Connecticut Route 66

Route 66 is a Connecticut state highway running from Meriden to Windham, serving as an alternate eastwest route to US 6 through east-central Connecticut.

Route 66 marker

Route 66

Map of central Connecticut with Route 66 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by CTDOT
Length38.38 mi[1] (61.77 km)
Existed1968–present
Major junctions
West end I-91 / I-691 / Route 15 / Wilbur Cross Parkway in Meriden
Major intersections
East end US 6 in Windham
Location
CountryUnited States
StateConnecticut
CountiesNew Haven, Middlesex, Hartford, Tolland, Windham
Highway system
  • Connecticut State Highway System
Route 64 Route 67

Route description

Route 66 officially begins at I-91 in Meriden as the extension of I-691, which officially ends at its interchange with I-91. This freeway portion runs for about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) into the town of Middlefield, where it becomes a four-lane surface road. In Middlefield, it has junctions with the northern end of Route 147, and the southern end of Route 217. It then enters Middletown and becomes Washington Street, where it has junctions with the northern end of Route 157 and the southern end of Route 3 before passing by Wesleyan University and entering the downtown area. Route 66 then turns onto Main Street, as Washington Street becomes SR 545, providing southbound access to the Route 9 freeway. At the north end of Main Street, it intersects Route 17. Southbound Route 17 provides access to both directions of Route 9, while northbound Route 17 joins Route 66 to cross the Connecticut River on the Arrigoni Bridge into Portland. Immediately east of the bridge, it meets the southern end of Route 17A, which leads to Portland center. After Route 17 leaves to the north, Route 66 narrows to 2 lanes and follows the east shore of the Connecticut River into East Hampton. It passes the northern end of Route 151, and bends northeast as it intersects the western end of Route 16. In the center of town, it meets the northern end of Route 196, then crosses into Marlborough. Here, it has a junction with the Route 2 freeway at Exit 15 (old Exit 13). It then passes into Hebron, Connecticut, where it has junctions with Routes 85 and 316 in the center of town. It then enters Columbia, intersecting Route 87 before reaching a junction with US 6 at the western end of the Willimantic bypass. Route 66 turns east as a collector of local traffic headed for Willimantic. In Willimantic, it has a 0.74 mile concurrency with Route 32, and intersects the southern end of Route 195, and the western end of Route 14. It then turns north-northeastward and continues to US 6 at the east end of the Willimantic bypass, where Route 66 ends and US 6 assumes the roadway.[1]

From US 6 in Columbia to the end in Windham, Route 66 is designated the Grand Army of the Republic Highway.[1] The easternmost 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of the route is named Boston Post Road and was part of the former mail route.

History

The entire length of modern Route 66 was originally improved in the 19th century as various private turnpikes. The road from Meriden to Middletown was the Middletown and Meriden Turnpike chartered in 1809 and used the former surface alignment of Route 66 in Meriden (East Main Street). Between Middletown and East Hampton, modern Route 66 was the western half of the Colchester and Chatham Turnpike (the eastern half is modern Route 16), which was chartered in 1808. From East Hampton via Marlborough to the Hebron-Columbia line, the road was the Hebron and Middle Haddam Turnpike that was chartered in 1802. From the Hebron-Columbia line through Columbia to Willimantic, the road was the Columbia Turnpike, chartered in 1808.

Route 66 was originally part of State Highway 111 designated in 1922. It ran from the Milldale section of Southington, via Meriden and Middletown, to Willimantic. In the 1932 state highway renumbering, old Highway 111 was designated as part of Route 14, which extended from Woodbury to the Rhode Island state line. In 1941, the section of Route 14 from Woodbury to Willimantic was redesignated as US 6A, connecting at US 6 on both ends.

In the early 1960s, plans for constructing a US 6A expressway between I-84 in Southington and Willimantic were announced. By 1966, a short portion of the expressway from US 5 in Meriden to Middlefield (where the current expressway ends) opened to traffic. By 1968, the US 6A designation was removed and split into several routes. The section from I-84 in Southington to US 6 in Columbia was renumbered as Route 66, including the newly opened freeway segment. In 1971, another section of the Route 66 freeway opened from between Route 322 and US 5. In 1987, with the completion of the freeway connection to I-84, the section of Route 66 west of I-91 was redesignated as I-691, truncating the western end of Route 66. In 1983, US 6 was rerouted to a newly constructed bypass around Willimantic, and the former surface route section of US 6 from Columbia to Windham was transferred to Route 66.[2]

Major intersections

Exits are currently sequential and continue from I-691, but are planned to be converted to mileage-based exit numbering in 2023.

CountyLocationmi[1]kmOld exitNew exitDestinationsNotes
New HavenMeriden0.000.00--
I-691 west Meriden, Waterbury
Continuation west
9-111C-A I-91 / Route 15 (Wilbur Cross Parkway) to Berlin Turnpike New Haven, HartfordSigned as exits 1C (Route 15 north), 1B (south) and 1A (I-91 north); no eastbound access to Route 15 north; exit nos. follow I-691 mileposts
0.270.4312
13
1East Main StreetEastbound exit and westbound entrance
MiddlesexMiddlefield1.221.96Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
1.963.15Eastern end of freeway section

Route 147 south Middlefield
Northern terminus of Route 147
3.886.24
Route 217 north Westfield, Cromwell, Berlin
Southern terminus of Route 217
Middletown5.438.74
Route 157 south Middlefield, Wadsworth Falls State Park
Northern terminus of Route 157
6.129.85
Route 3 north Berlin, Cromwell
Southern terminus of Route 3
6.7010.78

Washington Street (SSR 545) to Route 9 south
6.9811.23

Route 17 south (St. Johns Square) to Route 9
Western terminus of Route 17 concurrency
Connecticut River7.13–
7.78
11.47–
12.52
Arrigoni Bridge
Portland7.9612.81
Route 17A north Glastonbury
Southern terminus of Route 17A
9.9616.03
Route 17 north Glastonbury
Eastern terminus of Route 17 concurrency
East Hampton12.9920.91
Route 151 south Middle Haddam, East Haddam, Haddam Neck, Moodus
Northern terminus of Route 151; serves Hurd State Park
13.8322.26
Route 16 east Colchester, Lebanon
Western terminus of Route 16
16.4726.51
Route 196 south Moodus
Northern terminus of Route 196
HartfordMarlborough20.6233.18 Route 2 Hartford, NorwichExit 15 on Route 2
TollandHebron25.9041.68 Route 85 Gilead, Bolton, ColchesterServes Gay City State Park
26.0741.96
Route 316 north Andover
Southern terminus of Route 316
Columbia30.5649.18 Route 87 Andover, Lebanon
32.3352.03
US 6 to Route 32 Andover, Hartford, Providence, RI
WindhamWindham34.9556.25
Route 32 north Coventry
Western terminus of Route 32 concurrency
35.6957.44
Route 32 south Lebanon, Norwich
Eastern terminus of Route 32 concurrency
36.8959.37
Route 195 north University of Connecticut
Southern terminus of Route 195
36.9159.40
Route 14 east Windham
Western terminus of Route 14
38.3861.77 US 6 Hartford, Windham Airport, Danielson, Providence, RIInterchange with US 6 west; continues as US 6 east
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. Connecticut State Highway Log Archived 2015-09-05 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Connecticut Route 66". Kurumi.com. February 16, 2014.
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