New Haven Harbor Crossing Improvement Program

Last updated

New Haven Harbor Crossing Improvement Program
Location
New Haven, Connecticut
Roads at
junction
Construction
Constructed2000-2018
Maintained by Connecticut Department of Transportation

The New Haven Harbor Crossing Corridor Improvement Program is a $2 billion megaproject in the city of New Haven, Connecticut, to reconstruct and widen some 13 miles of highway in the New Haven area, which included 7.2 miles of Interstate 95 along with other related transportation improvements. The centerpiece of the project is the replacement of the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge, which carries Interstate 95 over the Quinnipiac River. [1] The program also included the reconstruction of parts of Interstate 91, Connecticut Route 34, and US Route 1 that connect to and run near the bridge, as well as other related transportation upgrades.

Contents

Overview and Planning

The Connecticut Turnpike opened to traffic in 1958, and was designed to carry 40,000 vehicles a day. By 1993, however, it was carrying over 140,000 vehicles a day, with some sources saying that figure has since ballooned to over 200,000.

In October 1989, the state of Connecticut initiated a study to evaluate a 7.2-mile stretch of Interstate 95 between West Haven and Branford. This was followed by a January 1992 draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) outlining several options, which ranged from simply widening I-95 to building a light rail line to parallel I-95. Residents and officials criticized the original plan, which caused the state to go back to the drawing board. After drafting a new plan in 1997, the state released a final environmental impact statement in March 1999. Opposition to the new plan was significantly lower than the old one, and so the state continued to advance with its plans.

Design sessions took place in late 1999/early 2000 and construction commenced in October 2000. The state divided the program into 25 separate contracts undertaken by 10 different construction firms in order to combat the increasing costs of labor and construction material.

Construction

New Haven State Street

The first project under the program constructed the New Haven State Street train station. The station opened on June 7, 2002.

Eastern approach

The eastern approach to the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge was reconstructed and widened through two contracts, officially referred to as Contracts C1 and C2 at a total cost of $120 million. Contract C1 reconstructed the eastern approach from Lake Saltonstall through East Haven, while Contract C2 reconstructed I-95 from the East Haven/New Haven border to the eastern abutment of the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge. O & G Industries of Torrington, Connecticut, was the primary contractor for both contracts. While a train accident, harsh weather, and several design changes delayed the completion of Contract C1 by more than a year, O & G Industries completed Contract C2 in August 2008, one year ahead of schedule. Further east, a third contract officially referred to as Contract D, reconstructed and widened I-95 from the Lake Saltonstall bridge to Exit 54 in Branford. Pittsfield, Massachusetts-based Middlesex Company was the prime contractor for the $36 million contract. Aside from resurfacing, restriping and widening from four lanes to six, no physical construction was performed on the I-95 bridge over Lake Saltonstall as it was rebuilt and widened in 1995.

Western approach and I-91/Route 34 interchange

Reconstructing the western approach to the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge was divided into several contracts: E, E1 and E2. Contract E1 involved the construction of earthworks that support the western abutment of the new bridge and carry the new ramps to I-91 and Route 34. L.G. DeFelice Construction was originally awarded the $14 million contract, but the company went out of business midway through the project. The contract was picked up and completed on schedule by Hallberg Construction in 2006. Contract E2 involved building the flyover bridge that carries the new ramp from I-95 northbound to Route 34 and added a transition lane to I-95 in each direction through Long Wharf. This contract was completed on June 6, 2011, by Walsh Construction Company of Canton, Massachusetts, at a cost of $90 million. Contract E completed the remainder of the interchange ramps, bridges, and new Turnpike mainline roadways. This contract was let on April 11, 2011, and ended on November 18, 2016.

Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge construction

The first bridge contract, which included the demolition of the Yale Boathouse and the Fitch Foundry, was let in October 2006. A second contract was let on June 1, 2007, to relocate two 42-inch (1.06 meter) diameter sanitary sewer lines that lie directly beneath where part of the new bridge will be built. Construction of the new sewer lines involved slant drilling through bedrock under New Haven Harbor. The Middlesex Company, a construction contractor based in Littleton, Massachusetts, was the prime contractor on the $20 million project. [2]

The third contract, known as Contract B1 in official documents, which covers construction of the bridge abutments and pier foundations for the northbound lanes was let on October 31, 2007. Four construction firms submitted bids for this $137 million contract February 6, 2008, according to bid results from CONNDOT. [3] The contract was awarded to a joint venture between the Middlesex Company and Pittsfield, Maine-based Cianbro Corporation in April 2008.

The final contract, known as Contract B, will construct the remainder of the new bridge and demolish the existing span. Contract B was awarded to a joint venture between Walsh Construction of Chicago, Illinois, and Denver, Colorado-based PCL Constructors for $417 million in July 2009. The joint venture company is also known as Walsh-PCL Joint Venture II (A previous joint venture between the two companies, known as Walsh-PCL Joint Venture I, reconstructed the Moses Wheeler Bridge in Stratford).

Route 34/Downtown Crossing

In a related project known as Downtown Crossing, the city of New Haven has been decommissioning the Route 34/Oak Street Connector to make way for new developments, and to reconnect Downtown New Haven's street grid. The first phase of this project was included in the New Haven Harbor Crossing Improvement Program, let on February 1, 2013, and completed on July 10, 2015.

Canal Dock Boathouse

Another part of the program was the construction of the Canal Dock Boathouse. The state agreed to construct the boathouse as a compromise with the city of New Haven for demolishing the historic Yale Boathouse. The boathouse construction contract was preceded by a contract to build a platform for the boathouse to sit on. This began in February 2013 and ended in October 2014. Construction on the boathouse itself began in October 2016 and ended in September 2018.

West Haven to I-91/Route 34

Three separate contracts reconstructed and widened I-95 from I-91/Route 34 to Route 162 in West Haven.

To the west of Long Wharf, CONNDOT replaced aging bridge over the West River and Route 10 with a wider structure through . Part of this reconstruction effort involved consolidated Exits 44 and 45 into a single interchange. Construction of the new West River Bridge occurred in a three-stage project similar to the reconstruction of the Moses Wheeler Bridge further west in Stratford. The first stage involving construction of the new northbound lanes was completed in the middle of 2015. The second stage involved shifting northbound traffic onto the new northbound span and shifting southbound traffic onto the former northbound lanes of the original bridge so the old southbound lanes could be demolished to make way for the new southbound lanes. This stage was completed in the middle of 2016, with southbound traffic shifted to the new southbound structure and the original bridge taken out of service. The final stage involves removal of the remaining original bridge and completing the center portion of the new bridge. All three stages were completed as part of a single contract, which was let on March 31, 2014, and ended on November 9, 2018. This was the final project completed under the program to date.

The section of I-95 from Route 162 in West Haven to the West River features six lanes with no shoulders, and has been the site of chronic congestion and numerous accidents. Plans for reconstructing and widening this section features full left and right-hand shoulders, and contains provisions for a future expansion to eight lanes. No timetable or funding is present for this project.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 97</span> Short Interstate Highway in Maryland

Interstate 97 (I-97) is a north-south Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. It runs entirely within Anne Arundel County, Maryland, for 17.62 miles (28.36 km) from U.S. Route 50/U.S. Route 301 (US 50/US 301) in Parole near Annapolis north to I-695 and I-895B in Brooklyn Park near Baltimore. The interstate is the primary highway between Baltimore and Annapolis. I‑97 connects Annapolis with Baltimore/Washington International Airport and links the northern Anne Arundel County communities of Crownsville, Millersville, Severna Park, Glen Burnie, and Ferndale. It is currently the second shortest primary Interstate Highway in the country after the unfinished I-87 in North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Jersey Turnpike</span> Toll road in New Jersey

