Improve Safety on I-95 Between Stamford and Exit 5 (Greenwich, CT)

To: Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT)

We are requesting an urgent traffic safety review and improvements on the Interstate 95 corridor between Stamford, Connecticut and Greenwich, Connecticut, especially through the Riverside, Exit 4, and Exit 5 areas.

This stretch is reported by UCONN Crash Data and Greenwich TIme as one of the most consistently congested and crash-prone highway segments in southwestern Connecticut. It experiences frequent stop-and-go traffic, intense merging activity, and repeated traffic “shockwaves” that lead to sudden braking, multi-vehicle collisions, and commercial truck instability, including jackknife crashes.

A particularly dangerous hotspot exists near Exit 4–Exit 5 (approximately Mile Marker 4.25 area), where closely spaced exits and heavy commuter volume create repeated traffic compression events. This is where severe crashes are most likely to occur when congestion builds.

Why this area is dangerous
Crashes here are not random—they are the result of predictable traffic conditions:

• Stop-and-go traffic waves that force sudden braking
• Closely spaced exits creating constant lane changes and merging conflicts
• Heavy commuter traffic toward New York City
• Limited space for vehicles—especially tractor-trailers—to recover from sudden slowdowns
• Late or aggressive merging that forces abrupt braking

These conditions can cause jackknife crashes, where a truck’s trailer swings out of alignment during hard braking in congested traffic.
 
What we are requesting
We are asking CTDOT to implement immediate, low-cost traffic management improvements:

1. Variable Speed Limits
Gradual speed reductions before congestion zones to prevent sudden braking waves.

2. Dynamic Overhead Signage
Real-time messages such as:

“HEAVY TRAFFIC AHEAD – REDUCE SPEED GRADUALLY”

“STOP-AND-GO CONDITIONS – INCREASE FOLLOWING DISTANCE”

3. Ramp Metering at Exits 4 and 5
Controlled merging to reduce sudden cut-ins and improve traffic spacing.

4. Corridor Traffic Flow Management
Coordinated speed harmonization and early warning systems to prevent congestion collapse between Stamford and Greenwich.

5. Safety Review of the Exit 4–5 Hotspot
Targeted engineering review of crash clustering and heavy-vehicle instability patterns near the Mile 4.25 area.

 
Why this matters
These crashes are preventable. Modern traffic management systems can reduce:

• Sudden braking chains
• Rear-end pileups
• Truck jackknife events
• Dangerous merging conflicts

This is not requesting major reconstruction—it is a request to use proven traffic control tools to make one of Connecticut’s busiest corridors safer.

Urgent 🚨 Request:

We urge CTDOT to act on this corridor before more preventable crashes occur. Small improvements in speed control and merging management could significantly reduce serious collisions between Stamford and Exit 5. 

Please share this link to help gain support: https://Change.org/FixExit4to5

Thank you. 🙏 
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READ MORE ABOUT THE DETAILS OF THIS TRAFFIC AREA:

WEST (Stamford side)                          EAST (toward NYC)

   🟡 Zone A       🔴 Zone B            🔴 Zone C                   🔴 Zone D

   Approach          Exit 4 Merge      Exit 5 Bottleneck    Grade/Curve
  Riverside
-----> traffic direction

   [speed drop] → [weaving] → [compression] → [shockwave braking]

Intensity:

🟡 Moderate risk
🔴 High risk

What the colors mean:

🟡 Zone A: speed transition zone (first braking wave forms)
🔴 Zone B: merge conflicts (cars entering + trucks braking)
🔴 Zone C: worst congestion “compression zone”
🔴 Zone D: secondary instability (grade + curve + already-slow traffic)

👉 The main point:
This isn’t one crash point — it’s a chain reaction corridor where crashes “cascade” eastbound.

Here is a breakdown of the exact high-risk crash / likely jackknife zones on that stretch of Interstate 95 through Greenwich, Connecticut (Riverside–Exit 4–5 corridor heading toward NYC) based on how crashes cluster in highway geometry reports and CTDOT corridor analyses.

1. Where jackknife / severe truck crashes concentrate

Think of this segment not as one spot, but as 4 repeat “failure zones” within ~2–3 miles:


🔴 Zone A — Riverside approach (west of Exit 4)

Rough area: just after leaving Stamford / entering Riverside

What’s happening here:

• Traffic is still at highway speed
• Suddenly compresses due to downstream congestion
• Trucks begin braking hard in response to “shockwave slowing”
  
  Why jackknifes happen here:
  
  
• First heavy braking zone after faster-flow segment
• Drivers don’t yet see the slowdown ahead
• Trailer pushes forward during hard brake application
  
  

🔴 Zone B — Exit 4 merge & weave zone (Riverside Ave area)

This is one of the biggest conflict points

What’s happening:

• Short on-ramps feeding into already congested lanes
• Cars merge aggressively to avoid missing exits
• Trucks often get trapped in braking traffic while cars cut in front

Jackknife triggers:

• Sudden lane changes in front of trucks
• Trucks braking while already partially loaded in a curve
• Uneven friction (dry lane + wet shoulder during rain)
  
  👉 This is a classic “rear-end + evasive steering = jackknife” environment.

🔴 Zone C — Exit 5 bottleneck (Putnam Ave / Greenwich center influence zone)

This is arguably the worst point.

What’s happening:

• Very closely spaced exit-to-exit traffic
• Heavy commuter merging patterns
• Constant lane switching between through + exiting traffic

Why trucks destabilize here:

• Stop-and-go waves (“accordion traffic”)
• Trucks repeatedly brake/accelerate cycles
• Higher chance of trailer swing when braking mid-curve
  
  👉 Most “sudden crash ahead” chain reactions happen here.
  
  

🔴 Zone D — Eastbound climb / grade + curve transition past Exit 5

Even subtle grade changes matter for tractor-trailers.

What’s happening:

• Slight elevation change + curve tightening
• Traffic still compressed from Exit 5 congestion

Jackknife mechanism:

• Weight transfer shifts rear axle grip
• Braking on uneven grade = trailer pushes cab sideways
• Higher risk in rain or during cold pavement conditions

__________________________________________________________________

2. Why this corridor is especially bad for trucks

On Interstate 95 in this area, you have a rare combination:

• extremely short spacing between exits (weaving chaos)
• high commuter density (NYC-bound peak flow)
• limited recovery distance after braking events
• frequent lane-changing pressure from local traffic
  
  So trucks are constantly forced into:

“brake → correct → brake again → sudden lane adjustment”

That pattern is exactly what leads to jackknife conditions.

Additional Media Sources:

1. "Greenwich crash data: 49 car accidents in Jan., Feb. with majority by I-95's exit 5"
   Greenwich Time, 2026.
   URL: https://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/ct-greenwich-car-accidents-jan-feb-2026-22093445.php
   
   
2. "Greenwich crash data: 41 car accidents in March, April with majority by I-95 exits"
   Greenwich Time, May 8, 2026.
   URL: https://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/ct-greenwich-car-accidents-march-april-2026-22242692.php
   
   

The Jan–Feb 2026 article reportedly identified the Exit 5 area as having the highest concentration of crashes during that reporting period.
The Mar–Apr 2026 article reportedly stated that all of the I-95 crashes in that two-month dataset occurred between Exits 2 and 5.

Additional General supporting context:

• CTDOT traffic safety program pages
• FHWA traffic flow / congestion management materials