Introduction
The Almanac highlights Connecticut's statewide road system.
If you've ever wondered "does Connecticut have any SPUIs?" or "What's the widest highway in Connecticut?", you may find the answer here.
There's an even more obscure set of lists, mostly regarding route numbers, at the Lists page.
Route Numbering
- Number of signed state routes: 215
- Number of U.S. routes: 7 (US 1, US 1A, US 5, US 6, US 7, US 44, US 202)
- Number of Interstate routes: 8 (I-84, I-91, I-95, I-291, I-384, I-395, I-684, I-691)
- Duplicate numbers in different classes allowed: No; but for a short while I-87 and CT 87 coexisted
- Letter suffixes: 'A' in a few cases (more rare now than decades ago); a couple instances of 'B', 'C', and 'D' for unsigned routes
- Letter-only routes: None officially. Routes A and B have been signed along existing numbered routes, but are not in the highway log
- Number continuity across state lines: Yes; in all present cases where route is state-maintained on both sides
- Discontinuous signed routes: CT 34 is no longer signed on the freeway portion in New Haven. Four routes have gaps in state maintenance, but are still continuously signed
- Highest signed state route: CT 372 (present and historical)
- Highest unsigned state route: SR 921 (present); SR 1001 (historical)
Route Number Classes
- New England Interstate (1922 - 1931): Routes 8, 10, 12 and 32 remain from this system.
- State Highway - Primary 1923 - 1931): Number range: 101 - 299
- State Highway - Secondary (1923 - 1931): Number range: 300 - up
- Interstate (1956 - present)
- U. S. (1926 - present)
- State signed (1932 - present): Number range: 2 - 399
- State unsigned (1932 - 1963): Number range: 401-1001
- Special Service Routes (SSR) (1963 - present): Number range: 401-499
- State Roads (SR) (1963 - present): Number range: 501-999
- County routes: none
- Business routes: Rare; reportedly a BUS I-84 in Newtown, years ago
- Truck routes: a bannered alternate for Route 22, in North Haven, along state-maintained roads
- Other special routes: Rare; historical local use of "LOOP 2" circa 1972 in Marlborough; local use of "Route 165A" in Preston
- Neighoring state routes of interest: Route 15 in Sturbridge, Mass.; Route 31 in Dudley, Mass.; "Extension 184" in Ashaway, R. I.; NY 120A in ... Greenwich
Highway System
- Total state-maintained route mileage: 3,728.86
- Number of interchanges: about 400
Roadway Features
- Suicide lanes: none
- Center lanes for opposing left turns: several in Hartford, created c. 2005
- Reversible lanes: Asylum Avenue, Hartford; possible others
- Double left turn lanes: too many to enumerate
- Triple left turn lanes: none known
- Rotaries: a few, as at CT 4/CT 63, CT 79/CT 80, CT 2/CT 184.
- Roundabouts: a few, as at CT 80/CT 81, CT 82/CT 85, CT 74/CT 286, CT 110/CT 111, CT 188/CT 334. More are on the way
- Jughandles: at least 5 (CT 71 at I-84 EB; CT 4 at SR 508, SSR 401 at SSR 403, US 5/CT 15 SB at CT 9, CT 137 at CT 15); proposed but rejected in 1964 for US 1 in Groton
- Reverse jughandle (or bulb-out or turnaround): US 7/202, Brookfield and New Milford; to facilitate U-turns
- Michigan lefts: none
- Texas U-Turns: none
- One-way Frontage Roads: I-95 in Waterford and New London; I-95 in East Haven; I-395 at CT 138 and CT 164. 2-way frontage roads along I-91 in North Hartford were removed during 1990s widening.
- Super 2: CT 78; stretch of US 6 east of I-395. CT 2A was formerly a Super 2, but most of that stretch was widened in 1996.
- Super 4: CT 2, opened 2009 construction near Foxwoods in Ledyard. 4 lanes undivided, with interchanges.
