Only southern parts of the relocation were ever completed, with no construction in Newtown, except the development of I-84 Exit 11 to receive the future incoming expressway.

 

By 1982 the expressway extended from I-95 northerly just under ten miles to Route 111 in northern Trumbull, terminating at a point on existing Route 25 just south of the Trumbull-Monroe Town Line, where it remains today.

 

An approximately one half mile segment of the Route 25 Expressway did open in Newtown in 1973, but in the form of a massively reconstructed I-84 Exit 11. This exit extended southerly towards a planned connection point with the remainder of the Expressway thru Newtown, which was to be built northward from Monroe.

 

As this expressway to expressway connection will now never be made, The Conn DOT I-84 Plan of 2000 calls for the parts of this Route 25 Expressway “stub” to remain in service as Exit 11 and for other parts to be ripped up. Federal transportation laws prevent a repeat of such disjointed decision making today. 

 

Conn DOT studies on completion of an expressway thru Monroe and Newtown to I-84 continued during the eighties and into the early nineties. A variety of routings were evaluated, all with significant negative environmental impacts for Newtown, with high numbers of housing and business relocations. 

 

Then in a definitive policy shift, in 1993 Conn DOT announced that it was no longer considering the construction of the Route 25 Expressway thru Monroe and Newtown due to a lack of sufficient resources to build such a facility. Also, the tightening of federal environmental standards gave such a new routing little hope of ultimate approval.

 

A statement in the 12/1999 Monroe Plan of Development is that “While a Route 25 Expressway was proposed for many years, it is no longer being considered due to environmental and fiscal restraints.”

 

According the 1993 Conn DOT policy, instead of an expressway, Conn DOT resources were to be redirected to a review of widening and intersection improvement options on the existing Route 25 right of way.

 

A Conn DOT plan then released in 1998 called for two lane Route 25 to be widened on its existing alignment to two through lanes in each direction between the Expressway terminus at Route 111 in Trumbull northerly thru Monroe to Wasserman Way in Newtown, a total distance of 9.2 miles. 

 

The 1998 plans for the doubled Route 25 cross section called for 4 twelve foot travel lanes and 2 two foot outside shoulders, centered within an overall right of way width of 75 feet. According to Conn DOT, due to the close encroachment of roadside development there was no possibility of using a median divider with periodic turnarounds as a design feature, a design used for the pending Route 7 widening in nearby southern New Milford.

 

Conn DOT’s 1998 corridor plan for Route 25 does not propose any widening or other improvements to Route 25 in Newtown north of the intersection with Wasserman Way (formerly Mile Hill Road).

 

In 1998 Conn DOT held hearings in Newtown on this Route 25 corridor plan. At these sessions, neither the need for, nor citizen support for, such major Route 25 widening was demonstrated. Thus the 1998 four lane cross section proposal for much of Route 25 in Newtown has neither been endorsed by HVCEO nor incorporated into the HVCEO Regional Transportation Plan.

 

As articulated by the Newtown First Selectman at the 1998 Conn DOT hearings, Newtown policy calls for addressing safety and capacity issues on Route 25 without major widening, this strategy more appropriate for preserving the character of Newtown. 

 

The 1998 Conn DOT proposal offered only three alternatives 1) No build (no action), 2) Limited Widening, and 3) Full Widening. In a letter to Conn DOT dated 10/9/1998 the Newtown First Selectman requested that a fourth option be considered, this a traffic study to identify spot improvements of a small scale for upgrading safety and intersection capacity on Route 25 from the Monroe Town Line north to Wasserman Way.

 

Conn DOT responded on 11/7/2000 that “The Department does not feel that the cost and effort to prepare a separate study to identify spot improvements along Route 25 would be prudent.. In order to properly design turning lanes at all intersections along Route 25, the existing facility would have to be widened to nearly the same width as the recommended alternative.” 

