The next phase of the City of New Haven’s Downtown Crossing project is under way, with changes in traffic patterns from Yale New Haven Hospital’s downtown campuses and parking facilities that might impact employees, visitors and patients.
The Downtown Crossing infrastructure project involves rebuilding the former Route 34 expressway and includes construction of a 500,000-square-foot lab, research and meeting space dedicated to bioscience.
Phase 3 of the project begins this month and includes some single lane closures, which will have little impact on traffic to and from YNHH.
However, from early June through November 2021, the portion of South Frontage Road between College and Church streets will be closed to traffic. The closing of this road, which leads to Interstate 91 northbound and Interstate 95 northbound and southbound, might significantly impact drivers heading out of New Haven.
Another change involves the service roads under the Alexion building (northbound) and the Air Rights Garage 9 (southbound), which many drivers take to and from the highway. During construction, the northbound service road will become two-way, while the southbound service road will close.
Doug Hausladen, director of transportation, traffic and parking for the city of New Haven, said the city is working diligently to prevent traffic delays and congestion as much as possible, creating official detour routes with signs to guide drivers around the construction area.
In addition, the city recommends drivers consider alternate routes to leave New Haven, such as the Trumbull Street entrance to I-91 north, or State and West Water streets to I-95 south.
Another change YNHH employees and visitors will notice is the conversion of York Street from a one-way to a two-way street between Howard Avenue and South Frontage Road. This will allow drivers to detour off of South Frontage Road before reaching the closure.
YNHH will keep employees informed about expected road closures and detours throughout the project and continue offering suggestions for alternate routes in the affected area. For more information and to sign up for Downtown Crossing project traffic updates, visit downtowncrossingnewhaven.com.
