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Hartford I-84 Viaduct Study

MadVlad

By MadVlad
in Greater Hartford

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beash19 Unincorporated Area

beash19

Posted
Posted

Hiram, the exits are not designed, honestly nothing is. the whole study was to propose a concept, and final details would be ironed out in the end by DOT people, so well first they would choose a concept, then start to figure out how they would do that concept and that would create the final exit plans and stuff. also, the whole thing does not address the I-91 I 84 interchange at all, just the viaduct part. between asylum and sisson

That's scary, leaving it all up to the DOT. Aren't they the real problem to begin with?

On a bit of a tangent, how many other states utilize lefthand exits like CT does? I-84 is full of them which is the major cause of delays throughout Greater Hartford.

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Bill Mocarsky Hamlet

Bill Mocarsky

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Does anyone have a summary of the proposed exit changes with any of the proposed build-out scenarios? It seems like if they could redeisgn some of the long exit ramps and left entrances and bottlenecks caused at the 91 intersection this could greatly reduce congestion in hartford

Hiram, the exits are not designed, honestly nothing is. the whole study was to propose a concept, and final details would be ironed out in the end by DOT people, so well first they would choose a concept, then start to figure out how they would do that concept and that would create the final exit plans and stuff. also, the whole thing does not address the I-91 I 84 interchange at all, just the viaduct part. between asylum and sisson

Last fall I was asked to put together a folder featuring ideas that would augment the viaduct study. These ideas included highway form, street connections and other things that go beyond and outside the study. I believe the document was presented to the DOT (with the original study) to serve as a "tool kit" of ideas.

For what it is worth, here is the PDF.

viaduct alt2 enhanced.pdf

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The Voice of Reason Town

The Voice of Reason

Posted
Posted

Nice work as usual Bill!

and a little more info. the reason DOT has final say is because of traffic flow demands. there is a kind of fuzzy science behind it all that rates everything with flow rates, and as much as we can think a certain exit in a certain place is best, some computer at DOT will tell you that the arterial roads cannot accept these new traffic patters bla bla bla.

who knows.

Heck I recently spoke to someone at CRCOG about they obsession with busways, and they just refer to a study from 15 years ago that said a busway was better than rail... so they keep suggesting busway rather than rail tranist in greater hartford.

it baffles me sometimes why we do things the way we do, and DOT is extra special

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  • 2 years later...
beerbeer Burg

beerbeer

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This article showed up in the Courant yesterday. http://courantblogs.com/ct-real-estate/report-time-right-for-reversing-damage-of-hartfords-i-84-viaduct/

 

There was a study done a while back that came up with four alternatives, you can download the pdf below but you need to cut and paste.

 

www.hartfordinfo.org/issues/wsd/Transportation/i-84_DraftReport.pdf

 

Alternative 2 costs the same as shoring up the existing viaduct and it is so much better that it is shocking it isn't the recommended course of action.

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Theophrastus Bombastus Hamlet

Theophrastus Bombastus

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http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304585004579419371247630150

 

I didn't even know this was going on.... and we can't do this in Hartford? Sheesh.

 

During the initial construction of the nation's interstate highway system six decades ago, Providence, R.I., bulldozed properties and divided neighborhoods to make way for a route through its downtown.
 
Now planners are looking to put some of those neighborhoods back together. The relocation of a one-mile strip of Interstate 195 has opened up its previous path to real-estate development in a move watched by planners and other cities contemplating the futures of their aging expressways.
 
Last month, a state commission charged with the land's redevelopment solicited plans from developers interested in building on any of 17 sites on 19 acres in the strip of the former highway, known as the Link project.
 
"We are basically putting pieces of the city back," said Jan Brodie, executive director of the commission. "It is the next major step in the transformation of downtown Providence." Real-estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. JLL -0.12%  is helping market the parcels.
 
Interstate highways like I-195 were built through many of America's downtowns after World War II. Now half a century later, many of those structures need major repair or replacement, and some cities are taking the expensive step of relocating or removing the highways to make their downtowns more walkable and inviting.

 

MI-CB626_PROVID_G_20140304172106.jpg

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The Voice of Reason Town

The Voice of Reason

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I followed this project to some degree.  I know there were and likely still are many plans with a local university to take a bunch of the land as a downtown campus. 

 

the recession slowed most of that though.

 

the issue I have here in Hartford is trying to fugure out where else we could route anything regarding I-84

 

I know we can route 91 across the river with 5/15 South of Hartford, and then back from the terminus of Rt 2  over to the now closed dump.

