Connecticut Route 2

Route 2
Veterans of Foreign Wars Memorial Highway
Route information
Maintained by ConnDOT
Length:	58.03 mi (93.39 km)
Existed:	1932 – present
Major junctions
West end:	Columbus Boulevard in Hartford
	I-84 / US 6 in East Hartford Route 11 in Colchester Route 163 in Bozrah I-395 in Norwich I-95 in North Stonington
East end:	US 1 in Stonington
Location
Counties:	Hartford, New London
Highway system
Routes in Connecticut Interstate U.S. State SSR SR ← US 1A Route 2A →

Route 2 is a state highway in Connecticut and is 58.03 miles (93.39 km) in length. It is a primary state route, with a limited-access highway section connecting Hartford to Norwich and an access highway section extending to Stonington.

Route description

Route 2 begins as a continuation of State Street (just east of Columbus Blvd) near Interstate 91 in downtown Hartford. It starts out heading east toward East Hartford. Route 2 then crosses the Connecticut River on the Founders Bridge and has a partial interchange with I-91 at the crossing. Immediately after crossing into East Hartford, there is a complex interchange with Interstate 84. Immediately after this interchange, Route 2 heads southeast in the direction of Glastonbury. There is a partial interchange with Route 15 about 0.75 miles (1.21 km) further. After East Hartford, Route 2 enters Glastonbury. At the East Hartford-Glastonbury town line, there is a full trumpet interchange with Route 3. About 1 mile (1.6 km) after this interchange, there is a partial interchange with Route 17. From Glastonbury, Route 2 passes into Marlborough. It continues into Colchester. In Colchester, Route 2 has a partial interchange with Route 11. After this interchange, Route 2 curves and heads east toward Norwich. Once Route 2 leaves Colchester, it passes through the towns of Lebanon and Bozrah. After Bozrah, Route 2 enters Norwich. Just after entering Norwich, Route 32 joins Route 2. Then, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) down Route 2, there is a partial cloverleaf interchange with Interstate 395. About 1.75 miles (2.82 km) further east from the I-395 interchange, the limited-access highway section of Route 2 ends at a four-way at-grade intersection with Town Street, Harland Road (Route 169), and Washington Street (Route 32/Route 2). Route 32 then separates in downtown Norwich after overlapping with Route 2 for 3.9 miles (6.3 km), following the west bank of the Thames River. Route 2 continues southeast from Norwich into Preston, and then into Ledyard. Just after entering Ledyard, Route 2 passes by the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation and then the Foxwoods Resort Casino. After passing through Ledyard, Route 2 continues into North Stonington. There is a roundabout with Route 184 and a partial interchange with Interstate 95 here. After leaving North Stonington, Route 2 heads into Stonington. Here, Route 2 is reduced to a minor arterial road. It has an interchange with Route 78 and terminates about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) later at the junction with US 1 just west of the Rhode Island state line.^[1]

Route 2 westbound in Hartford, just before exits 2E, 2W and 3.

Several Connecticut limited-access highways 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. Route 78 also ends at Route 2, in Stonington. It is unusual that Route 78 intersects Route 2 where it is not a limited-access highway.

Special designations

The entire length of Route 2 is also known as the Veterans of Foreign Wars Memorial Highway.^[1]

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.^[2][3]

Limited-access highway construction along the Route 2 alignment started in the 1950s and continued through the 1960s and early 1970s. The oldest limited-access highway 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, access highway alignment, but does not sign these segments as state routes. The state remanded the remaining access highway segments to town jurisdiction.^[3]

