Downtown Crossing Construction News for Monday, March 9- Friday, March 20, 2020

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Phase 2 Construction Overview

Welcome to the four people who subscribed to receive Downtown Crossing news over this past week!

Construction of Downtown Crossing Phase 2, the reconnection of Orange Street, will last for approximately two years, from spring 2019 through summer 2021.

As we enter spring, the second year of construction will begin. The coming year of construction will feature larger, more intensive work areas as the new intersection is built, and there will be increased impacts to commuters.

In addition to the latest construction and project news, this newsletter provides information on underutilized driving routes into Downtown New Haven as well as public transit options for travel to, from, and within New Haven.

With the increased traffic impacts expected this year, now is the perfect time to experiment with alternate driving routes and/or public transit options that may ease your daily commute. Please see the articles near the bottom of this email for more information.

Construction News & Schedule

for the two-week period of

Monday, March 9 - Friday, March 20, 2020

Overview

After a winter slowdown, construction will begin to pick up again. While there will be no changes to existing travel patterns during the week of March 9th, a significant traffic shift will occur during the week of March 16. Details are below.

Week of March 9th

Lane Closures

Between Monday, March 9 - Friday, March 13, 2020 , various single lane closures may occur on the following roads to accommodate construction:

South Frontage Road: between South Orange Street and College Street
Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard: between Orange Street and Church Street

Pedestrian Detour

A minor pedestrian detour will go into effect on Monday, March 9, 2020 and will last for approximately two months until mid-May. The pedestrian detour will be put in place to accommodate the installation of a public art project on the west side of the Union Avenue underpass where Union Avenue meets North Frontage Road, State Street, and Water Street. Pedestrians will be able to access the area simply by using the sidewalk at the east side of the bridge.

Week of March 16th

Traffic Shift

On or about, Monday, March 16th, a temporary new entrance to the inbound service drive will open. When the temporary new entrance opens, motorists will access the inbound service drive on MLK Boulevard, just after the Church Street intersection. Signage will direct motorists to the new inbound service drive entrance. This shift will result in more traffic on MLK Boulevard and may cause delays.

In the "Construction Work Areas & Travel Lanes" graphic below, the red area on MLK Boulevard just after the Church Street intersection, shows were the new service drive entrance will be located when it is fully constructed.

Lane Closures

Various single lane closures will continue to occur on the following roads to accommodate construction:

South Frontage Road: between South Orange Street and College Street
Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard: between Orange Street and Church Street

Work Hours

All Downtown Crossing related work for the two-week period of Monday, March 9 - Friday, March 20, 2020 is scheduled to occur during daytime work hours. Daytime work hours are weekdays between the hours of 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Any construction work that may impact traffic flow will not occur between 7 and 9 a.m. or between 3 and 6 p.m. on Monday through Friday.

Road signage will alert drivers and pedestrians to work areas and lane closures.

Please pay attention to this signage, slow down, and stay safe!

Construction Work Areas & Travel Lanes

for the week of March 9th:

Construction Work Areas & Travel Lanes

for the week of March 16th:

Pedestrian Detours

Pedestrian Detour at the Union Avenue Underpass

Below:

Photo of the vicinity of the Union Avenue underpass pedestrian detour
Rendering of "Lighting Your Way" be Sheila Levrant de Bretteville of Site Projects New Haven.

Pedestrian Detour around South Frontage Road

A pedestrian detour is in place to accommodate construction on South Frontage Road near Church Street. The detour went into effect on Tuesday, August 13, 2019 and will last for approximately one year, until the summer of 2020. Signage directs pedestrians to a safe route around construction; a map of the pedestrian detour is included below. Pedestrians are urged to follow the detour to stay safe as construction is in progress.

Below: South Frontage Road Pedestrian Detour . Red area is construction zone, green shows pedestrian detour around construction.

Avoid Delays:

Transit options to, from, and within New Haven

Avoid the stress of driving and travel delays due to highway congestion — explore transit options to, from, and within New Haven!

Transit to/from New Haven

Metro North : – New Haven Line Service between New Haven and shoreline towns to the west and NYC.

Shore Line East : Service between New Haven and shore line towns east to New London.

Hartford Line : Service between New Haven and Springfield, with stops in Meriden, Wallingford, Berlin, Hartford, Windsor, and Windsor Locks.

Transit within New Haven

Free Downtown/Union Station Shuttle : Free shuttle runs between New Haven’s Union Station and seven Downtown New Haven locations, Monday-Friday 6 AM- 10 PM.

Bike New Haven : Rent, ride, and return at convenient locations across the city. Great option for the last mile!

CT transit Bus Service : Local bus service throughout New Haven and surrounding towns.

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Avoid Delays: Alternate Driving Routes

Alternate Driving Routes

To avoid delays due to construction, consider entering or exiting the highway outside of the project area. There are many options that avoid Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and South Frontage Road, yet still provide easy access to Downtown New Haven. Consider experimenting with these travel options. Try them out and let us know what you think!

Some options to explore:

Enter or exit I-95 on Long Wharf/Sargent Drive, utilizing Sargent Drive and Brewery Street to Water Street to access Downtown.

Enter or exit I-95 on Long Wharf/Sargent Drive, utilizing the Church Street Bridge to access Downtown.

Enter or exit I-91 on State Street

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