Interstate 95 in Connecticut

This article is about the section of Interstate 95 in Connecticut. For the entire route, see Interstate 95.

Interstate 95 marker

Interstate 95
Jewish War Veterans Memorial Highway
Connecticut Turnpike
Route information
Maintained by ConnDOT
Length: 111.57 mi[1] (179.55 km)
Existed: 1958-1964 – present
Major junctions
South end: I-95 in Port Chester, NY
  US 7 in Norwalk
Route 8 / Route 25 in Bridgeport
I-91 in New Haven
Route 9 in Old Saybrook
I-395 in East Lyme
North end: I95 in Hopkinton, RI
Location
Counties: Fairfield, New Haven, Middlesex, New London
Highway system
  • Routes in Connecticut
Route 94Route 97

Interstate 95 is the main northsouth Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running in a general eastwest compass direction for 111.57 miles (179.55 km) in Connecticut, from the New York state line to the Rhode Island state line. I-95 from Greenwich to East Lyme is part of the Governor John Davis Lodge Turnpike, formerly known as the Connecticut Turnpike, during which it passes through major cities Stamford, Bridgeport, and New Haven . After leaving the turnpike in East Lyme, I-95 is known as the Jewish War Veterans Memorial Highway and passes through New London, Groton, and Mystic, before exiting the state at the Rhode Island border.

Route description

I-95 in Stamford; northbound traffic leads into the background.

Interstate 95 enters Connecticut as the Connecticut Turnpike in Greenwich at the New York state line. The Connecticut Turnpike stretches for 128 miles (206 km) across the state, but only the first 88 miles (142 km) of the Connecticut Turnpike are signed as I-95. The Turnpike portion of I-95 passes through the most heavily urbanized section of Connecticut along the shoreline between Greenwich and New Haven, going through the cities of Stamford, Norwalk, Bridgeport, and New Haven, with daily traffic volumes of 120,000 to over 150,000 throughout the entire 48-mile (77 km) length between the New York state line and the junction with I-91 in New Haven. The Turnpike intersects with several major expressways, namely U.S. Route 7 at Exit 15 in Norwalk, Route 8 and Route 25 at Exit 27A in Bridgeport (quickest way to I-84 from southwest CT), the Merritt and Wilbur Cross Parkways at Exit 38 (via the Milford Parkway) in Milford, and Interstate 91 at Exit 48 in New Haven.

North (east) of I-91, the Turnpike continues along the Connecticut shoreline with a smaller amount of volume. The six-lane highway is reduced to four lanes in Branford, interchanges with Route 9 at Exit 69 in Old Saybrook, crosses the Connecticut River on the Baldwin Bridge, and continues until the interchange with Interstate 395 at Exit 76 near the East Lyme-Waterford line. After Exit 76, the Turnpike continues on I-395, while I-95 continues east through New London, Groton, Stonington, and North Stonington towards the Rhode Island state line.

Going southbound, the last exit before the Connecticut Turnpike segment is Exit 80 for Oil Mill Road. The first exit northbound is Exit 81 for Cross Road. Just before the Cross Road exit is a weigh station. The road then enters Waterford and intersects with Route 85 at Exit 82. Exit 82A northbound is for a Frontage Road of I-95 and has access to shopping malls. Exit 83 differs in each direction. Going southbound, Exit 83 is for U.S. Route 1, the Frontage Road, and the shopping malls. Going northbound, however, Exit 83 is for Route 32 and downtown New London.

Exits 84S, 84N, and 84E, only going southbound, are for Route 32, Norwich, and downtown New London. Exit 85 is northbound only and is for U.S. Route 1. It is accessible off the Gold Star Bridge, which crosses the Thames River. Exit 86 is in both directions for Routes 12 and 184 in Groton. Accessible from Exit 86 is the Groton Sub Base. Exit 87 is for Route 349, also known as the Clarence B. Sharp Memorial Highway. A mile after Exit 87, Exit 88 leaves for Route 117 and Noank. Just short of three miles (5 km) later, I-95 enters Mystic and interchanges with Allyn Street at Exit 89 and Route 27 at Exit 90. Route 234 interchanges three miles (5 km) after Exit 90 at Exit 91. Exit 92 is for Routes 2 and 49. An attraction off Exit 92 is Foxwoods Casino. Exit 93 is the final exit before Rhode Island and is for Routes 216 and 184. Interstate 95 then enters Rhode Island at 111 miles (179 km).

