U.S. Route 6 in Connecticut

U.S. Route 6
Route information
Maintained by ConnDOT
Length:	116.33 mi[1] (187.21 km)
Existed:	1926 – present
Major junctions
West end:	US 6 / US 202 in Southeast, NY
	US 7 in Danbury I-91 in Hartford I-395 in Killingly
East end:	US 6 in Foster, RI
Location
Counties:	Fairfield, New Haven, Litchfield, Hartford, Tolland, Windham
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List Bannered Divided Replaced Routes in Connecticut Interstate U.S. State SSR SR ← US 5 US 7 →

U.S. Route 6 in Connecticut is the portion of the cross-country U.S. Route 6 within the state of Connecticut. West of Hartford, the route either closely parallels or runs along Interstate 84. I-84 has largely supplanted Route 6 as a through route in western Connecticut. East of Hartford, Route 6 serves as a primary route for travel between Hartford and Providence. The Connecticut Route 6 segments is 116.33 miles (187.21 km) long.

Route description

Western Connecticut

Route 6 enters Connecticut at the New York state line east of the village of Brewster, entering the city of Danbury overlapped with U.S. Route 202. US 6/202 runs for 3.8 miles (6.1 km) in Danbury as a minor arterial road then overlaps with Interstate 84/Route 7 (at Exit 4). The 4-way concurrency of I-84/US 7/US 6/US 202 continues for 3.3 miles (5.3 km), after which Routes 7 and 202 split off from I-84. Route 6 follows I-84 for another 0.8 miles (1.3 km) before returning to surface roads (at Exit 8). The route then goes through the towns of Bethel and Newtown and then overlaps with I-84 again for 6.4 miles (10.3 km) between Newtown and Southbury (from Exits 10 to 15).

After exiting I-84 in Southbury, Route 6 is a surface road again as it passes through the northern Waterbury area suburbs of Southbury, Woodbury, Watertown and Thomaston. US 6 has a 1.0-mile (1.6 km) overlap with the Route 8 expressway in Thomaston.

Hartford area

Route 6 continues as a surface road through the towns of Plymouth, Bristol and Farmington. In Farmington, Route 6 again joins I-84 as it passes through West Hartford, Hartford, East Hartford and Manchester (13.4-mile overlap from Exits 38 to 60). U.S. Route 44 briefly joins I-84/US 6 (for 0.2 miles) as they cross the Connecticut River on the Bulkeley Bridge. After exiting I-84 in Manchester, Route 6 is joined again by Route 44 for 6.9 miles (11.1 km) up to Bolton near the eastern terminus of I-384.

Eastern Connecticut

In Bolton, Routes 6 and 44 split. Route 44 follows a more northerly route while Route 6 continues through Bolton, Coventry, Andover and Columbia.

The U.S. Route 6 Willimantic Bypass begins in Columbia, at a four-way at-grade intersection with Route 66. The expressway starts out heading northeast and immediately crosses into Coventry. After crossing the town line, the eastbound and westbound sides of the Route 6 split, with a hill in between them. At the split, the eastbound side of the expressway curves and heads east. At this point, the Hop River State Park Trail passes under both sides of the Route 6. Soon after, the westbound lane also curves, and the two sides of the expressway soon become parallel again. Route 6 passes over Flanders River Road about 0.25 miles (0.40 km) farther. The expressway then crosses the Willimantic River and enters the town of Windham. Right after entering Windham, the New England Central Railroad passes under Route 6. Immediately after this, there is an interchange with Route 32. After the interchange, the expressway enters Mansfield. Mansfield Avenue passes over Route 6, and then there is another interchange. On the eastbound side of the expressway, there is an exit to Mansfield City Road and, about 1 mile (1.6 km) farther, an entrance ramp from Route 195. On the westbound side, there is an exit to North Frontage Road and, about farther, an entrance ramp from Mansfield City Road. Soon after the eastbound entrance ramp joins Route 6, the expressway crosses the Natchaug River and once again enters Windham. 0.5 miles (0.80 km) after entering Windham, the U.S. Route 6 Willimantic Bypass ends at an interchange with Route 66 and Route 6.

