Photo credit Eric Gonzalez

Distribution centers have been proposed in communities across Connecticut from Ashford to Newtown, raising concerns from local residents about loss of open space, traffic, and pollution. In Middlebury, local residents have mobilized against a proposed distribution center, and are now suing the Connecticut Department of Transportation for issuing a traffic permit.

Save Historic Middlebury, Inc. (SHM) a 501(C)(3) non-profit in Middlebury dedicated to preserving historic properties and structures has filed a lawsuit demanding the repeal of the Connecticut Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Office of the State Traffic Administrators’ (OSTA) Major Traffic Generator permit granted to a 171,000 square foot distribution center/warehouse at 1535 Straits Turnpike. Any building 100,000 square feet or more must file such a permit.

For 18 months, SHM has advocated for the preservation of the 25-acre former farmland of the historic Kelly family (previously part of a 77-acre parcel including Rochambeau trails), rather than the development of a distribution center. Environmentalism and historic preservation have long been linked efforts, so when the DOT approved the application, the lawsuit was filed. This lawsuit is quite unique, in that it illustrates the extreme risk to life the industrial development poses to the citizens; it explains that a death already occurred on this state road due to the existing conditions noted and argues that the introduction of hundreds of additional tractor-trailer trips daily would dramatically increase the odds of future fatalities. Supporters of this cause note that this distribution center will also harm air health, destroy historic land, and endanger wildlife and overall environmental health. 

Opposition to this project has been well documented as multiple groups have opposed it, as well as the other three distribution centers approved or planned for the small, 18-square mile community. They note that there is a national epidemic of ill-conceived developments that disregard risks to life, history, and the environment. (See details from Save Historic Middlebury's lawsuit filed.) 

The plaintiffs include local residents in very close proximity to the planned project. SHM chose to take on the role of lead plaintiff because its volunteers live on the same state road as the project and on other nearby streets that will be directly harmed.

The most dangerous aspect of the project is that Straits Turnpike is already too narrow. U.S. Postal trucks, Fedex trucks, UPS vans, Amazon delivery vehicles, and school buses travel the road daily. When they stop, northbound and southbound traffic must all shift to the west even though the shoulder in many stretches is only two feet wide. This condition created an accident in late 2024 when a driver hit a postal truck resulting in a fatality and severe injuries to other drivers.

If this permit is not revoked, the odds of another fatality will increase, as there is not enough room for a de-facto three lane roadway, and the margin for error will shrink as tractor trailers are wider than cars and delivery vehicles. The plaintiffs seek to have the DOT rescind the permit or other similar remedies.

Lawsuits against the DOT’s OSTA office are rare, and this case could be groundbreaking to help stop other large-scale projects if those projects also create dangerous traffic conditions. Learn more about Save Historic Middlebury, Inc.

Nicholas Stuller is a Sierra Club member and President of Save Historic Middlebury, Inc.