Zachary Suri, Contributing Photographer

Cars revved their engines, pedestrians jaywalked and children waved from a passing school bus as New Haven’s mayor, senator and congresswoman spoke at the intersection of Chapel Street and Sherman Avenue — the deadliest intersection in the city — on Friday. 

Standing in front of the Yale New Haven Hospital’s St. Raphael complex, Mayor Justin Elicker unveiled an $11 million federal grant to upgrade the Chapel Street corridor’s aging traffic and pedestrian infrastructure.

“The reality is that places like New Haven are dangerous, and all too often, we lose members of our community because of dangerous driving,” Elicker said. “That is why the work that we are doing is so important: No life should be lost.”

The $11 million to upgrade infrastructure along 1.6 miles of Chapel Street between State Street and Ella T. Grasso Boulevard is part of $1 billion in road safety grants announced by the U.S. Department of Transportation on Thursday. New Haven is one of 354 municipalities nationwide to receive funding through the Safe Streets and Roads for All Program and is set to receive the largest grant through this program in Connecticut so far.

The stretch of Chapel Street — in downtown and the Dwight, Edgewood and West River neighborhoods — saw almost 900 total crashes between 2019 and 2023, according to analysis by the UCONN Connecticut Crash Data Repository. That represents an average of around one crash every other day, Elicker said. According to DeLauro, the stretch has the highest number of serious injuries or fatalities per mile in the city.

The intersection of Chapel Street and Sherman Avenue, where the press conference was held, is particularly deadly, with three fatal crashes in the same period, Elicker said.

“The need is very, very clear,” Elicker said. “The goal is to radically change this corridor, to make it safer for everyone, whether it’s vehicle drivers, cyclists, pedestrians and in particular our most vulnerable.”

The $11 million grant will fund improvements aimed at protecting all users of the corridor from pedestrians and cyclists to drivers and public transportation riders.

Decades-old traffic signals will be replaced at many intersections, including Chapel Street and Sherman Avenue. The city also plans to retime all the signals along the corridor to regularize the flow of traffic and prevent drivers from having to stop at red light after red light.

After construction, the whole stretch of Chapel Street will be two-way, as opposed to the current patchwork of one-way and two-way blocks.

To make crossing easier for pedestrians, the city will install high-visibility crosswalks alongside a number of raised crosswalks and raised intersections. New sidewalks will be built, as well as Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant pedestrian ramps and accessible pedestrian signals. The city will also extend curbs into the street, so pedestrians have a shorter distance to cross busy thoroughfares.

The project also includes a series of new bike lanes for cyclists and street improvements to increase compatibility with Connecticut Transit buses.

The grant required letters of support from Rep. Rosa DeLauro, who is also the highest-ranking democrat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal LAW ’73. Both Sen. Blumenthal and Rep. DeLauro were strong supporters of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which is the source of funding for the infrastructure grants.

“We don’t always think about the risks that we face everyday when driving, but the good news is that this is an area where government investment can make real, life-saving differences,” DeLauro said. “The funding is a direct result of the work the Congress did in cooperation with the Biden-Harris Administration to pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.”

She pledged to continue advocating for these projects and make sure the funds passed in 2021 are fully implemented.

Blumenthal commented on how fitting it was to hold the press conference in front of the hospital. He made the point that pedestrians struck by vehicles end up in the adjacent emergency room.

“The fact is that our roads have never been deadlier for pedestrians,” he said. “That is unacceptable … Our roads are designed for danger.”

According to Blumenthal, 350 pedestrians were killed on Connecticut roads between 2018 and 2023, or around 70 deaths each year.

Blumenthal argued that Connecticut streets have been designed exclusively for drivers, to the detriment of pedestrians and cyclists.

“We have designed our roads for cars, not for walkers or bicyclists. This program, Safe Streets and Roads for All, is designed to take back our roads and streets for the people who walk, cycle, for the people who run.”

Blumenthal expressed hope that this project would be a “national model” for the redesign of city streets to protect pedestrians and cyclists.

Ward 7 Alder Eli Sabin spoke alongside Ward 1 Alder Kiana Flores ’25 and Ward 2 Alder Frank Douglass, Jr. in praise of the mayor, the city’s congressional representatives and the city staff who prepared the grant proposal for this project.

Sandeep Aysola, director of transportation, traffic and parking, told the press that the design process would begin next year after the agreement with the Federal Highway Administration is finalized. Construction should begin sometime in 2027 and conclude by 2029 at the latest, he said.

Both Mayor Elicker and Sen. Blumenthal stepped to the microphone to make clear that they were not happy with this timeline.

“2029 is not an acceptable timeline, and as city staff know, I will be breathing down people’s necks to get that timeline to be much, much faster,” Elicker said.

Alder Flores, who represents much of Yale’s campus, sees this project as particularly critical when it comes to developing a comprehensive cycling and pedestrian infrastructure.

“This stretch is very essential because it can connect so many different parts of the city,” she told the News. “It’s very exciting because it’s not everyday that you get $11 million to do that.”

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes $1.2 trillion in infrastructure investments.