State Advances At-Grade, Or Partly Below Grade, Option For Replacing I-84 Viaduct In Hartford

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced Thursday that the state is filing federal paperwork that essentially rules out the option of building an elevated highway or a highway tunnel through Hartford to replace the aging I-84 viaduct.

The environmental report the state is filing calls for an at-grade, or partly below grade, highway for about 2 miles through the city.

Malloy said there was no other viable alternative to a costly replacement of the half-century-old viaduct. "I don't think you can stop this [replacement]," he said. "This is going to fall down."

The state Department of Transportation has emphasized that the elevated highway remains safe for the near future but has projected it would require at least $2 billion to $3 billion in repairs between now and 2045 to stay in use. Even then, its fundamental safety flaws – which the DOT blames for an accident rate four times higher than comparable stretches of highway – would remain, engineers said.

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