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The road is in the same alignment it has been in for 60 years. There were never this many and these kinds of accidents until the last 5 years. Why is it Government you want to do something when it's obviously speeding and distracted drivers that are the problem?
I live off this road and I can tell you the road is the same, only the drivers have changed. Why must the government and taxpayers provide a fix for idiocy???

I agree that the road has become more dangerous over time due to the progression in technology (texting, smart phones, etc.), but our tax dollars are specifically set aside for the state to provide safe roads. The mission of the CT DOT, word for word, is as follows: "The mission of the Connecticut Department of Transportation is to provide a safe and efficient intermodal transportation network that improves the quality of life and promotes economic vitality for the State and the region." Idiocy is not the only cause of accidents at that location, and not every victim in this case is at fault. Far too many people speed on that road, and far too many people are distracted drivers, but that doesn't excuse the CT DOT from attempting to fulfill its own stated mission. There have been multiple fatalities on that stretch of road, and many more serious accidents. It is the responsibility of the state to maintain a "safe" road. There are many things that the State of Connecticut should not spend money on, but making a very dangerous stretch of road safer for everyone (especially those of us who do not speed and do not text message or talk on the phone while driving but find ourselves the victim of a car accident) is not in that category. This is exactly the type of problem that the government and the taxpayers should focus on fixing.

The only "fixes" should be pavement markings, signage & centerline rumblestrip. Chevrons like your dad got put in on Route 8 in Beacon Falls. But the problem with those improvements is that it still won't do much to allow an innocent driver to see around the corner and anticipate someone oncoming in their lane. That leaves the option of jackhammering out the sheer embankment on the apex of the curve. That will improve the sightline and possibly help people to avoid accidents. Anything more, like widening the road (if that's even possible between the river and the rock ledge) will only invite higher speeds and more carelessness. Police enforcement will help. Ban Thru-Trucks. Most of them only use it as a shortcut between 84, 8 & 95.
Plus, any solution that widens the road will be a nightmare of environmental permits (the river and DEEP land) and in the end will just invite more truck traffic. I'm just worried that a call to DOT to fix this will leave us with a superhighway from Lakeview to Pink House Cove.

Route 66 between Meriden and Middletown was one of the most dangerous in the state. The state reconstructed this stretch of Route 66 about eight years ago and now, it is a safe road. A previous post mentioned that this road is the same as it was sixty years ago, and that is the problem. The state has neglected this road for to many years.

The state has not neglected this road.

If you are familiar with it you'll know that there are very limited opportunities to turn this road into something bigger and more substantial because it follows the river for 10 miles and is tightly constricted by homes, cottages and natural impediments. Further, there is a very narrow crossing of the river on top of the Stevenson Dam. Residents of this area have been vocally opposed to even building a new bridge, which would invite more large trucks to attempt to traverse it's length from Sandy Hook to Derby.

To improve this road in the way that Route 66 was improved would cost several hundred million dollars. It is an improvement that is only needed to ease truck traffic, such as the vehicle that this unfortunate young girl slammed into head-on while she was texting. Going around this roadway on limited access highways only takes five minutes longer to get between those two points.
Focusing some limited improvements at the area where these four deaths have occurred in the last three years makes some sense but you must remember that it is not the road that caused these accidents, it was distracted driving and speeding. The road itself is in excellent condition and meets most current design standards with the exception of the very narrow shoulders that result from the section being pinned between the rock ledge of Osbornedale State Park and the Housatonic River. Banning thru-trucks, speed enforcement, flashing speed indicators, rumble strips in the centerline and clearing some of the rock ledge to improve sightlines will help, but no matter what you do such as full reconstruction, the road itself will still have a curve and can never have optimal sightlines because of the topography and grade of the area, no matter how much we spend. Widening and straightening, to the extent possible, will only result in faster cars that still will approach a blind curve.

Rebuilding the road is a knee-jerk reaction that might help people feel good but will never be worth it in the long run because it can never be improved enough to guard against distracted drivers. People texting behind the wheel will continue to die and kill innocents.

