A major renovation project to improve commutes and access to neighborhoods is in store for New Haven.
Q. What are the plans for Moeller Road from Hartzell Road to Werling Road and points east? – Julie Heine
A. There are pretty big plans, Julie. Thanks for giving me an opportunity to share them.
Keith Schlegel, New Haven director of engineering, said the city hopes to begin a massive revamp late this spring.
The project will widen Moeller Road to three lanes with a middle left-turn lane from Hartzell Road to Green Road. The turn lane will give drivers easier access to homes and neighborhoods in the area and will prevent backups of cars waiting for someone to turn.
The project will also include the addition of a 5-foot sidewalk on the south side of Moeller that will connect to neighborhood sidewalks. In addition, curbs and gutters will be installed to connect to storm sewers in the area, Schlegel said.
Between 5,000 and 6,000 vehicles travel this road daily in south New Haven.
The city will seek contractors for the project on May 2, although construction is expected to take two years to complete. The federal government is helping finance the work.
Utilities are currently working to relocate their lines.
Jefferson closures
This week’s announcement on progress at The Harrison was good news for fans of downtown, but it won’t mean good news for drivers, at least for a few more months.
During construction of the $18.5 million mixed-use project, the city has closed the southern two lanes of Jefferson Boulevard from just west of Ewing Street to Webster Street. The eastbound thoroughfare carries more than 21,400 vehicles daily through downtown.
I know from experience that these lane closures cause some delays and congestion – especially for me when I try to turn right from Ewing onto Jefferson taking Sage Jr. and Baby Sage home every day.
The good news is the lane closures won’t last forever, but they won’t be ending soon, either. Mark Hagerman, CEO of The Hagerman Group, said the lanes need to be closed to make room for the large cranes being used to construct the building. He said there is no other place to stage the machines during construction. Hagerman’s company is building the project.
A city official said this work could be done by spring. At that time, the city would likely open one of the closed lanes of Jefferson.
The other would remain closed until construction of the project is completed, which is expected by Feb. 1, 2013.
Radio Sage
This week’s audio question comes from Beverly, who asked about the southern interchange of Interstate 69 and Interstate 469. The segment originally aired Friday afternoon on WOWO and can be found online at www.journalgazette.net/roadsage.
