ROUTE 7 BYPASS OPENED LATE 2009

Dating from the mid-fifties, a Route 7 Expressway had been planned as a replacement for the Danbury to New Milford portion of the two lane Route 7.

While all of the Route 7 Expressway in Danbury and then north to central Brookfield was completed in 1977, the full expressway extension to central New Milford was dropped from state and regional plans in 1991.

In 1991 a less ambitious corridor upgrading plan was endorsed by Brookfield, New Milford, HVCEO and Conn DOT. It called for a limited access four lane Brookfield Bypass (see detailed map) to continue on from central Brookfield to the Brookfield-New Milford Town Line. This expressway extension was completed in late 2009.

Governor Jodi Rell at Route 7 Bypass
opening ceremony on November 19, 2009.
HVCEO Photo by David Hannon

Conn DOT projections of average daily traffic for 2012 are revealing as to how volumes change in central Brookfield once vehicular traffic adjusts to the new Route 7 Bypass:

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.

After the new Route 7 Bypass rejoins existing Route 7 near the Brookfield - New Milford Town Line, the existing Route 7 roadway has been widened to four lanes.

This includes a 20 foot grass median, up to the Lanesville Road intersection in southern New Milford. There are several breaks in the median to allow vehicles to reverse direction as needed.

Widened Route 7 has a 20 foot
grassed median thru southern New Milford

Then from Lanesville Road north to Veterans Bridge in central New Milford, the widened Route 7 roadway has been expanded to four lanes without a median.

The map on the right projects future travel time in ten minute intervals
from I-84 Exit 7 north towards New Milford if the entire Route 7
Expressway had been built. The map at left shows travel times without the
Expressway. The ten minute contour lines reach further north with
the expressway, affecting the spread and intensity of land use. The final
plan that opened in 2009, a combination of partial expressway and
widening, provides most of these time - access benefits.

The long term economic development strategy for the region has been to better position New Milford to be more accessible to the economIc stimulus of nearby I-84. The reduction in travel time serves that objective.

FUTURE ROUTE 7 DEVELOPMENT IN BROOKFIELD
On Brookfield's portion of the completed Route 7 Expressway is an overpass carrying Route 133. HVCEO Bulletin 80, dated 12/1994 reviewed the concept of adding ramps from and to the Route 7 Expressway at Route 133 here.

That study indicated a proposed interchange could be oriented to and from the south, essentially a half interchange, and would reduce traffic on nearby Federal Road and its busy intersections.

The new ramps would be a spur to economic development and motorists using the ramps would reduce their travel time.

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.

The 2001 Brookfield, CT Plan of Conservation and Development endorses construction of the new interchange at Route 133 (Brookfield Plan excerpt shown above).

The Brookfield Plan recommends that Conn DOT "construct a partial interchange at Route 133 to relieve traffic heading easterly, provide better access for the business zoned land in this part of the corridor, and provide a convenient access point for emergency vehicles."

Detailed feasibility of this Route 133 interchange concept remains to be explored. Public interest in proceeding with this project remains to be determined.

FUTURE ROUTE 7 DEVELOPMENT IN NEW MILFORD

From 1972 to 1991 a much needed new Housatonic River crossing in Central New Milford was part of the official Conn DOT Route 7 Expressway construction plan.

But when the current policy for Route 7 improvement in New Milford was announced by Conn DOT on 11/26/1991 this additional river crossing was eliminated.

The Route 7 Expressway bridging plan would have greatly aided local traffic circulation around New Milford Center . Since then other traffic strategies have been pursued and others remain under discussion.

Various options to bridge the Housatonic, such as a westerly
extension of Bennitt Street above, have been discussed over the
years as replacements for the original 1972-1991 Route 7 bridging plan.