage a major road just because you don't like the idea of people living in the valley.

[uconn99]

The worst road by far in Connecticut is Rt6 from Bolton to Windham. The part from N. Windham to the Rhode Island border is bad also.

The state keeps dumping million and millions of dollars into the road just making it faster and more deadly. They should make the new highway once and for all. I would rather have a few snakes and lizards die than 5-10 people every year.

[runawayjim]

The worst road by far in Connecticut is Rt6 from Bolton to Windham. The part from N. Windham to the Rhode Island border is bad also.

The state keeps dumping million and millions of dollars into the road just making it faster and more deadly. They should make the new highway once and for all. I would rather have a few snakes and lizards die than 5-10 people every year.

i'd settle for 6 to become a limited access highway just to the RI border even... it's a great road between johnston and the border, but once you get to CT, it sucks (very curvy). i don't know why it's not a highway all the way from hartford to providence... it's already several miles of highway as 384, then as 6 from columbia to windham, and then from johnston/scituate to providence.

[SOCOM]

i'd settle for 6 to become a limited access highway just to the RI border even... it's a great road between johnston and the border, but once you get to CT, it sucks (very curvy). i don't know why it's not a highway all the way from hartford to providence... it's already several miles of highway as 384, then as 6 from columbia to windham, and then from johnston/scituate to providence.

What's the speed limit on rt. 6 in CT?

[mikel]

I drive down Route 6 all the time to Willimantic or Providence from Hartford. And everytime, I try to figure out why so many people call the road dangerous. And I never figure it out. Maybe it's dangerous because people speed, but there really isn't enough traffic on it to make it a highway. I mean, traveling on route 6 east of Willimantic, it's always almost completely deserted.

[runawayjim]

I drive down Route 6 all the time to Willimantic or Providence from Hartford. And everytime, I try to figure out why so many people call the road dangerous. And I never figure it out. Maybe it's dangerous because people speed, but there really isn't enough traffic on it to make it a highway. I mean, traveling on route 6 east of Willimantic, it's always almost completely deserted.

it wouldn't be deserted if it was a highway connecting providence and hartford... as it stands, the best way to get to hartford from providence is 6 to 395 to 2 or 146 to the mass pike to 84. both ways suck.

there used to be a ton of accidents in the bolton/andover area. they did a ton of construction to straighten it out a bit and make it wider.

speed limits between 384 and columbia are between 45 and 50 i think. then it's 65 on the highway part between columbia and windham. and then it's 35, 45, and 50 between there and the state line. in RI, it's 45 or 50 almost the whole way to providence (mostly 50) except for a couple miles where it's 30 or 35.

[uconn99]

There is a lot of traffic all times of the day between Bolton and Windham on Rt 6. Sometimes during rush hour you can count 100+ cars all in a row doing 35-40mph. The new traffic lights make traffic worse, however the turning lanes do help quite a bit at these lights. The main reason for all the deaths on the road is speed. The state has fixed a number of problem curves on the road, however now it has just become a faster road when traffic permits. Rt 6 east of Willimantic at times doesn't have much traffic, but it is also a busy route with a lot of truck traffic and people traveling to Providence and the Cape.

[runawayjim]

There is a lot of traffic all times of the day between Bolton and Windham on Rt 6. Sometimes during rush hour you can count 100+ cars all in a row doing 35-40mph. The new traffic lights make traffic worse, however the turning lanes do help quite a bit at these lights. The main reason for all the deaths on the road is speed. The state has fixed a number of problem curves on the road, however now it has just become a faster road when traffic permits. Rt 6 east of Willimantic at times doesn't have much traffic, but it is also a busy route with a lot of truck traffic and people traveling to Providence and the Cape.

i find it strange that people from hartford would take 6 to the cape... unless you're already east of say willimantic.

there is a TON of truck traffic between providence and willimantic on 6 though. i think it's because it's less mileage between the 2 cities.

[uconn99]

i find it strange that people from hartford would take 6 to the cape... unless you're already east of say willimantic.

there is a TON of truck traffic between providence and willimantic on 6 though. i think it's because it's less mileage between the 2 cities.

I mainly ment the Willimantic area traveling to the Cape. I have heard people closer to Hartford using rt6, however 384 to Rt 44 would be a better option.

[runawayjim]

I mainly ment the Willimantic area traveling to the Cape. I have heard people closer to Hartford using rt6, however 384 to Rt 44 would be a better option.

or one of the routes i suggested between providence and hartford... something to get to 195 quicker than 6 or 44.

[chris31989]

I don't get out much but Cedar Street in Newington (Route 9 and 175) is terrible. People who work in Hartford usually travel back home to the Farmington Valley area by getting off the Berlin Turnpike, going down Cedar Mountain and proceeding to Route 9 in New Britain. I went to Tunxis Community College in Farmington, and Route 6 in Farmington never gave me a problem. Once you hit Fenn Road and Cedar Street it gets bad. Believe me, Newington is just a cut-through for commuters!

[Lowerdeck]

I've used Newington as a bypass around Hartford before. If I'm knowing I'm going to get stuck in the downtown area on 84 east, I'll just bail out on Route 9, get off at the Central exit, take 17(5?) over to the Berlin Tpke, then take 15 north back to 84.

And as for the discussion from like 2 years ago... my preferred route from Hartford to Providence is 84 to 74 to 44 to 101 to 6.

[runawayjim]

And as for the discussion from like 2 years ago... my preferred route from Hartford to Providence is 84 to 74 to 44 to 101 to 6.

[Morpheus9]

This is in reply to Route 66 in Middletown:

The intersection of Route 66 and Main street in Middletown desperately needs a left turn arrow on rt 66, that would make things much safer overall. The worst road I can think of in CT is definately rt 25 in Monroe. It is only 2 lanes, is frequently flooded and regularly takes 15- 20 minutes to go a quarter mile. Either Monroe needs to improve 25 or stop allowing new development (ie. Swiss Army, the various strip malls...). It's been allowed to build up so much that even the electric transmission capacity in that area is inadequate (I used to work in a business there that suffered from frequent blackouts).

[Lowerdeck]

I wouldn't consider 25 in Newtown/Monroe to be a death trap in the same way Suicide 6 or Avon Mountain are. 25 is bad due to the heavy traffic (esp. for a two lane road) and the overdevelopment, no denying that. That's just another problem on its own. Route 7 in Wilton, Redding, and Ridgefield might be worse than 25 too.

[Lowerdeck]

I wouldn't consider 25 in Newtown/Monroe to be a problem road in the same way Suicide 6 or Avon Mountain are. 25 is bad due to the heavy traffic (esp. for a two lane road) and the overdevelopment, no denying that. That's just another problem on its own. Route 7 in Wilton, Redding, and Ridgefield might be worse than 25 too. Both 7 and 25 should of been built into highways ... too late for that now, at least for 25.

[runawayjim]

I wouldn't consider 25 in Newtown/Monroe to be a problem road in the same way Suicide 6 or Avon Mountain are. 25 is bad due to the heavy traffic (esp. for a two lane road) and the overdevelopment, no denying that. That's just another problem on its own. Route 7 in Wilton, Redding, and Ridgefield might be worse than 25 too. Both 7 and 25 should of been built into highways ... too late for that now, at least for 25.