The state Department of Transportation plans to use $5 million to remake the intersection of Stacey Road and Route 37 in Danbury ”“ now a Y configuration with twin stop signs ”“ into a T-shaped intersection with a traffic light and to widen the junction of Route 37 and Barnum Road a quarter-mile to the north.
The DOT will conduct a public information meeting concerning the projects June 22, 6 p.m., in Danbury City Hall, Room 3C, 155 Deer Hill Ave.
The DOT said in a statement there are right-of-way impacts associated with the plans, “including partial acquisitions, easements, construction easements and rights.”
Originally conceived and funded as separate projects, the nearby locations of the improvements supported the need to develop their design and schedule their construction at the same time, the DOT said, citing a combined $5 million construction cost coming from state and federal coffers.
The Stacey Road conversion is expected to cost $4 million. “Safety and capacity will be improved by providing left-turn lanes sheltered from through traffic,” the DOT said. And: “Sight distances to queued traffic will be improved.”
For another $1 million, the DOT plans to widen the Route 37 northbound shoulder to allow traffic to pass vehicles waiting to make a left turn onto Barnum Road.
At least one existing storm drain in the vicinity will require relocation and additional drainage structures will be installed along the new curb line at the west shoulder of Route 37.
Additionally, a sidewalk on Stetson Place will be extended north, from where it currently dead-ends, to intersect Barnum Road. The city”™s statement said this is “in keeping with Danbury”™s long-term plan to provide a pedestrian connection along this corridor.”
Construction for both projects is anticipated to begin in spring 2017 and is expected to last 20 months. Two lanes of traffic will be maintained during this period, with Route 37 temporarily widened to accommodate the work.