 

But Newtown’s letter of 10/9/1998 had not proposed turning lanes at all intersections. Neither is there a state or regional study proposing this, and major intersecting roads are not so closely spaced that continuous main line widening to coordinate them is conceivable. This Conn DOT position appears to be a quickly formulated generality.

 

While Conn DOT proposes widening to four lanes, Conn DOT priority for such an investment is very low. With Newtown and HVCEO unsupportive, such a major traffic investment could not proceed to make use of federal funds in any case.

 

Perhaps it is to much to be expected that after decades of confusion as to corridor policy, the Route 25 situation could somehow be completely resolved today. Given this  situation, the apparent best course of action for Newtown is to advocate for  intersection oriented safety improvements along the corridor one by one, as can be justified by traffic engineering studies. An initial review of these issues is presented in the text below.

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ROUTE 25 IMPROVEMENTS PLANNED FOR
SOUTH OF THE MONROE-NEWTOWN TOWN LINE
In 1999 the Greater Bridgeport Regional Planning Agency (GBRPA), the state designated companion agency of HVCEO to the south, completed a congestion management study for Route 25. This was for the segment from the current Route 25 Expressway terminus in Trumbull thru the remainder of Trumbull and then northward for all of Route 25 in Monroe to the Newtown Line.

 

The improvement nearest to Newtown is at the intersection of Route 25 and Monroe’s Pepper Street, about four tenths of a mile south of the Town Line, where a traffic signal will be installed. Also to be upgraded are Monroe’s Route 25 intersections with Route 59 and with Purdy Hill Road.

 

A driveway and curb cut management plan for the Monroe segment of Route 25, similar to that adopted by Newtown’s Planning and Zoning Commission in 1996 for adjacent sections of Route 25, was also prepared.

 

According to the 12/1999 Monroe Plan of Development that Town “supports intersection improvements on, and limited widening of, Route 25 (four lane, no median).”

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EXISTING ROUTE 25 IN
NEWTOWN CORRIDOR OVERVIEW
Connecticut’s Route 25 enters Newtown as a principal arterial roadway. From the Conn DOT perspective, important intersections on Route 25 will be those at other Conn DOT arterial or collector designated roadways interacting with it.

 

There are seven such intersections; 1) with Button Shop Road as a collector, 2) at Wasserman Way as a collector, 3) at Route 302 which is a minor arterial (opposite Glover Avenue which is a collector) then at 4) the Flagpole with West Street which is a collector and Route 6 (Church Hill Road) as a principal arterial.

 

At the Flagpole Route 25's principal arterial designation transfers easterly onto Route 6, with the designation for Route 25 to the west reduced to minor arterial.

 

Proceeding westerly, combined Routes 25 and 6 intersect with Conn DOT designated 5) Hanover Road as a collector, 6) then the intersection with Sawmill Road # 1 which is a minor arterial, and finally 7) at the westerly intersection with Route 25 in Hawleyville, which is also a minor arterial.

 

Average daily traffic volumes in 1999 show 19,200 vehicles at the Trumbull-Monroe Town Line, then a somewhat lesser 17,300 vehicles at the Monroe-Newtown Town Line. Estimated average daily volumes for 1999 then vary from 16,600 to 18,100 in Newtown northerly up to Wasserman Way, then 15,100 from that point northerly to the Flagpole-Route 6 intersection.

 

Conn DOT’s 1999 average daily traffic volumes then show 17,200 between the Flagpole and Currituck Road. Volume then falls, to 11,400 beyond Currituck Road to the westerly Route 6 intersection, 12,400 from Route 6 northerly to the I-84 Exit 9 eastbound ramp, 11,100 to the westbound ramps, 10,500 from there to Barnabas Road, 8,800 up to the intersection with Currituck Road, and then 8,300 to the Brookfield Town Line.

 

In 1996 Newtown’s Planning and Zoning Commission adopted a curb cut management plan detailing desirable future driveway locations for the southern portion of Route 25. This driveway plan was prepared by HVCEO for the Town and applies from the Monroe Line northerly to the Borough of Newtown boundary at Borough Lane. These curb cut policies are implemented administratively as conditions on local development permits. 

