Road Work Creates Traffic Jams in West Hartford

The first of several major new road construction projects in West Hartford commenced early Monday morning, resulting in major traffic congestion in the Bishops Corner area throughout the morning and into the lunch hour.

According to a news release from the town, the state Department of Transportation (DOT) began the process of milling North Main St. at the intersection with Albany Ave. at 2 a.m. Monday. According to the release, the "night work is intended to minimize the impacts at the intersection during the morning commute," but according to many residents who were stuck in traffic, that was not the case on Monday.

Once the milling of North Main St. is complete, the rest of the work will take place between 6 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., and will also likely affect traffic flow. According to the DOT, the construction is expected to last until early August, and one lane should stay open in each direction for the duration.

Drivers may want to consider alternate routes. For more information about the project, call the DOT's district office at 860-688-4848.

The West Hartford Department of Public Works will also begin an evening and overnight milling project as part of the reconstruction of Farmington Ave. as the MDC finished up its work replacing sewer lines.

The town advises that milling from the intersection of Farmington Ave. and North/South Main St. to the intersection of Farmington Ave. with Trout Brook will take place on Sunday, July 14, from 4 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Paving of that stretch of road will be done on Friday, July 19, also between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. According to a news release, the impacted portion of Farmington Ave. will be completely closed to traffic while the milling and paving is taking place, and motorists should seek alternative routes.

Additional milling and paving projects scheduled for the summer include Tunxis Rd. (milling July 16 and paving July 22). Sandhurst, Greenhurst, and Foxridge will be milled on July 16 and paved July 23.

The reconstruction of New Britain Ave. through Elmwood has been completed, other than the painting of lines, but daytime and nighttime work will continue on the eastern end of New Britain Ave. between New Park and South St. as part of the CTfastrak/Amtrak project. Traffic is likely to be reduced to one lane in each direction at times, according to a release from CTfastrak.

Flatbush Ave. and Oakwood Ave. will also continue to have traffic impacted by the CTfastrak project.