Wilbur Cross Highway

The Wilbur Cross Highway is the designation for a freeway beginning at Wethersfield, running along a portion of Connecticut Route 15 and U.S. Route 5 to East Hartford, Connecticut, and then continuing northeast as a section of Interstate 84, part of which is also cosigned as U.S. Route 6. The freeway ends at a junction with the tolled Massachusetts Turnpike in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. The entire route was formerly signed as Route 15.

Wilbur Cross Highway

Map of northern Connecticut with Wilbur Cross Highway highlighted in red
Route information
Length46.41 mi[1][2] (74.69 km)
Existed1940–present
Component
highways
US 5 / Route 15 from Wethersfield, CT to East Hartford, CT
I-84 from East Hartford, CT to Sturbridge, MA
US 6 from East Hartford, CT to Manchester, CT
Major junctions
South end US 5 / Route 15 / Berlin Turnpike in Wethersfield, CT
Major intersections I-91 in Hartford, CT
Route 2 in East Hartford, CT
I-84 / US 6 in East Hartford, CT
I-384 in East Hartford, CT
I-291 in Manchester, CT
North end I-90 / Mass Pike in Sturbridge, MA
Location
CountryUnited States
StatesConnecticut, Massachusetts
CountiesCT: Hartford, Tolland, Windham
MA: Hampden, Worcester
Highway system
  • Connecticut State Highway System

Route description

South end of the overlap between Route 15 and US 5. US 5 is signed as an unnumbered exit indicating "To I-691, Route 66

Route 15 and U.S. Route 5

The Wilbur Cross Highway begins as a Y-interchange with the Berlin Turnpike in Wethersfield. South of here, Route 15 and U.S. Route 5 (US 5) continue south along the turnpike. The highway proceeds in a northeasterly direction and has an interchange with Route 99 (Old Route 9) before entering Hartford and reaching interchanges with Interstate 91 (I-91) and the Hartford–Brainard Airport access road. The highway then crosses the Connecticut River by way of the Charter Oak Bridge, curving to a more east-west direction, before merging into the median of I-84 in East Hartford.

Interstate 84

US 6 is cosigned with I-84 on the Wilbur Cross Highway from exit 57 in East Hartford to exit 60 in Manchester. I-84 intersects one of the remnants of an abandoned project, I-384, as part of a three-mile (4.8 km) series of complex interchanges in Manchester including the end of the US 6 concurrency at exit 60, and a connection to the only built as originally planned portion of I-291 at exit 61.

Beyond Manchester, I-84 climbs steadily from the Connecticut River Valley and passes through the Tolland County towns of Vernon, Tolland, and Willington. After briefly entering the Windham County town of Ashford, it reenters Tolland County in the town of Union. After exit 74 (Route 171), I-84 crosses the Massachusetts state line. All lanes eventually enter into Sturbridge, but the westbound lanes pass briefly through the town of Holland before entering Sturbridge. Eight miles (13 km) later, I-84 reaches its eastern terminus at the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90).


History

The highway was built in the 1940s, before the Interstate Highway era, as a continuation of the Wilbur Cross Parkway, which itself is a continuation of the Merritt Parkway – all of which were once signed Route 15. Originally, the parkways were to span continuously from Greenwich to Union, but with the opening of Interstate 91, the planned segment between Meriden and Hartford was never built, and Route 15 was instead routed along the Berlin Turnpike.

In 1958, the highway north of the Charter Oak Bridge was cosigned as I-84, as part of the interstate highway's planned route through Connecticut. In 1968, this designation was moved to a proposed highway from Hartford to Providence, and the then-cosigned portion with Route 15 was renumbered to I-86. The Route 15 designation remained cosigned with I-86 section south of the Massachusetts border until October 1, 1980, when it was truncated to its current northern terminus at exit 57 of I-84. The I-84 designation was restored in 1984 when the planned highway to Providence was cancelled.

From 1948 to 1982, US 44 was signed along the highway from current exit 60 to current exit 69.

Charter Oak Bridge

The Charter Oak Bridge, which carries the highway across the Connecticut River, has been operational since 1942. Due to the bridge's failing condition and the clogging on the nearby Bissell and Founders Bridges in the late 1980s, the Charter Oak Bridge and approach was completely rebuilt in 1991 to its current form.

