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The left lane is closed on the southbound Merritt Parkway near the Stamford/Greenwich line because of a two-car accident, the state Department of Transportation said.
Emergency dispatches indicated there were injuries, but it wasn’t immediately clear how serious the injuries were.
The DOT reported the lane closure at 8:49 a.m. No other information about the accident was immediately available.
Stay with BlogJam and follow @GreenwichTime and @StamAdvocate for updates.
A traffic report card issued this week showed that the Bridgeport region has the fifth worst traffic in the country.
According to the report — put out by INRIX, a leading international provider of traffic information and intelligent driver service — drivers in the Bridgeport metro (defined as stretching from Milford to Stamford) wasted 42 hours in traffic in 2011. The worst time to be on the road in our neighborhood? Friday from 5:30 to 5:45 p.m.
Keep that in mind as you head off on your Memorial Day getaway!
The report showed that Honolulu has the worst traffic, with drivers wasting 58 hours in traffic in that city in 2011. Click here to read the full release on the report card.
Jim Bak, the report’s co-author, said various factors weighed in coming up with the ranking, including congestion and travel times. Bak said the Bridgeport metro area actually fell in the rankings from last year’s report, when it was determined to have the fourth worst traffic in the country.
In fact, the was an overall 30 percent drop in traffic congestion in 2011, Bak said. He theorized that unemployment coupled with high gas prices could have played a role in the dip.
As for our fair state, Bak said Connecticut’s position — between New York and the other New England states — could be the reason for our crummy traffic. “Connecticut is a gateway for people traveling through to other places,” he said.
Whatever the reason, Connecticut’s status as a gridlock hotspot didn’t come as news to a lot people. For instance, Liz Glagowski, a Milford resident who works in Stamford, said traffic is a fact of her existence. “I’ve sat in two hours of traffic to go 25 to 30 miles, so I’m not surprised by this at all,” she said.
State police and Fairfield and Trumbull firefighters responded Friday morning to a report of an accident on the southbound Merritt Parkway between exits 48 and 47 in Trumbull.
A Fairfield fire dispatcher said the two-car accident, which was called in at about 8:30 a.m., was cleared fairly quickly and that no one was seriously injured.
Both lanes remained open after the crash, but rush-hour traffic was slowed on the busy stretch of road while crews were on scene.
Shortly before 9:30 a.m., the state Department of Transportation said delays in the area had cleared.
Today figures to be one of the busiest traffic days of the year, and the day’s first accident-related delays are likely on the northbound Merritt Parkway in Greenwich.
The state Department of Transportation said the right lane was closed between exits 27 and 28 on the parkway for about 40 minutes because of a two-car crash.
The crash, which happened at about 7 a.m., was cleared by about 7:40, the state DOT said.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether anyone was injured.
Westport Fire Chief Andrew Kingsbury, left, talks with Metro-North Railroad passengers at Greens Farms Station on Friday afternoon after they got off a sweltering train that stalled on the tracks for about an hour Photo: Paul Schott / Westport News
In January, when winter weather wreaked havoc on Metro-North service, we asked for reader input and got an overwhelming response: Almost 100 readers left comments detailing their commuting struggles and offering insight into what they’d like to have seen the MTA do differently.
Given the nightmarish day many commuters had on Friday, when 100-degree heat led to mechanical issues and delays of 45 minutes or more, we’re asking again:
Did Friday’s weather derail your commute? Do you have an interesting story or insight into what went wrong?
Leave a comment and let us know. The best comments will be compiled into a blog post detailing the heat-related issues, and some comments may also be featured in the print edition of the Connecticut Post, News-Times, Advocate, Greenwich Time, or one of Hearst Connecticut’s weekly newspapers.
We’ll also include the best comments on our Twitter and Facebook pages, along with feedback gathered from commuters at stations throughout southwestern Connecticut.
UPDATE, 10:07 p.m.: I-95 northbound is congested between Exits 41 and 44 (2.7 miles) in West Haven because of a tractor trailer accident between Exits 43 and 44. The right lane is closed. Reported Thursday, June 2 at 9:57 pm.
UPDATE, 8:56 p.m.: Two vehicle accident on I-95 northbound between Exits 43 and 44 in West Haven. The right lane is closed. Reported Thursday, June 2 at 8:50 pm.
UPDATE, 8:05 p.m.: I-95 NB congested bw Exits 2 and 17 (16 miles) because of accident between Exits 16 and 17 in Norwalk. Right lane closed. Reported at 7:54 pm.
UPDATE, 6:54 p.m.: DOT reporting accident CLEARED I-95 NB one-half mile before Exit 18 in Westport (Sherwood Island Connector) at 6:47 p.m.
UPDATE, 4:41 p.m.: DOT reports Merritt Parkway NB CLOSED between Exits 34 and 35 in Stamford because of an overturned vehicle. Reported at 4:33 p.m.
