A well-orchestrated transportation, land use, or economic plan seems to take about five years. The U.S Route 1 Corridor Project in the Lower Connecticut River Valley was no exception to this rule. In fact, it was a uniquely challenging and exciting project for the towns of Clinton, Westbrook, and Old Saybrook.

Over the past eighteen months, the Lower Connecticut River Valley Council of Governments (RiverCOG) and their consultant, Fitzgerald and Halliday, Inc. have worked to create long-range concepts and recommendations for Route 1. The main priorities of the plan consist of traffic congestion mitigation, improved access to bikes and pedestrians, improved safety, and an analysis of land use and economic conditions. A volunteer Route 1 Advisory Committee was appointed by the three First Selectmen: Willie Fritz in Clinton, Noel Bishop in Westbrook, and Carl Fortuna in Old Saybrook to strategize with project engineers.

On Thursday, March 19th from 6:00 to 8:00 pm, RiverCOG and the Town of Westbrook will host a public workshop to gather comments on the final recommendations. The Route 1 Study recommendations are a result of eighteen months of data collection, public outreach, and insights from each town’s land use boards, their professional planners, elected and appointed commission members, zoning officials, economic development and engineering experts, emergency responders, public works, local bike advocacy groups, historic commissions, chambers of commerce, and more. Comments received by the community during on-street interviews and local events were particularly important. Susan VanBenschoten, President and CEO of Fitzgerald and Halliday has said, “these on-street interviews gave us access to folks who don’t normally attend public meetings at the Town Hall; teenagers, senior citizens, and busy families. This input was crucial as we sought out balanced solutions to the issues.”

Jean Davies, Principal Planner at RiverCOG initiated the project in 2009 with a singular goal to find consensus on local and regional solutions that spark innovative land use solutions and economic growth within the Route 1 Corridor. Jean notes, “It is important to find a balance and preserve the unique community character in each of our shoreline towns as Route 1 changes to accommodate increased traffic and development.” The final plan lays out both short and long-range designs and concepts that are based on accurate data and the best of current roadway engineering solutions. The Connecticut Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration partnered with RiverCOG and the three towns, providing the funding and expertise on the final recommendations. RiverCOG and their project partners encourage you to get involved in the discussion on March 19th at the Westbrook Town Hall from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.