For a transportation project in Brookfield to obtain a commitment of federal transportation funds, it must first appear on the HVCEO maintained list below.

This listing also assists local officials in tracking the progress of current improvements, and planning and advocating for future improvements as well.

CURRENT ROUTE 7: BYPASS
--- Conn DOT project 18-113 is the relocation of the portion of Route 7 extending from the temporary end of the Route 7 Expressway in Brookfield, northward to the New Milford Town Line. This new roadway segment (see detailed pdf Conn DOT map) will pass to the west of current two lane Route 7 in Brookfield's "Four Corners" area.

The Route 7 Bypass will have a four lane cross section with north-south travel lanes divided by a "Jersey" type concrete median barrier. There will be no access (intersections or driveways) to the new Bypass.

The south end of the Bypass will connect to the temporary end of the Route 7 Expressway at an expanded four way interchange with Route 202 (Federal Road). The north end of the Bypass will reconnect to the existing Route 7 alignment, just south of the New Milford town line, at a new signalized intersection. North of that point existing Route 7 in New Milford will be widened to four lanes.

Conn DOT projections of average daily traffic for the year 2012 are revealing as to how volumes will change in central Brookfield once the new Route 7 Bypass is in place.

Without the Bypass, the 15,000 daily vehicles traveling north on the Route 7 Expressway will as now all exit to combined Routes 7 and 202. But with the Route 7 Bypass in place the northbound exit volume of 15,000 falls to 7,250, the remainder of 7,750 remaining on the new northbound Route 7 Bypass.

Just north of the current Route 7 Expressway terminus northbound Route 7 traffic is mixed with volumes from Route 202. The traffic projection here for 2012 estimates this northbound volume as 18,700 without the Bypass and 9,050 if it is built, a drop of just more than 50%.

This drop in volume will continue on “old” Route 7 thru the Four Corners - Route 25 intersection area. Conn DOT anticipates that once the Bypass is built then northbound volumes just south of the signal at Route 25 will be reduced by 60%, and then north of Route 25 reduced by close to 70%.

Looking at the total volume for both directions on Route 7 north of the Four Corners, the 2012 volume without the Bypass is projected to be 29,900. But with the diversion provided by the parallel Bypass this falls to a much lesser 9,700.

The new Route 7 as it will look through Brookfield. At Route 133
(yellow area and circle) Brookfield proposes to add a half
interchange with Route 7 ramps to and from the south.

Construction began in May of 2007. The project is then expected to take three years to complete. Contact: John Trovato (860) 594-3194.

FUTURE ROUTE 7: POTENTIAL
NEW ROUTE 133 INTERCHANGE
— Once the Route 7 Bypass is completed and traffic patterns make adjustments, undertake a planning study to determine the feasibility of a northbound exit ramp and a southbound entrance ramp ("half interchange") from the Route 7 Expressway to Route 133. See more detailed discussion in regional plan section entitled Route 7 North of Danbury.

FUTURE I-84: WIDENING
— Widening of I-84 from 4 to 6 lanes in conformance with Conn DOT’s 2000 I-84 Plan. Cost estimate is part of the $38,470,000 needed to widen I-84 between Exit 8 on the Danbury -Bethel line thru Brookfield easterly to Exit 9 in Newtown.

CURRENT ROUTE 202: INTERSECTION
AT SILVERMINE ROAD AND ELBOW HILL ROAD
Conn DOT project 18-118 will result in the alignment of the off-set intersections of Route 202 with Silvermine Road and Elbow Hill Road into one four-way, signalized intersection. This project is under construction as of April 2008. Conn DOT Contact: Hugh Hayward (860) 594-3279.

CURRENT ROUTE 202: IMPROVEMENTS
FROM WHITE TURKEY ROAD TO RT 133
Project No: 18-124 includes lane widening and lane continuity to address safety concerns along this busy section of Federal Road. Preliminary concept plans were prepared and a public information session was held on 4/16/2002 to receive public comments.

Additional survey information is being obtained. Alternative concept plans are being prepared to address identified concerns and may be ready for public review early in 2008. The current project cost estimate of $10,000,000 will likely be reduced as a result of design changes being considered.

While the next set of public review meetings will not be held until 2008 but affected individual businesses and local interest groups can meet before then. As of 5/2008 the project is moving ahead but is still beneath the 30% design stage, meaning that it remains conceptual and can be modified.

A key item on this Brookfield project list is the addition of turning
lanes and shoulders along the Route 202 commercial area.

A new link from the signal at Kohl’s driveway easterly to Gray’s Bridge Road is being considered as part of the project. But extending Huckleberry Hill Road easterly to Route 202 is no longer seen as feasible. The state bridge over the Still River may need to be widened in order to accommodate another lane.

The need for sidewalks was not brought up in the first review meeting a couple of years ago, but Conn DOT is definitely open to discussion of their inclusion. They would need input on pedestrian needs, and options other than building a sidewalk the full length of the project are possible. HVCEO staff suggested that the Town share of sidewalk costs may be waived given the new emphasis on Smart Growth and pedestrian movement at Conn DOT.

The contact is Conn DOT Project Engineer Scott Bushee at 860-594-2079.

FUTURE ROUTE 202: IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
ROUTES 202 AND 25 INTERSECTION AREA TO
FACILITATE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BROOKFIELD VILLAGE
MAke changes to Route 202 (as Route 7 in Brookfield Center will be known after the Route 7 Bypass is consturcted0 in coordination with the the construction of the Brookfield Village mixed use development.

Excerpt from Brookfield Village Center
Plan showing major changes to Route 7

FUTURE PEDESTRIAN
IMPROVEMENTS IN BROOKFIELD:
The Brookfield Plan of Conservation and Development proposes the development of “A walkable village type development pattern in the Four Corners area,” including the establishment of “a network of pedestrian sidewalks” there, and also “pedestrian friendly streetscape” and “interconnected parking areas and pedestrian walkways.”

The Brookfield Plan is also admirable in that it contains a full page and definitive townwide “Sidewalk Plan” for the municipality, using color to denote primary and secondary sidewalk areas and recommended future connections. The main Federal Road commercial area is identified as a primary sidewalk area.

According to the “Sidewalks” section of the Brookfield Plan “The lack of sidewalks and the low-density pattern of development in Brookfield limits pedestrian circulation. Existing pedestrian facilities, such as sidewalks and crosswalks, are basically located in some of the main retail areas Route 202 and the Four Corners area.”

FUTURE TRANSIT IMPROVEMENTS IN BROOKFIELD:
— Advance Brookfield bus and rail transit projects when funding permits.

— Construct Still River Multi-Use Trail from Town Hall north to Four Corners. The 2003 cost estimate was $550,000. This project received the top regional priority for federal Enhancement program funding. In December of 2005 Conn DOT announced that a grant of $400,000 towards the total cost had been awarded for this project.