The Westfield Avenue home that was slated to become a cul-de-sac as part of plans to add an on-ramp to Route 8 will likely be saved.
Rick Dunne, the executive director of the Valley Council of Governments, told members of the Ansonia Police Commission Wednesday that VCOG is moving forward with an alternate plan for the new on-ramp at exit 18 northbound.
The new plan is essentially the same as the one presented to the public last month, except it leaves in tact the single-family home at 77 Westfield Ave.
“Normally we don’t design a project where the homeowner has a choice,” Dunne joked at the meeting. “In this one we have that luxury.”
The new on-ramp design plan involves splitting Westfield Avenue into two roads, and creating a cul-de-sac on the northern portion of the road. The southern half of the road will merge into an on-ramp onto Route 8 north, and will also have a rotary so drivers can turn around and return to Division Street.
In the new proposal, the cul-de-sac on the northern portion of the street will be moved toward the south to leave enough room for the home at 77 Westfield Ave. to remain. (Read more about the public’s response to the plans here.)
“There won’t be room for a barrier of trees. It will be a little bit more expensive with larger retaining walls,” Dunne said. “But it can be done.”
The plans have been in the work for several years. Dunne’s group still needs to finalize the proposal and submit it to the state for approvals. Construction likely won’t begin until Spring 2011, Dunne told the Police Commission. He presented the proposal to the commission, which is the city’s traffic authority, to seek additional input.
The project is expected to cost $5 million dollars and would take two years to completed.
Less Traffic
Dunne said traffic studies done on the area indicate the new on-ramp would reduce traffic on Wakelee Avenue by 17 percent. Currently, people leaving Griffin Hospital looking to get on Route 8 north have to drive north on Wakelee Avenue to the exit 19 on-ramp near the Seymour line.
“People would typically travel the length of Ansonia to get to Route 8,” Dunne said.
But Chief Kevin Hale questioned whether the traffic would actually be reduced by that amount because drivers who used to cut down Westfield Avenue would now have to use Wakelee Avenue instead.
“I’m guessing, on balance, it will still be a net negative of traffic,” Dunne said.
