Mary Johnson Photo
Did you hear the collective cheer on Thursday as all the lanes on Route 1 in the vicinity of the new Amtrak Bridge were finally opened?
For the past couple of months, as the project neared completion, motorists were funneled into a single lane near the entrance to Branhaven Shopping Center and dramatically zigzagged among cones heading up West Main Street.
Since late 2009, they have patiently endured lane closures, lane changes, washboard pavement, and even the closure of Route 1 on several occasions as the long-standing local bottleneck underwent a dramatic transformation.
First Selectman Anthony “Unk” DaRos said the $72 million (total) project was the biggest in New England under American Recovery and Reinvestment Act authorized by Congress and awarded in June 2009. “It was shovel ready,” said DaRos, one of the conditions for receiving funds. One hundred percent of the funding for construction – almost $45 million, was from ARRA.
According to state Department of Transportation specs, JF White/Empire Joint Venture has completed $47.4 million in construction.
DaRos said when the project was first proposed during his first administration back in late 1990’s the estimate was $8 million.
File Photo
The Eagle’s spokesman on the project, Jan Pacanski, (pictured) resident engineer, AI Engineers Inc., said the finishing touches included lane striping and adjustments to the traffic lights. An oops moment took place recently when the traffic light at Short Beach Road and Route 1 fell to the ground
Over the past couple of weeks, workers have been putting in curbing, sidewalks and landscaping, completing utility work. Final milling and paving and lane striping were taking place during the evening hours.
Mary Johnson Photo
Pacanski added that the train tracks are all set, except for “some minor stuff.” Here is how the intersection looked on Thursday.
Pacanski said there were several challenging aspects of the project:
• Building the retaining walls, which took place early on
• Staging the bridge work and shifting the bridge building in stages, despite the fact that Amtrak trains and railroad tracks had to be in full operation
• Maintaining traffic and safety within the heavily traveled thoroughfare
The four-year project has not been without drama. The installation of the new beams required closing of Route 1 under the bridge overnight and a carefully orchestrated lift by Smedley Crane. Tracks were repositioned while the old beams remained in place. The old beams, sandwiched between the new beams were taken down in January. Then in July, the new beams were moved to their permanent position. Route 1 was closed during those two times as well.
The original bridge had been in place since 1928. As of this week, squeezing under it during trips to and from town or coming off the connector will become another piece of Branford’s history.
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Given how many tens of thousands of people (particularly in the suburbs) now no longer are able to or can no longer afford a car, it's astonishing that Rosa DeLauro, ConnDOT, and Branford are doing projects like this without truly safe and comfortable cycling infrastructure for all ages.
Aside from cycling access, the sidewalks and pedestrian crossings are also unattractive and dangerous. This could have been a nice place to take a stroll - instead, it is an urban blight that will depress surrounding property values over the coming decades by hundreds of millions of dollars.
This project demonstrates that the people in charge all drive everywhere, have absolutely no understanding of who lives in our community these days, and/or do not care about other people who are not like them.