Auxiliary routes

Disasters

In January 1983, a truck with a brake failure slammed into a line of cars waiting to pay a toll on I-95 in Stratford, Connecticut. Seven people were killed. This accident helped lead to the removal of toll barriers throughout Connecticut, which was completed six years after.

On the morning of June 28, 1983, a 100 foot (30 m) section of the Mianus River Bridge in Cos Cob collapsed, plunging northbound I-95 traffic into the Mianus River below, killing three. The collapse was blamed on the failure of the steel pins to hold the horizontal beams together and inadequate inspection prior to the collapse. Northbound traffic was diverted on this section of I-95 for 25 days. Southbound traffic was unaffected.

On March 26, 2004, a bridge on I-95 in Bridgeport, Connecticut was partly melted by the explosion of a tanker truck carrying over 11,900 gallons (45,000 L) of fuel oil. Repairs were estimated to take at least two weeks, but the highway was opened to northbound traffic in only a few days. Southbound traffic resumed about a week later after a temporary bridge was installed to carry traffic while the destroyed bridge was rebuilt.

At 10:20 AM on November 2, 2007, a tanker truck carrying heating oil plowed over the divider, knocking the side of a tractor trailer and striking several other cars in its path. Three people were killed, including the driver of the tanker and the occupants of two cars that were completely destroyed in the crash. The driver of the tractor trailer survived (his Pit Bull canine companion emerged completely unharmed) but the trailer was split open. At least three other cars were involved in this accident. A part of the road was damaged and took until the next morning to fully reopen, partly due to a cleanup after the accident.

History

Interstate 95 in Connecticut has far more exits than typical Interstate Highways, particularly in Fairfield and New Haven Counties, with some exits less than one mile (1.6 km) apart. State transportation officials have said that the reason for the many exits stems from the state's original justification for building parts of the highway — to ease traffic congestion on Route 1 by providing a faster alternate route, even for drivers traveling short distances within the same community. To overcome potential opposition to the highway from towns through which the route would traverse, the State of Connecticut agreed to guarantee each affected town a certain number of access points to the Turnpike. Rather than skirting urban areas, the highway was built directly through the most dense sections of Stamford, Norwalk, Bridgeport, and New Haven.

While most of I-95 was built as the Connecticut Turnpike, the Connecticut Turnpike incorporated several pieces of already-built relocations, some to freeway standards, of U.S. Route 1 (the Turnpike split from the US 1 relocation in East Lyme, along the Old Lyme-New London section):

Other improvements in the corridor included the New York-Meriden Merritt Parkway/Wilbur Cross Parkway, New Haven-Old Saybrook Route 80, and Groton-Rhode Island Route 184, the latter connecting in Rhode Island to Route 3, a shortcut to Providence.

Most of the Turnpike opened January 2, 1958, and was designated I-95 south/west of the split with the relocated US 1 by 1959. The rest of I-95 from I-395 to the Connecticut-Rhode Island border opened December 12, 1964. The Gold Star Bridge was twinned circa 1975, along with a reconstruction of its approaches, and in 1993 the Raymond E. Baldwin Bridge was replaced with a wider span.

