Travelers wanting to take a pit stop along Connecticut’s highways should take note of service plazas that will soon be closing and reopening.
Judd Everhart, Director of Communications for the Connecticut Department of Transportation, recently told Patch the new construction schedule for the plazas, a project being undertaken by Project Service, LLC.
The new schedule has delayed estimated dates for four service plaza re-openings and future closures as compared to a January schedule listed on the Connecticut DOT website.
Interstate 95
The first service plaza to reopen in 2013 will be Darien northbound in June, while the southbound plaza will reopen in July, Everhart said.
In July, the Fairfield northbound plaza will close for renovations and the southbound facility will close in August. Renovations should be completed on both plazas by late 2014.
The new schedule meets January’s projections for Darien and Fairfield but it’s a slightly different story for plazas east of New Haven.
Everhart said that while the Branford northbound plaza is slated to reopen this August, the southbound plaza will not reopen until November. However, the January release stated that both would reopen “the coming spring/summer of 2013.”
The Madison northbound plaza will close in September for renovations, Everhart said, while the southbound plaza will close in December.
The January release stated that both plazas are “currently scheduled to begin construction in the summer of 2013” and that “the concession agreement with Project Service requires that the entire 23 service plaza redevelopment program be complete by May 15, 2015. All parties are striving to meet a more aggressive schedule that completes all of the work in 2014.”
However, the Madison northbound plaza will reopen in the fall of 2014 while the southbound plaza’s renovations “should be done in late 2014 or early 2015,” Everhart said.
Interstate 395
Everhart said that the Montville southbound service plaza is expected to reopen in September. January’s projections called for the Montville plaza to reopen this summer.
Route 15/Merritt Parkway
Greenwich northbound and southbound plazas are expected to reopen in September.
Both New Canaan plazas will close in October for renovations that should be completed by fall 2014, Everhart said.
Orange northbound and southbound plazas have already closed for renovations and are expected to reopen this December.
The new schedule follows January projections for those Route 15 plazas.
Reopened
Eight service plazas have reopened after extensive renovations. Two plazas on Route 15 in North Haven reopened in 2011. The plazas on I-95 in Milford, I-395 in Plainfield, and Route 15 in Fairfield all reopened in 2012. Delays plagued many of those openings.
“The fresh, clean look combined with fresh, healthy food alternatives provide a great incentive for travelers to stop in and take a break on our highways,” said DOT Commissioner James P. Redeker, in a October 2012 press release.
Future
All but one (Route 15 Fairfield Southbound with no Subway) of the 23 service plazas will feature Mobil gasoline, Subway, Dunkin’ Donuts, and a convenience store while McDonald’s will be offered at eight I-95 locations which include both plazas in Darien, Fairfield, Milford, Branford Northbound and Madison Southbound.
Freshly made food offerings is a new concept to the I-395 and Route 15 plazas which used to only have pre-packaged offerings.
120 additional truck parking spaces will be added to the I-95 plazas. Truck idle reduction technology will be available at 82 spaces. Additional retail and food offerings will be available at the larger I-95 plazas in Darien, Milford, and Fairfield.
