Connecticut Route 372

Route 372
Route information
Maintained by ConnDOT
Length:	14.95 mi[1] (24.06 km)
Existed:	1978 – present
Major junctions
West end:	Route 72 in Plainville
	I-84 in New Britain US 5 / Route 15 in Berlin I-91 in Cromwell
East end:	Route 99 in Cromwell
Highway system
Routes in Connecticut Interstate U.S. State State Roads Special Service Roads ← Route 364 I-384 →

Route 372 is a state highway in central Connecticut running from Plainville to Cromwell, and serving to communicate between the numerous freeways in the area. The section of Route 372 from Route 10 in Plainville to the Plainville-New Britain town line is designated the Joseph E. Tinty Memorial Highway. The section of Route 372 from the interchange with Route 72 in New Britain to the intersection with Route 71A and SR 571 in Berlin is designated the Polish Legion of American Veterans Memorial Highway.^[1]

Route description

Route 372 begins at an intersection with Route 72 in western Plainville, near the Plainville-Bristol town line, and heads generally east. It intersects Route 72 again near Hamlin Pond and continues east, crossing into New Britain. In New Britain, it intersects I-84 just east of the town line, continues east, then turns southeast to intersect Route 72 again. It continues southeast into Berlin. In Berlin, in intersects SR 571 (Willow Brook Connector) and briefly overlaps Route 71A just southeast of the town line, and continues southeast through the Kensington section of Berlin to the town center. At the Berlin town center, it intersects Route 9, the US 5/Route 15 concurrency (the Berlin Turnpike), and Route 9 again in rapid succession. It continues southeast through East Berlin and crosses the Mattabesset River into Cromwell. In Cromwell, it continues southeast and east along the Mattabesset River, intersecting I-91, then turns east to intersect Route 9 again. It then turns southeast to at an intersection with Route 99 at the Cromwell town center.^[1]

History

Route 72 was established in the 1932 state highway renumbering between Route 66 in Middletown and Route 10 Plainville. By the beginning of 1963, after the implementation of the 1962 Route Reclassification Act, Route 72 was extended west and north through Bristol and Plymouth to Route 4 in Harwinton. A freeway along the Route 72 corridor between Berlin (incorporating sections of what is now Route 9) and Plainville was built beginning in the late 1950s and opened in stages beginning in 1961. By late 1980, the Route 72 freeway was fully open between the Berlin Turnpike and the current west end of the freeway in Plainville.

With the extension of the Route 72 freeway in New Britain in 1978 and in Plainville in 1980, Route 372 was designated along the former surface route of Route 72. In 1980, Route 372 ran from the end of the Route 72 freeway in Plainville to Exit 24 of Route 9 in Berlin, including the Willow Brook Connector (now State Road 571). In 1990, a freeway link between I-91 and the east end of the Route 72 freeway was completed. This resulted in the Route 9 designation being extended westward to Exit 28, Route 72 being truncated in the east to end at Route 9, the Willow Brook Connector being redesignated as SR 571, and Route 372 being rerouted and extended eastward along the former Route 72 in Berlin and Cromwell to Route 3 (Route 3 was extended south along old Route 72 to Middletown at the same time). Additionally, Route 372 continued east to Route 99 along a former unsigned state road.^[2]

Junction list

County	Location	Mile[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Hartford	Plainville	0.00	0.00	Route 72 – Bristol, New Britain
		0.54	0.87	Route 177 – Unionville, Southington
		1.50	2.41	Route 10 – Southington, Farmington
		2.24	3.60	Route 72 west – Bristol	CT 72 exit 2, partial interchange
	New Britain	3.54	5.70	I-84 east – Hartford	I-84 Exit 34, eastbound exit only
		3.66	5.89	Route 72 east – New Britain	Exit from northbound Route 72 only
		4.56	7.34	Route 72 – Bristol, New Britain	CT 72 exit 7
	Berlin	6.10	9.82	Route 71A south and SSR 571	Begin Concurrency with Route 71A
		6.18	9.95	Route 71A north	End Concurrency with Route 71A
		7.46	12.01	Route 71 – Kensington, New Britain
		8.94	14.39	Route 9 north – New Britain	Exit from southbound Route 9 only
		8.98	14.45	US 5 / Route 15 north – Newington	Exit from southbound US 5/Route 15 only
		8.99	14.47	Route 9 south – Cromwell, Middletown	Exit from southbound Route 9 only
Middlesex	Cromwell	9.82	15.80	I-91 – Rocky Hill, Meriden	I-91 Exit 21
		11.78	18.96	Route 217 south – Westfield
		12.17	19.59	Route 3 – Middletown, Rocky Hill
		13.45	21.65	Route 9 – New Britain, Middletown	CT 9 exit 19
		15.09	24.29	Route 99 – Middletown, Rocky Hill
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References