DOT Drops Proposal For Exit 11 Truck Stop/Rest Area

By Andrew Gorosko

Considering the site’s location above the environmentally sensitive Pootatuck Aquifer, the state Department of Transportation (DOT) has dropped consideration of creating a state truck stop/rest area near Exit 11 of Interstate 84, a DOT spokesman said this week.

DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick said July 11 that an Exit 11 site for such a facility “is pretty much off the table” considering its proximity to the aquifer, which is a local source of drinking water. The aquifer is the source of two public water supplies and thousands of individual domestic water wells.

A draft version of the Connecticut Statewide Rest Area and Service Plaza Study was presented July 10 to the state Transportation Strategy Board. A final report is due this fall.

Mr Nursick said he expects that that a Newtown site for a truck stop/rest area will not be recommended in the final report.

“It’s not a feasible option at this point…not feasible to pursue,” he said.

There are other locations under consideration, he said.

The facility that was under consideration for Newtown would have been constructed in the I-84 median between the highway’s eastbound and westbound lanes, in the area lying west of the Exit 11 interchange.

At a June 21 session in Sandy Hook, DOT officials described plans to reconfigure the Exit 11 interchange, simplifying the design of the high-speed set of I-84 entrance ramps and exit ramps. That $15 million project is slated to start construction in the spring of 2009 and be completed by late 2010. The project is intended to improve travel safety and enhance traffic flow through the often-congested area where Route 34 meets I-84.

At that session, Robert Rakowski, who is the DOT’s project manager for the Exit 11 reconfiguration, said that the state does not plan to create a truck stop/rest area near Exit 11.

First Selectman Herb Rosenthal said July 11 that town officials have made it very clear to the DOT that the town does not want a truck stop/rest area built on I-84 in Newtown, pointing to the environmental hazards it would pose to the Pootatuck Aquifer.

Also, the redesigned Exit 11 interchange would conflict with the construction of a truck stop/rest area, he said.

“We raised a lot of objections” at past meetings with the DOT about locating a truck stop/rest area in Newtown, with the main objection being the proximity of such a facility to the Pootatuck Aquifer, said Public Works Director Fred Hurley.

The ongoing state truck stop/rest area study is evaluating the state’s overall needs, requirements, and options for rest areas and service plazas and is also evaluating the needs of each individual existing facility, according to DOT. The study will provide a long-term plan for new facilities and for improvements to existing facilities.