State Grants Waterbury Over $400k For West Main Improvements

West Main Street in Waterbury certainly seems to have the city's attention lately.

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I wrote an article a few weeks back about a public hearing that occurred on January 12 about the city who was looking for input regarding what we, the public, would like to see happen along the West Main Street corridor between the Rt. 8 interchange and the Waterbury Green.

Now, just a few days ago, Waterbury Mayor Neil O'Leary announced through his Facebook page, that Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont has approved over 5 million dollars in state funding to be released to 10 Connecticut cities and towns with the purpose of supporting transportation upgrades and improved accessibility, and improving pedestrian and bicycle safety. Waterbury has scored almost half a million dollars, $459,817 to be exact, from the state and this money will be used to upgrade, replace and build sidewalks along West Main Street.

Other Connecticut cities and towns that received funding from this grant include Bristol, Groton, Meriden, New Britain, Old Saybrook, Portland, Stamford, West Hartford, and Windsor. Waterbury has already made vast improvements over the past couple of years to the Freight Street/Meadow Street/Jackson Street stretch, and now they're going to be doing the same for the West Main Street corridor in town. Freight Street is beautiful now, the landscaping, and pedestrian-friendly side lanes are a vast improvement to the old molar-rattling train tracks that ran across the street by the old Tower Grill/Freight Street Diner building.

Now the question is, where is the grant money going to be spent on West Main? One side of the road is pretty much paved from the Rt. 8 interchange up to the Starbucks and CVS area by Park Road. Are they going to fully pave both sides? Or more towards downtown?