Credit: Lucas Pombo, 7/16/21
For anyone who needs to use I95 south of Greenwich, you noticed. Lane closures on i95 itself, which have been present in some way since 2019, were finally completely removed. As a result, the 24/7 congestion caused by one of the 3 lanes ending is finally over. Work is not totally done - crews are still working on the shoulders overnight, but barring anything unexpected, no more disruptions will happen anytime you probably need to use I95.
The project, which was just completed, is the last of several projects undertaken by the state to upgrade I95. Upgrades usually include replacement of asphalt with concrete tiles (which are more durable and easier to replace), improved drainage systems, and banked curves (what engineers refer to as “superelevation”).
For this project, referred to as the “Last Mile Reconstruction Project” by the NY department of transportation, I95 would be upgraded from its connection with US-1 in Rye (where the last project left off) until the Connecticut border Two interchanges were covered - the exit 21 interchange which connects with I287, and the exit 22 interchange which connects with Midland Avenue, a minor arterial road in Rye. (Exit 20, which is in the project area and connects to US-1, was repaved before the project started and did not receive any upgrades.)
Upgrades to I287 connections include a one-lane widening of the connections from I95-S to I287-E and from I287-W to I95-N.
There are also 2 exit lanes to I287 from I95 south now, so the right lane of I95 South should get less congested, since there is more exit capacity. The connections to Midland avenue, which exit I95 in the same place but are classified as a separate interchange, meanwhile, have been completely rebuilt. They are now able to handle truck traffic much more smoothly, and a dangerous entrance which formerly required a stop sign and no merge lane was given adequate space to merge onto I95.
This all sounds great, but it comes at a pretty steep cost of $135 million. It also disrupted approximately 175,000 trips every day, adding significant congestion to I95. The primary beneficiaries of the project, meanwhile, were Rye residents and I95 South users, who got a significant capacity upgrade. It should be noted that the most bottlenecked connection, from I287-W to I95-S, which frequently causes traffic to come to a full stop, was not upgraded by the project at all. The two lanes merging onto i95 still have to merge together, just later. While this does provide some increase in capacity, it also means that a failure (too many cars) means a jam on I95 and I287, rather than just I287 if the merge were earlier. Finally, the connection from I95-S to I287-W has been upgraded, although I don’t know if that connection was backed up before the upgrades.
Overall, it probably wasn’t worth it. At $135 million, the savings here are very marginal, although I applaud New York for at least trying. If they really want bang for their buck, however, they should probably take their cash to either the Merritt or the Metro-North. Neither one is close to peak effectiveness, while I95 is.
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