Interstate 95 in Connecticut

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Interstate 95
Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Length: 111.57 mi[1] (179.55 km)
South end: I-95 in Port Chester, NY
Major
junctions:
Route 8 in Bridgeport
I-91 in New Haven
Route 9 in Old Saybrook
I-395 in East Lyme
North end: I-95 in Hopkinton, RI
Routes in Connecticut
< Route 94 Route 97 >
MinorService RoadsState Roads

Interstate 95, the main north-south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, runs in a general east-west compass direction for 111.57 miles (179.55 km) in Connecticut. The majority of the road, west (south) of the New London area, is part of the Connecticut Turnpike, connecting to the New England Thruway in New York state. I-95 leaves the Turnpike in East Lyme west of New London, and continues east through that city towards Westerly, Rhode Island as the Jewish War Veterans Memorial Highway, while the Turnpike turns north designated Interstate 395.

Contents

[edit] Major cities

Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs.

[edit] Spur routes

  • Interstate 395 is I-95's only spur in Connecticut. It runs from I-95 west (south) of New London north along the Connecticut Turnpike to a split south of Danielson, where it continues north on a newer freeway to Interstate 90 and Interstate 290 south of Worcester, Massachusetts. At the split in Danielson, the Turnpike again turns east, merging with U.S. Route 6 near the Rhode Island state line; that short spur is unsigned Route 695, but the inclusion of 95 in its number is coincidental.

[edit] Disasters

In January 1983, a truck with a brake failure slammed into a line of cars waiting to pay a toll on I-95 in Stratford, Connecticut. Seven people were killed. This accident is what partially led to the removal of toll barriers throughout Connecticut, which was completed six years after.

On the morning of June 28, 1983, a 100 foot (30 m) section of the Mianus River Bridge in Cos Cob collapsed, plunging northbound I-95 traffic into the Mianus River below, killing three. The collapse was blamed on the failure of the steel pins to hold the horizontal beams together and inadequate inspection prior to the collapse. Northbound traffic was diverted on this section of I-95 for 25 days. Southbound traffic was unaffected.

On March 26, 2004, a bridge on I-95 in Bridgeport, Connecticut was partly melted by the explosion of a tanker truck carrying over 11,900 gallons (45,000 L) of fuel oil. Repairs were estimated to take at least two weeks, but the highway was opened to northbound traffic in only a few days. Southbound traffic resumed about a week later.

[edit] History

While most of I-95 was built as the Connecticut Turnpike, the Connecticut Turnpike incorporated several pieces of already-built relocations, some to freeway standards, of U.S. Route 1 (the Turnpike split from the US 1 relocation in East Lyme, along the Old Lyme-New London section):

Other improvements in the corridor included the New York-Meriden Merritt Parkway/Wilbur Cross Parkway, New Haven-Old Saybrook Route 80, and Groton-Rhode Island Route 184, the latter connecting in Rhode Island to Route 3, a shortcut to Providence.

The majority of the Turnpike opened January 2, 1958, and was designated I-95 south/west of the split with the relocated US 1 by 1959. The rest of I-95 to Rhode Island opened December 12, 1964. The Gold Star Bridge was twinned ca. 1975, along with a reconstruction of its approaches, and in 1993 the Raymond E. Baldwin Bridge was widened.

