ROUTE 53 IN BETHEL
SOUTHERN SEGMENT OVERVIEW
State Route 53 enters Bethel from Redding and proceeds northerly 3.3 miles to cross into the City of Danbury. It then becomes the Main Street in that City and terminates at I-84 Exit 5.

The route generally parallels the western border of Bethel with Danbury and moves from the semi- rural southern part of the Town to more urban areas in central Bethel.

The roadway also follows closely the Sympaug Brook watercourse, crossing it just south of the railroad overpass. Much of this low lying state route lies within Bethel’s Sympaug Brook Aquifer.

Route 53 in Bethel is also known as Turkey Plain Road south of the railroad overpass and as Grassy Plain Street north of that point.

From the Redding Town Line north to Nashville Road it is designated a major collector roadway by Conn DOT, then continuing north to the Danbury City Line it is given the higher designation of minor arterial.

From the Conn DOT perspective, important intersections on Route 53 will be those at any other Conn DOT arterial or collector designated roadways interacting with it. There are three such intersections; first at the Beach Street and Reservoir Street intersection both of which are collectors, then moving north at Route 302 which like Route 53 is a minor arterial, and then finally with Fleetwood Avenue which is a collector route to and from Danbury.

Conn DOT’s 2005 average daily traffic volumes show major changes as Route 53 moves from south to north thru Bethel. Volumes are about 9,600 at the Redding Town Line, then about 10,800 from Nashville Road north to Route 302.

Traffic then grows to a high 21,600 on the busiest and most complex segment, the just more than one tenth of a mile section between Route 302 and Fleetwood Avenue. Route 53's volumes then fall to about 13,500 from Fleetwood Avenue to Mansfield Street, then to 12,300 as Route 53 crosses into the City of Danbury.

ROUTE 53 IN BETHEL AT NASHVILLE ROAD
Route 53 northbound as its enters Bethel is an attractive ride, continuing the semi-rural landscape of Redding, CT. Passing thru Bethel’s two acre residential zone, the first major traffic feature encountered is the intersection with Nashville Road.

Nashville Road at right meets Route 53 at a sharp angle,
resulting in a difficult and potentially dangerous right turn
movement out of Nashville Road onto Route 53 northbound.

According to a 2001 HVCEO traffic engineering report “While the traffic volume counts indicate that not many vehicles attempt the difficult right turn out of Nashville Road, and there have not been any crashes involving right turn vehicles, we recommend prohibiting right turns from Nashville Road onto Route 53 to improve safety.”

Continuing “The only other way to improve this intersection would be to realign Nashville Road as it intersects Route 53, to bring it to Route 53 in a more perpendicular angle. This would involve a major cut into the property on the east side of this intersection and the construction of a retaining wall.

These expenses do not seem to be justified, given the low volumes and crashes. Also, shifting the intersection further north is not possible due to the grade difference between the two roads as one moves further north.”

Conditions on Nashville Road were well summarized in a News Times article of 4/29/2004: "Traffic safety is a concern along narrow, winding Nashville Road, police said, because it has no shoulders and a poor sight line. Problems are compounded because southbound trucks that cannot get under the railroad bridge on Route 53 take Nashville Road as an alternate." To enhance safety in 2005 Conn DOT revamped signage and pavement markings here.

Neither end of Nashville Road is posted to prohibit thru trucks. However nearby Taylor Avenue northbound does have such a sign, as does Chestnut Ridge Road southbound.

In June of 2005 the Bethel Police Commission voted not to support the effort of nearby Redding to win state approval for “No Thru Trucks” signs on part of Route 107 in that Town. The proposed prohibition would be for that portion of Route 107 in Redding that connects parallel Routes 53 and 58. The Redding policy is to help direct trucks on to major arteries such as Route 7.

But the concern in Bethel is that northbound trucks on Route 107 in Redding, once they reach a newly prohibited section of Route 107, would have no choice but to proceed northbound up Route 53. And once traveling on that route the larger trucks that could not fit under the newly rebuilt railroad overpass would divert to Nashville Road just before the bridge.

Redding did earlier attempt to win state approval for a ban on trucks for all of Route 107 in that Town. From Bethel’s perspective, this would have preventing much of the potential Nashville Road diversion problem from occurring, but the State Traffic Commission rejected such a full length ban.

ROUTE 53 IN BETHEL AT
THE RAILROAD OVERPASS
Continuing north the next traffic feature of interest is the newly rehabilitated railroad overpass. The original span here was built in 1909 and had a clearance of 11 feet 4 inches.