Exit list

Exit numbers correspond to those of Route 15 and Interstate 84. Old exit numbers correspond to when the I-84 was signed as Route 15.

StateCountyLocationmi[1]kmOld exitNew exitDestinationsNotes
ConnecticutHartfordWethersfield0.000.00

US 5 south / Route 15 south (Berlin Turnpike)
Southern terminus of US 5 / Route 15 concurrency; continues south as the Berlin Turnpike
1.762.8385
Route 99 south Wethersfield, Rocky Hill
Hartford2.16–
3.42
3.48–
5.50
86-89

I-91 / Brainard Road / Airport Road to I-84 west New Haven, New York City, Hartford, Springfield
Signed as exits 86 (I-91 south), 87 (Brainard) and 89 (I-91 north); no southbound access to I-91 north; exits 35B-36 on I-91
Connecticut River4.016.45Charter Oak Bridge
East Hartford4.066.5390
US 5 north (Main Street) / Route 2 / East River Drive Norwich
Northern terminus of US 5 concurrency; no southbound signage for Route 2
4.857.8191Silver Lane (SR 502)Northbound exit and southbound entrance
5.649.0857


I-84 west (Yankee Expressway) to I-91 north Hartford

Route 15 ends
Northern terminus of Route 15; western terminus of I-84 concurrency; westbound exit and eastbound entrance
5.959.58Silver LaneWestbound exit from Restricted Lane
58Roberts Street (Route 518) / Silver Lane (Route 502 / Burnside Avenue – East Hartford
91Forbes StreetClosed to make way for construction exit 59
7.23–
7.70
11.64–
12.39
59
I-384 east Providence
Includes eastbound exit and westbound entrance to Restricted Lanes
Manchester8.5913.829260
US 6 east / US 44 (Middle Turnpike West) / Burnside Avenue Manchester, East Hartford
US 6 continues east; westbound exit shares a ramp with exit 62
8.38–
8.97
13.49–
14.44
61
I-291 west South Windsor, Windsor
Eastern terminus of I-291
9.5615.399362Buckland Street South Windsor, Manchester
12.4019.969463 Route 30 / Route 83 Manchester, South Windsor
TollandVernon13.3121.429564 Route 30 / Route 83 Vernon, Rockville, Talcottville
13.8122.23
I-84 west (Restricted Lanes)
Eastern terminus of Restricted lanes
14.0122.559665 Route 30 Vernon CenterEastbound exit shared a ramp with exit 64
15.7525.359766Tunnel Road (SR 541) – Vernon, Bolton
17.91–
18.26
28.82–
29.39
9867 Route 31 Rockville, Coventry
Tolland21.6634.869968 Route 195 Tolland, Mansfield, StorrsAccess to the University of Connecticut
24.6339.6410069
Route 74 to US 44 Willington, Tolland, Rockville, Putnam
Willington26.1342.0510170 Route 32 Stafford Springs, Willington, Mansfield, Willimantic
28.28–
28.86
45.51–
46.45
10271
Route 320 south (Ruby Road) Willington
Northern terminus of Route 320
WindhamTolland
county line
AshfordUnion
town line
32.6652.5610472 Route 89 Stafford Springs, Westford, Ashford
TollandUnion34.0854.8510573 Route 190 Union, Stafford Springs
37.99–
38.55
61.14–
62.04
10674 Route 171 / Holland Road Union, Holland, Mass
 38.7062.28ConnecticutMassachusetts state line
MassachusettsHampdenHolland38.9962.75Mashapaug RoadWestbound entrance only; former Route 15
WorcesterSturbridge41.9567.5113Mashapaug Road – Southbridge, SturbridgeFormer Route 15
43.7870.4625
To Route 131 Sturbridge, Southbridge
Signed for Old Sturbridge Village
45.25–
45.57
72.82–
73.34
36 US 20 Worcester, PalmerSigned as exits 6A (east) and 6B (west)
46.4174.69 I-90 / Mass Pike Springfield, Albany NY, Worcester, BostonEastern terminus of I-84; exit 78 (old exit 9) on I-90 / Mass Pike
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. State of Connecticut Department of Transportation (2012). "2012 Traffic Volumes, State Maintained Highway Network" (PDF). Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  2. "Massachusetts Route Log Application - Route Selection Page". Archived from the original on 2014-08-26. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
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