Despite the road being open to traffic, the street lights on West Avenue from Exit 14 near Mathews Park though Garland Street for many weeks were unlit, so drivers had to contend with darkness in a high trafficked area. With the I-95 overpass darkening the thoroughfare at night
The stretch of road has been undergoing improvements since last summer, including the addition of a new median along with a new lane adjacent to the future 95/7 property.
The streetlights that originally lined West Avenue were replaced by new street lights as part of the infrastructure improvements required by the state Department of Transportation (DOT) after the city government approved the master development plan for the 95/7 project. Using projected traffic studies, DOT anticipated an increase in traffic and insisted on adding a turning lane that would lead to the Exit 14 ramp along Crescent street.
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The original ramp to I-95 is being replaced, and a few months ago Crescent Street from West Ave. to Science Drive was closed to traffic.
According to Jack Burritt, project Manager for the Norwalk Redevelopment Agency, the lights should be all functioning soon. “Street lights were turned on as of Monday (March 21) from the Route 7 overpass southward to the Pine Street Extension. The lights north of the Route 7 overpass are supposed to be energized next week, according to the contractor” he said.
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The 95/7 project has been the focus of neighborhood activists who point to the empty lot as a sign of stalled development. Infrastructure work has been in process at the site for many months as water main hook ups, a new road and traffic and electrical infrastructure has been built.
Last October, DPW determined that the water main under West Avenue was already at capacity near North Main Street, preventing additional hook ups. The townhouses on West Avenue had to install an urban septic system in order to finish construction.
Meanwhile the site has been used by the city government to provide staging areas to city contractors working on the West Avenue infrastructure improvements, according to Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Timothy Sheehan. As with many Northeast cities, the infrastructure underground is old and in need to repair and upgrades. In South Norwalk, SNEW is responsible for that work.
