Overview

Downtown Crossing

Downtown Crossing is a City of New Haven infrastructure project that rebuilds the former Route 34 expressway into a system of urban boulevards, reestablishes the urban street grid by reconnecting the city streets, and reclaims portions of land that had long been unavailable for development due to the expressway right-of-way.

To lessen construction impacts and to maintain safety, transportation, and economic activities while construction is underway, the Downtown Crossing project has been split into four phases.

All project elements are designed to New Haven Complete Streets standards and support economic development in New Haven, particularly in the growing health sciences industry. The project relieves congestion, promotes direct and indirect economic development, addresses local flooding, improves traffic flow, enhances livability, and dramatically improves safety for vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists.

When complete, Downtown Crossing will:

• Remove the former Route 34 limited access expressway and replace it with urban boulevards with a lower speed limit (25 MPH), streetscape improvements, bike lanes and traffic calming measures;
• Reconnect two streets (Orange and Temple) that had been severed by the former Route 34 expressway, in a manner that supports pedestrian, bicyclist and motor vehicle use;
• Reclaim approximately 10 acres of developable land; and
• Restore connectivity for pedestrians and bicyclists between Downtown New Haven, the Medical District, Union Station and the Hill neighborhoods.