Early estimates suggest that replacing the I-84 viaduct through Hartford could cost $3 billion to $5 billion — and covering that bill would be just one piece of a monumentally complex job.
Constructing a new highway at ground level would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform the capital city, urban planners say. The public is invited June 17 to a state transportation department forum where engineers will talk about options for replacing the half-century-old viaduct and discuss the job’s unique challenges.
Neighborhood groups are eager to get rid of the noisy, rumbling overpass that cuts the city in half. But rebuilding it at ground level or lower is no mere paving job: It would require orchestrating relocation of Amtrak‘s rail line and the new busway, while merging new exit and entrance ramps into downtown’s already jam-packed street grid.