Will six new roundabouts make Norwich's 'Crash Alley' safer? The state's plan, detailed.

NORWICH — With the state looking to create its first roundabout corridor in Norwich, public opinion is mixed.

On Thursday night, the Connecticut Department of Transportation informed the public of the state's plans to add six roundabouts along Route 82 in Norwich, in order to improve safety. The first of a two-phase plan builds half of the planned roundabouts, and, if approved by the state, should be completed in 2025.

The majority of people who spoke at Thursday night's public hearing were against the plan, including business owners who would be forced to close or relocate when their properties are "acquired" by the state for the new traffic patterns.

The CTDOT roundabout project in Norwich

Project Manager Scott Bushee said the project is slated to cost $20 million.

Bushee said this figure was calculated a few months ago, accounting for inflation and a 15% contingency. Bushee said these funds aren’t available to the Department of Transportation yet, as it has to be approved in the yearly budget process, and since the department relies on federal funds. In this case, federal money makes up 80% of the cost, with the remainder paid for by the state.

To minimize traffic disruption during the project Bushee said as much of the work as possible will happen at night, and the contractor in charge of moving utilities will do so before another contractor actually builds the roundabouts.

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Project Engineer Michael Laurice stated the first phase adds roundabouts at Osgood Street, Asylum Street, and Mount Pleasant Street, with a u-turning area at Dunham Street, where a roundabout will be added later. Of these four intersections, only Dunham Street will retain traffic lights. As well, this length of road will be reduced from four lanes to two, and will have raised medians.

Laurice also added that Elizabeth Street will be cut off from Route 82, meaning people will drive on Peck Street and Mechanic Street to get to the main road.

Each of the roundabouts themselves are similar to the existing one Norwich itself added downtown, with crosswalks and a pedestrian refuge in the middle, as well as a truck apron, giving space for tractor trailers and other larger vehicles to travel as normal, or space for emergency responders to move around cars.

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Phase two of the Route 82 roundabouts

While Bushee said the second phase is still in the conceptual stages, it will be completed, if approved, in 2027. This will add three more roundabouts westward, including Dunham Street, to the intersection of Route 82 and the New London Turnpike. The removal of traffic lights and lanes, and the addition of more medians will continue. An informational hearing on phase two will be held 18 to 24 months from now.

However, Bushee said the New London Turnpike roundabout will have two lanes. This complexity is why the state is starting from the other side of the corridor, so drivers can acclimate to the roundabouts.

Bushee said that the department sees the two phases as different projects, so it’s a possibility that once the first phase is completed, the second one is never started.

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Mark Lenters, a national roundabout consultant with Atlanta-based Kimley-Horn, said this project isn’t an experiment, and is based on results from across the country. In Scaggsville, Maryland, Lenters said the public was supportive of roundabouts. In La Jolla in San Diego, California, Lenters said there was a problem of too much pavement and issues accessing businesses. Lenters said La Jolla had a dip in tax revenue from businesses in the first year of 2005, but the roundabouts lead to redevelopment in the area for a few years following, until the recession.

“We know that this is going to be a success for you,” Lenters said.

Arguing the merits of the roundabout, Bushee repeatedly emphasized that the current Route 82 is prone to bad driving and can be dangerous.

“You guys live here, it’s your community; you drive this everyday,” Bushee said.

Roundabouts intended to improve safety in "Crash Alley"

The state’s primary goal is improving safety. The state said, in its meeting notice from Thursday, that in the past five years, Route 82 has had 100 accidents and 35 injuries annually. Bushee said many of these accidents are caused by speeding, aggressive driving, and the high number of possible points of contact from traditional intersections, especially with left turning.

With the roundabouts, Laurice anticipates that people will drive between 15 and 25 miles per hour, instead of people driving faster than the posted speed limit.

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The informational meeting packet states that the raised median will reduce turning crashes by 78%, and total injury crashes by 95%. The roundabouts themselves are estimated to reduce total crashes by 48%, and severe crashes by 78%. Department of Transportation officials also stated the project will shorten travel times with a constant flow of traffic, and lead to more efficient gas consumption.

