WINDSOR LOCKS, CT — A long-planned overhaul of Main Street has received another $1.2 million, bringing the project's total funding to $6.5 million.
The Connecticut Department of Transportation approved the funding increase and a revised scope for the Downtown Route 159 Complete Streets Project, First Selectman Jonathan Savino announced.
The project received an initial $3,550,400 commitment in 2018 through the state-funded Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program, which is administered regionally by the Capitol Region Council of Governments.
Funding was increased to $5.3 million in 2021. The latest increase brings the total allocation to $6.5 million — nearly $3 million more than the original commitment.
The CRCOG Cost Review Subcommittee unanimously approved the additional $1.2 million in July. Officials attributed most of the increase to higher construction prices and several additions to the project.
The original design called for a roundabout at Main and Chestnut streets. That piece was removed after extensive public outreach brought substantial opposition, according to CRCOG project documents. A stop-controlled intersection is now planned in its place.
The revised project includes raised crosswalks, a landscaped median, a triangular traffic island, sidewalks, additional on-street parking, granite curbing, drainage work, ornamental lighting and more rectangular rapid-flashing beacons at pedestrian crossings.
Among the largest added costs are $390,000 for ornamental lighting, $245,000 for pavement milling and asphalt, $190,000 for drainage work and granite curbing and $68,000 for additional flashing beacons, CRCOG documents show.
The project is intended to slow traffic, make downtown safer for pedestrians and improve connections to the new Windsor Locks train station and bus service to Bradley International Airport.
Plans for downtown improvements date back more than a decade. A 2013 transit-oriented development study recommended traffic-calming measures, safer pedestrian crossings, additional parking and stronger connections between Main Street, the train station and the canal trail.
The project remains in the preliminary design phase. Town officials said a public information meeting will be scheduled as the design advances. A construction date has not been announced.
Design work is also underway for the reconstruction of Spring Street. That project is expected to be completed in two sections: from Main Street to West Street and from Volunteer Drive to Route 75. Town officials anticipate seeking LOTCIP funding for the Volunteer Drive-to-Route 75 section.
For more Northern Connecticut news, follow Patch editor Jay Kenney.
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