Ramp Closure, New Traffic Formation on I-84 in Waterbury Starts Thursday

The drive on I-84 in Waterbury will soon change. Crews are opening new Exit 23 on and off ramps on each side of the highway.

For drivers on or near I-84 in Waterbury, major construction has turned miles of roads into a maze.

“It’s just hectic now with all the traffic. It’s like gridlock there now,” Luis Pumarejo of Naugatuck, said.

“It’s looking like a puzzle. You’re getting new changes every week,” George Engratt of Waterbury, said.

Now the overhaul of 84 has prompted redoing Exit 23 on both the westbound and eastbound sides near Hamilton Avenue.

“It’s very confusing for me because I remember it the old way. So when they’re making all these changes I don’t know where I’m going to go, how I’m going to get there,” Barabara Larrivee of Waterbury, said.

Starting Thursday night, the westbound Exit 23 off ramp will close. Drivers will have to detour until the next exit.

On Saturday a new Exit 23 off ramp will open. Then on the eastbound side, a new Exit 23 on ramp will open, replacing the current one.

That will allow crews to work on the Hamilton Avenue Bridge.

It means some lane changes in the area and what drivers say is the end to a shortcut around traffic.

“Now they’re trying to jump off and get back on the entrance ramp by Hamilton Avenue and they won’t be able to do that as easily anymore,” Engratt said.

In August the state announced the revamping of this nearly three-mile stretch was ahead of schedule.

The aim is to widen the highway, making three lanes in each direction, and straightening the road’s curves.

It’s expected to be done in the summer of 2019.

“I hope they finish even sooner. The construction is making a big pileup every day,” Pumarejo said.

“Life is a lot of changes. Right?” Larrivee said. “You just got to go with the flow. It will be great.”

For more information on the project click here.

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