As
an eight hundred series For an understanding of the key
traffic safety terms "TASR" and "SLOSSS"
that are repeatedly referenced in the discussions below,
be sure to review the "Newtown,
CT Traffic: Introduction" section.
state
route, Route 816 is unmarked, giving the combination of
Church Hill Road (from I-84 Exit 10 to Sandy Hook Center)
and then Glen Road (the remainder of Route 816 easterly
into Southbury) the appearance of being a local road.
This
roadway was formerly historic Route 6. It provided then
as it does today a bridge crossing of the Housatonic River.
But in 1955 the Route 6 designation was pulled off and instead
applied to the new more direct Rochambeau Bridge crossing
of the Housatonic, less than one mile south of the traditional
Route 6 crossing. The Rochambeau Bridge crossing of the
Housatonic River then was incorporated into I-84 corridor
construction in 1958.
Then
in the later seventies, Conn DOT attempted to turn over
all of this route to the maintenance jurisdiction of Newtown,
proposing to switch it from a state to a local road. The
justification was that with nearby I-84 in place and the
Route 6 designation transferred there, this slower two lane
alternative route no longer qualified as an intertown state
roadway.
But
Newtown officials fought this attempt, citing various factors
including significant intertown traffic still served. As
a result, in 1981 an arbitration panel ruled that the state
roadway designation and maintenance would remain.
The
total length of Route 816 is only about two and one quarter
miles. The Conn DOT estimated average daily traffic volume
in 1999 was 11,000 from I-84 Exit 10 easterly to Sandy Hook
Center (intersection with Washington Street), dropping to
4,300 from Sandy Hook Center as Glen Road to Walnut Tree
Hill Road, and then to a low 2,900 daily vehicles from there
to the bridge over the Housatonic River leading into the
Town of Southbury.
Route
816 through Newtown is designated by Conn DOT as a collector
route. From the Conn DOT perspective, important intersections
on Route 816 will be those at other Conn DOT arterial or
collector designated roadways interacting with it.
There
is only one such intersection, in Sandy Hook Center where
Washington Street as a local road proceeds southwesterly
for about one half mile until it becomes Route 34 while
passing under I-84. Riverside Road intersecting in Sandy
Hook Center here is recognized as a collector route by the
municipal classification system, but only as a local road
by the Conn DOT classification process.
Transportation
issues on this state roadway include the need to provide
an enhancing streetscape in Sandy Hook Center and the eventual
development of an interregional bicycle path along the roadway
shoulder from the Center northeasterly into Southbury.
Proceeding
easterly from I-84, Route 816 descends towards the bridge
over the Pootatuck River in Sandy Hook Center. Some attractive
streetscaping has already been applied here.
The
first history of elevated TASR rates is found between mileposts
.44 to .56, which is from the intersection with Dayton Street
easterly to the signalized intersection with Washington
Avenue in Sandy Hook Center. Landmarks are the Newtown United
Methodist Church on the south side, then a quaint commercial
district with appealing pedestrian character.
On
this short segment TASR rates are a low 13% for 1995-97,
131% for 1992-94, a 179% with a SLOSSS designation for 1989-91,
and then a 167% with a SLOSSS designation for 1987-89, a
pattern of serious but perhaps declining rates.
The
Conn DOT Route 816 designation turns left at the signal
onto Glen Road, passing on its left a corner landmark known
as the 1857 Brick Store building. Leaving the small
village scale of Sandy Hook Center, note on the left the
historic
1890 Dayton Street Bridge crossing the Pootatuck River.
This structure received deck repairs and some minor rehabilitation
via use of $64,000 in federal transportation ?Enhancement?
funds awarded in 1993. This narrow bridge is now restricted
to pedestrian use only.
For
the portion of Route 816 after Sandy Hook Center, the 1935
Connecticut Guide stated that this "highway winds through
Rocky Glen, one of the finest hemlock ravines in the State."
This high scenic resource value, and the hemlocks, remain
very much in evidence today. A landmark is the historic
Rocky Glen Mill building.
The
only other elevated TASR rate on this quiet state route
is found from the intersection with Fairview Avenue out
onto the 1934
vintage Glen Road Bridge over the Housatonic River into
Southbury. Here the TASR is 81% for 1995-97, 167% for 1992-94,
and with an earlier history of 0% for 1989-91, and also
0% for 1987-89, a pattern which will need to be monitored.
