The Interstate 95 and Interstate 91 interchange in New Haven is one of the most congested in the country, with more than 150,000 vehicles passing through every day and work is being done to improve conditions.
Exit 44 has become a tricky spot for travelers passing through New Haven on I-95 south.
“We actually made a mistake and got on the wrong road heading north instead of back going south again,” Byron Spraker, of Baltimore, said. “That was a problem.”
As construction crews rebuild the West River Bridge heading into West Haven, southbound traffic at Exit 44 splits into two lanes to the left and one lane to the right.
“I’m so used to it. You know you just get used to slowing down that’s all,” Gary King, of Nantucket, Massachusetts, said.
Motorists can expect traffic back-ups by Long Wharf through the summer, but the traffic situation will improve two months ahead of schedule.
“By September that split will be removed and it will be much better going through West River,” Domenic LaRosa, assistant district engineer for the state Department of Transportation, said.
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This past weekend, a fifth lane opened on the southbound side of the Q Bridge. At the end of the summer, five lanes will be open in both directions.
“By September, we should have full capacity on the structure,” LaRosa said.
If you drive from the shoreline toward Hartford, LaRosa said merging onto I-91 from I-95 North will be easier when a right-hand exit opens sometime at the end of June, early July. It is all part of the complex overhaul to make the highway interchange in New Haven safer.
“The biggest things were the safety improvements,” LaRosa said. “The on- off-ramps, with enough merge time and weave distance, the two lane connections to eliminate any congestion when you’re trying to connect to 91.”
The Interchange and Q Bridge project should be finished in November, LaRosa said. The West River Bridge project will be complete by the end of 2018.
