Is Danbury Considering Building a Tunnel to Straighten I-84?
Say what? Did I hear correctly that the Department of Transportation has come up with the idea of possibly building a tunnel to straighten I-84 between exits 2 and 4 on Danbury's west side?
According to CT Post, it's a topic that was a possibility. We brought the subject up on Wednesday's Ethan and Lou Morning Show and five minutes later, acting Danbury Mayor Joe Cavo texted us immediately with the words, "NO TUNNEL!" So is that the end of this story? I think not. Here's the word from Andy Fesenmeyer, the project manager;
We are wrapping up the concept development phase in the fall and the tunnel is one of the concepts, but we have over 20 concepts that we have looked at, and ones that don’t make sense don’t go very far, but we do want to make sure that we have looked at every single option.
That's not a definitive no, but after reading the rest of the article, I learned that the DOT re-evaluated their proposal of cutting a tunnel under University Boulevard and came to the conclusion that the tunnel would not solve the problem, not to mention it would destroy two neighborhoods and cut under WCSU, according to Rep. Bob Godfrey.
The "Concept 7" tunnel idea was one of three proposals listed on the "I-84 Danbury Project" website. You can call this idea of a tunnel "dead in the water." Two other concepts are being considered, and they are "Concept 1" that seeks to eliminate left-hand exits and ramps, among other things. "Concept 6" aims to improve vehicular travel conditions in the vicinity of Interchanges 3 and 4. The I-84 Danbury Project is a long-term undertaking that likely won't begin until the end of this decade.