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“This will change the landscape of Stamford going forward,” Mayor Michael Pavia said.
The project has been studied and reviewed by several teams since the completion of the first phase several years ago, and Pavia estimates construction should take no more than two years to complete. Improvements to Myrtle Avenue include a rebuilding, realigning, and widening of the street, along with bus and travel lanes.
Peter Butler, deputy regional administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, described the project as breathing new life into the city, and said that transit needs to be viable. He also explained that phase two was made possible because of the leadership Stamford has at the federal, state, and local levels of government.
“We celebrate not only transportation, but we celebrate a community,” Butler said, adding that the federal government will be giving more than $41 million toward the project.
The mayor described the project as necessary in order to continue the growth the city, which has been attracting businesses, people, nightlife, and other economic development. “In order to keep this momentum, people must be able to travel in and out,” Pavia said.
A comprehensive traffic plan has been developed between the planners and the Police Department to make sure the businesses and residents living on or close to the project are disrupted as little as possible. The project will also be done in separate parts so only portions of the street are closed at a time, and there will be a representative on hand to make sure the needs of the community are met when they can be.
Pavia stressed the importance of little disruption by bringing up problems that occurred in the earlier phase, including having no place for contractors to park and deliver materials. He added that is part of the reason why so many preliminary studies were done in advance of phase two.
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