- HOV Lanes: I-84, East Hartford to Vernon; and I-91, Hartford to Windsor Locks. I-384 technically has some, but only for the approach to I-84. All HOV facilities are separated from main lanes and have their own entrances and exits.
- Zipper lanes: none
- Double-decking: on I-84 in Waterbury (over CT 8); on CT 8 just south of I-84; former SSR 403 at Bradley Airport; and a section of CT 8 above CT 67 in Seymour.
- Opposing roadway crossover: none today. But I-84 in Waterbury east of CT 8 did this until about 1973.
- One-lane underpasses: a few, notably CT 150/CT 71 in Wallingford, under a railway.
- Collector-distributor (C/D) lanes: I-84 at I-291 and I-384 complex, Manchester; I-84 EB in Waterbury
- Diverging diamond: none
- Seasonal closures: no 9,000-foot mountain passes in Connecticut; but the ferries on CT 148 and CT 160 close for the winter
- Freeway removals: CT 34 in New Haven
- Runaway truck ramps: US 44 westbound, approaching CT 10, Avon
Interchanges
- Full cloverleaf: Four (CT 15 at CT 34; CT 15 at old US 7; I-95 at US 1, Milford; I-91 at CT 190)
- Stack: One (I-84 at CT 9; built for I-291; partially unused); others were proposed for US 7 at CT 15, US 44 at CT 10, and I-91 at I-691
- Single-point urban interchange (SPUI): One open (CT 15 at CT 111); two proposed (I-84 exit 43, US 5/CT 15 at CT 175)
- "Volleyball": none; one was planned at I-291 and Berlin Tpke
- Left exits: Funny you should ask. About 35 of these statewide.
- Ramp meters: none known; one was tested at CT 17 onramp to CT 9 NB, Middletown
Signing
Exit numbering
(See also: Exit Numbering)
- System (until 2015): sequential. Milepost-based numbers were considered in the 1970s
- a Highways are being slowly transitioned to milepost-based numbers
- Suffixes: directional (e.g E/W) when warranted; A/B in some cases; up to Exit 5D in E. Hartford on CT 2. Some 'A' numbers belong to newer interchanges inserted in the sequence. In a few cases where suffixes would apply, consecutive numbers are used instead. Directional suffixes are now deprecated in favor of A/B.
Superlatives and Extremes
- Longest state route, in state: CT 15 (83.53 miles)
- Longest state route, counting out-of-state continuations: CT 10 (about 262 miles)
- Shortest signed state route: CT 125, 1.24 miles
- Shortest unsigned state route: SR 910, 0.04 miles
- Widest road: 12 lanes (includes 2 HOV), I-84, between CT 15 and I-384, East Hartford
- Most numerous overlap (aka "multiplex"): Four (I-84 and US 6/7/202, Danbury)
- Highest exit number: 93 (present) on I-95; 106 (historical) on I-86
- Newest signed state route: CT 130, 1992
- Newest signed state route with a number not previously used: CT 244, Feb. 1, 1988
- Newest unsigned state route: SR 724 in New Haven, 2023
Bridges
- Covered Bridges: three standing: Bulls Bridge; Cornwall (CT 128); and Colchester (alongside CT 16, pedestrian access only)
- Suspension Bridges: none; but there was one in the 19th century where CT 140 is now
- Cable-stayed bridges: I-95, New Haven, over the Quinnipiac River
Toll Facilities - Present
- CT 160 Ferry: Rocky Hill - Glastonbury Oldest continously operating ferry in US (if you don't count winters)
- CT 148 Ferry: Chester - Hadlyme
Toll Facilities - Past
Sources
- "Long Hill Rd. Widening to be Advertised Again." The Day [New London, Conn.], Feb. 1, 1964.
- "Toll Revenue Jumps 46.5% in 10 Years." Hartford Courant, Sept. 13, 1973.
- "Bridge Tolls To Be Dropped." Hartford Courant, Sept. 8, 1980.
