Vernon Wendy's Likely Off the Grill for 2017: Official

VERNON, CT — Traffic and sidewalk issues are making it unlikely that a project to place a Wendy's next to Taco Bell along Route 83 could begin in 2017, Vernon's economic development coordinator said Wednesday,

The project has yet to meet "the satisfaction" of state traffic officials, Vernon Economic Development Coordinator Shaun Gately said. Traffic and sidewalk improvement issues are the matters at hand, he added.

The Wendy's has been proposed for halfway across the current Taco Bell Parking lot and onto an adjacent parcel on which a single-story commercial building stood.

Improvements to the Hockanum River trail system will coincide with the project, municipal officials said.

Once reports from the state Office of the State Traffic Administration are complete, the project can proceed through the final local regulatory process, Gately said. But with barely two months left in the year and the asphalt plants either closed or poised to be closed for the cold weather season, breaking ground in 2017 is less than likely, Gately said

The franchise would be owned by Wendy's corporate, Gately said. The fast food chain has been looking to set up shop in Vernon for the better part of six years.

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