Between 2018 and 2020, 736 car accidents happened between Exit 7 and 9 on Interstate 95 in Stamford, Connecticut. Officials from the state are hoping $1 million in funding will help the stretch of highway become safer for drivers.
Last Friday, Governor Ned Lamont announced that the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) is getting $1 million in grant funding from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to support a study on I-95 to improve safety.
The Interstate 95 Stamford Planning and Environmental Linkage Study will include research on alternatives to create safer ways for vehicles to merge and reduce the amount of accidents on the major highway.
The $1 million grant is funded by the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).
“I’m excited that one of Connecticut’s busiest interstate corridors has received some of the first funding from a federal program created under last year’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” said Governor Lamont. “I’d like to thank President Biden and his administration for recognizing the most critical infrastructure upgrades and improvements Connecticut needs to make. I’d also like to thank our federal partners and Congressional delegation for their continued support and advocacy to apply infrastructure investments where they’re needed most in our state.”
The work will also include developing ways to replace the stretch of I-95 that travels over the Metro-North Railroad and Myrtle Avenue. According to Connecticut, the 1,065-foot-long bridge, originally built in 1958, remains in poor condition.
In 2020, the state spent $17 million on repairs to the bridge, which carries about 127,000 vehicles every day through Stamford, over three local roads and the underlying Metro-North train tracks.
The “deficient” designation landed the 64-year-old bridge on Lamont’s now-defunct CT2030 plan, which envisioned a system in which tolls on highways only for large tractor trailers would help pay for costly transportation repairs over a 10-year period.
Now, officials are studying ways to replace the heavily used bridge.
Exit 7, where the bridge is located, and Exit 8 provide access to downtown Stamford and their ramps carry high volumes of traffic.
“This award supports the goals of the grant program — improving safety for drivers and pedestrians, easing travel time for freight and travelers, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from traffic congestion and improving the quality of life for residents of Stamford and surrounding communities,” said Connecticut Transportation Commissioner Joe Giulietti. “This is just the beginning of many federal grant funding opportunities that the Connecticut Department of Transportation is targeting to accelerate and prioritize safety improvement and accessibility upgrade projects on all of our roadways.”
CTDOT is expected to host public information meetings early next year on the study.
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Source: CTDOT, NHRegister.com
