I-384

[Theophrastus Bombastus]

I doubt it will EVER happen, but I for one am in favor.

[GHartford]

Yes, with Commuter Rail along side...

[uconn99]

At the very least it should be extended to Columbia.

[blink55184]

Should it? No

Will it? No

What would be the major benefits? Why would we want to provoke and increase more traffic? I think there is quite a common opinion on this board that the state needs to get back on track with rail transit. Efforts should be at the top of the list to get this commuter rail going before the announced date of 2011. Hartford and Providence lay in different corridors, there is not need for a major highway to connect them. There is a gap in the middle of their metros for a reason. It is countryside. Part of the reason for 384's opposition in the first place was the Nathan Hale Forrest and the Situate Reservoir area. Providence has it's major highway in its corridor(95) to get 45 mins north to Boston and south to NYC. Hartford has its major highway (91) that follows its corridor and the neighboring cities it corresponds with.

Extending 384 would create a mess in my opinion. With gas soaring, the state needs to promote new rail transit as quickly as possible. Rebuild the once extensive rail system that covered the state. Do no further build a motor vehicle highway system.

So in my opinion, No, do not build. A 384 extension is unnecessary, illogical, and plain stupid. I could list a million more reasons why it should not be built.

p.s. - can those who voted yes give reasons? just saying you are in favor doesnt help discussion much....

[HartfordTycoon]

Should it? No

Will it? No

What would be the major benefits? Why would we want to provoke and increase more traffic? I think there is quite a common opinion on this board that the state needs to get back on track with rail transit. Efforts should be at the top of the list to get this commuter rail going before the announced date of 2011. Hartford and Providence lay in different corridors, there is not need for a major highway to connect them. There is a gap in the middle of their metros for a reason. It is countryside. Part of the reason for 384's opposition in the first place was the Nathan Hale Forrest and the Situate Reservoir area. Providence has it's major highway in its corridor(95) to get 45 mins north to Boston and south to NYC. Hartford has its major highway (91) that follows its corridor and the neighboring cities it corresponds with.

Extending 384 would create a mess in my opinion. With gas soaring, the state needs to promote new rail transit as quickly as possible. Rebuild the once extensive rail system that covered the state. Do no further build a motor vehicle highway system.

So in my opinion, No, do not build. A 384 extension is unnecessary, illogical, and plain stupid. I could list a million more reasons why it should not be built.

p.s. - can those who voted yes give reasons? just saying you are in favor doesnt help discussion much....

[blink55184]

You also make some good point Tycoon.

I feel a time has come to stop building corridors or metros based on the interstate system. That all took place just after WWII. Alot has changed. I no longer think investing billions into a highway is going to necessarily benefit an economy. In 1954 it would have, but look at how the oil economy has changed. Sure, Americans drive and have shown they will no matter what the cost. That doesn't mean to keep building more interstates. If 384 was indeed finished back in the 60's, I agree that the 'corridor' would be alot different today. But it wasn't built, and to go back and do it now would be silly. Too many advances and changes have happened. Look at gas prices. Sure, if billions are spent to build it, people would see more job opportunity by looking at jobs in Hartford from Providence and vice versa. Those jobs are there now. People do no want to drive from Hartford to Providence for a job. By a Manchester or Columbia or Willimantic resident taking a job in Providence, the economy is bettered? Or a Warwick resident coming to Rocky Hill? They will be spending BOAT LOADS in gas money. I think this specific gap in the interstate system is a great hole for something/someone/somehow rail transit to jump start. Set a precedent and get rail between the two cities. Have an express train from city to city and a train that makes local community stops. Downtowns will revitalize if there is a central stop.

[beerbeer]

The state can't even put drainage sewers on I-84, how the heck will they able to build a highway between Hartford and Providence.

[MadVlad]

Yes, with Commuter Rail along side...

[blink55184]

Also think about this-

If a politician or anyone of power who got this project going, say TODAY, this highway would not be ready for cars for another...ATLEAST 15 years. Who know what the economy would be then, or gas prices, etc.

[HartfordTycoon]

You also make some good point Tycoon.

I feel a time has come to stop building corridors or metros based on the interstate system. That all took place just after WWII. Alot has changed. I no longer think investing billions into a highway is going to necessarily benefit an economy. In 1954 it would have, but look at how the oil economy has changed. Sure, Americans drive and have shown they will no matter what the cost. That doesn't mean to keep building more interstates. If 384 was indeed finished back in the 60's, I agree that the 'corridor' would be alot different today. But it wasn't built, and to go back and do it now would be silly. Too many advances and changes have happened. Look at gas prices. Sure, if billions are spent to build it, people would see more job opportunity by looking at jobs in Hartford from Providence and vice versa. Those jobs are there now. People do no want to drive from Hartford to Providence for a job. By a Manchester or Columbia or Willimantic resident taking a job in Providence, the economy is bettered? Or a Warwick resident coming to Rocky Hill? They will be spending BOAT LOADS in gas money. I think this specific gap in the interstate system is a great hole for something/someone/somehow rail transit to jump start. Set a precedent and get rail between the two cities. Have an express train from city to city and a train that makes local community stops. Downtowns will revitalize if there is a central stop.