Route 6 then continues as a surface road to the towns of Chaplin, Hampton, Brooklyn and Killingly. The unsigned portion of the Connecticut Turnpike (SR 695) then meets with Route 6 just at the Rhode Island state line. Route 6 is a two-lane freeway in the vicinity of its junction with Interstate 395 in Killingly.

History

Before the creation of the U.S. Highway system in 1926, most of the proposed routing in Connecticut was part of New England Interstate Route 3 (NE-3). There were two places where NE-3 and US 6 were not overlapped. NE-3 began in Bedford, New York at NY 22, entering Connecticut via modern Route 35. NE-3 continued north to Danbury via the old non-expressway alignment of U.S. Route 7. US 6, on the other hand, went east from Brewster on its current alignment, meeting with NE-3 in downtown Danbury.

Another difference in routing is between Manchester and Windham. US 6 originally used a more northern alignment via Coventry, running along present U.S. Route 44 then modern Route 31. NE-3 used current US 6 for its routing. East of Windham, the routes overlapped into Rhode Island. Between 1926 and 1932, NE-3 and US 6 were cosigned where they overlapped. NE-3 was finally deleted in 1932.

Willimantic bypass

I-84 previously was to be an expressway that would connect the modern Interstate 384 with the modern U.S. Route 6 Willimantic Bypass. From here, I-84 would continue to Providence. This idea was planned in the 1960s, but abandoned in 2005.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation had planned since the 1960s to upgrade the segment between Bolton and Columbia to an expressway, connecting I-384 to the existing expressway segment in Windham. However, this particular segment of Route 6 passes through an environmentally sensitive area centered around the Hop River. Construction was originally planned to begin in the late 1980s, but federal, state, and local officials could not reach an agreement on a feasible route that avoided the Hop River wetlands and development within the towns of Andover, Bolton, Coventry, and Columbia. The affected towns, ConnDOT and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection favored a northern alignment (Alternative 133B), which would avoid the town centers and nearby wetlands. The Environmental Protection Agency, Army Corps of Engineers, and Federal Highway Administration favored a southerly alignment (Alternative 133 18/25) that would cut through residential and commercial areas as well as the Hop River's adjoining wetlands.

Despite opposition from ConnDOT, the Connecticut DEP, and affected towns, the FHWA issued a Record of Decision and the Army Corps of Engineers issued required permits for Alternative 133 18/25 (southern alignment) in 2001. State and local officials continued to press the Corps of Engineers to approve the northern alignment. Due to the impasse between state, local, and federal officials, federal funds for the bypass were withdrawn in 2003. In 2005, the Capitol Region Council of Governments and ConnDOT removed the Route 6 bypass from planning, hence ConnDOT effectively abandoned further study of the bypass in lieu of upgrading the existing road.

As of 2007, ConnDOT is making safety improvements and capacity upgrades to the existing US-6 through Andover, Bolton, and Columbia.

Alternate routes

There have been several routes signed as US 6A in the state.^[2] No bannered routes currently exist.

• Newtown-Southbury: original surface routing before creation of expressway later to become I-84; currently SR 816
• Plymouth-Hartford: Currently US 6. At this time, the old US 6 went along Route 64 to downtown Waterbury then along Route 10 to Farmington.
• Woodbury-Willimantic: West of Meriden, this was the original alignment of US 6. When US 6 was reassigned to the former 6A from Plymouth-Farmington, this became 6A. This 6A was subsequently extended through Meriden to Willimantic along modern Route 66. An expressway upgrade was planned for this 6A. Only a portion of the highway was built and is now Interstate 691.
• Coventry-Windham: became 6A when NE-3 was deleted. Swapped with the old US 6 in 1939 and finally deleted in 1942 when 6A became Route 31.
• Danielson: old routing prior to construction of the 2-lane freeway

