A major rehabilitation of sanitation infrastructure in downtown Hartford has started, causing traffic closures and detours around Central Row and the Old State House.
Construction is currently scheduled for weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. until Nov. 21. Central Row between Main Street and Prospect Street, at the corner of Bob Steele Street, will be closed as part of the project.
CT Transit has moved area bus stops, impacting a number of routes, including the Hartford-UConn Express bus, Route 913. The usual eastbound State Street stop underneath the Constitution Plaza footbridge will be replaced during the closure by an unmarked stop across the street, near the corner of State Street and Columbus Boulevard.
Before and after work hours, when vehicular traffic is re-admitted, buses will stop at their usual stops.
Other stops along Central Row and nearby Market Street have been replaced by adjacent stops on Main Street, according to CT Transit. They report that bus routes 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 121, 901, 903, 904, 905, 906, 910, 912, 913, 919, 921, 923, 926, 927, 928, 950 and the Asylum Hill Connector are affected by the temporary stop changes.
The construction is the first phase of the Metropolitan District’s project to rehabilitate the city’s downtown sewer systems, which are over 100 years old. Initial work includes “conducting test pits, lining manholes and replacing a portion of the existing sanitary sewer main” according to MDC.
MDC says that no sewer service interruptions are expected.
Future phases of construction will first occur on nearby Market Street and Main Street, projected to last several months with the total cost coming in at $18 million.