[edit] Exit list

Town Number Mile Destinations Notes
Interstate 95 continues into New York as the New England Thruway
Begin Connecticut Turnpike section
Greenwich 2 0.8 Delavan Avenue - Byram
former Greenwich barrier toll
3 2.5 Arch Street - Greenwich
4 3.7 Indian Field Road - Cos Cob
5 5.5 U.S. Route 1 - Riverside, Old Greenwich
Stamford 6 6.5 Harvard Avenue (NB)
West Avenue(SB)
7 7.3 Route 137 North, Greenwich Avenue (NB)/Atlantic Street (SB)
8 7.7 Atlantic Street (NB)
Elm Street (SB)
9 9.3 U.S. Route 1, Route 106 - Glenbrook
Darien 10 10.8 Noroton
11 11.6 U.S. Route 1 - Darien
12 12.2 Route 136 (Tokeneke Road) - Rowayton northbound exit and southbound entrance
13 13.1 U.S. Route 1 (Post Road)
Norwalk 14 14.8 U.S. Route 1 (Connecticut Avenue) southbound exit and northbound entrance
14 15.0 South Norwalk northbound exit and southbound entrance
15 15.5 U.S. Route 7 - Norwalk, Danbury
16 16.2 East Norwalk
former Norwalk barrier toll
Westport 17 18.1 Route 33/Route 136 (Saugatuck Avenue) - Westport
18 20.4 Sherwood Island State Park
Fairfield 19 22.9 U.S. Route 1, Center Street - Southport
20 23.7 Bronson Road southbound exit and northbound entrance
21 24.4 Round Hill Road
22 25.2 Route 135 (North Benson Road) southbound exit and northbound entrance
23 25.7 U.S. Route 1 (Kings Highway)
24 26.6 Black Rock Turnpike
Bridgeport 25 27.4 State Street, Commerce Drive (NB)
Route 130 (Fairfield Avenue) (SB)
26 28.3 Wordin Avenue
27 28.9 Lafayette Boulevard - Downtown Bridgeport northbound exit and southbound entrance
27A 29.0 Route 25/Route 8 - Trumbull, Waterbury
27 29.1 Lafayette Boulevard - Downtown Bridgeport southbound exit and northbound entrance
28 29.9 Route 127 (East Main Street) northbound exit and southbound entrance
29 30.4 Route 130 (Stratford Avenue), Seaview Avenue
Stratford 30 31.1 Route 113 (Lordship Boulevard), Surf Avenue
31 32.1 Honeyspot Road (NB)
South Avenue (SB)
32 32.9 West Broad Street - Stratford
former Stratford barrier toll
33 34.1 U.S. Route 1, Route 110, Ferry Boulevard - Devon northbound exit and southbound entrance
Housatonic River crossing
Milford 34 35.4 U.S. Route 1 - Milford
35 35.8 School House Road/Bic Drive
36 36.7 Plains Road
37 37.4 High Street northbound exit and southbound entrance
38 37.6 Route 15 - Merritt Parkway/Wilbur Cross Parkway
39 39.1 U.S. Route 1 split into 39A and 39B
40 40.2 Old Gate Lane/Woodmont Road
Orange 41 41.8 Marsh Hill Road - Orange
West Haven 42 43.9 Route 162 - Saw Mill Road
former West Haven barrier toll
43 44.9 Downtown West Haven northbound exit and southbound entrance
43 45.2 Route 122 - First Avenue southbound exit and northbound entrance
New Haven 44 45.9 Route 10 - Kimberly Avenue northbound exit and southbound entrance
44 45.9 Downtown West Haven southbound exit and northbound entrance
45 46.0 Route 10 - Boulevard southbound exit and northbound entrance
46 46.8 Long Wharf Drive/Sargent Drive
47 47.7 Route 34 - Downtown New Haven
48 47.8 Interstate 91 north - Hartford
50 49.2 Woodward Avenue - Lighthouse Point northbound exit and southbound entrance
East Haven 51 49.8 U.S. Route 1 - East Haven/Frontage Road northbound exit and southbound entrance
51 50.2 U.S. Route 1 - Frontage Road/Lighthouse Point southbound exit and northbound entrance
52 50.5 Route 100 - East Haven/North High Street southbound exit and northbound entrance
Branford former Branford barrier toll
53 52.3 U.S. Route 1/Route 142/Route 146 - Short Beach northbound exit and southbound entrance