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ROUTE 25 IN NEWTOWN FROM THE MONROE TOWN LINE
TO SAND HILL PLAZA SHOPPING CENTER INTERSECTION
This route’s designation with the number 25 dates from 1932. Proceeding north from the Monroe Town Line, Route 25 soon crosses a ridge line where a scenic view to the north is noted. This hilltop is the southern boundary of the Housatonic River Valley. South of this point, the roadway is within a water supply watershed of the Bridgeport Hydraulic Company.

 

At Route 25's intersection with Botsford Hill Road on the east and Meadow Brook Road on the west, the 1998-2000 TASR was 97%, 1995-97 TASR rate was 120%, preceded by 206% SLOSSS for 1992-94, 228% also with a SLOSSS for 1989-91, and for 1987-89 184% SLOSSS. Landmarks at this signalized intersection are the Doughnut Hut on the southwest corner and the Connecticut Calibration Labs building on the southeast corner.

 

Due to the SLOSSS designation of the late eighties, a traffic signal was installed at this intersection by Conn DOT in 1992. But that 1992 signalization was not accompanied by geometric improvements, and all four legs of the intersection remain without left turn lanes.

 

Today the traffic signal includes an advance green arrow for the Route 25 southbound left turn onto Botsford Hill Road, where the new Botsford Post Office is located. Conn DOT accident rates here need analysis to determine why TASR rates have remained somewhat elevated after signal installation; turning lanes may now be needed.

 

A nearby developer’s traffic report submitted to Newtown and dated 2/29/2001 documents morning peak period movements at this intersection. On the Botsford Hill Road westbound approach to Route 25, over 70% of vehicles make a left turn onto Route 25 southbound. At the same morning time period the Route 25 northbound turn percentage to Botsford Hill Road is minimal. This pattern indicates a morning commuter flow.

 

The corridor formed by the combination of Botsford Hill Road connecting to Toddy Hill Road and  proceeding north to reach Route 34 and I-84 Exit 11 is an alternative to use of the combination of Route 25 and Wasserman Way (Route 860).

 

The Botsford Hill Road-Toddy Hill Road corridor is classified by the 1993 Newtown Plan of Development as a major collector roadway. Yet the Conn DOT classification  has it as strictly local. A case could be made for upgrading the Conn DOT classification here, especially since the proposed parallel Route 25 Expressway is now not to be built. Perhaps Conn DOT never classified Toddy Hill Road higher because the same thru movements were to be served by the planned expressway?

 

The 1993 Plan of Development also lists this corridor as an area of “classification conflict,” in that local traffic service rather than thru traffic movements are preferred.

 

Toddy Hill Road as it proceeds along a ridge top is also a traffic generator in its own right, hosting one of Newtown’s largest employers, a senior housing complex known as Ashlar of Newtown, and intersecting residential subdivision streets such as Surrey Trail, Turkey Roost Road and Clear View Drive. 

 

Using the end of the I-84 Exit 11 ramp as the corridor’s northern origin and destination point, travel time trials indicate that this more direct north-south route of about 3.6 miles has a travel time about equal to or just less than the longer state roadway routing of about 4.9 miles using Route 25 northwesterly then easterly on Wasserman Way. This growing traffic pressure upon the Route 25-Botsford Hill Road intersection will likely remain.

 

Continuing north along Route 25 we pass the United Fire Company, Inc. of Botsford, Swenson Granite Works, a Mobil service station and the Newtown Manufacturing Company, Inc. There are no TASR rates approaching the threshold of concern here.

 

Note that Button Shop Road on the east in combination with Little Brook Lane, is classified by Conn DOT as a collector route between Route 25 and Toddy Hill Road. The 1993 Newtown Plan of Development classifies it only as a local road. Just the reverse state-local designation pattern was the case for Botsford Hill Road.

