Conland–Whitehead Highway

The Whitehead Highway (also known as the Conland–Whitehead Highway, and frequently misspelled as Conlin–Whitehead Highway), is a short 0.67-mile (1.08 km) spur from Interstate 91 (I-91) in Hartford, Connecticut leading to the State Capitol at Pulaski Circle. Constructed above the Park River Conduit, the highway underwent rehabilitation from 2004–2005.

Conland–Whitehead Highway

State Road 598
Conland–Whitehead Highway highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by ConnDOT
Length0.67 mi (1,080 m)
Existed1945–present
Major junctions
East end I-91 in Hartford
West endPulaski Circle in Hartford
Location
CountryUnited States
StateConnecticut
CountiesHartford
Highway system
  • Connecticut State Highway System
← SR 597→ SR 600
← I-395I-484→ I-491

Route description
Signage on I-91 for the Whitehead Highway

It is signed as "Exit 29A – Capitol Area" on I-91 and has the unsigned designation of State Road 598 (SR 598). There are two intermediate exits (at Columbus Boulevard and Prospect Street) from the highway before its western terminus at Pulaski Circle.

History

The highway opened in 1945 and was initially named for Henry F. Conland, publisher of the Hartford Courant and chair of a city bridge commission.[1] That December, it was renamed after Ulmont I. "Monty" Whitehead, Jr., the first resident of Hartford to die in World War II. Whitehead, a 1933 graduate of Bulkeley High School in Hartford, graduated in 1940 from the U.S. Naval Academy, where he starred in football. On December 7, 1941, Whitehead was serving at Pearl Harbor on the battleship U.S.S. Arizona, which blew up and sank in the opening minutes of the Japanese attack, killing Whitehead and 1,176 other sailors.[1] The name is frequently misspelled - even by the Connecticut Department of Transportation - as "Conlin Whitehead Highway".[2][3]

Whitehead Highway was originally to be part of Interstate 484, an auxiliary route of I-84. The highway was to be upgraded via straightening and bridge improvements and brought through a short tunnel under the state capitol to connect to I-84 at exit 48. This would have reduced the traffic load at the intersection of I-91 and I-84 in downtown Hartford. Today, the role of redirecting traffic from I-91 to I-84 is handled by I-691, which serves as a southern bypass of Hartford. The extension, first proposed in 1968, was cancelled in 1983 due to local opposition. The route was never signed as I-484.

Junction list

The entire route is in Hartford, Hartford County. All exits are unnumbered.

mi[4]kmDestinationsNotes
0.000.00 I-91 – New Haven, Springfield, MA, Bradley International AirportEastern terminus
0.460.74Columbus Boulevard – Connecticut Convention CenterWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
0.600.97Prospect Street / Arch Street to Main StreetWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
0.761.22Pulaski CircleWestern terminus of SR 598
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References
  1. Pionzio, Jessica (January 28, 2002). "City Highway Spur has a Name, History". Hartford Courant.
  2. "ConnDOT:Conlin Whitehead Highway closures" (Press release). Connecticut Department of Transportation. October 26, 2005.
  3. "Hartford Streets Reopen after Investigation". NBC Connecticut. October 12, 2012.
  4. McGaughey, Owen (2006). "CT 598 (Conland-Whitehead Highway) Exit List". Nutmeg Roads. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
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