House Republican Press Release

October 6, 2006

Press Office: 860-240-8700

Rep. Gibbons: Bond Commission Okays $24,500,000 for I-95 Improvements

Funding Will Finance Upgrades to I-95 between Greenwich and North Stonington

The State Bond Commission has approved funding in the amount of $24,500,000 for operational upgrades to I-95 between Greenwich and North Stonington, state Representative Lile R. Gibbons, R-150^th District, announced today.

The Bond Commission approved the funding for the I-95 improvements at its meeting today. Also approved was $20,000,000 for transportation system improvements other than projects involving I-95; and $3,500,000 to purchase new buses, said Representative Gibbons, who serves on the General Assembly’s Transportation Committee.

“The transportation projects the Bond Commission voted to finance today have been a long time coming,” Representative Gibbons said. “With the traffic situation on I-95 getting worse every year, this funding could not have come at a better time. As work gets underway on new initiatives to unclog Fairfield County’s most heavily traveled highway, we must continue to plan for future transportation projects that will further reduce congestion, improve highway safety, and encourage wider use of mass transit.”

The state Department of Transportation's long term goal is to improve operations along the entire I-95 corridor from Greenwich to North Stonington. The projects, which are scheduled to get underway in 2007, include work on sections of the highway in Darien and Norwalk. Once completed, those upgrades will improve traffic flow and safety beyond the immediate areas where the reconstruction work will take place, Representative Gibbons said.

Speed change lanes will be constructed on I-95 in Darien in the area between three on and off ramps to improve safety conditions for merging traffic. The existing exit / entrance ramps operate poorly with today’s traffic volumes and create congestion. The work, which will take place in the vicinity of Exits 11, 12 & 13, is the second phase of a current project. The phase one project is under construction in the vicinity of exits 10 & 11, Representative Gibbons said.

The Norwalk project also involves the construction of speed change lanes (between exits 14 and 15) to improve traffic safety. However, that project also will include work along Route 1 where Exit 14 southbound terminates. The widening on I-95 also will require the replacement of three bridges (the Stewart, Taylor and Fairfield bridges) over the highway in Norwalk, Representative Gibbons said.