Stop the delays! Finish Route 11!

One of the biggest debacles by being held up by Connecticut Bureaucrats and Federal Authorities is the hold up of the completion of Route 11 which was to provide a direct 10-12 mile highway from Colchester/Salem to New London/Waterford. The stalled project is one of the most sad and embarrasing stories in the history of Connecticut Infrastructure projects.

For most of us living in Northern Connecticut, we tend make the shoreline commute for pleasure - so those of us that are seafaring types, beach-goers, and vacationers who travel south toward New London see a mild inconvenience on weekends. But then there are those that live along Route 85, and many who must make a daily commute to earn their living by traveling up and down the slow and dangerous, poorly lit, double lane road to their work destination. The long and tedious trip begins at Salem Four Corners (once you get off of Route 2 in Colchester) and ends in Waterford around the Waterford Mall.

It's clear to anyone driving down Route 2 that the neighbors are fed up with traffic and madness on Route 85. Just about everyone who lives along Route 85 has a sign on their lawn urging officials to begin what they started back in 1953. Here is a timeline of the stalled effort.

The group Connecticut Needs Route 11 has been working tirelessly to try and bring this ridiculous stop and start Merry-Go-Round project to a close (or even a restart). After years of rhetoric by local, state, and federal officials including Leon Mineta, and Jodi Rell, its high time that the delays and stall tactics come to an end.

For the benefit of all of us who reside in the Nutmeg State... let's get this project finished.

Here are a few good articles on the Route 11 mess:

Living in Limbo Along Route 11 (The Day)

The Road to Nowhere

History of Route 11 (and good reference list of articles)

Wetlands are a major obstacle (The Day)

Petition to Finish Route 11

The Day's three day series on the project

There is even an article on Wikipedia about Route 11