Statewide, distracted driving, texting and making phone calls while the vehicle is moving are causing rapid increases in accidents and fatalities, even on the best roads. We will either have to get used to the fact that idiots behind the wheel are always going to cause great risk to themselves and the public or we will reduce these incidents through public awareness campaigns such as those that have reduced drunk driving. No mere redesign of roadways will stop these tragic incidents.

I could care less about distracted drivers. They are everywhere but this strech of road has too many accidents because of how norrow it is with NO shoulder in case of any drivers error. Sure, safety cost money, NO DUH! So you are in effect telling me that widening the road makes no difference? Thats not very good planning. Why does the DOT keep widening I-95 and I-84 every twenty years or the Q bridge?

Okay Bob, for starters the phrase is you "COULDN'T care less", not you COULD care less. That is nonsensical.
Second, the reason I-95 & 84 are widened is to increase capacity, making motor vehicle trips between two places quicker. It supposedly relieves congestion but that is very debatable; but this is an issue for another day.
So, you couldn't care less about distracted drivers, huh? How about drunk drivers, not worried about them either?
You're right, as you said "safety cost money" (genius!). But that money should be spent on prevention and enforcement, not making a road bigger so that you can accommodate more and faster traffic on a section of road when the sections east and west of it will not be able to handle that increased speed and load.
We can try your plan if you're willing to have the state use eminent domain to take every house, cottage and business on Route 34 between Derby and Newtown, build a new bridge across Lake Zoar and blast about 10 miles of sheer rock face and cliffs out of the way.
Let us know when you find an extra $5 BILLION lying around !

Okay, now that you corrected a few grammatical errors, maybe you are better at that then road planning. We are talking about a one mile stretch of dangerous road that could be improved not the area from Lakeview terrace to the Stevenson Dam with very little eminent domain needed. And by the way we do have laws against distracted driving and it don't seem to do any good but to ignore a small area because it is way out of date in very nonsensical. That area does not even have any warning signs of a dangerous area ahead. And, I never said because you widen a road to add an ample shoulder that you have to increase the speed limit. This state spend Billions on a busway from New Britian to Hartford but can't make a one mile stretch of road safer? I am not buying your defeatism.

You are misunderstanding my point Bob. And you are at the same time making my point regarding the need for enforcement.
You cannot improve a small section of roadway as you suggest without anticipating the impacts and need to improve the rest of the road. Making that section wider and straighter (not straight) will increase actual driving speeds (no matter the posted limit) and invite more and larger vehicles to assume that the balance of the route is navigable for their vehicle.
We are both looking for a solution to a problem, and good practice tells us that a mix of enforcement and improvements is correct. Completely reconstructing that section is a much more expensive way to reach the same result, with the added risk of actually lessening safety.

I do agree that many things can be done without a complete makeover, however, hundreds of roads in the state are made safer without a complete overhaul. Texting and other distractions happen on every road in this state and, as we know, are not fully enforced. I have yet to see a state police car in that area. State police protocol probably prevents them from having a police presence on a seconday road, but local police should step up their efforts. That being said, no police in their right mind would stop any vehicle on that stretch of road. If you have ever been to another state, you will notice the warning signage telling the motorist of impending hazards. Any more accidents on that stretch of road is nothing more than negligence on that states part. Excuses are not part of the solution.

Finally the state is going to put a bump strip between the lanes on Rt. 34 in Derby. This should have been done long ago.. Once again, MANY smaller things can be done to improve safety on this road.

I agree with planner. I hate Route 34 from Derby through Sandy Hook, especially over the Stevenson Dam. I am amazed accidents don't occur daily and I avoid travel on that road at all costs.

However, there is no way you are going to get the State to spend hundreds of millions of dollars rebuilding Route 34 in that area. Improvements, perhaps. The Stevenson Dam area needs MAJOR work, but that is also costly.

While it's not going to happen, I am a firm believer that not making Rt. 34 from New Haven a major highway as originally planned as was a terrible mistake. 34 SHOULD have gone from 91/95 as a highway right to 8 and beyond. I shake my head as I see New Haven tear apart the only section of 34 that resembled what it SHOULD have become and put buildings up on it.

What we've been left with is a substandard 34 from New Haven to Sandy Hook which in 2014 will never be properly reconfigured.