Mar 28, 2008
State unveils compromise plan for Route 7/Merritt Parkway interchange
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The state Department of Transportation supports a plan for the redesign of the interchange at routes 7 and 15 — known as the Route 7 Connector — that has been hailed by local politicians and advocacy groups as more visually appealing and less expensive than a previous option the state had considered. The state had been blocked in court by the Merritt Parkway Conservancy when it attempted to initiate its original plan.
Thomas A. Harley, DOT manager of consultant design, said on March 11 a proposed “cloverleaf” plan achieves the state’s goal of full directional access between Routes 7 and the Merritt, and between the Merritt and Main Avenue in Norwalk.
Sharply angled ramps and stop signs at the Main Avenue interchange would be replaced with rounder acceleration and deacceleration lanes, he said.
With the existing “partial cloverleaf” interchange, he said, southbound motorists on the Merritt have no direct connection to Route 7. Drivers instead access Route 7 via Main Avenue, causing traffic snarls. From Route 7, there is no direct path to the northbound lanes of the Merritt.
Richard Armstrong, DOT principal engineer, said the “poor geography” of the current configuration, coupled with a high traffic volume, leaves the area prone to accidents.
The proposed cloverleaf “is the preferred option because it does operate appropriately and we and the Merritt Parkway Conservancy can live with it,” Mr. Harley said.
Court battle
That plan, or “Modified Cloverleaf Interchange with Ramp ‘D’ Option #2,” was developed by the nonprofit conservancy in cooperation with the DOT, following a March 2006 U.S. District Court decision that the interchange project, begun the previous year, violated the Department of Transportation Act of 1966.
A judge ruled that the Federal Highway Administration and the state DOT failed to show the project included “all possible planning to minimize harm” to the Merritt, which was added to the National Register of Historical Places in 1991.
Seven historical preservation and environmental groups, including the conservancy, sued both agencies in 2005 in an effort to downsize the project, which called for elevated ramps parallel to the Merritt. Construction halted later that year when the DOT instated a voluntary work moratorium.
“The issue driving the conservancy’s concern is visual changes to the Merritt Parkway,” said Keith Simpson, a vice chairman of the conservancy who supervised the development of the preferred plan with New York City engineering firm Vollmer Associates, now Stantec.
Approval of the cloverleaf from the Federal Highway Administration and the State Historic Preservation Office are still needed, Mr. Harley said, and a lengthy permit process means it’s unlikely ground will be broken before 2012. Construction is expected to span three to four years.
Federal funding would cover 80% of the estimated $98 million to $124 million cost, with the state paying for the remainder.
Designs
The plan also calls for the addition of two left-hand turning lanes under the Main Avenue bridge, and for the Glover Avenue bridge over the Norwalk River to be rebuilt wider and higher.
Mr. Harley said the DOT is supporting the cloverleaf over a more elaborate concept, “Alternate #12A,” designed for the state by Purcell Associates in Glastonbury.
“From an operational standpoint of a person driving a car,” Mr. Harley said, “it’s arguable 12A is better.”
In a cloverleaf, a motorist has to weave around cars entering and exiting the highway, he said.
The design developed with the conservancy would also have a greater impact on wetlands within the cloverleaf, Mr. Harley said, while Alternate #12A is designed around those areas altogether.
But at a cost of $36 milliion to $45 million more, Alternate #12A would entail “unsightly” elevated ramps, three new bridges in environmentally sensitive areas along the Norwalk River and road construction six times that of the cloverleaf, Mr. Simpson has said.
Dennis Schain, communications director at the state Department of Environmental Protection, said he could not comment on either plan because they have not formally been brought before the agency.
Support
At an informational and public scoping meeting at Norwalk City Hall last week, area residents and local politicians expressed overwhelming support for the cloverleaf design. Speakers included State Senators William H. Nickerson, Judith G. Freedman and Bob Duff; State Reps. John W. Hetherington and Toni Boucher; Norwalk Mayor Richard A. Moccia, Norwalk Councilman Douglas E. Hempstead and Norwalk Planning Commission member Walter O. Briggs.
“When what everyone wants is everything, no one gets anything,” Mr. Nickerson said, praising the cooperation between the DOT and advocacy groups.
Speaking critically of the elevated ramps in the DOT’s original plan and Alternate #12A, Mr. Hetherington, who represents part of Wilton, said, “I hear of these flyways and I thought I was at the FAA.”
Representatives of the Norwalk Association of Silvermine Homeowners, Silvermine Community Association and the Norwalk Preservation Trust have also endorsed the cloverleaf plan.
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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