Image courtesy of CTDOT.

One of the worst points of congestion in Connecticut is headed for a reconstruction under a plan announced by Gov. Ned Lamont last week.

Traffic trying to exit from Interstate 91 northbound onto Hartford’s Charter Oak Bridge and Route 15 northbound, Route 5 and Interstate 84 frequently backs up over a mile due to bottlenecks in the current design and drivers trying to cut in from the center lane, Lamont said in a statement. This congestion often has a knock-on effect, slowing down traffic on I-91 or blocking it entirely.

The project, termed a the “Congestion-Buster” by the state Department of Transportation, involves the relocation and construction of a new, two-lane exit ramp that will double the capacity and improve the geometry of the connector, relieving the bottleneck. It will cost $213 million and be finished in 2022.

As part of the project, parts of Route 15, Airport Road and other roads will also have to be lowered to help them fit under the new bridges being built. The state will also take advantage of the construction to repair the pavement on I-91 north and south between the Elm Street overpass in Wethersfield and the new Exit 29 off-ramp in Hartford, upgrade the drainage system and add guiderail upgrades to meet current highway standards.

Lamont used his announcement to press the General Assembly for a new transportation bill.

“The people of Connecticut are sick and tired of sitting in traffic on outdated roadways that cannot handle the capacity of a 21st century transit system,” he said in a statement. “Let’s give our state modernized infrastructure that expands our ability to grow and compete. Connecticut needs a long-term solution to fix the 30-year patchwork that has left our state with a gaping fiscal hole that needs to be fixed. If this was an easy choice, it would have been made decades ago – we were elected to make the tough decisions that will move our state forward, and now is the time do to that.”