[Recchia]

If Providence and Hartford were connected by a highway then there had better be some strict land use restrictions surrounding the actual freeway to prevent the development that would occur there and keep the highway strictly as a commuting highway. Making it with a minimum number of lanes would also help this, any extra capacity will only put more development pressure on the towns in passes through.

[blackstone]

If Providence and Hartford were connected by a highway then there had better be some strict land use restrictions surrounding the actual freeway to prevent the development that would occur there and keep the highway strictly as a commuting highway. Making it with a minimum number of lanes would also help this, any extra capacity will only put more development pressure on the towns in passes through.

[Lone Ranger]

Too much sprawl. I don't know how ya'll feel about creating sprawl in eastern CT, but northwestern RI is basically the only part of our state not already in danger of sprawl.

Now a direct rail-only connection, I'd be all for that. Course, that's not the way we do things in America. Then again, I suppose we could create a direct highway link between HTFD and PVD that had just two outlets, one at each end, and that way ensure that it would be a commuter-only highway.

Yes I'm kidding.

[HartfordTycoon]

If Providence and Hartford were connected by a highway then there had better be some strict land use restrictions surrounding the actual freeway to prevent the development that would occur there and keep the highway strictly as a commuting highway. Making it with a minimum number of lanes would also help this, any extra capacity will only put more development pressure on the towns in passes through.

[blink55184]

It would be up to those towns to decide what they wanted to become.

[Lowerdeck]

The problem with extending I-384 is, no matter how badly some towns need it for economic benefit, there will be many who will be against it. Northeastern Connecticut (and Northwestern Rhode Island) is the last green undeveloped area in the Boston to DC corridor, and are very proud of that fact.

Would I like to see I-384? Well, sure, it would shorten the trips to Hartford from the eastern side of the state. It would connect Windham County to Hartford more than ever before. However, 6 and the (all too familiar to me) 101 to 44 to 74 corridor do fairly good jobs already.

I would rather see railway than a highway extension. A highway extension would be nice, but with the low population of Windham County I don't think it's really needed. I don't think there's that much Hartford to Providence traffic, or will be - simply because there are other cities closer and better linked than these two. And if not, let them do the 74 to 44 to 101 thing like everyone does already. I've done it way too many times for my liking, it's become boring and stale. But, tis the nature of Windham County, not my cup of tea per se.

[uconn99]

How about all the people who have died on that stretch of road, one of the deadliest in the country named suicide 6. Wouldn't a new 4 lane highway help a little?

Without a highway, Willimantic/Windham region is cut off from economic develeopment because of bad highway access.

This road should have been built 30 years ago.

[Lowerdeck]

Suicide 6 with 384 next to it is still Suicide 6. It takes a bulk of the traffic away, but it's still a dangerous and terrible road which needs serious improvements asap.

[blink55184]

I don't think there's that much Hartford to Providence traffic, or will be - simply because there are other cities closer and better linked than these two.

[T52]

Adding additional options for travel is a good thing. While some believe that the answer lies in mass transit, the reality is that it existed in the past and was abandoned in favor of personal vehicles. It may work for some people, but not for all. My job requires that I travel a fair amount from project to project and I cannot imagine a scenario where mass transit would work for me.

I am sometimes amazed at the difference in travel time using roads peak time vs non-peak time. Rather than increasing the capacity of existing highways, creating alternate routes has the added advantages of reducing load on existing roads, providing more direct routes for some travelers, detour routes for traffic problems as well as the previously mentioned economic development and reduced environmental damage. How much better would I-95 be if routes 7 and 8 continued to the Mass pike (as limited access highways), route 11 were completed and the proposed bridge to Long Island were completed?

These projects should have been completed 30 years ago, they weren't but they should be completed today as it will be exponentially more costly to complete them 30 years from now.

[Lowerdeck]

How much better would I-95 be if routes 7 and 8 continued to the Mass pike (as limited access highways), route 11 were completed and the proposed bridge to Long Island were completed?

[MadVlad]

Hartford is in an area that has over 2 Million people in it (including Springfield and New Haven) and that's the first time I've seen anyone say we don't need commuter rail (because HE can't use it). Trust me, if commuter rail was put in, it'd be used....

[ctman987]

Personally I think Hartford should be connecting itself with major international cities. Providence is a great city but it has its problems and with Manhattan being 2 hours from Hartford we should be focusing on getting that commuter rail connecting New Haven, Hartford and Springfield going ASAP. New Haven has shown benefits from being connected to NYC via Metro North and small towns in upstate New York like Poughkipsee are connected to NYC so why cant Hartford?

[Bill Mocarsky]

These projects should have been completed 30 years ago, they weren't but they should be completed today as it will be exponentially more costly to complete them 30 years from now.

[Bill Mocarsky]

If a Hartford to Providence expressway was to be built, what route number should be designated?

Should I-195 to Fall River and New Bedford be designated the same route number?