Looking at a real world example, Lenters said in the 20 years that Golden, Colorado has had roundabouts, it saw 60% fewer crashes, 90% fewer injuries, and 85% of drivers reduced their speed from 48 to 33 miles per hour, while allowing drivers to get through the corridor faster.

Supporters

During the question and answer session, some of the public endorsed the state’s roundabout plan. Rodney Green, owner of Olde Tymes Restaurant, said people may still have a negative view of the Department of Transportation from when Route 82 was widened to four lanes in the 1980s.

“The only place I’ve seen it poorly done is Boston, where they literally have a roundabout and a red light and an intersection 20 feet outside the roundabout, so they can’t even get out of it,” Green said, noting he's seen the traffic pattern around the country and world.

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Another resident, David Burnett, also supported the roundabout corridor. He said that though business may take a hit in a meantime, committing to this large investment from the state will encourage entrepreneurs to invest their money long term.

“The city must move into the future, and that future includes roundabouts,” Burnett said.

Concerns over traffic

Many concerns related to Norwich drivers knowing or respecting how the roundabouts work, and about the businesses along the roadway.

Former alderwoman Ella Myles said she lives on a side street of Route 82 that people often use to avoid lights. Though she’s not against the project as a whole, she’s concerned about her street getting worse. While Bushee said people would realize the roundabout is better than cutting through, Myles was skeptical that would happen.  

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“This is Norwich, and that’s not reality here,” Myles said, with some laughter from the audience. “Most people do wheelies down my street. The FedEx guy speeds down my street.”

What about the businesses?

The main business concern involves the state acquiring properties partially or entirely to make the project work. In phase one, 44 properties will be at least partially acquired, with five commercial properties among them being fully acquired. The state is currently slated to fully acquire another four properties with phase two.

Department of Transportation Property Agent Dennis McDonald said the state would use the right-of-way process. A property owner first gets an overview letter and a property map. Then the state evaluates properties and makes an offer. If the owner accepts, they sign an acceptance document and they close at a later date.

If there isn’t an acceptance after negotiations, the state acquires the property through the condemnation process. Using eminent domain, the state files through the court system, and negotiations continue. The property owner can appeal for six months.

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Norwich Mayor Peter Nystrom (R) is concerned about the market share loss from the roundabout work. Nystrom said he spoke with the owners of the Shop Rite on Route 82, and they’re expecting up to a 15% loss of market share.

“That’s permanent; people don’t come back,” Nystrom said. “If that happens, there’s a good chance we lose most of that plaza, and maybe even Shop Rite.”

One of the concerned businesses is Grader’s Jewelers. President Mike Grader read a letter, emphasizing how tough it would be to rebuild the goodwill of his family doing business in the area for 56 years if he had to vacate the current Norwich location, which he’d have to for phase two.

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“The State believes that by purchasing buildings that will be torn down and paying for some relocation costs will make us whole. This is far from reality,” Grader said. “The loss to all of the businesses on Route 82 during this process will be too much for most businesses to recover from. They are not only impacting businesses but they’re potentially devastating owner’s and employee’s financial futures.”

Another concerned individual is Nick Gallivan, whose wife owns All The Right Moves Dance Studio, one of the properties to be fully taken for phase one. He isn’t sure if the studio could move into another property along the Route 82 strip, and moving to Montville or another town would not work.

“You’ve got all the dance kids from Norwich,” Gallivan said. “You want to keep them here; you don’t want to move to another town.”

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McDonald said businesses forced out by the roundabout construction are entitled to resources from the state, including advisory services to identify replacement properties, helping with moving expenses, and reestablishment benefits, among others.

Norwich City Council President Pro-Tempore Joe DeLucia (D) said after the meeting he supports the state’s roundabout plan, but says the city should also provide resources for impacted businesses, on top of what the state does. This could range from using resources from the Norwich Community Development Corporation, to spending American Rescue Plan Act funds on businesses needing to relocate before its 2023 deadline, and finding ways to keep them on the strip. DeLucia estimates that there 16 vacant or underutilized properties from Asylum Street to the I-395 on ramp.

“We want to keep them as businesses in Norwch,” DeLucia said. “Best case scenario is to keep those businesses on that stretch of the road.”