Middletown’s ambitious Return to the Riverbend project includes a pedestrian bridge that will connect City Hall and Harbor Park. Planning is well advanced and some funding has been acquired.
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Public Documents:
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Route 9 Project DOT Website
Here is a link to the current DOT website on Route 9. It contains the project’s history, a summary of alternative plans, and updates on the project: https://portal.ct.gov/DOT/Projects/0082-0318-Route-9-Middletown-Home
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Return to the Riverfront Master Plan
The City of Middletown published the ambitious “Return to the Riverbend” master plan in spring 2022. The plan includes a series of parks along the riverfront and details ways to get involved. This masterplan offers the most comprehensive of the City’s vision for how Rt. 9 could look as it runs past Middletown.
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Rt. 9 & 17: Noise Analysis Report (2021)
CT DOT commissioned a study in 2019 to analyze the noise impact of a proposed new Route 9 & Route 17 interchange. The study was conducted in this area:
Additional Materials:
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Environmental Issues: Quotes from Stakeholders
I want to see people oriented to trains or more efficient modes of travel rather than this personal, private ecosystem that people can just drive at violent speeds and to other people when they’re not careful. … Cars are not that good. We’re just promoting car culture by fixing the highways and not investing in…
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Emissions Reductions Report
One key argument in favor of removing stoplights on Route 9 in Middletown is that it would reduce emissions in Middletown. Those who advance this theory argue that idling cars waiting at the stoplights use fuel and thus emit carbon dioxide and other pollutants into the air in Middletown. If those cars were able to…
Related Case Studies:
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Berkeley I-80: Bridge
Introduction: In Berkeley, California, this pedestrian and bicycle overpass crosses Interstate 80 approximately 0.3 km south of University Avenue. From Bolivar Drive at the north end of Aquatic Park, pedestrians, wheelchair users, and cyclists bridge Interstate 80 and the West Frontage Road to reach the Eastshore State Park and the Bay Trail. One of North…
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New Britain Rt. 72: Beehive Bridge
In the 1960s, New Britain CT was one of only a few Connecticut cities of its size to not have a highway running through it, and local leaders wanted to change that. City officials thought that a highway would help the downtown grow and bring more customers into the city. With this as the backdrop,…
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Chattanooga Waterfront: Highway Removal
In the highway-building frenzy of the 1960s, Chattanooga, Tennessee, constructed the Riverfront Parkway to serve as vital freight route to move industrial truck traffic along the scenic Tennessee River. However, what was once a solution to facilitate trade and transportation quickly evolved into a physical barrier that isolated the city from its riverfront. The four-lane,…
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St. Joesph I-229: Waterfront Access
Interstate 229 starts as an auxiliary highway off of I-29, continues along the eastern bank of the Missouri River, cutting downtown St. Joseph off from its’ riverfront with a two-level, four lane viaduct. The interstate goes 15 miles north until it meets another interchange with I-29 in Andrew County. The highway was constructed throughout the…