Junction list

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Fairfield	Danbury	0.00	0.00		US 6 / US 202 west	Continuation into New York
		0.04	0.06		Saw Mill Rd. to I-84 – Newburgh, Waterbury	Exit 1 on I-84
		1.03	1.66		Milestone Rd. to I-84 – Newburgh, Waterbury	Exit 2 on I-84
		1.10	1.77		Old Ridgebury Rd. to I-84 east – Waterbury	Exit 2A on I-84
		3.76	6.05	4	I-84 west – Newburgh I-84 east / US 7 north – Waterbury, New Milford	Western end of I-84/US-7 overlap
		5.5	8.9	5	Route 37 / Route 39 / Route 53 – Downtown Danbury, Bethel
		6.0	9.7	6	Route 37 – New Fairfield	Westbound exit/eastbound entrance only
		7.7	12.4	7	US 7 north / US 202 east – Brookfield, New Milford	Eastern end of US-7/US-202 overlap
		8.60	13.84	8	I-84 east – Waterbury	Eastern end of I-84 overlap
	Newtown	11.56	18.60		Route 25 north – Hawleyville, Brookfield, Bridgewater	Northern end of CT 25 overlap
		14.26	22.95		Route 25 south – Bridgeport	Southern end of CT 25 overlap
		15.52	24.98	10	I-84 west – Danbury	Western end of I-84 overlap
		16.6	26.7	11	Route 34 east – Derby, New Haven	Western terminus of CT 34
New Haven	Southbury	19.0	30.6	13	River Rd.	Eastbound exit/westbound entrance only
		20.4	32.8	14	Route 172 north – South Britain	Southern terminus of CT 172
		22.25	35.81	15	I-84 east – Waterbury Route 67 south – Southford, Oxford, Seymour, New Haven	Eastern end of I-84 overlap; Southern end of CT 67 overlap
		23.76	38.24		Route 67 north (Roxbury Rd.)	Northern end of CT 67 overlap
Litchfield	Woodbury	25.94	41.75		Route 64 east – Middlebury
		26.90	43.29		Route 317 west – Roxbury
		27.60	44.42		Route 47 north – Hotchkissville, Washington
		31.48	50.66		Route 61 north – Bethlehem
	Watertown	34.57	55.64		Route 63 – East Morris, Watertown
		35.81	57.63		Route 262 north – Oakville
	Thomaston	38.61	62.14		Route 109 west – Morris	Western end of CT 109 overlap
		38.67	62.23		Route 109 east – Thomaston	Eastern end of CT 109 overlap
		39.16	63.02	38	Route 8 south – Waterbury	Southern end of CT 8 overlap
		40.61	65.36	39	Route 8 north – Torrington	Northern end of CT 8 overlap
	Plymouth	41.28	66.43		Route 262 south – Airport
		44.15	71.05		Route 72 – Harwinton
Hartford	Bristol	46.86	75.41		Route 69 south – Wolcott
		47.25	76.04		Route 69 north – Burlington
		48.30	77.73		Route 229 south – Southington, Theme Park
	Farmington	50.95	82.00		Route 177 – Plainville, Unionville
		53.08	85.42		Route 10 to I-84 – Hartford, Waterbury	Grade separated; access via Scott Swamp Rd.
		55.15	88.76		Fienemann Rd. to I-84 – Waterbury, Hartford	Exit 37 on I-84
		56.01	90.14	38	I-84 west – Waterbury	West end of I-84 overlap
		56.3	90.6	39	Route 4 – Farmington	Connection is SR 508; No connection from US-6 eastbound
		57.5	92.5	39A	Route 9 south – Newington, New Britain
	West Hartford	58.2	93.7	40	Route 71 (New Britain Ave.) – Corbins Corner
		59.2	95.3	41	S. Main St. – Elmwood
		59.8	96.2	42	Trout Brook Dr. – Elmwood	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		60.2	96.9	43	Park Rd. – West Hartford Center	Connection is SR 501
		61.3	98.7	44	Prospect and Oakwood Aves.
	Hartford	61.7	99.3	45	Flatbush Ave.	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; connection is SR 504
		62.6	100.7	46	Sisson Ave.	Connection is SR 503