The New Jersey Turnpike (NJTP) is a system of controlled-access highways in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The turnpike is maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. The 117.2-mile (188.6 km) mainline's southern terminus is at the Delaware Memorial Bridge on I-295 in Pennsville. Its northern terminus is at an interchange with I-80 and US 46 in Ridgefield Park. Construction of the mainline, from concept to completion, took a total of 22 months between 1950 and 1951. It was opened to traffic on November 5, 1951, between its southern terminus and exit 10.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garden State Parkway</span> Toll road in New Jersey, United States

The Garden State Parkway (GSP) is a controlled-access, tolled highway that stretches the north–south length of eastern New Jersey from the state's southernmost tip near Cape May north to the New York state line at Montvale. Its name refers to New Jersey's nickname, the "Garden State". The parkway has an unsigned reference number of Route 444 by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT). At its north end, the road becomes the Garden State Parkway Connector, a component of the New York State Thruway system that connects to the Thruway mainline in Ramapo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connecticut Route 34</span> State highway in Connecticut, US

Route 34 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Route 34 is 24.37 miles (39.22 km) long, and extends from Washington Avenue near I-84/US 6 in Newtown to the junction of I-91 and I-95 in New Haven. The highways connects the New Haven and Danbury areas via the Lower Naugatuck River Valley. The portion of the route between New Haven and Derby was an early toll road known as the Derby Turnpike.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 695 (Maryland)</span> Highway in Maryland

Interstate 695 (I-695) is a 51.46-mile-long (82.82 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway that constitutes a beltway extending around Baltimore, Maryland, United States. I-695 is officially designated the McKeldin Beltway but is colloquially referred to as either the Baltimore Beltway or 695. The route is an auxiliary route of I-95, intersecting that route southwest of Baltimore near Arbutus and northeast of the city near White Marsh. It also intersects other major roads radiating from the Baltimore area, including I-97 near Glen Burnie, the Baltimore–Washington Parkway near Linthicum, I-70 near Woodlawn, I-795 near Pikesville, and I-83 in the Timonium area. The 19.37-mile (31.17 km) portion of the Baltimore Beltway between I-95 northeast of Baltimore and I-97 south of Baltimore is officially Maryland Route 695 (MD 695) and is not part of the Interstate Highway System but is signed as I-695. The Francis Scott Key Bridge that crossed over the Patapsco River was included in this section of the route before the bridge's collapse on March 26, 2024. The bridge and its approaches were maintained by the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA), while the remainder of the Baltimore Beltway is maintained by the Maryland State Highway Administration (MDSHA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 295 (Delaware–Pennsylvania)</span> Interstate Highway in the US states of Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania

Interstate 295 (I-295) in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania is an auxiliary Interstate Highway, designated as a bypass around Philadelphia, and a partial beltway of Trenton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 275 (Florida)</span> Interstate Highway in Florida

Interstate 275 (I-275), located in Florida, is a 60-mile-long (97 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway serving the Tampa Bay area. Its southern terminus is at I-75 near Palmetto, where I-275 heads west towards the Sunshine Skyway Bridge crossing over Tampa Bay. From that point, I-275 passes through St. Petersburg before crossing Tampa Bay again on the Howard Frankland Bridge, then continues through the city of Tampa, where it connects to an interchange with I-4 in Downtown Tampa. After the interchange, I-275 passes north through the Tampa suburbs to its northern terminus at I-75 in Wesley Chapel.