UPDATE, 3:28 p.m.: DOT reports two vehicle accident I-95 SB between Exits 9 and 8 in Stamford. Right lane is closed. Estimated time to clear: one hour or less. Reported at 3:17 p.m.
UPDATE, 8:34 a.m.: Reports are coming in of an accident on I-84W, in Newtown near the Danbury town line: @NERoadways tweeted that the accident occured between Exit 8 and Exit 9 (Whisconier Road).
There’s no word yet on how many vehicles were involved or whether anyone was injured.
Delays are likely in the area.
UPDATE, 7:46 a.m.: Beware of delays on I-84E, particularly between Exits 21 and 25 in Waterbury.
UPDATE, 6:56 a.m.: Still, no accidents to speak of in Greater Danbury. Traffic is moving smoothly along the area’s major roadways.
UPDATE, 6:50 a.m.: The accident in West Haven on I-95 SB has been cleared.
UPDATE, 6:45 a.m.: No major incidents to report along I-95 or the Merritt Parkway, but there is some congestion building on I-95 Southbound in Bridgeport into Fairfield, from exits 27 to 22.
Also, further north on I-95 south, in West Haven, there is a crash that still has the left lane blocked between exits 43 and 42, but it is clearing up soon.
UPDATE, 6:35 a.m.: The accident still hasn’t been cleared away in West Haven, so if you are heading down into Fairfield County from New Haven, watch out for that. It is between exits 43 and 42 southbound.
Also, congestion is building between exits 27 and 22 in Bridgeport heading into Fairfield southbound on I-95.
UPDATE, 6:27 a.m.: Not much happening in lower Fairfield County so far, but in West Haven there is congestion between exits 44 and 42 because of a two-car crash at exits 43-42. The left lane is closed.
6:15 a.m.: All appears to be well in the Greater Danbury area, at least from a traffic standpoint. There have been no reported accidents in the region.
UPDATE: Everything is all clear.
A car is on fire on the Merritt Parkway South. It is in the “no exit zone” between exits 42 and 44.
Firefighters are blocking off the right lane near the car.
A reader tweeted @stamadvocate saying that there is a lot of smoke, but the driver of the car appears to be okay.
UPDATE, 9:10 a.m.: An accident in Newtown has stifled traffic on I-84W near exit 11.
Meanwhile, you can expect delays along I-84E near exit 23 in Waterbury.
UPDATE, 9 a.m.: Delays remain on I-95 Southbound from exits 26 to 21 in Fairfield and from exit 18 to 11.
Photo from DOT traffic camera at Saugatuck Avenue in Westport (exit 17):
The Merritt Parkway South is starting to clear up.
UPDATE, 8:12 a.m.: Expect delays if your commute takes you eastbound on I-84, particularly between exits 23 and 25 in Waterbury.
Also, authorities have shut down Route 133 in Bridgewater after a car traveling in the direction of Brookfield careened off a bridge and plunged into Lake Lillinonah.
UPDATE, 7:45 a.m.: There are delays on Route 8 South starting at Judd Road in Monroe and ending at the Route 8/25 connector in Bridgeport.
UPDATE, 7:35 a.m.: If you are heading south through New Haven this morning on I-95 Southbound on your way into Fairfield County, be ready for delays around exit 51, lasting to exit5 48.
Your trip along the southbound highway is then smooth sailing into Bridgeport, but the volume picks up there again, lasting from exits 26 to 21.
Congestion is also building on I-95 South in Darien between exits 15 and 13. It has been clear off and on, but be prepared for a bit of a slowdown through that area.
UPDATE, 7:30 a.m.: There are numerous sites along I-684 where road work is underway this morning that may lead to traffic delays:
-Road crews working between exits 9 and 10 have shut down the right lanes in both directions until 4 p.m.
-Pothole repairs are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. and will result in various lane closures until 2 p.m. in Southeast, N.Y., North Salem, N.Y. and the Putnam and Westchester County line.
-Road work is also scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. in both directions just south of exit 6. Several lanes are expected to be closed until 3:30 p.m.
-Exit 3 is expected to undergo road work in both directions at 10 a.m., leading to various lane closures until 3:30 p.m.
UPDATE, 7:16 a.m.: A disabled tractor trailer on Route 7 in New Milford at Candlewood Lake Road has led to traffic congestion along southbound lanes. This has also led officials to shut down the right lane.
Meanwhile, across the state line, an accident on I-84E, in the vicinity of exit 18, has shut down the right shoulder of the two-lane roadway.
Finally, low-visibility due to fog is quickly becoming a concern for commuters in several parts of the state.
7:03 a.m.: Volume is building in Bridgeport on I-95 Southbound stretching through Fairfield from exits 26 to 21.
There is moderate volume on the Route 8/25 connector in Bridgeport heading south into the city and towards I-95, but nothing major.
The Merritt Parkway is mostly clear with pockets of volume in the Fairfield area and in the Westport-Norwalk area.
But there have been no incidents or accidents to tie up traffic anywhere along the I-95 corridor or up Route 8, 25 or 7 so far this morning.
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