WTAG-TV

[torchia@technologist.com]

Bill Dellane wrote: 


>"While we are at it we should bow our heads for the long forgotten I-86
from Sturbridge to Hartford. I forgot about that. I believe I-84 was suppose
to cut thru Eastern CT to go to RI." >>>

Which brings up another politically inspired mess. When the hiway was started
in the early 60's, for a long time you had to get off of I-84 heading west at 
Sission Avenue, in Hartford, then go out Park road in West Hartford and get back 
on at Trout Brook drive in West Hartford. 
Then there was another such break in the hiway between West Hartford at the 
New Britian line, and you didn't get back on until just south of Wolcott mountain
in Southington. You could then proceed on I-84 into Waterbury. That roadblock remained 
for several years also. The entire travel log menagerie of I-84 continued for a number 
of years. 
It wasn't until the powers to be agreed to have I-84 run through downtown 
Hartford and part of downtown East Hartford, that the initial connection was made 
between the Buckley bridge in Hartford and Trout Brook drive in West Hartford.
They finally got around to building the hiway as it is today much later on. 
I-84 is a death trap between the Buckley bridge and Bristol, and was never intended 
to run the course it now does. Being a close friend of one of the supervising engineers 
on the job at that time, he told me the original plans were for I-84 to go north from 
a point just beyond Bristol and completely bypass the city of Hartford, intersecting 
with I-91 (which was completed to Windsor at that time) so that travelers could have 
access to Bradley Field and Springfield in one direction, and Hartford in the other. 
It was then supposed to run north and east through Simsbury, Rockville, etc. and split 
at approx. West Willington, with one branch going east to facilitate easy access to 
UCONN and eventually connecting to I-395 (which at that time just a thought on a blue print) 
at Putnam, and continue on over to Providence, and the other branch going north to Sturbridge. 
Of course politics got in the way of common sense and things became as they are now.

Bud Torchia