Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) have announced the substantial completion of the I-95 New Haven Harbor Crossing Corridor Improvement Project, finishing on schedule and $200 million under budget.
The 18-year, nearly $2 billion multimodal transportation project features the new 10-lane, extradosed Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge – informally known as the Q Bridge – and various improvements to roadway operations in order to increase capacity and safety and reduce congestion in the area.
The bridge now includes four additional lanes in one of the most heavily traveled segments of the northeast corridor between New York and Boston. It accommodates traffic volumes in excess of 140,000 vehicles per day – more than three times the 40,000 vehicles per day its predecessor was designed to carry. The program also features the reconstruction of the I-95/I-91/Route 34 Interchange, providing three additional travel lanes on I-95 and improved safety features. The project has reconfigured the interchange to eliminate left lane exit and entrance ramps and now provides for two-lane interstate to interstate connections.
“In order to have a successful economy that attracts businesses and grows jobs, we must have an effective transportation system that efficiently moves workers, as well as goods and services. For too long, our state did not make the needed investments to keep up with our transportation needs – and we can no longer afford to sit back and let the status quo remain,” Malloy said in a statement. “This project is a great example of a bold step in making a modernized transportation system a reality. Our economic future depends on these kinds of major upgrades, and our residents deserve nothing less.”
The CTDOT was honored with the grand prize at the 2016 America’s Transportation Awards competition in recognition of the agency’s successful work on creating the new Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge. The state beat out 84 other project nominees from 39 state transportation departments plus the District of Columbia as part of the national competition.