 

Continuing further north on Route 25, we next encounter the well landscaped Sand Hill Plaza Shopping Center, at 160,000 square feet with a Stop & Shop and smaller stores the largest retail center in Newtown. Its main entrance is signalized and accompanied by ample turning lanes, these improvements completed in 1990. At the northern edge of the commercial center is Bryan Lane which leads to the Riverview Condominiums. TASR rates along Route 25 throughout the vicinity of the Sand Hill Plaza Shopping Center are very low.

 

This was not always the case. On an historical note there was a significant relocation of Route 25 here in the 1960's, moving it westerly by removing some of Sand Hill, now cut even further back to create the development site for Sand Hill Plaza. Frequent accidents on the original sharp angle of Route 25 here, bulging out to the east, had led it to be called “Deadman’s Curve.” Remnants of the sharp older Route 25 alignment can be seen to the east immediately adjacent, accessed off of Homestead Lane.

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ROUTE 25 IN NEWTOWN FROM SAND HILL
SHOPPING CENTER TO THE FLAGPOLE INTERSECTION
Moving just north from the Sand Hill Plaza Shopping Center, Route 25 crosses the Pootatuck River. A landmark just before the bridge is the water supply pump station for the United Water Company which serves the Newtown Borough Area.

 

At this low point of about 340 feet above sea level, in just four tenths of a mile Route 25 climbs to 450 feet to the intersection with Huntington Road. Landmarks along this section include the Resurrection Cemetery on the west side, the Georgia-Pacific Company and then a Montessori School on the east. The welcome statistical news is that there are no Route 25 TASR rates of concern in this vicinity.

 

Huntington Road to the west is designated a collector in the 1993 Newtown Plan of Development and as a local road by Conn DOT. From here to Pecks Lane (north end) there are no recent TASR rates of concern, except that the four tenths of a mile segment from Will’s Road north to Peck’s Lane north junction did score as a 110% with SLOSSS for 1989-91, since fallen to 54% for 1992-94 and then 32% for 1995-97. Landmarks after Will’s Road are the Old Newtown Tavern to the west and Dresser Industries to the east.

 

Then at the northern intersection with Pecks Lane itself, the Route 25 TASR showed 173% with SLOSSS for 1989-91, also since fallen to much lower levels of 54% for 1992-94 and 30% for 1995-97. There is a grassed triangular island here today, with a downgrade southbound left turn into Pecks Lane.

 

There are some significant movements here, as Newtown’s largest employer, Kendro Laboratory Products, is situated on Pecks Lane. Also, adjacent Prospect Drive is host to another major employer, Hubbell Plastics. Adjacent Turkey Hill Road accessed from Pecks Lane provides a bridge crossing the railroad tracks, that bridge upgraded to modern standards in 1978, with access soon thereafter on to Mile Hill Road South.

 

It should be noted that a Route 25 southbound bypass lane at the north junction of Pecks Lane, to facilitate safer left turns into that roadway, was once discussed as a possible Conn DOT improvement project. According to a 7/8/1999 Conn DOT memo “This location does indeed have an accident history with southbound Route 25 vehicles being rear ended as they turn left into Pecks Lane and Prospect Drive.”

 

Continuing, "The Department's plan, in 1993, was to construct a bypass area for thru traffic, but funding under the Safety Program, at that time, was unavailable."  Yet TASR rates are very low in this vicinity for recent analysis periods, with  SLOSSS designations found no later that 1989-91.  

Continuing north on Route 25, passing on the east the Fireside Inn, Fair Auto, Simm Lane Business Park and the electric transmission substation, the next are of TASR interest is the about one tenth mile segment between Greenbriar Lane and Elm Drive #1 (south junction). On this flat and straight stretch of roadway TASR rates are somewhat elevated.

 

But they have hovered under the threshold of concern of 90% in recent analysis periods, with 61% for 1995-97, 86% for 1992-94, 110% for 1989-91 and 74% for 1987-89. A landmark here just north of Greenbriar Lane is the South Main Commons retail complex.

