When Route 9, a high-speed freeway, hits the center of Middletown, drivers can suddenly run into two red lights. “We don’t have any others on any freeways in the state,” said Stephen Hall, the state Department of Transportation’s project manager for the project that will remove the signals. “It’s a very surprising situation if you’re not familiar with it either. A lot of crashes, a lot of injuries, and then a lot of congestion as well.” The safety issues with the signals at Washington Street and Hartford Avenue are so bad that there’s a crash on average every other day and an injury every week, Hall said. The solution of removing them will make other improvements to the roads outside of downtown Middletown, including a roundabout at River Road south of downtown and a raised section of highway to allow for a northbound entrance at Hartford Avenue. While the project to remove them won’t begin until 2027 and take four years, there will be a public informational meeting April 30 at Wesleyan University’s Beckham Hall (Fayerweather) at 45 Wyllys Ave. The traffic signal project’s $115 million cost will be paid for with 80% federal funds and 20% state funds.