In 1999 Conn DOT proposed a replacement that in order to accommodate the legal height vehicle of 13 feet, 6 inches would increase the vertical clearance to 13 feet, 9 inches, thereby eliminating the possibility of future collision damage.

But this proposal to raise the height of the span was very controversial in both Bethel and Redding to the south. There was great concern that the elimination of the current low clearance here would increase truck traffic on Route 53 in both Bethel and Redding by allowing more trucks with greater heights.

It was noted that according to the 1995 Regional Transportation Plan “The Towns of Bethel and Redding have an understanding that they will not recommend the removal of this physical barrier which restricts commercial truck traffic along Route 53.” That informal agreement can be traced back at least to the late seventies.

Also, the debate noted that the Francis J. Clarke Industrial Park on Route 53 just to the north was successfully marketed without resorting to the raising of this bridge to facilitate the largest commercial vehicles reaching that industrial area.

As requested by Bethel and Redding on 3/17/2000, using its federally designated powers, the HVCEO proceeded with a rare veto to withhold federal funding for the project.

The final resolution of the controversy was to rehabilitate the bridge without raising it, retaining the 11 feet 4 inch signage. The superstructure was replaced, but not the original cement side abutments.

In addition, independent walkway structures were added on both sides of the new bridge. According to Conn DOT "these walkway structures would be set lower than the railroad girders and would serve as protection from future impact as a result of over height vehicles attempting to pass under."

A Conn DOT press release called them "sacrificial beams." They are painted blue to promote their visibility. New signs and blinking yellow lights on the bridge also help to identify the low clearance which remains as 11' 4".

Today, the bridge functions as it always has, as somewhat of a “traffic calming” device for this part of the Route 53 corridor.

Looking north at new superstructure
of railroad bridge over Route 53.

Also of interest, an “Overheight Vehicle Detection System” has been installed by Conn DOT on either side of the bridge to protect the new structure from damage. This was in accordance with a 5/2000 request to Conn DOT by the Town, noting that “We believe that the installation of an Overheight Vehicle Detection System, similar to that constructed by Conn DOT in New Canaan at the railroad overpass on Route 106, will help to protect the safety of the traveling public.”

Comment was made by the Bethel Planning and Zoning Official concerning this section of Route 53 during the 2007 HVCEO Regional Transportation Plan update. These concerned the 2004 Redding Planning Commission’s successful petition to Conn DOT for reclassification of a 1.05 mile stretch of Route 53 south of the Bethel Line down from minor arterial to major collector status.

(At present the classification is consistent in the Redding – Bethel town line area. Route 53 proceeds north thru Redding as a major collector and continues into Bethel under this designation, northerly until Nashville Road where it is upgraded to a minor arterial).

Bethel staff note that “considering that Bethel's industrial park and other industrial zoned areas are proximate to this reclassified section there could be an affect on Bethel's ability to expand or enhance the use of the industrial park with these actions.” Also noted, “the inadequacy of the height of the train overpass and its effects, requiring commercial traffic to navigate narrow residential streets that ultimately lead back to Route 53 anyway.”

Also, “I believe that Bethels interests must be addressed in this area. If the Town is going to realize the full potential of its location in Fairfield County, vehicles of all sizes must have unimpeded access to all state routes.”

As of 4/2007, concerning Route 53, the Town will pursue roadway classification changes and raising the height of the Danbury Branch railroad overpass to allow for the free flow of all legal truck heights.

A 4/2007 comment by the Redding First Selectman is as follows: “Concerning truck traffic along the Route 53 corridor shared by Redding and Bethel, it was agreed in 2000 by Redding, Bethel and HVCEO that no increase in the height of the clearance of the railroad bridge over Route 53 in Bethel should be permitted.

The goal was and remains to avoid an increase in use of Route 53 by large trucks. The overhead detection warning device installed by Conn DOT at this location has been successful in protecting public safety. Future modifications to this bridge should continue to respect the 2000 regional agreement.”

A policy statement on this issue was included in the adopted 2007 Bethel Plan of Conservation and Development. In the section entitled "Resolve Train Track and Road Network Conflicts", it was stated that:

One of the most serious of these conflicts is on State Route 53 adjacent to the Francis J. Clarke Industrial Park. The railroad tracks cross over the road on a railroad trestle that prevents trucks taller than 11" 4" from passing under the trestle.

