Connecticut transportation officials say that they will shut down all seven of the state’s rest areas this summer unless money is moved into the state’s Special Transportation Fund.
Funding Shortages Could Lead To All-State Rest Area Closures
The Connecticut Department of Transportation has plans to shut down all rest areas on July 1, 2018, because of funding shortages. If the rest areas were to be shut down by the state, they would be completely closed with no parking or public access at all.
DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick remarked, “If we’re trying to choose between roads and bridges or rest areas, it’s a no-brainer.”
Here are the rest areas subject to the DOT’s shut down:
I-91:
- Middletown
- Wallingford
I-84
- Danbury
- Southington
- Willington, eastbound and westbound
I-95
- North Stonington
Connecticut does not plan to close down any of the state’s 23 service plazas because these locations feature amenities like restaurants and they bring revenue into the state.
The DOT has considered using corporate sponsorship to keep the rest areas open, but there was “utterly no interest from the private sector.”