54 53.2 Branford/Cedar Street
55 55.2 U.S. Route 1 - North Branford/East Main Street
56 56.2 Leetes Island Road - Stony Creek
Guilford 57 59.3 U.S. Route 1 - Boston Post Road/North Branford
58 60.2 Route 77 - Guilford/North Guilford
59 61.5 Goose Lane
Madison former Madison barrier toll
60 63.5 Mungertown Road southbound exit and northbound entrance
61 64.7 Route 79 - Madison/North Madison
62 66.4 Hammonasset State Park
Clinton 63 68.6 Route 81 - Clinton/Killingworth
Westbrook 64 70.8 Route 145 - Horse Hill Road/Clinton
65 73.1 Route 153 - Westbrook
Old Saybrook 66 74.4 Route 166 - Spencer Plain Road
67 75.9 Elm Street southbound exit and northbound entrance
67 76.7 Route 154 - Old Saybrook northbound exit and southbound entrance
68 77.7 U.S. Route 1 - Old Saybrook southbound exit and northbound entrance; US 1 joins northbound and leaves southbound
69 78.1 Route 9 north - Essex/Hartford
former Baldwin Bridge barrier toll
Connecticut River crossing on the Baldwin Bridge
Old Lyme 70 79.2 U.S. Route 1/Route 156 - Old Lyme northbound exit and southbound entrance; US 1 joins southbound and leaves northbound
70 79.8 Old Lyme southbound exit and northbound entrance
East Lyme 71 83.5 Four Mile River Road
72 84.0 Rocky Neck State Park
73 85.8 Society Road
74 87.3 Route 161 - Flanders/Niantic
75 88.0 U.S. Route 1 - Flanders/Waterford
76 88.6 Interstate 395 north - Norwich/Plainfield northbound exit and southbound entrance
I-95 leaves the Connecticut Turnpike
Begin Jewish War Veterans Memorial Highway section
Waterford 80 88.9 Oil Mill Road southbound exit and northbound entrance
81 90.1 Cross Road
82 91.8 Route 85 - Waterford/Broad Street/Shopping Mall
82A 92.3 New London - Frontage Road/Shopping Malls northbound exit and southbound entrance
New London 83 92.8 U.S. Route 1 - New London/Frontage Roads/Shopping Malls southbound exit and northbound entrance; US 1 joins northbound and leaves southbound
83 93.2 Route 32 north - Norwich/Downtown New London northbound exit and southbound entrance
84S-N-E 93.6 Route 32 - Norwich/Downtown New London southbound exit and northbound entrance
Thames River crossing on the Gold Star Bridge
Groton 85 94.6 U.S. Route 1 north - Thames Street/Downtown Groton northbound exit and southbound entrance; US 1 joins southbound and leaves northbound
86 95.2 Route 12/Route 184 - U.S. Sub Base/Gales Ferry
87 96.2 Route 349 to U.S. Route 1 north - Clarence B. Sharp Highway
88 97.5 Route 117 - Noank/Downtown Groton/Groton Long Point
89 100.1 Allyn Street - Noank/Groton Long Point
Stonington 90 101.3 Route 27 - Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration/Mystic Seaport
91 104.2 Route 234 - North Main Street/Stonington Borough
North Stonington 92 107.8 Route 2/Route 49 - North Stonington/Pawcatuck
93 111.3 Route 216/Route 184 - Clarks Falls/Ashaway, Rhode Island
Interstate 95 continues into Rhode Island

[edit] Scenic Overlooks

Between Exits 89 and 90 heading eastbound, you will find the Jerome Hoxie Scenic Overlook. This overlooks Mystic Cove.

Panaramic View from the Jerome Hoxie Scenic Overlook. Photos were taken in March of 2006.
Panaramic View from the Jerome Hoxie Scenic Overlook. Photos were taken in March of 2006.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Route Log - Main Routes of the Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways - Table 1


Interstate 95
Previous state:
New York
Connecticut Next state:
Rhode Island