Why is Exit 6 only on one side of I-84?

DANBURY -- You may have driven up and down Interstate 84 and wondered, "Why is there an Exit 6 on the westbound side, but not on the eastbound side?"

According to state Department of Transportation spokesman Kevin Nursick, the highway was designed decades ago, well before anyone currently working at the state DOT would've had a say in the decision.

However, state records show that planners decided to build Exit 6 exclusively on the westbound side of I-84 because rock outcroppings -- the part of a larger rock structure that juts out from the ground -- made constructing a ramp on the eastbound side impractical.

"The amount of work necessary to build in that type of terrain is considerable," Nursick said, adding that purchasing right-of-way rights would've been another costly expense.

Planners justified the decision by saying the "missed connections" -- people who want to leave the highway at a particular exit -- would not be overly burdened by leaving at Exit 5, which is only a half-mile away.

"A partial interchange (an exit only on one side of the highway) is certainly not a rarity, but it's not common, either," Nursick said. "There's nothing wrong with them, so to speak, if you're filling the need at another location."

If the money is available someday, the state DOT could decide to build an eastbound Exit 6 at a later date.

"Traffic infrastructure is never a permanent fixture," Nursick said. "It's always subject to change."

For the foreseeable future, things will remain as they are because people haven't come forward requesting an eastbound Exit 6. What's more, Nursick said, there isn't enough money to do the project at this time.

Exit 6 is not the only partial exit along I-84 in Connecticut. Although Nursick did not know exactly how many there are, he did confirm there are others.

There are also partial exits on Interstate 95 and other major roadways in the state.

Contact Vinti Singh at vsingh@newstimes.com or 203-731-3331.