DOT plans to build a so-called flex lane — a temporary travel lane — in each direction on a stretch of Interstate 84 in Danbury. The lanes will open and close to cars depending on the time of day and traffic congestion. When not open, the lanes will serve as left-side shoulders.
It will be the first system of its kind in Connecticut. Construction is expected to start in 2028 and last up to three years.
Signs above the highway will tell drivers when a flex lane is open, closed or closing soon. But what if a driver uses the lane when it is closed? That’s where cameras will come in.
The bill — which the House passed last week and the Senate cleared Tuesday — allows DOT to establish a camera program to enforce the rules for using flex lanes. If Gov. Ned Lamont signs the bill into law, vehicle owners will face a $75 fine for a first violation and a fine of up to $200 for a second or subsequent violation.
The bill includes requirements for operating the cameras and issuing tickets that are similar to the law for highway work zone speed cameras.
The legislation also lets DOT designate other highway shoulders as flex lanes, allowing them to be used as high-occupancy vehicle lanes, dedicated lanes for bus rapid transit or dedicated lanes for emergency vehicles or to redirect an opposing highway lane into a one-way lane.
Under the bill, municipalities that operate buses in a flex lane will be able to participate in the camera program if they adopt an ordinance and enter into an agreement with DOT.
The bill packaged together multiple transportation-related proposals. Here are some of the other provisions:
NOISY EXHAUSTS
The state legislature’s Transportation Committee supported a proposal to increase the fine for unnecessary or unusual vehicle noise from $150 to $1,000. But some lawmakers thought $1,000 was too high. The bill passed by both chambers increases the fine to $300 instead.
Under existing law, any motor vehicle operated by an internal combustion engine must have a working muffler. Gutted mufflers, muffler cutouts, straight exhausts and extensions or other devices that cause excessive noise are generally prohibited.
A violation of the law is subject to a Special Transportation Fund surcharge, which equals 50% of the fine. That means violators will have to pay $150 on top of the new $300 fine, for a total of $450.
DISTRACTED DRIVING
As requested by the state DOT, the bill updates Connecticut’s distracted driving law to explicitly prohibit people from driving while a video on a mobile electronic device or installed screen is visible to them.
The prohibition doesn’t apply to a map from a navigation system or app, as long as the device or screen displaying it is mounted to the windshield, dashboard or center console. It also doesn’t apply to any video used to help a driver with backing up or parking.
HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS
The bill formally requires DOT to give at least two weeks’ notice before clearing a homeless encampment on a state highway right-of-way. The notice will need to be printed in English and Spanish, state the date and time the sweep will take place and be posted at an encampment’s entrance, exit and common areas.
However, if DOT “determines the removal of an encampment is necessary to respond to any transportation operations or infrastructure emergency or a public safety emergency,” the two weeks’ notice won’t be required.
DOT Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto has said that people living in encampments currently receive at least 72 hours’ notice before a cleanup, but in “most cases, the individuals are provided with multiple weeks’ notice.”
TRAVEL BAN SCOFFLAWS
The bill increases the fine for violations of travel bans ordered by the governor during snowstorms.
The current fine is $50, but with fees included, the total amount charged for an offense is $92. The legislation allows the base fine to be up to $250.
DIESEL TRANSIT BUSES
The legislation repeals a provision in state law that prohibits the purchase of diesel-fueled transit buses. State DOT officials have said there is a limited supply of electric buses, and the agency won’t be able to replace aging buses fast enough to maintain existing service levels unless it can buy some diesel buses.
PORT EASTSIDE
The bill also repeals language that exempted the Port Eastside development in East Hartford from a traffic safety review process.
DOT requested the repeal, saying the exemption “would set a dangerous precedent that every future developer will seek to duplicate.”
MEMORIAL HIGHWAY
In honor of longtime state Rep. Kevin Ryan, D-Montville, who died last year, the bill designates a stretch of Route 163 as the “Kevin Ryan Memorial Highway.”
Includes prior reporting by Staff Writer Rob Ryser.
©2026 Journal Inquirer, Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