 

but other than that.. I-84 would be tough to move.

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Theophrastus Bombastus Hamlet

Theophrastus Bombastus

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http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-hartford-i-84-0618-20140617,0,964454.story

 

sheesh, unfrigginbelievable......  :shok:

 

Here's a thought...... BELTWAY!!!!! (starting from the south) 91N to Putnam Bridge (renamed 291), past Rt. 2 through to the existing 291, past 91 through Bloomfield/W. Hartford to 84 at Rt. 9, then down Rt. 9 back to 91........

 

or just do all these... http://kurumi.com/roads/ct/pics/art-hfd-fwy-60s.png

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Theophrastus Bombastus Hamlet

Theophrastus Bombastus

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so bleeping stupid.... if the feds are demanding it so be it, but stop wasting our time/money and do something useful to our sorry-azz roads.

 

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-connecticut-highway-exit-numbers-1208-20141208-story.html

 

What do you do in Hartford??? There's Exit 70, 70.125, 70.5, 70.7, 70.9...................  :stop:

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The Voice of Reason Town

The Voice of Reason

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not sure why you are so rustrated about this.

 

Its really kinda silly, sure, and will take getting used to, but the federal highway system is infact federal for a reason and it should be consistant.

 

The feds also pay for it.

 

If it cost us state money that would be something else entirely.

 

 

 

Also, I am hoping that the feds will be sending a few billion our way here shortly to fix the Aetna Viaduct and the Amtrak Viaduct in Hartford.

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  • 3 months later...
Bill Mocarsky Hamlet

Bill Mocarsky

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Posted

Malloy: I-84 Viaduct Replacement Is Overdue

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-hartford-malloy-i-84-0407-20150406-story.html

 

It seems that the consensus is:

  • rebuilding as is has very little support
  • full blown tunnel is probably prohibitively expensive
  • at grade or slightly depressed is most likely

 

I would like to refer to the at grade (or slightly depressed) option as the virtual tunnel option. I think it would be similar to the Mass Pike in Boston's Back Bay; it wasn't built as a tunnel per se, but it has very little presence on the landscape. With this option, we should still be able to end up with a "tunnel" in the most crucial area, Broad Street through Union Station (and potentially as far as the "downtown canyon"). 

 

 

btw: Why isn't this thread pinned? This is a major project.

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beerbeer Burg

beerbeer

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Of the four options, #2 is a tunnel starting near Aetna that is also one of the least expensive options.  I don't get why that option hasn't already been chosen. Download the attached PDF on page 46 there is a comparison of costs.  Alternative #2 is one of the two concepts that are the most affordable.  You can see a drawing of #2 on page 40.

 

Seriously, this is a no brainer.

 

http://www.crcog.org/publications/TransportationDocs/Viaduct/Report110216.pdf

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The Voice of Reason Town

The Voice of Reason

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I think we all agree on that BEER  I know bill and I spoke quite a bit about this back during the meetings we both attended.

 

I suppose the lack of speed is just the way these things work.

 

but its sillyness.

 

they need to do that cut and cover method, aka virtual tunnel.  and they need to do it pretty much from the river to somewhere by the current building

 

they need re-align the train tracks too so they are in the same trench and they need to cover it as much as possible.

 

the path needs to be straighter also, and ya know... it needs to replace the busway with urban rail of some sort... LRT or HRT I dont care

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Bill Mocarsky Hamlet

Bill Mocarsky

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I new bridge would be interesting, I will have to check that out.  Im assuming you are referencing the North meadows.  I suppose that could work, it just all depends on how it connects to the west

 

whats the COB?

Charter Oak Bridge.

What irks me as well as the team of engineers and designers is that after all is done, we are still stuck with the 84/91 interchange which is substandard from an engineers point of view and urban planning blunder from a designers point of view. So the team is toying with plans of alternate routes over the river. Freeing up the canyon area would allow for a subway (enter the mode of your choice) that emerges to the surface just east of Main street and continues over the Bulkeley Bridge. Connecticut blvd would cover the canyon and continue to Asylum Hill. This is probably a stretch for the project at hand though. But this project should be designed in a way to facilitate this potential phase.

For the viaduct replacement project, I'm pushing for a boulevard that links the west end to downtown. This connecter would assume the functionality of the Sisson through Asylum interchanges. It would act as an interface between the neighborhoods and the highway. It would also eliminate having to get on the highway between the neighborhoods. The highway has been playing the role of this missing street for years.

Hope everybody has been attending.

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