Background
A bid opening for the construction of the Main Street/Route 34 Project was held on November 3, 2021. The project was awarded to C.J. Fucci Inc. of New Haven, CT. The project is currently under construction. The work will be done in multiple stages and will continue for 3 years due to the extensive amount of roadway and utility work that needs to be accomplished while still maintaining traffic throughout the project corridor. A pre-construction meeting was held on February 17, 2022. Meeting minutes can be viewed here.
Route 34 exists as a primary artery through much of the lower valley and operates as a key connection between the downtowns of Shelton and Derby. Route 34 further exists as the ‘Main Street’ for Derby. This has been a major design consideration with regard to the rehabilitation of the roadway. The reconstruction project of Route 34 from Bridge Street to the Route 8 interchange was initiated to combat congestion along this stretch of road. Secondary to this is the understanding that as the City’s ‘Main Street’ the design team needs to remain cognizant of the needs to facilitate and encourage a roadway that creates a vibrant, walkable, and visually pleasing mixed-use place.
Main Street in Derby will be reconstructed between Bridge Street and Route 8. The project includes widening to create two through lanes in each direction separated by a center median, with dedicated turning lanes at intersections, improvements to traffic signals including the interconnect of the signals to improve traffic flow, improvements to parking including on-street parallel parking on both the north and south sides of Main Street and a separate parking lot on the south side of Main Street across from the Derby Senior Center with roughly 30 to 35 parking spaces, an upgraded storm drainage system, new sidewalks with bump-outs at intersections, lighting and other streetscape features such as trees, granite curbing, and brick paver areas. Improvements will be made to Elizabeth Street, Minerva Street, Water Street, and Factory Street. Elizabeth, Minerva, and Thirds Streets will be converted to one-way circulation. Traffic will travel north on Minerva and south on Elizabeth. Angled on-street parking will be implemented on Minerva Street. Parallel on-street parking will be maintained on Elizabeth. Parallel on-street parking will be implemented on Third Street. Pedestrians will have refuge islands mid-way as they cross Main St. Sanitary sewer improvements will also be incorporated into the project.
This plan from 2016 depicts the cycle track along the south side of Main Street, since the time this drawing was created changes were made based on input from the public which removes the cycle track and creates on-street parking along the south side of Main Street.
Aerial Visualization includes the cycle track which has now been removed from the project resulting from public input. Parking along the south side of Main Street will be added.
Luchs Consulting Engineers, LLC/DeCarlo& Doll Inc. The project is being managed by NVCOG under the supervision of the Connecticut Department of Transportation.
The construction is expected to continue through 2024 and be completed Fall 2024.
Click the links below to access a variety of resources related to the project.
Report of Public Information Meeting for Route 34
City of Derby Board of Alderman Resolution from February 8, 2018 Meeting
Construction Photos & Footage
Route 34 Preliminary Design Rendering
