Project 0082-0318 - Route 9 Middletown

Removal of Traffic Signals on Route 9 in Middletown

Route 9 - Middletown, CT; Alternate 11 Animation

About the Project:

The State of Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) is currently developing plans to remove two traffic signals on Route 9. State Project Number 0082-0318 – Removal of Traffic Signals on Route 9 is located in the City of Middletown and the Town of Cromwell between Exit 22 and Exit 25. The purpose of this project is to improve safety and reduce congestion. This project is needed because two traffic signals on Route 9 directly contribute to crash rates significantly higher than adjacent segments of freeway.

Connecticut Route 9 is a north/south running freeway except for a short section of non-freeway in the downtown Middletown area where it overlaps with Route 17. This section of Route 9 stretches for approximately 0.36 miles (from Exit 23A to Exit 24) and includes two at-grade signalized intersections. These signalized intersections contribute to significant delays and crashes. Three-year crash history (January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2023) shows that there were 505 crashes resulting in 161 injuries within the project limits along Route 9.

The intersection of Route 9 and Hartford Avenue (Exit 24) is the main access between Route 9 and the Arrigoni Bridge, which connects Middletown and Portland over the Connecticut River. This signalized intersection provides full access to and from Route 9. This location has a significant number of crashes that can be attributed to the signal, with the majority being rear end.

At northbound Exit 23, Route 9 intersects with Washington Street and deKoven Drive at a large, signalized intersection over an at-grade railroad crossing. Washington Street leads to Route 66, providing connectivity to western portions of the state. This intersection provides full access from Route 9 and access to Route 9 south.

The delays at both previously mentioned signalized intersections subsequently cause additional delays to the downtown Middletown area, resulting in congestion amongst city streets. Between these intersections, Route 9 is horizontally and vertically constrained by a Providence and Worcester Railroad Bridge (Bridge No. 00639R).

Project Improvements:

To remove the traffic signal on Route 9 at the Washington Street interchange (northbound Exit 23), a new off-ramp from Route 9 northbound is proposed to provide access to River Road, approx. 3,500 ft south of Washington Street. Access to Washington Street is proposed to be removed from Route 9. The interchange will encompass the existing Providence and Worcester rail line and will provide access to Route 9 southbound.  An acceleration lane to Route 9 southbound will provide access from Washington Street prior to Exit 23B. The existing access from Route 9 southbound to Washington Street will be removed and motorists will be directed towards the previous exit for access to Route 66.

The traffic signal on Route 9 at the Route 17 interchange onto Hartford Avenue (Exit 24) will be removed by elevating the southbound direction of Route 9. This grade separation will allow for free flow acceleration from Hartford Avenue to Route 9 northbound, crossing under Route 9 southbound. This acceleration lane will be constructed in the existing median of Route 9 and will serve as an additional through lane for Route 9 northbound until Exit 25 for Route 99 in Cromwell. The existing access to Hartford Avenue from Route 9 northbound will be relocated south. Access to and from Hartford Avenue from Route 9 southbound will be maintained with full length deceleration and acceleration lanes.

A 200-foot right turn lane is proposed on Rapallo Avenue at Main Street. This additional lane requires approximately five feet of widening within the street right of way. This requires the removal of seven parking spaces, with sidewalks maintained on both sides of the road. The possibility of converting Rapallo Avenue to a one-way configuration to avoid parking impacts is under consideration. Additional coordination with the City of Middletown will help determine a best configuration for Rapallo Avenue.

Project History:

CT DOT has shown interest in removing the traffic signals on Route 9 in Middletown since the early 2000’s. More recently, in September of 2014, CT DOT conducted a public informational meeting to review project 0082-0316 to reconfigure the on-ramp from Route 17 onto Route 9 northbound in the City of Middletown. At this meeting, the public noted the importance of removing the traffic signals from Route 9. After additional development, the public was engaged again in July of 2016 at a public informational meeting with approximately 170 people in attendance, presenting two projects with improvements to Route 9 in Middletown. Project 0082-0316 was presented again to reconfigure the on-ramp from Route 17 onto Route 9 northbound, and Project 0082-0318 was presented for the first time to remove the traffic signals on Route 9. Project 0082-0318 was not well received at this meeting with complaints including extra traffic on Main Street and viewshed impacts at Washington Street due to the elevated structure. The public generally agreed that the signals need to be removed from Route 9, but they were not in favor of the proposed plan.

Alternative 3 was presented to the public in March of 2018 with approximately 225 people in attendance. This alternative included a fly-over off-ramp from Route 9 northbound to Rapallo Avenue. This fly-over addressed the viewshed concerns at Washington Street but introduced negative impacts to a low-income neighborhood. The public found this alternative to be less favorable than the original alternative which caused it to be removed from consideration.

