Congestion Buster Project Announced On I-91 North

HARTFORD, CT — Gov. Ned Lamont announced a new construction project that aims to eliminate the bottleneck on I-91 northbound near exit 29 in Hartford.

The current setup routes traffic through a single lane over the Charter Oak Bridge and is considered to be one of the worst bottlenecks in the country. Backups of a mile or more are common on I-91.

The congestion-buster project will relocate traffic onto a new two-lane exit ramp that will double capacity and improve the geometry of the connector, Lamont said. I-91 would be widened from exit 27 to 29 to add a new travel lane.

"The people of Connecticut are sick and tired of sitting in traffic on outdated roadways that cannot handle the capacity of a 21st century transit system,”Governor Lamont said. “Let’s give our state modernized infrastructure that expands our ability to grow and compete. Connecticut needs a long-term solution to fix the 30-year patchwork that has left our state with a gaping fiscal hole that needs to be fixed."

The addition of revenue from tolls would allow for more projects aimed at reducing bottlenecks on Connecticut's highways, Lamont said.

Here are the full construction details:

Widening of northbound I-91 from Exit 27 to Exit 29 for approximately 5,700 feet to allow for the installation of an additional travel lane. This requires the widening of the bridges over Route 15, the Airport Road on-ramp and Airport Road, as well as the lowering of the roads below all three bridges to allow for adequate overhead clearances.

· Construction of a new two-lane exit ramp from northbound I-91 to the Charter Oak Bridge including: construction of one new bridge, widening the portion of the northbound Charter Oak Bridge over I-91 to accommodate four northbound travel lanes, and eventually, the removal of the existing single-lane ramp from I-91 northbound to the Charter Oak Bridge.

· Installation of new lane markings on the new Exit 29 on-ramp and on the Charter Oak Bridge to accommodate 4 travel lanes (2 lanes from the new on-ramp and two from Route 5/15).

· Widening of northbound Route 15 to add an additional lane from the Charter Oak Bridge to the Silver Lane underpass in East Hartford, as well as the widening of the bridges over Main Street and Silver Lane.

· Improvements to extend the service life of the pavement and bridges (milling, paving and subsurface concrete repairs) on I-91 north and south between the Elm Street overpass in Wethersfield and the new Exit 29 off-ramp in Hartford, drainage system upgrades, and guiderail upgrades to meet current standards.