The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-03-16

n Otd1 VI tV PIOJcCLS III aS COWns includes 88.12 miles of roads ranging from stage construction with tn- porary surfacing of bituminous ma terial to reinforced concrete divided highway with center separation strip
 Allocation for road construction and reconstruction constitutes the largest item in the total = $7,434 400. Within this amount $3,055 ,O00 will be devoted to construction of several types of surfaces on divided high ways. The program calls for the completion of 1880 miles of this type of highway during this con- struction season. In addition to this mileage, 2.89 miles of stage con- struction looking to the eventual de- velopment of divided highway will be completed across new territory at an estimated cost of $526,000.
 Pressing Problems
 This particular program Commis- sioner Cox said, is planned to reme- dy a number of the more pressing problems of through travel in the state, while additional programs for this year, and the future, are planned to improve other major routes and a number of the highways carrying lighter traffic.
 One of the outstanding improve ments contained in the 1940 pro- gram is composed of several projects on US Route A. This work the commissioner said is designed to make it possible to travel the entire route between Hartford and Canaan with equal speed excepting at those points where 1t seems impractical to bypass the settled areas.
 Both ends of the Wilbur Cross Parkway-the connection to the Merritt Parkway and that at the Massachusetts line-are included ill the program, as is a group of pro- jects for alleviating the urgent traf- fic problem caused by the present conditions on US Route
 While these routes are in the line of heaviest travel, the remained of l the experimenting for about | 60 per cent of the total mileage is assorted among large number | of highways in all parts of the state | the commissioner said.
 TwO-Lane Highways
 Standard two-lane construction in | three different types of pavement | is provided as follows: Reinforced | concrete, 21.50 miles estimated at $2,O55 800; bituuminous concrete 3.95 miles to cost $23O,9O and bitumin- ous macadan, 27.46 miles to cost $1,- 566, 300.
 Other paving activities proposed are the surface treatment with | crushed stone of 5.52 miles of road | at cost of $644,0O0 and the re- treading of 2 miles at cost of $65,00O. -
 Grade crossing elimlnations to cost $855, 900 are proposed in six projects which upon completion will serve to eliminate the hazards of nine separate grade crossings and, in one instance, an existing narrow cridge and a road intersection at the same point.
 Fourteen bridges, one a replace ment of an existing narrow rail- road bridge, one a new bridge on a new layout across a railroad, and the othersr assorted between new construction over waterways, re- placement of flood damaged Struc- .ures and highway grade separations, are covered in the proposed pro- gram. The estimated cost of their erection is $903 800.
 Repairs at various points where trolley tracks have been abandoned accounts for another $165,000 item in the program. A statewide pro- gram of culvert construction and replacement will require $52,30O while other drainage projects have an indicated total cost of 40,0O0.
 Miscellaneous items including improvements of hazardous curves and corners, will require the re- $6O,0OO in this particular program.
 State Highway Commissioner Cox said that work on majority Of these projects will be begun as soon as weather conditions permit.