Work has started on a new highway ramp to get vehicles onto Route 8 north at Exit 18 in Ansonia.
The northbound on-ramp is being built on Westfield Avenue, just off Division Street on the border of Derby and Ansonia.
The state Department of Transportation announced in a press release April 7 that the $8.6 million project is scheduled to be completed by September 2016.
The project will significantly alter Westfield Avenue by installing two roundabouts on the road. Motorists will no longer be able to drive straight through Westfield from one side to the other.
The road, which has commercial uses on the Division Street end but is mostly residential, is a popular shortcut for motorists trying to make a beeline for the Route 8 north on-ramp at the end of Wakelee Avenue. It’s also used as a shortcut for people getting off Route 8 north at Exit 18 and cutting across to downtown Ansonia.
The on-ramp will start on Westfield Avenue roughly across from 50 Westfield Ave., Stelray Plastic Products.
The ramp will continue along Route 8 behind residential properties on Westfield Avenue, and complete its merge onto the highway near Edgehill Road and Jackson Street.
Edgehill Road is about a half-mile from 50 Westfield Ave.
The project includes the construction of a retaining wall, a noise barrier wall, safety improvements as well as drainage improvements being made on both Division Street and Westfield Avenue, according to the DOT press release.
Here’s a close shot of the project. The part in yellow shows the two roundabouts to be built on Westfield.
The ramp will essentially be built from the highway side, not necessarily the Westfield Avenue side.
The DOT sent out the following traffic information about the project:
- There will be lane closures on Route 8 north between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. Monday through Friday.
- There will be lane closures between the hours of 6 p.m. through 6 a.m. on the weekends.
- There will be lane closures on Division Street and Westfield Avenue between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. Monday through Friday.
- From now until November 2015, existing travel lanes on Route 8 north, near Exit 18, will be shifted and reduced to 11-foot widths, to accommodate the construction of the new on-ramp.
The new Route 8 ramp has been in the works for years. It was born our of a Route 8 corridor study that started 15 years ago.
Rick Dunne, the executive director of the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments, said the project will provide better access for emergency vehicles heading to Griffin Hospital. It will also improve access for vehicles heading to the hospital, the hospital’s cancer center and the myriad of local medical offices and related services surrounding the hospital.
“All of those people traveling north to get on the highway currently have to traverse the entire width of the City of Ansonia to get to the next ramp,” Dunne said. “The maintenance from the wear and tear on the local roads was falling entirely on the City of Ansonia.”
Here’s a PDF of the project. Click for a better view.
Dunne said the project is also needed because of another project in the design phase — extending Pershing Drive to reach downtown Derby. Right now Pershing Drive empties onto Route 8 south in front of Italian Pavilion.
“We need to create the northbound ramp before we can ever start the Pershing Drive project because we’ll need to divert traffic for some period of time,” Dunne said.
Several public information sessions on the Westfield Avenue onramp have been held over the years, including in 2008 and 2009.
Cars zipping through Westfield Avenue as a shortcut was a constant complaint from residents at those forums, Dunne said.
