A plan for improving sight lines at the intersection of Route 202 and Old Mt. Tom Road was greeted with skeptical comments at Tuesday’s continued public hearing on a proposed 20-lot subdivision near the intersection.

The proposed Shepaug Crossing development is located on 270 acres off Old Mount Tom Road in Litchfield.

The plan for improving sight lines was developed in response to residents’ comments at the November public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission. 

“We’ve come up with an interim solution, but this solution is outside the planning and zoning process,” said Peter Hughes of Middletown, the project planner.

Currently, motorists turning onto Route 202 from Old Mount Tom Road can only see about 200 feet in either direction, said Dennis McMorrow of Berskhire Engineering & Surveying in Bantam. That distance gives motorists 2.8 seconds of reaction time when making a turn into traffic traveling at 50 miles per hour.

“That’s a short window,” McMorrow said.

The sight lines could be increased to 350 feet in both directions by removing sections of a steep embankment along Route 202.  That would give motorists five seconds to make turns onto Route 202, McMorrow said.  He estimated the improvement would require removing about 500 cubic yards of material from the embankment. 

Officials from Litchfield, Washington, and state Department of Transportation would have to decide who pays for the work.  The developer is not required to fix an off-site intersection, according to Town Planner Tom McGowan.

A permanent solution to reconfigure the intersection would cost about $600,000 to $800,000 and require two years to navigate the state permitting process, Hughes said.

Rick Duffy of Goslee Road asked if the reduced embankment would be planted with grass and maintained regularly by state crews.

“Once you get up to two feet, you’ve lost that sight line again,” he said. 

Several people said five seconds of reaction time was not enough to guarantee safe access onto Route 202.

When making a left-hand turn onto Route 202, motorists “are coming at each other a lot faster than your sight line might indicate,” said Joe Privatera of Old Mount Tom Road.

“Interim ideas like this, especially in budget cut periods, become permanent,” Privatera said.  “I really believe we need to address this on a permanent basis before we start building.”

Residents also asked whether the town planned to pave Old Mount Tom Road, which is a dirt road, if the development is approved.

Public Works Director Jack Healy said the town has not budgeted money to pave the road or improve the intersection at Route 202.

McGowan said other solutions, which he termed “problematic,” include making Old Mount Tom Road a one-way road or creating a cul-de-sac at the Litchfield town line.

He reminded planning commissioners that developer CA Litchfield Land was not required to come up with a plan for fixing the Route 202 intersection.

“It’s better than what you have,” McGowan said.  “It’s still not good.

The commission continued the public hearing until Feb. 16 to receive a report from the Litchfield Conservation Commission.  The commission may vote on the development at that meeting.

The principals in CA Litchfield Land LLC are Alan Temkin, who owns a construction company in Torrington, and Christopher Wilson of Monroe.

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