 

Just a little further on is another landmark, Ricky's Shopping Center, across from Elm Drive #2 and just south of the Route 25 bridge over Deep Brook. The TASR rate for the segment between the two Elm Drives has seen some past elevation, but has been declining over the past ten years.  

The 1995 HVCEO curb cut management plan for Route 25 made a major recommendation to improve traffic circulation and safety in this area. The proposal called for the closing of both Elm Drives and their consolidation approximately half way between the two, running along the south side of Carminuccio's Pizza.

 

The next landmarks are the Taunton Press to the east and the Newtown Country Club on the west, with no TASR rates of concern in their vicinity.

 

Continuing to the signalized intersection of Route 25 with Wasserman Way (State Route 860, formerly Mile Hill Road), TASR rates show no safety problem statistics anywhere near the threshold of concern of 90% at this important signalized intersection. The record for the intersection reveals a mere 12% for 1995-97, 26% for 1992-94, 25% for 1989-91 and 47% for 1987-89.

 

A municipal goal has been for motorists on Route 25 northbound approaching this key intersection to be notified that a right turn onto Wasserman Way leads to Route 34, avoiding the congested central area of the Borough. Conn DOT agreed to this Town request and installed such  directional signage here in 2001. To complement, to the east at the terminus of the I-84 Exit 11 off ramp at Wasserman Way, a sign with arrow stating “To Route 25" has been installed by Conn DOT.  

 

As already mentioned the signalized intersection with Wasserman Way is the northern limit of Conn DOT’s proposed widening of Route 25 from 2 to 4 lanes. But it is striking that for a major interregional roadway supposedly in need of expansion, its record of TASR and SLOSSS problems as documented herein is of relatively low intensity.

 

Moving north past the Chrysler Plymouth dealership on the west and the Village Square Shopping Center to the east, to the intersection with Borough Lane, Route 25 property development enters the zoning jurisdiction of the Borough of Newtown.

 

The 1995 HVCEO driveway plan for Route 25 made a major recommendation to improve traffic circulation and safety in this area. The proposal called for the relocation of the two Borough Lane intersections so that all lanes would be directly opposing across Route 25. Due to a large splitter island, at present only the eastbound south lane of Borough Lane aligns across Route 25 to the western segment of Borough Lane. The landmark here is Amaral Motors in the southwest quadrant of the intersection.

 

The next major traffic feature is the signalized intersection of Route 25 with the terminus of Route 302 on the west and Glover Avenue on the east. The 1988 Center Area Traffic Plan documented that Glover Avenue “is often used as a short cut to the commercial areas on Queen Street and Church Hill Road.” There is only one turning lane at this intersection; for the Route 25 northbound left turn on to Route 302.

 

TASR rates at the Routes 25 and 302 intersection are again beneath the threshold of concern of 90%, but less so than at Wasserman Way to the south. The TASR for 1995-97 was 48%, 73% for 1992-94, 75% for 1989-91 and 128% with a SLOSSS designation for 1987-89. A major landmark here is the historic Ram Pasture green space to the west.

 

Proceeding upgrade and northerly from the intersection of Route 25 with Route 302, the Flagpole comes into view near the Police Department building on the west. For the one third mile here up to Route 6 (gaining one hundred feet of elevation), TASR rates have an elevated pattern that has hovered beneath or at the threshold of concern; 14% for 1995-97, 78% for 1992-94, 83% for 1989-91 and 91% for 1987-89.

 

For a review of the significant history of TASR rates at the Flagpole itself, please see the Route 6 section. 

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ROUTE 25 IN NEWTOWN OVERLAPPING WITH ROUTE 6
This overlap of state roadway designations begins at the Routes 25 intersection with Route 6, also known as the “Flagpole” intersection, and continues for 2.7 miles to the second (westerly) intersection of Routes 25 and 6 in Hawleyville where the two designations part ways. For information about this segment please refer to the discussion under the Route 6 section.