It was determined that a more detailed traffic analysis was required to better evaluate a best solution. To develop a more robust analysis of the traffic, an origin-destination study was initiated, and a consultant was contracted to develop a thorough analysis of the entire traffic network, including effects to the city streets. The results of the in-depth traffic analysis pointed towards alternative 1 as the best option, provided that several mitigating elements be incorporated. These mitigations included modification of ramp lengths, an additional through lane on Route 9 northbound between Exit 24 (Hartford Avenue) and Exit 25 (Route 99), and a 200’ right turning lane on Rapallo Avenue.

Subsequent to the detailed traffic analysis performed, the City of Middletown approached the design team with an additional alternative to take into consideration, Alternative 11. This alternative involves constructing a new exit ramp from Route 9 Northbound to River Road to simplify the operations at the Washington Street interchange. Alternative 11 had a robust traffic analysis performed including an origin-destination study. Alternative 11 is now CTDOT's preferred design alternative.

CTDOT held a public workshop on February 21, 2024 and February 22, 2024 to engage the public and receive comments for incorporation into the design. At these workshops, the various alternatives considered were displayed as well as the features of the Alternative 11 design. The feedback from the public workshops was positive by majority, with overall support of the Alternative 11 design. A public informational meeting is scheduled for April 30, 2024 to formally present the project to the public to further engage the public on the proposed design and provide an additional opportunity for comments.

Alternative 11 click image to view larger

Announcements:

CTDOT is currently planning another round of public involvement. A Public Informational and CEPA Scoping meeting is scheduled for April 30, 2024 at Wesleyan University in Beckham Hall at 45 Wyllys Avenue Middletown, CT 06459. The meeting will start at 5 p.m. with an open house forum, followed by a formal presentation at 7 p.m. After the presentation, the open house forum will continue until 9 p.m.

CTDOT Provides Updates on Completed and Ongoing Projects in Middletown

Completed Projects

CTDOT Project# 0082-0319 constructed 18 sidewalk bump outs on Main Street in 2019 between Union Street and Washington Street. These bump outs occupy unused space on the corners of the intersections and reduce pedestrian crossing distances to improve safety. By bumping out the sidewalk closer to the travel ways, the pedestrians are more visible to approaching motorists and exposed to traffic for a shorter time as they cross the roadway. Reducing the pedestrian crossing distance also allows more green time to be allocated to Main Street, encouraging vehicles to travel on Main Street instead of cutting through local residential streets.

CTDOT Project# 0082-0320 provided safety and operational improvements to Saint John’s Square in 2020. This project provided sidewalk bump outs north of Washington Street, similar to CTDOT Project# 82-319. Additionally, two turn lanes were added, and geometric improvements were provided at Saint John’s Square to reduce congestion and improve safety. The traffic signal configuration in this area has been designed to encourage drivers to travel down Main Street instead of cutting through local residential streets. By improving the geometrics and operations of Saint John’s Square, Main Street becomes the more desirable route for traffic coming off the Arrigoni Bridge and heading to destinations west of downtown.

Ongoing Projects

CTDOT Project# 0082-0316

CTDOT has started construction of Project 0082-0316 – Reconfiguration of the Route 17 Northbound On-ramp to Route 9 Northbound in Middletown, which will help reduce rear-end crashes at the Route 9 northbound and Route 17 northbound interchange. The existing on-ramp from Route 17 onto Route 9 is controlled by a stop sign and has significantly higher crash rates than similar adjacent on-ramps.

CTDOT Project# 0082-0322 is the closure of the Miller Street access to Route 9. Currently, the only legal access into and out of the Miller Street neighborhood is directly from Route 9 southbound because Bridge Street and Portland Street are separated by an at-grade railroad crossing that is only open to pedestrians and emergency vehicles. This project required a legislation modification to legally open the at-grade railroad crossing for daily use by all users. By opening this railroad crossing, direct access to downtown will be provided on the local roadway network for the residents of the Miller Street neighborhood. Construction has recently started for the project and is expected to be completed by late Fall 2024.

CTDOT Project# 0082-0327 has been initiated to construct a wide pedestrian bridge across Route 9 in the vicinity of Court Street and Dingwall Drive. In addition to providing access to Harbor Park across Route 9, the pedestrian bridge will serve as a destination, wide enough for landscaping and sitting areas. Connection to both sides of the pedestrian bridge will be coordinated with Middletown Officials.

While the previously mentioned projects are necessary to remove the traffic signals on Route 9, they also have independent utility. Independent utility means each of these projects was determined to have an individual benefit that does not require removing the traffic signals to constitute a successful project.

Anyone interested in requesting information on any of the projects mentioned above may contact Stephen Hall, Project Manager, at (860) 594-2591 or Stephen.Hall@ct.gov.