Interstate 691

Interstate 691 marker

Interstate 691
Henry D. Altobello Highway
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-91
Maintained by ConnDOT
Length: 8.92 mi[1] (14.36 km)
Existed: 1988 (completed) – present
Major junctions
West end: I-84 at the Southington-Cheshire line
  I-91 in Meriden
East end: Route 66 / Route 147 in Middlefield
Highway system
  • Routes in Connecticut
I-684US 1

Interstate 691 (abbreviated I-691) is a portion of the Interstate Highway System in Connecticut beginning at Interstate 91 in Meriden and ending at Interstate 84 near the Cheshire-Southington town line. It is 8.92 miles (14.36 km) in length, including 0.54 miles (0.87 km) of the exit ramp to the merge with westbound I-84.

I-691 is also known as the Henry D. Altobello Highway for its entire length.

Route description

I-691 is the main east–west highway of the city of Meriden. The freeway actually begins in Middlefield as Route 66, technically becoming I-691 at the junction with I-91 (Exit 11). However, westbound signage indicates I-691 begins at the start of the freeway (just west of Exit 13), while eastbound signage shows I-691 ending at the Route 15 interchange (at eastbound Exit 10 about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) west of the interchange with I-91). To go from I-91 northbound to I-691 westbound (or from I-691 eastbound to I-91 southbound), one must actually use Route 15.

History

In the 1940s, the I-691 routing was part of a planned US 6A Expressway from Southington to Willimantic. A section of the expressway (from its Middlefield terminus west to Exit 8) first opened in 1966. By 1968, the US 6A designation was dropped in favor of Route 66. The highway was extended west to Exit 4 by 1971. The connection to I-84 was eventually completed in 1987, with the renumbering to I-691 done at the same time. The portion east of I-91 remained as Route 66. Environmental and community groups successfully blocked attempts to extend the freeway east of its present terminus due to potential impacts on a reservoir that provides drinking water for the local area. A compromise was reached in the late 1990s allowing CONNDOT to convert Route 66 from a 2-lane road to a 4-lane divided highway from the eastern end of the I-691 freeway to Route 9 in Middletown. Construction on the Route 66 widening project was completed in 2005.

Exit list

CountyLocationmi[1]kmExitDestinationsNotes
Hartford 
New Haven
Southington
Cheshire
7.89–
8.38
12.70–
13.49
1-2 I-84 Waterbury, Danbury, HartfordWestern terminus & signed as exits 1 (west) & 2 (east); I-84 Exit 27.
New HavenCheshire7.0311.313 Route 10 Cheshire, Milldale
Hartford 
New Haven
Southington
Meriden
4.797.714 Route 322 west (West Main Street) Southington
New HavenMeriden2.924.705 Route 71 (Chamberlain Highway) KensingtonEastbound exit, westbound entrance
2.373.816 To Route 71 / Lewis Ave.Westbound exit, eastbound entrance
1.953.147Columbia Street, State Street Downtown MeridenEastbound exit to State St Ext, on-ramp from Lewis Ave; Westbound exit to Columbia St, on-ramp from Colony St; Milepost at Colony Street overpass
1.322.128 US 5 (Broad Street) to Route 15 north
0.500.809 Route 15 north (Berlin Turnpike) NewingtonWestbound exit only
0.410.6610 Route 15 south (Wilbur Cross Parkway) to I-91 south New HavenI-91 Exit 17; eastbound exit signed as Route 15; westbound exit signed as I-91; no eastbound entrance.
0.330.5311 I-91 north Hartford, SpringfieldI-91 Exit 18; westbound Exit 11 is part of Route 66.
0.230.3712Preston AvenueEastbound exit only
MiddlesexMiddlefield0.000.0013East Main StreetWestbound exit only
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Interstate 691.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, November 10, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.