By Clark Judge
(June 12, 2025) — Summertime and the living is … well, it’s supposed to be easy, right? Try telling that to anyone on the morning drive the past week on Route 81. In short, traffic there was a nightmare.
Commuters, school buses, school parents, voters, Parmelee hikers … you name it … all were part of a gridlock that, at times, had vehicles in one direction at a standstill for half an hour. Motorists were understandably upset, but when they voiced their displeasure to Killingworth First Selectman Eric Couture, they found him surprisingly empathetic. He not only witnessed the mayhem outside his Town Hall office but, like others, was caught in it on his way to work.
“A confluence of chaos,” is how he described it.
It’s all part of a summer of local road work, with milling on Route 81 the preamble. Paving, chip sealing on side roads and speed feedback signs are scheduled to follow, with work continuing into July, meaning … yes, meaning we’re just getting started.
So how did all of this happen? Ask Couture. We did.
Q: People are frustrated and annoyed, but I remember e-mails last month that signaled this would happen. When did you first know about the milling?
COUTURE: “I think the first time I mentioned it was in December, saying they’re going to pave Route 81 in the summer. I also mentioned it in a couple of Board of Selectmen meetings and sent two e-mails out in May … including one on May 29, saying: Remember, this is going to start next week. But the Department of Transportation (DOT) didn’t tell me it was going to be delayed until Thursday, June 5. “
Q: Talk about bad timing. School was still in session. People had to get to work. Awards ceremonies were taking place. And we had the school budget referendum.
COUTURE: “When the state notified the town in November that Route 81 would be paved, it didn’t have a starting date. It just said that it would pave in the summer of ’25. The first time I got a solid date for when the paving would start was early May. “
Q: So how much input did you or the town of Killingworth have on the DOT’s plans?
COUTURE: “We tried to delay the project back in March, in part because of the point-of-entry system we were installing at Killingworth Elementary School. But they (DOT) just said, ‘the summer of ’25,’ and when you don’t have a specific time for work to begin, you must contact them in November.”
Q: How many complaints have you gotten?
COUTURE: “Not as many as you’d think. The first day we got three or four. Last Friday was bad because there were issues with the flaggers — the people directing traffic — but the town doesn’t have input on who the flaggers are. The companies doing the milling and paving are responsible for contracting them, and we try to work with them as best we can. But Friday was also crazy because that was the day of the referendum.”
Q: What do you tell your listeners?
COUTURE: “Look, we understand. Our office is on Route 81, so we’re also impacted. But this work has to be done at a certain point and, ultimately, you should register complaints with DOT. I’ve told them (DOT) that they need to do a better job of flagging, and they’ve relayed that to the contractor. You’re dealing with three different organizations, so it’s tough.”
Q: Someone asked why work couldn’t be done at night, but I assume it’s a money issue. Correct?
COUTURE: “Yes. That would be overtime pay. They’re trying to do it in a cost-effective manner, and they’re trying to do it as quickly as possible. The state has its budget, as we all know. We complain when its budget goes up, and we complain when the town budget goes up. I sympathize with people, but the work has to be done.
Q: It’s my understanding road work will continue through early July. Is that also correct?
COUTURE: “Yes. They’re just doing the milling now. There’s a two-week gap between that and the paving, but we’ve already heard from guys on the ground and from DOT Tylerville that the company that’s doing the paving – there are two different companies; one for the milling, another for the paving – that the paving has been delayed on a couple of their other projects. So, yes, the first week of July sounds right. Happy Fourth of July and good luck to anyone hoping to go to Hammonasset. I don’t mean to sound sarcastic, but I can’t physically make them pave faster.”
Q: That leads me to one more issue on Route 81. Speeding. It’s an annual complaint, and it’s a valid one – with cars and motorcycles routinely exceeding 50 mph. What, if anything, can the town do about it?
COUTURE: “Speeding is an issue. I’ve been passed in front of Beechwood, and it’s insane, it’s stupid and it’s dangerous. But speeding is a problem across the state. The past couple of months Troop F has been sending us a couple of troopers to some of the side roads – like Green Hill, Roast Meat and Reservoir — and they’ve been writing tickets. The last I heard, I think it was over 100. It’s part of a grant program through the State of Connecticut to conduct speed enforcement on local roads, and when we did it last year we had over 200 tickets issued. That’s one element.”
Q: What’s another?
COUTURE: “We’re going to be getting two new speed feedback signs. We have more flexibility putting them on town roads than we do state roads, and, right now, I’m thinking of putting one or both on Green Hill. That’s the road that has the most complaints. On the state roads, we’re going to put in automated license reader cameras — which aren’t ticket cameras — as part of a state initiative. It’s more for a car that has an APB put out on it or is reported stolen. We’ll put two at the circle and two along 81, but they won’t be doing any automated ticket enforcement. You need a town ordinance to do that. But the Board of Selectmen will discuss that ordinance this summer. The town of Washington was the first (in Connecticut) to implement these automated ticketing cameras, and I think in the first six months it issued $21,000 in tickets. That said, there’s a 30-day grace period once the cameras are installed, and you’re not going to get a ticket if you’re going three miles over the limit. Plus, we’d have to implement an ordinance first, which requires a town vote. So this is just something the Board of Selectmen is considering.”
Q: There was talk once about a second state trooper to help. What happened with that idea?
COUTURE: “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get a second one due to the number of troopers in Connecticut in the last budget. But we’re going to push for another trooper in the upcoming one. I know people have suggested constables, but that’s far more expensive because now you’re carrying insurance, you’re carrying health care, you’re carrying all of the equipment, cars, training … the cost balloons quickly.”
Q: With the new blacktop on Route 81, you may need them.
COUTURE: “Yes, but DOT is also making changes to how the road is laid out. If you drive on Route 80 toward Madison, they have rumble strips in the center. That will happen here. They’ll also widen the markings a little bit to make them more visible.”
Q: So your advice to frustrated motorists this summer is … what?
COUTURE: “We’re going to be chip-sealing on town roads this week. So pay attention to the roads. Drive slowly. Read your e-mails. And remember: It will pass.”
Photos by Clark Judge