June 19, 2008

Troubled intersection to get fix starting in July

A long-awaited intersection fix at the southern end of Union Street may be underway next month.
The $2.5 million project would replace the current intersection of East Road with Union and Wolcott streets in a bid to slow down traffic and make it safer for drivers and children walking to and from nearby South Side School.
“It’s going to contribute greatly to the safety of that intersection, which has been very hazardous,” Mayor Art Ward said.
State Rep. Frank Nicastro, a Bristol Democrat whose 79th District includes the junction, said, “It needed to be done and now it’s going to come to pass. It’s finally falling into place.”
Nicastro called it “one of the most hazardous intersections in the city of Bristol by far.”
“When you try to pull out of East Road, it’s a terrible line of sight,” he said.
The proposed changes would straighten and flatten the area where the roads come together, removing the buildings that block the way.
“It’s going to get a complete new facelift,” Nicastro said.
The Cheshire-based Milone & MacBroom got $118,000 from the city to carry out the design work several years ago.
The project has been in the works for years, but got bumped up in priority in the late 1990s after more than 250 neighbors submitted petitions to the city asking for quick action to fix the intersection.
The Central Connecticut Regional Planning Agency, which targets projects throughout the region to figure out which local road updates are the most important, cited the need to fix the East Road, Union and Wolcott junction as its number one priority in Bristol almost a decade ago.
The plan generally calls for shifting the southern end of Union Street to the east so it would intersect only with East Road.
East Road alone would run into Wolcott Street, a bit south of the current spot where the three roads come together.
The city and state have been targeting misaligned intersections in Bristol for years, trying to fix them where possible.
Nicastro, a former mayor, said he’s been checking on the status of the project for a long time.
He said he recently got word from the state Department of Transportation that a contract had been awarded and construction may begin in early July.
“It’s an intersection that needs to be done,” Nicastro said.
The federal government would pay 80 percent of the final tab with the state picking up the rest.
The project has been talked about for the last 42 years. Officials said the issue first reached City Hall’s agenda in 1966, when initial maps were made.
Nicastro, who also serves on the City Council, said he’s always worried about the children going to school and having to cross the dangerous intersection.
“You have to be truly a brave person to be a crossing guard there,” Nicastro said.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you Mayor Ward, he is making great progress for Bristol.

Anonymous said...

You go Arty!

GIT 'ER DONE!

Don't let Nicastro steal your thunder.

YOU DA MAN!

Anonymous said...

This was decided BEFORE he took office.

Thank Nicastro, Couture and Stortz before you thank Ward.

Lets see what projects he initiates.Already he has killed some that were in the planning stages.

Anonymous said...

This plan was devised and approved during Nicastro's tenure as mayor. I don't believe Ward had anything to do with this except a "yes" vote when he was on the council. To give "The Arty Party" any credit for leadership on this issue would be a complete farce.

JOHNSON IN 2009.

Anonymous said...

FINALLY

Anonymous said...

7:54 Poster~
It may have been decided before Art Ward took office,but he's getting it Done and not just talking about it~just like the Centre Mall(it's gone) and Rte.72.
So quit your Bellyaching,OPEN YOUR EYES and SHUT YOUR MOUTH!

Anonymous said...

He's doing a great job and it's just killin' the naysayers! LOL!!!

~ GO MAYOR WARD!

Anonymous said...

The ball may have been rolling before he took office, but Mayor Ward is the one who brought it home!

Anonymous said...

The next intersection to get repaired should be the "Bermuda Triangle" where Divinity runs into Rt. 72 in the West End. Its constantly backed up due to the basic misalignment of the road there. A bonus to straightening this section is we could also take down some of the run down buildings there that line the Pequabuck river and open the river to a walking trail or bike path.

Its a win all around so it'll probably take 30 years to happen.

Anonymous said...

And just what did he do to get the ball rolling???

Ward is more responsible for failing to adequately maintiain our city streets than he is for any progress on Union Street.

We will see the results of his indifference to infrastructure maintanance foryears to come!

Anonymous said...

Sour grapes 11:20?

Anonymous said...

We all agree that this project was initiated some time back.

What new projects has Art Ward initiated??

He is as much Hot Air as is Ken Johnson!

Anonymous said...

Ken Who???

Anonymous said...

~ Of course there were lots of projects initiated prior, but he's making sure that they're actually finished.

(Oh, and NOBODY is as much HOT AIR as Kenny "Temper Tantrum" Johnson!)

Anonymous said...

9:18 I wish you guys could make up your mind. Cost taxpayers when you see something done and when you don't see something done you want to spend money. We really know why we just like you hypocrits to show your true colors.

Anonymous said...

June 22, 2008 8:07 AM:

When you writ hypocrit we can tell you don't know sh__.

(this is a little rhyme with "write" and "hypocrite" intentionally spelled wrong)