Connecticut Route 2

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the Route 2 that existed in the 1920s, see U.S. Route 5 (Connecticut)

Route 2
Length:	58.03 mi (93.39 km)
Formed:	1932
North end:	State Street (near I-91) in Hartford
Major junctions:	I-84 in East Hartford I-395 in Norwich I-95 in North Stonington
South end:	US 1 in Stonington
Routes in Connecticut < US 1A Route 2A > Special Service Roads – State Roads

Route 2 is a state highway in Connecticut and is 58.03 miles in length. It is a primary state route, with a freeway section connecting Hartford to Norwich and a non-freeway section extending up to Stonington.

Contents 1 Route description 2 Special designations 3 History 4 Junction list 4.1 Expressway section 4.2 Surface road section 5 References

[edit] Route description

Route 2 begins as a continuation of State Street (just east of Columbus Blvd) near Interstate 91 in downtown Hartford. It crosses the Connecticut River on the Founders Bridge and has a partial interchange with Interstate 91 at the crossing. Right after crossing into East Hartford, there is a complex interchange with Interstate 84 and then a partial interchange with Route 15 about 0.75 miles further. After East Hartford, Route 2 goes through the towns of Glastonbury, Marlborough, Colchester, Lebanon, Bozrah, and Norwich.

In Norwich, just west of the interchange with Interstate 395, Route 32 joins Route 2, then the freeway section of Route 2 ends just after the I-395 interchange. Route 32 then separates in downtown Norwich after overlapping with Route 2 for 3.9 miles, following the west bank of the Thames River. Route 2 continues southeast into Preston, Ledyard, North Stonington, and Stonington.

The Foxwoods Resort Casino can be found off Route 2 in Ledyard. There is also a roundabout with Route 184 and a partial interchange with Interstate 95 in North Stonington. In Stonington, Route 2 is reduced to a minor arterial road. It has an interchange with Route 78 and terminates at the junction with U.S. Route 1 just west of the Rhode Island state line.

Several Connecticut freeways terminate at Route 2. Route 3 ends at Route 2 near the East Hartford-Glastonbury town line; Route 17 ends at Route 2 in Glastonbury; and Route 11 ends at Route 2 in Colchester.

[edit] Special designations

The entire length of Route 2 is also known as the Veterans of Foreign Wars Memorial Highway.

[edit] History

Two early toll roads, the Hartford and New London Turnpike and the Colchester and Norwich Turnpike, followed the alignment of current Route 2 in the 1800s. In 1922, The New England Interstate system incorporated the future Route 2 alignment as Route 17. Upon the discontinuation of the New England routes in the 1932 state highway renumbering, the eastern half of old New England Route 17 was renumbered to Route 2. The western half of old New England Route 17 eventually formed part of U.S. Route 44.

Freeway construction along the Route 2 alignment started in the 1950s and continued through the 1960s and early 1970s. The oldest freeway segment, between exits 5A and 7, opened in 1952; the latest segment, between exits 20 and 22, opened in 1971. The state still maintains some segments of the older, non-freeway alignment, but does not sign these segments as state routes. The state remanded the remaining non-freeway segments to town jurisdiction.

[edit] Junction list

[edit] Expressway section

Town	Number	Mile	Destinations	Notes
Hartford		0.0	Columbus Boulevard	Western terminus of Route 2 At-grade intersection Road continues as State Street
		0.1	I-91 South – New Haven	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
Founders Bridge (Connecticut River crossing)
East Hartford	3	0.5	Pitkin Street, East River Drive	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance Milepost at off-ramp
	2	0.5	I-84 East – Boston	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance Milepost at off-ramp
	2NEW	0.9	2N: East Hartford (SR 500) 2E: I-84 East – Boston 2W: I-84 West to I-91 North	Westbound exits and eastbound entrances Milepost at off-ramp
	3	1.0	Pitkin Street	Westbound exit only (no entrance) Milepost at off-ramp
	4	1.5	East River Drive (SR 502) to US 5/Route 15 South to I-91 South	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance Milepost at Route 15 junction
	5	2.0	Willow Street (SR 516)	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
	5A	2.8/2.9	High Street (EB) Main Street (WB)	SR 517
	5B	3.3	Sutton Avenue	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
	5C	3.7	Maple Street	eastbound exit only
	5D	4.0	Route 3 South – Glastonbury, Wethersfield (EB)
Glastonbury	6	4.7	Griswold Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
	7	5.1	Route 17 South – Portland	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
	8	5.6	Route 94 (Hebron Avenue)
	9	7.1	Neipsic Road	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
	10	9.9	Route 83 – East Glastonbury, Manchester
	11	~11.0	Thompson Street, Wassuc Road	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
Marlborough	12	13.6	West Road, Marlborough Business Route	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
	13	15.4	Route 66 – Marlborough, Willimantic
	15	17.9	South Main Street – Marlborough	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
Colchester	16	20.4	Route 149 – Westchester, Moodus
	17	22.4	Colchester Business Route	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
	18	23.7	Route 16 – Colchester, Middletown (WB)
	19	24.4	Route 11 – New London	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
	20	25.0	Route 354 (Parum Road) to Route 11 and Route 85	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
	21	~26.1	Chestnut Hill Road (EB), Colchester Business Route (WB)	SR 616
Lebanon	22	30.9	Gillman, Lebanon
Bozrah	23	33.3	Route 163 – Bozrah, Montville
	24	34.5	Fitchville	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance SR 608
Norwich	25(WB) 27(EB)	35.9	Route 32 North – Willimantic, Yantic (EB), Franklin (WB)	Route 32 joins eastbound and leaves westbound SR 642
	27	36.3	Yantic	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance Eastbound Exit 27 is the same interchange as Exit 25 Milepost at off-ramp
	28NS	37.0	28S: I-395/Route 2A South – New Haven 28N: I-395 North – Providence
	29	37.7	Norwichtown	New London Turnpike
		38.2	Route 169	End of freeway; at-grade intersection

[edit] Surface road section

Town	Road names	Mile	Junction
Norwich	Washington St, Chelsea Harbor Dr, Water St, East Main St	39.6	Route 32 (end overlap) Route 82
		40.2	Route 12 (0.3 mile overlap)
		40.5	Route 165
Preston	Norwich-Westerly Road	43.0	Route 2A / Route 117
		45.7	Route 164
Ledyard	Norwich-Westerly Road	47.3	Entrance to Foxwoods Resort Casino
North Stonington	Norwich-Westerly Road	48.0	Route 214
		51.1	Route 201 (0.8 mile overlap)
		54.4	Route 184
		55.3	I-95
Stonington	Liberty Street	56.0	Route 49
		56.6	Route 78
		58.0	U.S. Route 1

[edit] References

• nycroads.com CT Route 2
• Connecticut State Highway Log (2006)

Coordinates: 41°36′19″N 72°25′19″W / 41.605175, -72.421875