Municipal officials on Tuesday approved a $14,500 contract with a New Haven-based engineering firm to advance the town’s plans for fixing a major traffic problem in New Canaan.
Southbound traffic on Old Stamford Road/Route 106 backs up during the school year at Farm Road, in part because drivers don’t move left while waiting to turn left at Farm and in part because there isn’t sufficient room for other motorists to get around them if more than one vehicle is making that turn.
The engineering firm, Fuss & O’Neill, is redesigning the intersection “and associated traffic signals to accommodate additional turning lanes at the intersection in order to help alleviate commuter traffic and associated school traffic,” according to Maria Coplit, town engineer in the Department of Public Works.
“For years, as we know, the intersection has been plagued with its challenges,” she told the Board of Selectmen during their regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference.
Led by Coplit and DPW, the town last summer kickstarted the process of obtaining about $1.4 million in state funding to do the actual work (the municipality is responsible for engineering and design fees) through a state Department of Transportation Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program or ‘LOTCIP’ grant via submission through the Western Council of Governments or ‘WestCOG.’ WestCOG has approved the project, and now, “in order to advance the project, the full DOT LOTCIP program application needs to be prepared and submitted by April 21st,” Coplit said.
She continued: “Fuss & O’Neill has prepared a proposal to further develop the application and complete the intersection control evaluation. Fuss & O’Neill also expects one round of comments from us and up to two meetings. The anticipation of this next round is to obtain a ‘commitment to fund letter’ from Connecticut DOT. At that point, we’ll request a proposal from Fuss & O’Neill to prepare the remainder of the construction documentation to submit to CT DOT for construction.”
Town officials have described the LOTCIP program as a multi-year process.
First Selectman Dionna Carlson and Selectmen Steve Karl and Amy Murphy Carroll voted 3–0 in favor of the contract.
The selectmen asked about the additional submission that comes later (that’s the formal application that will include two to three pages of information, including the intersection evaluation), whether the funds approved this week will cover all phases of design work (no, the town will spend approximately $150,000 total, though by the then the ‘commitment to fund letter’ from the state will be in hand) and whether the town will be in charge of the project at that point (yes, though the DOT’s sign-off is needed for the final design since Route 106 is a state road).
Karl noted that “from a resident standpoint, the objective here is to move traffic through there more efficiently and, lessen the bottlenecks, if you will, that are created over there.”
Great news and thank you. Please look at the intersection of Jelliff Mill Road and 106 next. Proving space for right turns from Jelliff Mill southbound onto 106 would go a long way towards alleviating the backups that form when the Merritt backs up and map apps direct drivers to use Jelliff Mill as a work around, as well as jams when buses are on the road.
Just imagine the backed up traffic when Karp builds his monstrosity at Weed and Elm! No amount of engineering will solve that one.
Glad to see this. Next up should be 123 southbound at the Merritt & Carter St. One car trying to make a left onto Carter can back up the road well beyond the right turn lane onto the highway