#MiddleburyCT #SaveHistoricMiddlebury #Lawsuit #CTDOT #1535StraitsTurnpike
Breaking News
By MARJORIE NEEDHAM
Middlebury residents and Save Historic Middlebury (SHM) filed a lawsuit in Waterbury Superior Court Friday, August 14, 2026, challenging the Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) June 30, 2026, approval of a major traffic generator application for a 171,000 square foot distribution center at 1535 Straits Turnpike in Middlebury, Conn. In an email, SHM President Nick Stuller said the additional 300 or more tractor trailers that would use Straits Turnpike daily when the distribution center was built would exacerbate the already dangerous driving conditions on that stretch of Straits Turnpike.
Noting that these conditions resulted in a fatality on New Year’s eve in 2024, when a car tried to pass a mail delivery vehicle, he said northbound commercial vehicles make frequent stops to deliver packages and mail. This causes north and southbound traffic to shift west as it passes the stopped vehicle. He said the road shoulders are unusually narrow, sometimes just two feet wide on both sides of the road, making for a small margin for error when drivers try to pass the stopped vehicles. He predicted having hundreds of wider tractor-trailers on Straits Turnpike every day would shrink the already small margin for error and increase the statistical odds of fatalities on that stretch of the road.
In addition to the Connecticut Department of Transportation, defendants in this case are the landowner and applicant, Swamp Brook LLC, and the record owner of 1535 Straits Turnpike, Straits Industrial LLC.
Stuller said the plaintiffs believe reducing the risk of additional traffic fatalities is reason enough for this effort, but other positive results will come from the action. Those include opposing a second distribution center, reducing pollution, and preserving the town’s semi-rural status. “Helping stop one helps stop them all,” he said in his email.
Stuller is asking for donations towards the legal fees they will pay to Reid and Riege, a Hartford law firm representing the plaintiffs in this case. Donations can be made online at gofund.me/b95fca9df or by mailing a check made out to Save Historic Middlebury Inc., P.O. Box 1320, Middlebury, CT 06762.
This is a breaking news story. We left a voicemail message for the DOT spokesperson and have been told they will respond. We also will reach out to the other defendants and will report on their response to this lawsuit.
