North Main Street 'Road Diet Study' Continuing In West Hartford

WEST HARTFORD, CT — Phase 2 of the West Hartford North Main Street "Road Diet Study" is on tap to begin Aug. 9.

The second phase is designed to include "additional work to evaluate and implement a road diet trial on North Main Street" between Albany Avenue (Route 44) and Farmington Avenue.

During the trial, the road will be reduced to two travel lanes (one in each direction) with a center two-way left turn lane. The purpose of the trial is to "evaluate traffic operations with the road diet concept and determine the efficacy of the road diet."

The road diet trial is expected to be in place for approximately six months.

The trial will include the removal of existing pavement markings and painting of new markings to reduce the existing four lanes (two lanes in each direction) to three lanes (one lane in each direction with a center two-way left turn lane) and shoulders, town officials said.

New traffic signs will be installed and the traffic signals at the North Main Street intersections with Fern Street and Asylum Avenue will be modified to include northbound left turn arrows, officials said.

With the North Main Street bridge project nearing completion, the temporary traffic signal near the intersection of Linbrook Road will be removed, in advance of the road diet trial, officials said.

The Town of West Hartford, in conjunction with the project design consultant VHB, will be "closely monitoring traffic" and collecting data along the corridor. Traffic data will also be collected on adjacent roads to determine if traffic is diverting away from North Main Street as a result of the road diet, officials said.

A public feedback survey will be available this fall via www.westhartfordct.gov/roaddiet.

Comments can be shared with the project consultant VHB at 860-807-4405 or emailing the project team at roaddiet@westhartfordct.gov.