		63.0	101.4	47	Sigourney St.	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		63.3	101.9	48A	Asylum St.	Signed as exit 48 westbound
		63.3	101.9	48B	Capitol Ave.	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		63.9	102.8	49	High St., Trumbull St., Ann Uccello St. – XL Center	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		64.0	103.0	50	US 44 west (Main St.)	West end of US 44 overlap
		64.1	103.2	51	I-91 north – Springfield	Access to the Bradley International Airport
		64.4	103.6	52	I-91 south – New Haven	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
	Connecticut River	64.7	104.1	Bulkeley Bridge
	East Hartford	64.9	104.4	53	US 44 east (Connecticut Blvd.) – East Hartford	East end of US 44 overlap; no westbound exit; also connects with East River Drive
		65.2	104.9	54	Route 2 west – Downtown Hartford	HOV exit; Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		65.3	105.1	55	Route 2 east – Norwich, New London
		65.4	105.3	56	Governor St. – Downtown East Hartford	Connection is SR 500
		65.8	105.9		I-84 east (Restricted Lanes)	Western terminus of I-84 Restricted Lanes
		66.4	106.9	57	Route 15 south to I-91 – Charter Oak Bridge, N.Y. City	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		66.6	107.2	58	Roberts St. (SR 518), Silver Ln. (SR 502), Burnside Ave.	HOV exit to Silver Lane westbound
		69.2	111.4	59	I-384 east – Providence	HOV exit to I-384 eastbound
	Manchester	70.09	112.80	60	I-84 east – Boston US 44 west	East end of I-84 overlap; westbound exit combined with exit 62; West end of US 44 overlap
		72.67	116.95		Route 83
Tolland	Bolton	75.83	122.04		Route 85 south – Bolton Center, Gay City State Park
		76.76	123.53		I-384 west – Manchester, Hartford
		77.00	123.92		US 44 east – Coventry, Mansfield	Eastern end of US 44 overlap
	Andover	82.68	133.06		Route 316 south – Andover, Hebron
		83.91	135.04		Route 87 south – Columbia, Norwich, Lebanon
	Columbia	87.78	141.27		Route 66 – Columbia, Middletown, Willimantic
Windham	Windham	89.73	144.41		Route 32 – Stafford Springs, Willimantic	grade separated
Tolland	Mansfield	91.94	147.96		Route 195 – Storrs, University of Connecticut	grade separated
Windham	Windham	93.15	149.91		Route 66 west – Willimantic
		95.00	152.89		Route 203 south – Windham, Lebanon
	Chaplin	96.96	156.04		Route 198 north – Chaplin, Phoenixville, Woodstock, Putnam
	Hampton	101.30	163.03		Route 97 – Pomfret, Scotland
	Brooklyn	107.44	172.91		Route 169 – Pomfret, Canterbury
	Killingly	110.96	178.57		Route 12 north – Danielson	Northern end of CT 12 overlap
		111.31	179.14		Route 12 south – Plainfield	Southern end of CT 12 overlap
		111.80	179.92		I-395 – Norwich, Worcester	I-395 Exits 37W/E, cloverleaf interchange, no access US-6 WB to I-395 SB
		116.04	186.75		Conn. Turnpike south to I-395 – Norwich	Westbound exit/eastbound entrance
		116.33	187.21		US 6 east – Providence	continuation into Rhode Island
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       HOV only       Incomplete access

References

• kurumi.com

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to U.S. Route 6 in Connecticut.

Route map: Bing / Google

U.S. Route 6
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