Junction list

County	Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Hartford	Hartford	0.00	0.00		Columbus Boulevard – Convention Center, Science Center	Western terminus; at-grade intersection; road continues as State Street
		0.03	0.048	—	I-91 south – New Haven	Eastbound exit
	East Hartford	0.88	1.42	2E	I-84 east (US 6) / Governor St. (SR 500) – Boston, East Hartford	Signed as exit 2 eastbound; milepost at off-ramp; I-84 exits 54–55; westbound entrance includes direct exit ramp onto Darlin Drive (signed as part of exit 3)
				2W	I-84 west (US 6) to I-91 north	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; milepost at off-ramp; I-84 exit 55
		0.46– 0.98	0.74– 1.58	3	Pitkin Street / East River Drive	No eastbound entrance; mileposts at off-ramps; East River Dr. not signed westbound
		1.35	2.17	4	US 5 / Route 15 to I-91 south / East River Drive (SR 502)	No eastbound exit; milepost at Route 15 junction; left entrance directly from US 5; Route 15 exit 90
		1.80	2.90	5	Riverside Drive / Willow Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		2.80 3.04	4.51 4.89	5A	High Street Main Street	SR 517; signed for High Street eastbound and Main Street westbound
		3.27	5.26	5B	Sutton Avenue	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		3.67	5.91	5C	Maple Street	Partial diamond interchange; eastbound exit only
		4.41	7.10	5D	Route 3 south – Glastonbury, Wethersfield	Trumpet interchange
	Glastonbury	4.70	7.56	6	Griswold St. – Glastonbury	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; no access to this exit from Route 3 entrance ramp
		5.07	8.16	7	Route 17 south – Portland, South Glastonbury	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance. Northern terminus of Route 17
		5.31– 6.01	8.55– 9.67	8	Route 94 (Hebron Avenue) – Glastonbury Center	Western terminus of Route 94
		7.12	11.46	9	Neipsic Road – Glastonbury	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		9.94	16.00	10	Route 83 – East Glastonbury, Manchester	Full diamond interchange. Southern terminus of Route 83
		11.56	18.60	11	Thompson Street / Wassuc Road – Glastonbury	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
	Marlborough	13.42	21.60	12	West Road / Business Route – Marlborough	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		15.44	24.85	13	Route 66 – Willimantic, Marlborough	Full diamond interchange
		17.66	28.42	15	South Main Street – Marlborough	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
New London	Colchester	20.38	32.80	16	Route 149 / Westchester Road – Westchester, Moodus	Northern terminus of Route 149
		22.37	36.00	17	Business Route – Colchester	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		23.70	38.14	18	Route 16 – Colchester, Westchester, Middletown
		24.35	39.19	19	Route 11 south – New London	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance.
		25.05	40.31	20	Route 354 to Route 85 (Parum Road) / Route 11 south – Salem, New London	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		26.03– 26.47	41.89– 42.60	21	Chestnut Hill Road Business Route – Colchester	SR 616; signed as Chestnut Hill Road eastbound and Colchester Business Route westbound
	Lebanon	30.91	49.74	22	Scott Hill Road – Gilman, Lebanon	Full diamond interchange
	Bozrah	33.32	53.62	23	Route 163 / Haughton Road – Bozrah, Montville	Northern terminus of Route 163
		34.54	55.59	24	Fitchville Road – Fitchville	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; SR 608
	Norwich	35.62	57.32	25	Route 32 north – Franklin, Willimantic	West end of westbound CT 32 overlap; access via SR 642; westbound exit and entrance
		35.87– 36.33	57.73– 58.47	27	To Route 32 north – Yantic, Willimantic	West end of eastbound CT 32 overlap; milepost at off-ramp
					Browning Road	Eastbound entrance only
		37.00	59.55	28S	I-395 / Route 2A south – New Haven	Northern terminus of Route 2A; I-395 exits 13A–B
				28N	I-395 north – Providence	Eastbound exit and entrance; I-395 exit 13
		37.71	60.69	29	New London Turnpike – Norwichtown	Full diamond interchange
		38.15	61.40		Route 169 north (Harland Road) – Taftville	End of limited-access highway; four way at-grade intersection
		39.52	63.60		Route 32 south / Route 82 west – New London, Salem	East end of CT 32 overlap
		39.88	64.18		Route 12 south (Laurel Hill Avenue) – Groton	West end of CT 12 overlap
		40.19	64.68		Route 12 north (North Main Street)	East end of CT 12 overlap
		40.52	65.21		Route 165 east – Preston
	Preston	42.95	69.12		Route 2A west / Route 117 south to I-95 – Ledyard, Poquetanuck
		45.70	73.55		Route 164 north – Preston City
	Ledyard	47.27	76.07		Foxwoods Boulevard / Fox Tower Drive / Lake of Isles Drive / MGM Grand Drive	Interchange; MGM Grand Dr. not signed eastbound; Foxwoods Blvd./Fox Tower Dr. not signed westbound
		48.20	77.57		Route 214 west / Foxwoods Boulevard – Ledyard Center	Interchange
	North Stonington	50.33	81.00		Route 201 north – Ashwillet, Glasgo	West end of CT 201 overlap
		51.11	82.25		Route 201 south – Stonington	East end of CT 201 overlap
		54.29	87.37		Route 184 – Old Mystic, Groton, Providence
		55.24	88.90		I-95 south – New London	I-95 exit 92; access from I-95 northbound / to I-95 southbound only; access to and from I-95 via Delcore Drive
	Stonington	56.01	90.14		Route 49 north – Sterling, Voluntown
		56.67	91.20		Route 78 – Westerly RI, Misquamicut Beaches	Current western terminus of CT 78
		58.03	93.39		US 1 – Mystic, Stonington, Westerly RI	Eastern terminus of CT 2
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

References

Route map: Google

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Connecticut Route 2.