Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont announced a $1 million federal grant for the state Department of Transportation to research safety improvements that can be made on I-95 in Stamford.
The study will research alternatives that will create safer merges and reduce crashes on the highway between exits 7 and 9. Between 2018 and 2020, state data shows there were 736 crashes on that segment of I-95 alone.
The study will also develop plans to replace the I-95 bridge over Metro-North Railroad and Myrtle Avenue in Stamford. Built in 1958, the bridge is in poor condition, despite ongoing rehabilitation.
The grant is provided by the Federal Highway Administration through the Bridge Investment Program, and funded by the Biden administration’s latest infrastructure spending plan.
“I’m excited that one of Connecticut’s busiest interstate corridors has received some of the first funding from a federal program created under last year’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” Lamont said in a statement.
The exits carry high volumes of travelers onto and off the highway, and provide access to downtown Stamford.
The goal of the study is to help improve safety for drivers and pedestrians, as well as ease travel times through Stamford, reduce greenhouse gas emissions from traffic congestion, and improve the quality of life for residents of surrounding communities.
“This is just the beginning of many federal grant funding opportunities that the Connecticut Department of Transportation is targeting to accelerate and prioritize safety improvement and accessibility upgrade projects on all of our roadways, ” State Transportation Commissioner Joe Giulietti said.
