Connecticut Route 11

Route 11
Route information
Maintained by ConnDOT
Length:	7.42 mi (11.94 km)
Existed:	1972 – present
Major junctions
South end:	Route 82 in Salem
North end:	Route 2 in Colchester
Highway system
Routes in Connecticut Special Service Roads • State Roads ← Route 10 Route 12 →

Route 11 is a state highway in east-central Connecticut, serving traffic between the Hartford and New London areas (via Route 2). It was originally planned to be a freeway from Colchester to Waterford. However, only about half of the freeway was constructed and it ends in Salem. The delays, and eventual effective cancellation of the project in 2009, were due to funding and environmental issues. However, there has recently been a push to complete the remaining half. This would be done by eventually installing tolls on the newly completed Route 11 to make up for the expenses.^[1]

History

An expressway connecting Route 2 in Colchester and the Connecticut Turnpike in New London had been planned as far back as the 1950s. It was originally designated the Route 85 Expressway. Construction began in 1966 but was halted due to lack of funding. The half-finished expressway opened in 1972 as Route 11.^[2]

Plans to finish Route 11 were revived in the late 1990s due to increased traffic in the area (primarily due to Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun). Contrary to local opposition to new highways, most of the residents of the area were in favor of completing the highway. Subsequently, Route 11 was submitted to the U.S. Department of Transportation for inclusion on the federal government's "fast-track" streamlining process, designed for federal agencies to quickly complete necessary steps on stalled projects, and was approved in August 2004. Funding for Route 11 has also been included in the proposed 2006 Connecticut state transportation bill. The State of Connecticut purchased, and still owns, the right-of-way for the project in Salem.

Route description

Route 11's southern terminus is the interchange with Route 82 (Exit 4) in the town of Salem. It proceeds northward, soon crossing the Eight Mile River. The road continues about 2.3 miles (3.7 km) crossing over Witch Meadow Road (Exit 5) at a diamond interchange, which leads to Salem center. Route 11 soon crosses into the town of Colchester, then has an interchange with Lake Hayward Road (Exit 6) about 2.8 miles (4.5 km) after crossing the town line. Lake Hayward Road, an unsigned state highway known as State Road 637, provides access to eastbound Route 2, Route 85, and Route 354. Northbound Route 11 merges onto westbound Route 2 0.6 miles later.^[3]

Special designations

Route 11 is also known as the ConnDOT Employees Memorial Highway.^[3]

Recent developments

The Final Environmental Impact Statement for extending Route 11 was issued on October 26, 2007. The EIS was published three months behind schedule due to a dispute between CONNDOT and the consulting firm that prepared the EIS—the Macguire Group—over payment for services rendered.

Extension Jeopardized by Environmental and Funding Issues

A Record of Decision from federal officials was expected by the end of 2007,^[4] but the Environmental Protection Agency had expressed concern over the environmental mitigation plan for Route 11, and expressed it still favored the Route 82/85 upgrade over extending Route 11. Because the EPA has veto power over Army Corps of Engineers permits, EPA opposition could have forced the delay or cancellation of the Route 11 extension.

In December 2007, Federal Highway Administration extended the FEIS review period through the end of January 2008 to provide the EPA with a detailed environmental mitigation plan. Additionally state and federal elected officials requested the FHWA and CONNDOT present a detailed financial management plan for activities related to the extension.

CONNDOT Suspends Work on Route 11

In September 2009, CONNDOT indicated that due to funding constraints, it will indefinitely suspend further work on Route 11.

Route 11 Studies Revived, Tolls Proposed

In 2011, Governor Dan Malloy indicated that completing Route 11 to the I-95/I-395 interchange was a high priority for the state and ordered CONNDOT to resume environmental and funding studies. In August 2011, CONNDOT initiated a financial study that focuses on building the Route 11 extension as a toll road, which could potentially accelerate construction of the extension by using a combination of funds from tolls and traditional state and federal highway funds.^[5]

Route 11 greenway design

The final section of Route 11 was proposed to be built not to Interstate highway standards. While it would have been built as a fully controlled-access freeway, it would not have met Interstate standards due to two key design features: First, opposing lanes of traffic would have been separated by a concrete Jersey barrier versus the wide median on the existing Route 11 section. Secondly, the greenway was being planned to have curve radii that would have been tighter than what is allowed by Interstate standards, although it would have still had a design speed of 70 mph (110 km/h). With these two features, Route 11 would have been built using a footprint that is less than half the size required for an expressway built to Interstate standards.

The Route 11 Greenway Authority was created by the state legislature in 2000 as a committee designated with the responsibility of purchasing land on either side of the completed Route 11 to be preserved as hiking and biking trails and open space. As of 2010, the Authority still holds monthly meetings and the funds from the State of Connecticut still exist to purchase land for the Greenway, despite the near certainty the expressway itself will never be completed. The Authority does not have the power of eminent domain. The cross-section profile for the Route 11 Greenway would have been similar to that of the Route 8 expressway through the Naugatuck State Forest between Beacon Falls and Naugatuck.

Unused bridges, roadbed, and ramps

The northernmost mile (1.6 km) of Route 11 would have been built more to Interstate standards as it transitions between the Greenway profile and the profile of the existing segment at Exit 4 in Salem. When Route 11 opened to its present-day terminus at Route 82, crews had cleared and graded the roadbed for about a mile beyond Route 82 for the anticipated extension south. The "ghost ramps" built during the 1970s for a southward extension of Route 11 at Route 82 would have been paved as the new roadway was built. The Greenway would have used two rock cuts and a pair of unused bridges over Route 82, just south of the present Route 11 terminus. The bridges and rock cuts were left behind when work stopped on Route 11 in 1972.

An interchange with Interstate 95 and Interstate 395 was also planned to be built as part of the highway extension, and accounted for about half of the $1 billion cost of the project.

Exit list

The entire route is in New London County.

Location	Mile	Exit	Destinations	Notes
East Lyme	8.19	2	I-95 / I-395 – New London, New Haven, Norwich	Proposed interchange
	9.56	3	Route 161 – Chesterfield, Flanders	Proposed interchange and exit
Salem	10.12	4	Route 82 – Salem, Hadlyme	Current ending terminus
	13.09	5	Witch Meadow Rd. – Salem, Millington
Colchester	17.24	6	Route 2 – Glastonbury, Norwich
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

Connecticut portal

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ kurumi.com - CT Route 11
3. ^ ^{a b} Connecticut State Highway Route Log (2006)
4. ^ Key Step Forward for Route 11, New London Day, October 27, 2007
5. ^ Route 11 Financial Study to Begin this Month Including the Distribution of Driver Surveys at Various Locations in Southeast Connecticut, Connecticut Department of Transportation, Aug 4, 2011

Coordinates: 41°30′49″N 72°18′11″W / 41.513719°N 72.303085°W / 41.513719; -72.303085