The state Department of Transportation (DOT) has been awarded a $125 million competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to support Phase 3 of the construction project reconfiguring the interchange that connects Interstate 91, Interstate 691 and Route 15 in Meriden.
The award was announced Friday by Gov. Ned Lamont and the state’s Congressional delegation.
DOT is now constructing the second of the project’s three phases. The overall goal is to reduce congestion and improve safety by eliminating dangerous weaving points, correcting “roadway geometry” and adding multi-lane exits, state officials said.
Once Phase 3 is completed, the project will see the replacement and rehabilitation of several bridges and the addition and extension of auxiliary lanes to reduce crashes and improve traffic flow, they said.
The cost of the project’s first phase, which began in 2023, totaled $80 million and was entirely funded by the state. The second phase is supported by a combination of $50 million in state funding and $200 million in federal funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law. The third phase will be supported by the $125 million federal grant, with additional state funding.
Combined, the expenditure for all three phases is anticipated to be more than $500 million.
