Officials would like to start planning for the New Mix project since the Mixmaster rehabilitation project is almost finished. Josh Morgan, the spokesman for CTDOT, commented:
“That goes beyond just pavement and bridge rehabilitation. It’s really looking ahead 25, 50 years from now, about how that area will work, how the highway system will interact with the city of Waterbury.”
He also stated that there is a larger project in development involving stakeholders and local businesses, which compiling a list of projects for future consideration. Graphic design could be used in the planning phase of large projects like this.
Among the first improvements on the list will be the removal of the Exit 21 ramp on the eastbound side of I-84, which has been closed for a long time. Public hearings have been arranged to debate the elimination of the exit ramp and will include the extension of an additional lane close to Exit 22. Morgan believes that Connecticut has too many on- and off-ramps, creating significant traffic congestion.
Investigations suggest that many people use the highway as if it were a local road, getting on it at one exit, then steering off at the next, rather than traveling the 5-10 miles it was meant for.