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ROUTE 25 IN NEWTOWN FROM THE SECOND
INTERSECTION WITH ROUTE 6, NORTH TO BROOKFIELD
This segment of Route 25 extends northerly one and two thirds miles, from Route 25 at the west intersection of Route 25 with Route 6, northerly past I-84 Exit 9 thru the center of Hawleyville to the Brookfield Town Line. 

 

Roadway improvements for this segment were recommended in the HVCEO’s 1997 study entitled “Hawleyville Transportation and Development Study.” That study has since been adopted, on 4/16/1998, as an amendment to the Newtown Plan of Development. That status makes the Hawleyville Study a suitable legal basis for  permit conditions for managing traffic impacts of economic development in this vicinity.

 

It should be noted that the 1997 recommendations for the immediate vicinity of I-84 Exit 9 were refined by a Conn DOT I-84 Study in 2000. Where they occur these revisions are noted in the text below. 

 

Average daily traffic volume for 1999 on Route 25 was 12,400 for the segment from Route 6 northerly to I-84. Conn DOT projects 17,300 for this segment for the year 2025.

 

The 1999 figures then show 10,500 from I-84 Exit 9 north to Barnabas Road, while the 2025 Conn DOT projection for this vicinity is 15,200. Route 25's 1999 average daily traffic volumes then fall to about 8,300 upon crossing into the Town of Brookfield. 

The 1997 Hawleyville Traffic Plan provides traffic projections that justify  widening of Route 25 to a four lane cross section, with turning lanes, from the  intersection with Route 6 northerly past the I-84 Exit 9 ramps to just north of the intersection with Barnabas Road, a distance of approximately six tenths of a mile. While these projections include factors for increasing background traffic, they primarily reflect planned economic growth in Hawleyville.

Route 25 just past I-84 looking north, showing "before" and "after"
views of widening proposed in 1997 HVCEO Hawleyville Plan

Conn DOT’s 2000 I-84 Study, having a narrower geographic focus, endorsed the need for a multi lane cross section right near Exit 9, stating that “Route 25 will require widening to a four lane section. This widening can be accommodated between the existing bridge piers at the I-84 overpass with no impacts to the structure.” 

As noted, the 2000 Conn DOT Study did not extend its Exit 9 long term recommendations outside of the immediate I-84 Exit 9 area. As the 1997 Study's more extensive multi lane recommendations for Route 25 were based upon traffic projections of capacity needed for adjacent land development, they remain valid and are not superseded by the 2000 I-84 Study.
 
A goal of the 1997 Plan along this complex segment of Route 25 is to provide the efficiencies of signal interconnection by  linking from south to north, 1) the existing signal at the Routes 6 and 25 intersection to 2) an expanded intersection at Covered Bridge Road and opposing new development drive, and then to 3) a new signal proposed on Route 25 to manage the eastbound I-84 Exit 9 off ramp and opposing eastbound on ramp.

 

Then, continuing north within the same coordinated signal system, the linkage proceeds to 4) a new signal to be installed at the I-84 Exit 9 westbound on and off ramps, and 5) a possible future signal at the Barnabas Road intersection (but in deference to the Conn DOT 2000 Study, without the Old Hawleyville Road intersection relocated northerly to be opposite it).

 

The signal coordination circuit finally terminates at 6) the envisioned signal at a proposed Hawleyville Center East development drive just north of the fire house as endorsed by the 1997 HVCEO Study and the Newtown Plan of Development amendment of 4/16/1998. An HVCEO signal coordination study during 2002 will refine the technical specifications for this coordination plan.

 

Importantly, much of the new traffic necessitating these improvements will be generated by adjacent commercial and industrial land development. Thus under the State Traffic Commission permitting process, many of the key traffic capacity improvements needed for Hawleyville may be constructed at private rather than public expense.

 

As cited briefly above, between Route 6 and I-84 a traffic recommendation from the 1997 HVCEO Hawleyville Study is to build a new eastern leg to the present intersection of Route 25 with Covered Bridge Road. This new east leg of the present three legged intersection will provide access into commercial and industrial land to the east, where an earlier development attempt already provided some grading for an access drive.

