Waterbury Mixmaster Construction Becomes Two-Year Commuter Headache

It's happening again, Waterbury mixmaster commuters.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation has just closed the southbound lane of Route 8 between exits 31 and 30. Couple that closure with the shutdown of the Exit 19 ramp from I-84 to Route 8 and you've got some nasty traffic to contend with on a daily basis for two long years.

The construction work is part of a four-year master plan to replace and repair all 10 bridges on I-84 and Route 8 which they call the "mixmaster." The state will layout $152.96 million for the bridge rehabilitation project which is scheduled for a September 2022 completion date.

The DOT has been advising commuters to find alternate routes if possible. If you don't already have the GPS app WAZE downloaded on your cell, now's the time to crank it up. Downloading a couple of audiobooks might not be a bad idea either.

"Mixmaster" Fun Fact: This section of the highway was originally built in the 1960s to handle 60,000 cars. It now supports 180,000 cars per day. For more information on this mammoth construction project, click on Mixmaster-Rehab.com.