In addition to thwarting the economic potential of the Industrial Park by limiting the size of trucks that can easily access the park from the State Highway, the Commission is also concerned about the number of large trucks that must travel through residential areas on narrow, winding, and densely populated residential streets, ill-equipped to accommodate large vehicles.

If the Town is going to realize the full potential of its location in Fairfield County, vehicles of all sizes must have unimpeded access to all state routes. The Commission recommends that the Board of Selectmen, working collaboratively with Conn DOT, Conn Rail, Metro North, and HVCEO, pursue options for moving truck traffic across the railroad and out of residential neighborhoods.

The Board of Selectmen should actively pursue raising the height of the Danbury Branch railroad overpass to allow for the free flow of all legal truck heights.

ROUTE 53 IN BETHEL NORTH FROM
THE RAILROAD OVERPASS TO ROUTE 302
Conn DOT projections indicate that average daily traffic volumes on this segment, about 10,800 in 2005, will rise to about 13,800 in 2025.

Route 53 now passes thru an industrial zone from the railroad overpass north to just before Cherry Lane. The traffic landmark here is the circa 1991 traffic signal at the municipally developed Francis J. Clarke Industrial Park, (named after a former first selectman) where ample turning lanes into the industrial park from both directions of Route 53 are provided.

When the Clark Park was developed in the eighties a supportive traffic management plan was put in place by the state that increased capacity at major intersections from this point northward along Route 53.

As for zoning along the roadway, it remains residential to near Route 302, commercial from there up to Willow Street, then largely industrial from there to the Danbury City Line.

Just before Cherry Street Route 53 enters areas zoned for moderate residential densities characteristic of more thickly settled central Bethel.

As an historical note, in 1986 there was a municipally funded feasibility study of building a new access between Second Lane and Henry Street, from Route 53 northeasterly across the Sympaug Brook and associated wetlands to connect with Henry Street and serve the businesses there. This proposal had first appeared in the 1969 Bethel Plan of Development.

The concept was to provide an alternate to use of South Street and possibly reduce trucks there and on nearby Blackman Avenue.One large warehouse on Henry Street was said to be attracting 100 truck trips per day.

The needed 800 feet of new roadway was estimated to cost $930,000 at the time. However there were many functional and environmental problems foreseen and the concept was not pursued.

The adopted 2007 Bethel Plan of Conservation and Development revives this concept with the following recommendation:

There are conflicts between trucks and residential streets resulting from limited access from the historical industrial area adjacent to the Village Center. A potential solution is to identify a road right-of-way from Henry Street to Route 53. However, this is not a simple solution, as the area between Henry Street and Route 53 is largely wetlands.

The Board of Selectmen should hire a transportation engineer with wetlands expertise to identify a potential route with minimal impacts to the wetlands. If a possible route is identified, the Board of Selectmen should submit an application to the Town's Wetlands Commission and to the State DEP.

The next traffic landmark is the signal at South Street. The one turning lane at this intersection was added in 1991. This is a Route 53 southbound turn lane to South Street, with an advance green arrow for the turn. The Grassy Plain Estates multi - family housing complex serves as the fourth leg to this signalized intersection.

A traffic engineering consultant to HVCEO recommended in 2004 that “Two other signalized intersections are located south of the Route 53/302 intersection and can be integrated into the existing coordinated system along Route 53. These are Reservoir Street, 950 feet south of the Route 302 intersection, and then South Street, 1,150 feet south of the Reservoir Street signal.”

To the north the next Route 53 traffic signal is at Beach Street and Reservoir Street, with a left turn lane provided northbound for the turn into Reservoir Street.

There was for many years a Conn DOT designated high accident rate site at this intersection. At the request of the Bethel Police Commission in 1985 HVCEO completed a traffic study here and a variety of improvement options were considered, with signalization the preferred option.

By the late eighties a signal had been installed here by Conn DOT. The accident rate quickly fell, a good example of how signalization can solve a safety problem.

As noted above the coordinated traffic signal system on Bethel’s Route 53 that is operating to the north of this intersection could at some point be extended south to first the signal at Reservoir Street and then at South Street.

Route 53 northbound at intersection with
Route 302. The historic Sycamore tree is at right.

For a continuation of this text on Route 53 traffic issues continue on to the Route 53 Northern Segment.

BETHEL INTRO --- BETHEL RT 6 --- BETHEL RT 53 SOUTH --- BETHEL RT 53 NORTH
BETHEL RT 58 --- BETHEL RT 302 --- BETHEL NON-STATE ROADWAYS