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Is Route 6 the state's 2nd most dangerous road?Even after more than $25 million in improvements, a stretch of state road from Bolton to Columbia still hasn't shaken its ominous moniker of "Suicide 6."
On Thursday, a group of lawyers and relatives of people killed or injured in last year's Avon Mountain crash called Route 6 the state's second most hazardous roadway, listing it among what they claim are the 10 most dangerous state roads.
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In the Avon Mountain crash July 29, 2005, four people were killed and 10 injured when a dump truck with faulty breaks lost control, hitting a commuter bus, and careening into traffic stopped at a light.
Now, soon after the arrest of the trucking company's owner, a small group of lawyers and survivors is calling on the state to use "rainy day" funds to fix problem roads.
But state Department of Transportation officials and some local residents questioned the placement of the 8-mile stretch of Route 6 at the number two spot, claiming recent improvements have made the road safer.
DOT spokesman Chris Cooper questioned the group's methodology: "They don't really claim any science behind it, they just use a couple statistics, I don't even know if that's true, to be honest, that those are the top ten most dangerous roads," Cooper said.
The group, headed by Stratton and Faxon, a New Haven-based law firm that specializes in personal injury litigation, used the anecdotal information provided by other trial lawyers, as well as DOT data, to form the list, according to Christina M. Biagioli, the firm's spokeswoman.
The law firm is representing Ellen Stotler of New Hartford who lost her husband in the Avon Mountain crash as she pursues legal action against the trucking company and the state, Biagioli said.
Despite Cooper's skepticism - he said comparing high-volume traffic roads such as Interstate 95 in Darien to rural state highways such as Route 6 is "like comparing apples and oranges" - he acknowledged that all 10 on the list are problematic roadways, and improvements are planned or underway for each.
Cooper said DOT does not rank roads in order of danger, citing the difficulty in comparing different types of roads.
Besides Route 6, roads on the group's list are:
* Route 44 in Avon.
* Route 34 at Ella Grasso Boulevard in New Haven.
* Merritt Parkway near the New York border.
* I-95 in Darien.
* Route 9 from Haddam to Middletown.
* Route 69 from Woodbridge to Bethany.
* Route 107 in Redding.
* Route 66 near the Arrigoni Bridge in Middletown.
* Route 800, known locally as Winsted Road in Winsted.
In 2003, the state began a $17 million multi-phased project on Route 6, including widening the road 8 feet, adding turning lanes, and installing new traffic signals.
All major work on the Bolton and Columbia portion was finished last year, Cooper said.
According to state police at Troop K in Colchester, accidents, particularly serious crashes, have decreased drastically since the improvements.
DOT statistics confirm that the number of accidents on Route 6 between Route 44 in Bolton and Route 66 in Columbia has dropped sharply since improvements were made.
In 2002, there were 93 accidents on record, and three fatalities. In 2003, there were 76 accidents reported; in 2004, 73 were reported; and in 2005, after most of the upgrades were complete, there were 57. There was one fatal accident in 2005.
Part of the decrease in accidents could be because there was less traffic volume while construction was being done on the road, because drivers chose other routes, according to state Rep. Pamela Z. Sawyer, R-Bolton, a member of the legislature's Transportation Committee.
Sawyer said there have been mixed results with the improvements, and that some new problems have crept up, such as some drivers using turning lanes to pass.
The bottom line, Sawyer said, is that the changes did not increase the roadway's capacity, and that traffic volume is at the root of the problem.
"It's an antique road," she said. "It was never meant to be a thoroughfare between two state capitals."
The road links Hartford and Providence.
Ed Turn, a former first selectman in Andover, was more blunt in his assessment of the group's list of dangerous roads.
"They need to do their homework," he said. "It's simply not true."
Turn was a proponent of safety measures for the road, which, he said, have had a positive impact.
"I'm on the road every day," he said. "You just don't hear the sirens like we used to."
Despite calling the situation "dramatically improved," Turn said more could be done.
He suggested installing a traffic light somewhere between Bolton and Long Hill Road in Andover to slow traffic.
State police spokesman Sgt. J. Paul Vance praised the DOT's efforts to improve the road, which, he said, have made a difference.
"You have to commend the DOT for the improvements, doing probably everything they can," he said.
He said that more time would have to pass before the ultimate success of the improvement efforts could be evaluated.
©Journal Inquirer 2006
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