The Connecticut Turnpike is a freeway and former toll road in the U.S. state of Connecticut; it is maintained by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT). Spanning approximately 128 miles (206 km) along a generally west–east axis, its roadbed is shared with Interstate 95 (I-95) for 88 miles (142 km) from the New York state border in Greenwich to East Lyme; I-395 for 36 miles (58 km) from East Lyme to Plainfield; and SR 695 for four miles (6.4 km) from Plainfield to the Rhode Island state line at U.S. Route 6 (US 6) in Killingly. The turnpike briefly runs concurrently with US 1 from Old Saybrook to Old Lyme and Route 2A from Montville to Norwich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Springfield Interchange</span> Mixing Bowl

The Springfield Interchange, also known as the Mixing Bowl, is the interchange of Interstate 95, Interstate 395, and Interstate 495 in Springfield, Virginia, outside of Washington, D.C. The interchange is located at exit 57 on the Capital Beltway, exit 170 on I-95, and exit 1 on I-395.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 95 in Connecticut</span> Highway in Connecticut

Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running in a general east–west compass direction for 111.57 miles (179.55 km) in Connecticut, from the New York state line to the Rhode Island state line. I-95 from Greenwich to East Lyme is part of the Connecticut Turnpike, during which it passes through the major cities of Stamford, Bridgeport, and New Haven. After leaving the turnpike in East Lyme, I-95 is known as the Jewish War Veterans Memorial Highway and passes through New London, Groton, and Mystic, before exiting the state through North Stonington at the Rhode Island border.

The Raymond E. Baldwin Bridge is a concrete segmental bridge composed of eleven spans crossing the Connecticut River between Old Saybrook, Connecticut and Old Lyme, Connecticut. The bridge carries Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1, with an average daily traffic of 82,500 vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 95 in Maryland</span> Interstate Highway in Maryland

Interstate 95 (I-95) is an Interstate Highway running along the East Coast of the United States from Miami, Florida, north to the Canadian border at Houlton, Maine. In Maryland, the route is a major highway that runs 110.01 miles (177.04 km) diagonally from southwest to northeast, entering from the District of Columbia and Virginia at the Woodrow Wilson Bridge over the Potomac River, northeast to the Delaware state line near Elkton. It is the longest Interstate Highway within Maryland and is one of the most traveled Interstate Highways in the state, especially between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., despite alternate routes along the corridor, such as the Baltimore–Washington Parkway, U.S. Route 1 (US 1), and US 29. I-95 also has eight auxiliary routes in the state, the most of any state along the I-95 corridor. Portions of the highway, including the Fort McHenry Tunnel and the Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge, are tolled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 95 in Massachusetts</span> Highway in Massachusetts, United States

Interstate 95 (I-95) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that parallels the East Coast of the United States from Miami, Florida, in the south to Houlton, Maine, in the north. In the US state of Massachusetts, it spans 92 miles (148 km) along a north–south axis. It is the third-longest Interstate Highway in Massachusetts, behind I-90 and I-495, while I-95 in full is the longest north–south Interstate and sixth-longest Interstate Highway in the US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 95 in Delaware</span> Section of Interstate Highway in New Castle County, Delaware, United States

Interstate 95 (I-95) is an Interstate Highway running along the East Coast of the United States from Miami, Florida, north to the Canadian border in Houlton, Maine. In the state of Delaware, the route runs for 23.43 miles (37.71 km) across the Wilmington area in northern New Castle County from the Maryland state line near Newark northeast to the Pennsylvania state line in Claymont. I-95 is the only primary Interstate Highway that enters Delaware, although it also has two auxiliary routes within the state. Between the Maryland state line and Newport, I-95 follows the Delaware Turnpike, a toll road with a mainline toll plaza near the state line. Near Newport, the Interstate has a large interchange with Delaware Route 141 (DE 141) and the southern termini of I-295 and I-495. I-95 becomes the Wilmington Expressway from here to the Pennsylvania state line and heads north through Wilmington concurrently with U.S. Route 202 (US 202). Past Wilmington, I-95 continues northeast to Claymont, where I-495 rejoins the route right before the Pennsylvania state line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 9 in New Jersey</span> Highway in New Jersey

