Salem — Representatives from the state Department of Transportation conducted a public information meeting Wednesday night on proposed improvements to a segment of Route 85.

Under State Project 120-92, the transportation department is proposing to widen Route 85 between Skyline Drive and Burnett's Country Gardens and install rumble strips along the center line to reduce congestion and the risk of crashes.

Scott Bushee, principal engineer and project manager with the Department of Transportation, said during the presentation that the $1.2 million project is slated to begin in June 2017 and end by November 2017, though some of the utility work could start as early as April 2017.

Eighty percent of the project would be funded through federal money, and the remaining 20 percent would come from the state.

Bushee said congestion and rear-end collisions are common in front of Burnett's Country Gardens as people traveling southbound attempt to turn left into the parking lot.

The curve toward Skyline Drive also has been the scene of 13 accidents in five years, with one fatality, Bushee said.

He said First Selectman Kevin Lyden specifically reached out to DOT to improve this section of Route 85.

"It's an important safety improvement," Lyden said, "and I think all the emergency responders in this town will say they've been out there at different times and seen deaths or serious injuries."

Project engineer Byong Kim presented the proposed improvements, which included widening the 0.6-mile stretch and installing rumble strips in the center line, to a nearly full room at Town Hall.

The curve near Skyline Drive also would be banked.

He said the changes would allow southbound travelers to bypass people turning left into the garden center and keep drivers in their lane on the Skyline Drive curve.

Bushee said the two parts of the project would be done at the same time, and the construction would not lead to detours in order to maintain access to homes and businesses on the road.

Most of the land needed to widen the road already is owned by the state, and right-of-way coordinator Mike Marzi said the transportation department would work with the owners of the properties needed for the plan to come up with a compensation plan.

Merideth Payne, who lives on the curve, said overall that she approves of the plan, though she is concerned about how the new road would affect her driveway and drainage into her yard.

"Even just walking, you can't see the traffic coming this way," she said. "I think they had to do something."

The current slope of the road drains into her yard, and she recalled two accidents in front of her house in which cars hit ice caused by water pooled up on the side of the road.

Bushee said the team working on the project would consider concerns and questions from Salem residents, such as specific plans for drainage on the Skyline Drive curve and the possibility of a left-turn lane for Burnett's Country Gardens.

Plans would be finalized by the winter for the June start.

a.hutchinson@theday.com