North Haven first selectman to meet with traffic officials in Hartford to discuss old Pratt & Whitney site To meet with DOT and the Office of the State Traffic Authority next week

The old Pratt & Whitney plant on Washington Avenue in North Haven. The old Pratt & Whitney plant on Washington Avenue in North Haven. Photo: Peter Casolino — New Haven Register FILE PHOTO Photo: Peter Casolino — New Haven Register FILE PHOTO Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close North Haven first selectman to meet with traffic officials in Hartford to discuss old Pratt & Whitney site 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

NORTH HAVEN >> First Selectman Michael Freda will be heading to Hartford next week to discuss with state officials how the reuse of the former Pratt& Whitney Aircraft site on Washington Avenue would affect traffic on the already busy road.

It’s the second phase of a three-phase process that could result in thousands of new jobs at the site, which for years was where aircraft engines were produced.

“I’ll be attending a meeting with the state Department of Transportation and the Office of the State Traffic Authority,” Freda said Friday. With him will be Police Chief Thomas McLoughlin and representatives from Langan Associates, the project’s engineers, Freda said.

The purpose of the meeting is “to review what enhancements may be recommended on northern Washington Avenue, which is a state road, to accommodate thousands of jobs that could go there and the cars,” Freda said.

Neither state or Langan officials could be reached for comment Friday.

The project, described as a warehouse facility, likely would produce the same kind of traffic the Pratt & Whitney facility produced, which at times could be much heavier than what’s there today. The end user of the site hasn’t yet been identified and won’t be until a contract is signed for the property.

“Decades ago when Pratt & Whitney was there, what you would see is at 3:30 in the afternoon thousands of cars coming out trying to get on to Route 5,” Freda said. “So this is a process, and because it’s a state road, the Office of State Traffic Authority comes into play, and it’s a good process. It’s designed to put a plan together to accommodate additional traffic from jobs and cars.”

The state officials have to approve the plans before the project can move forward, Freda said. The project needs that approval before a contract can be signed between the owner and the developer.

“We are hopeful the engineer’s recommendations will be accepted,” he said. “The state, of course, will come in with some input, and depending on that input, we are hoping to get to the third stage of this.”

The third stage is the final stage, he said, which would be state approval on the traffic and engineer’s recommendations.

“Then, we are working with the property owner, the end user and the development company to hopefully be able to make a positive announcement on this site,” Freda said, “but it’s not done yet.”