U.S. Route 9 (US 9) is a United States Numbered Highway in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, running from Laurel, Delaware, to Champlain, New York. In New Jersey, the route runs 166.80 miles (268.44 km) from the Cape May–Lewes Ferry terminal in North Cape May, Cape May County, where the ferry carries US 9 across the Delaware Bay to Lewes, Delaware, north to the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee, Bergen County, where the route along with Interstate 95 (I-95) and US 1 continue into New York City. US 9 is the longest U.S. Highway in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 95 in Pennsylvania</span> Section of Interstate Highway in United States

Interstate 95 (I-95) is a major north–south Interstate Highway that runs along the East Coast of the United States from Miami, Florida, north to the Canada–United States border at Houlton, Maine. In the state of Pennsylvania, it runs 51.00 miles (82.08 km) from the Delaware state line near Marcus Hook in Delaware County in the southeastern part of the state northeast to the Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge at the New Jersey state line near Bristol in Bucks County, closely paralleling the New Jersey state line for its entire length through Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge (Connecticut)</span> Bridge in Connecticut, U.S.

The Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge, commonly referred to as the Q Bridge by locals, is an extradosed bridge that carries Interstate 95 over the mouth of the Quinnipiac River in New Haven, in the U.S. state of Connecticut. This bridge replaced the original 1,300 m (0.8 mi) span which opened on January 2, 1958. The old bridge had a girder and floorbeam design where steel beams supported a concrete bridge deck that carried three lanes of traffic in each direction with no inside or outside shoulders. The bridge was officially dedicated as the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge in 1995 to commemorate the attack on Pearl Harbor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 15 in Utah</span> Section of Interstate highway in Utah, United States

Interstate 15 (I-15) runs north–south in the U.S. state of Utah through the southwestern and central portions of the state, passing through most of the state's population centers, including St. George and those comprising the Wasatch Front: Provo–Orem, Salt Lake City, and Ogden–Clearfield. It is Utah's primary and only north–south interstate highway, as the vast majority of the state's population lives along its corridor; the Logan metropolitan area is the state's only Metropolitan Statistical Area through which I-15 does not pass. In 1998, the Utah State Legislature designated Utah's entire portion of the road as the Veterans Memorial Highway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moses Wheeler Bridge</span> Bridge in Connecticut, United States

Moses Wheeler Bridge carries Interstate 95 over the Housatonic River between Stratford and the Devon section of Milford. The current bridge is a 14-span continuous girder and floorbeam structure that carries three lanes of traffic in each direction, with full inside and outside shoulders. The current bridge, completed in 2016, replaces a pre-existing structure that was completed as part of the original Connecticut Turnpike in 1958. The original bridge was a 34-span plate girder structure with a concrete deck with three 12-foot travel lanes in each direction and no shoulders. The central span of the original bridge over the river's navigation channel included a pin and hanger assembly, which are no longer used in bridge construction in the United States. Construction on the Moses Wheeler Bridge began in 1955 and opened on January 2, 1958.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 202 in Pennsylvania</span> US Highway in Pennsylvania

U.S. Route 202 is a US Highway running from New Castle, Delaware, northeast to Bangor, Maine. In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the route runs for 59 miles (95 km), from the Delaware state line in Bethel Township, Delaware County, to the New Hope–Lambertville Toll Bridge over the Delaware River in Solebury Township, where the route crosses into New Jersey. The highway runs through the western and northern suburbs of Philadelphia in the Delaware Valley metropolitan area, and serves as a toll-free bypass around the city, avoiding the busy traffic and congestion on Interstate 95 (I-95). It is signed north–south and follows a general southwest–northeast direction through the state.

References

  1. "Home". i95newhaven.com.
  2. Department of Transportation. "CONNDOT Bids and RFPs". Ct.gov. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
  3. Department of Transportation (August 9, 2011). "CONNDOT Projects Scheduled for Advertising". Ct.gov. Retrieved August 22, 2011.