MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — The Connecticut Department of Transportation will be starting construction on a project to change the Route 17 on-ramp that leads to Route 9 northbound in Middletown, Gov. Ned Lamont announced on Tuesday.
This change is an effort to increase driver safety as well as pedestrians and increase traffic mobility, the governor said.
The on-ramp’s current configuration has resulted in 319 crashes and 27 injuries between 2019 and 2022.
The contract valued at $50 million was awarded to Middlesex Corporation. It is supported by funding Connecticut is receiving from President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The project is expected to be completed in 2026.
“Improving the area around Route 9 in Middletown has been high on my priority list," Lamont said in a statement. "For far too many years, this has been a notorious spot for congestion and accidents, and the current configuration is the source of many of these issues. Reconfiguring the Route 17 on-ramp by removing the stop sign and creating an acceleration lane is just one component of improvements on Route 9 in Middletown that we will be making."
The project includes removing the on-ramp’s existing stop sign and creating a full-length, free-flow acceleration lane that will allow vehicles to merge onto Route 9 without first being required to come to a complete stop.
The bridge carrying Route 17 over Route 9 will be replaced to accommodate the new acceleration lane, while Harbor Drive access to Route 9 will be removed.
The Main Street Extension intersection will be realigned and signalized, and a new sidewalk will be added to the west side of the Main Street Extension underneath Route 17.
"This project is critical to improving the safety of drivers through the Route 9 corridor in Middletown. Every construction project of ours is focused on improving the safety of drivers, making it easier to get to wherever you’re traveling," said CTDOT Commissioner Garrett Ecualitto in a statement. "The federal infrastructure law passed two years ago allows CTDOT to address the most important roadway and bridge improvements while accelerating our work to make improvements faster.”
This project is part of a larger, comprehensive CTDOT program to improve driver and pedestrian safety in Middletown, including removing the traffic signals on Route 9 and Miller Street access to the freeway.
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