 

Traffic projections indicate that this new development drive will be heavily utilized, necessitating signalization on Route 25 and turning lanes. It will run east and then south, emerging on the north side of combined Routes 6 and 25 and somewhat to the east of the half way point between the two entrances to Tory Lane.

 

As for TASR accident statistics on this busy segment of Route 25 from Route 6 northerly to the I-84 eastbound ramps, there are no rates approaching the TASR threshold of concern of 90%.

 

While if not to address immediate safety problems but instead for traffic congestion control, the need is building to increase the capacity of the intersections of Route 25 with the I-84 Exit 9 eastbound ramps and westbound ramps.

 

Both the 1997 HVCEO Hawleyville Study and the 2000 Conn DOT I-84 Corridor Study provided full justification for installing signals at both sets of ramps, given planned economic development in the area. Traffic projections indicate that, overall, the predominate use of Exit 9 ramps will remain to and from the west via I-84.

 

However, there is a slight difference between the 1997 and 2000 studies in their geometric recommendations for I-84 ramps. At the Exit 9 westbound on and off ramps on the north side of I-84, the 1997 study recommended moving the intersection of Old Hawleyville Road and Route 25 to the north, placing it  “out of the way” so to speak, such that by its mere proximity it would not complicate operations of the new signal to be introduced just to the south to serve the I-84 Exit 9 westbound ramps.

 

But the Conn DOT 2000 Study revised this approach, instead moving the I-84 Exit 9 westbound on and off ramps themselves to the north, to align directly across from Old Hawleyville Road, with Old Hawleyville Road remaining in its present position.

 

Conn DOT traffic projections for 2025 forecast that under this arrangement the Old Hawleyville Road leg of the proposed new four way intersection will remain much the junior partner, with Exit 9 westbound combined on and off ramp volumes at 11,800 vehicles per day, opposing Old Hawleyville Road traffic at just 1,400 vehicles per day.

 

Thus the earlier 1997 recommendation to relocate Old Hawleyville Road northerly to intersect directly with Barnabas Road, resulting in a signalized four way intersection at that point, is no longer part of the plan for this segment of Route 25.

 

However, the Conn DOT 2000 plan did cite the intersection with Barnabas Road as a location for a “potential future traffic signal,” depending upon future traffic volumes into and out of Barnabas Road. The 2000 Study concluded that “Under Conn DOT traffic volume projections, Barnabas Road does not warrant a traffic signal; if this changes due to development along Barnabas Road and a traffic signal is installed, it should be coordinated with the other adjacent traffic signals along Route 25.” A landmark on Route 25 on the north side of Barnabas Road is a Conn DOT commuter parking lot with a capacity for 53 vehicles.

 

During both 1997 and 2000 studies, the concept of relocating I-84 Exit 9's westbound on ramp from its current alignment, where it first proceeds easterly to then turn westerly, to a more direct routing from Route 25 westerly to parallel and then merge directly with I-84, was examined. While it had merit from a traffic operations perspective, extensive wetlands in the path of the proposed alignment precluded further evaluation of such construction.

 

According to the Conn DOT 2000 I-84 Plan “The major environmental constraint at the interchange is Pogond Brook and its associated wetlands in the northwest quadrant of the interchange. The proposed improvements avoid this area.”

 

Given all of the turning movements from I-84 Exit 9 ramps to and from Route 25, one might expect that TASR accident statistics would already reflect some problematic accident rates at these ramps, but they do not. There are no rates approaching the 90% threshold of concern in recent analysis periods. As with the adjacent section from the ramps south to Route 6, Exit 9 improvement plans are geared towards serving future volumes and adjacent economic growth, rather than resolving existing safety problems.

 

The Conn DOT 2000 I-84 Study concludes; “The future 2025 benefits associated with the long term improvements at Exit 9 include improved merge/diverge operations, increased intersection spacing along Route 25, and longer eastbound off-ramp storage capacity preventing off-ramp queues extending onto the mainline. The proposed interchange modification also provides reserve capacity for the growth anticipated in this part of Newtown.”

 

As for short term improvements, the 2000 I-84 Study proposed the installation of a traffic signal at the intersection of the eastbound off ramp and Route 25. But additional Conn DOT staff comments on 10/5/2000, received after the I-84 Plan was completed, take a mixed tack; “.... warrants for signalization are met for the left turns. Accident experience indicates four collisions at the intersection, however, none suggest the need for a signal installation.”

 

As part of the 1997 Hawleyville Study, a driveway and curb cut management plan was prepared for an approximately quarter mile section of Route 25 from the intersection with Barnabas Road at Route 25 northerly for three tenths of a mile. This curb plan was never incorporated into the Newtown Zoning Regulations, where it would have  accompanied the lower Route 25 curb plan adopted in 1996. Rather, it is referenced as a standard within the Newtown Plan of Development, to which it was made an amendment in 1998.  

 

Continuing along Route 25 beyond the Exit 9 area, just north of the driveway into the Hawleyville Volunteer Fire Department, outside of the limited area where Conn DOT’s  2000 I-84 plan’s recommendations were made, the policy of the 1997 HVCEO Hawleyville Traffic Plan as incorporated into a 1998 Town Plan amendment remain in effect.

 

This policy calls for the construction of a four way signalized intersection with turn lanes for the “Hawleyville Center East” development area access road and the opposing “Hawleyville Center West” driveway. The Hawleyville Center East driveway is planned to run east-west just north of the Hawleyville Volunteer Fire Department building.

 

But there is a change for the plan west of Route 25, for in 2001 a 21 lot residential subdivision known as Newtown Hunt to the west excluded the possibility of the “Hawleyville Center West” development area, originally scheduled to make this new intersection four ways. The Newtown Hunt subdivision access road, North Ridge Road,  intersects Route 25 just north of the state highway bridge over Pond Brook. 

Continuing north, the 1997 HVCEO Study also forecasted that a redesign and signalization of the intersection with Currituck Road (north terminus) and Obtuse Roads would be necessary. On 4/12/2000 the Town of Newtown applied to Conn DOT for improvement planning on this project.  That Conn DOT planning reviewed several alternatives, described in a memo dated 4/24/2002 to First Selectman Rosenthal. However, Conn DOT concluded also concluded that "It appears the preliminary project costs of approximately $2,200,000 outweigh the benefits."

Whatever is ultimately decided as to improvements here, a landmark nearby is the historic red brick Land’s End schoolhouse dating from around 1850. It is also interesting to note that Route 25 in combination with Currituck Road was once the dedicated through movement as old State Route 156.

The complication here is mostly a congestion and delay issue just to the east of the intersection with Route 25. Route 25 TASR rates for the intersection have been the high point for Route 25 in the vicinity, but generally below the threshold of concern. These are 64% for 1995-97, 82% for 1992-94, 90% for 1989-91 and a higher 218% for 1987-89.

 

According to Newtown’s 4/12/2000 correspondence to Conn DOT “The proposed improvements include the installation of a signal on Route 25 at the subject intersection, the restriping of the approach to Route 25 for left and right turn lanes from Currituck Road and formalization of the geometry of the intersection. A southbound left turn on Route 25 should be explored in conjunction with the signal. The signal may need to include an advance phase.”

 

As noted, Conn DOT is now evaluating this intersection. An observation by Conn DOT in October of 2001 on this problem was that initial study showed benefits may be low relative to costs in attempting improvement at this location.

 

There are no TASR rates of concern on Route 25 north after Currituck Road for the remaining four tenths of a mile to the Brookfield Town Line. In this section Route 25 gains altitude, passing Land’s End Cemetery and then entering Brookfield on a hillside. the 1935 Connecticut Guide considered this section to be “attractive country with fine views.” Today as one enters Newtown on Route 25 from Brookfield this same fine view, of this most attractive Town, remains in evidence.

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