The state installed cameras to watch traffic along the highway in the early 1990s. As of 2007, about 100 cameras have been set up and are monitored by state police and the state Department of Transportation. In Fairfield County, local emergency responders (fire departments and ambulance services) that serve the highway in individual towns have asked for direct feeds from the cameras to avoid mistakes. When travelers report an accident, they sometimes tell authorities that it occurred near an exit that is actually not the nearest to the scene, slowing down response time. The traffic feed from the cameras is available on the World Wide Web, but the service can be spotty, according to the Stamford, Connecticut and Norwalk, Connecticut fire chiefs, who said they were hoping that a proposed $40 million upgrade of the camera system, under consideration by the state in 2007, would provide them access.[2] Feeds from these cameras are also used by local media outlets, as part of traffic report segments in news programming, and in some instances as a part of a designated "Traffic and Weather" Channel.

Construction plans

While the corridor was designated "High Priority Corridor 65" in 2005, work along Interstate 95 in Connecticut has been ongoing for nearly 20 years.

Interstate upgrades

Mass transit upgrades

These projects have been undertaken in large part to reduce traffic on the highway, which is often congested, particularly in Fairfield County:

Scenic overlook

Between exits 89 and 90 eastbound is the Jerome Hoxie Scenic Overlook. This overlooks Mystic Cove.

Panoramic View from the Jerome Hoxie Scenic Overlook. Photos were taken in March 2006.

Exit list

Exit numbers are currently sequential, but will be changed to mileage-based in the future.

CountyLocationmikmExitDestinationsNotes
FairfieldGreenwich0.000.00 I-95 south (New England Thruway) New YorkNew York state line
0.781.262Delavan Avenue Byram
2.003.22Former toll plaza
2.544.093Arch Street Greenwich
3.736.004Indian Field Road Cos Cob, Greenwich
4.988.01Mianus River Bridge over the Mianus River
5.538.905 US 1 Riverside, Old Greenwich, Mianus
Stamford6.5010.466Harvard AvenueNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
6.6210.656West AvenueSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
7.3011.757 To Route 137 north / Greenwich AvenueAccess to Route 137 via Washington Boulevard (SSR 493); northbound exit and southbound entrance
7.6712.348Atlantic StreetSouthbound signed as exit 7 to Route 137 North (via SSR 493)
8.2013.208Elm StreetSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
9.2814.939 US 1 / Route 106 Glenbrook
Darien10.7517.3010Noroton
11.6118.6811 US 1 Darien, Rowayton
12.2319.6812 Route 136 (Tokeneke Road) RowaytonNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
13.1421.1513 US 1 (Post Road)
Norwalk14.8323.8714 US 1 (Connecticut Avenue)No northbound exit
15.4924.9315 US 7 Norwalk, Danbury
South Norwalk
Split northbound into exit 14 (South Norwalk) and exit 15 (US 7)
15.9125.60Yankee Doodle Bridge over the Norwalk River
16.2426.1416East Avenue East Norwalk
1829Former toll plaza
Westport18.1329.1817 Route 33 / Route 136 Westport, Saugatuck
20.3632.7718Sherwood Island Connector (SSR 476) To US 1 and Sherwood Island State Park
Fairfield22.8836.8219Center Street SouthportNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
23.1237.2119 US 1 SouthportSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
23.7238.1720Bronson Road FairfieldSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
24.3839.2421Mill Plain Road Fairfield
25.0340.2822Round Hill Road FairfieldNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
25.2140.5722 Route 135 (N. Benson Rd.) FairfieldSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
25.8341.5723 US 1 (Kings Highway) Fairfield
26.7243.0024Black Rock Turnpike (US 1)Connects to Routes 58 and 59
Bridgeport27.4344.1425Commerce Drive, State StreetNorthbound exit and southbound entrance; off-ramp is within Fairfield
27.6444.4825 Route 130 (Fairfield Avenue)Southbound exit and northbound entrance
28.2945.5326Wordin Avenue
29.0046.6727Lafayette Boulevard Downtown BridgeportNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
29.0346.7227A Route 25 / Route 8 north Trumbull, Waterbury
29.1446.9027Lafayette Boulevard Downtown BridgeportSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
29.3347.20P.T. Barnum Bridge over the Pequonnock River
29.8648.0628 Route 127 (East Main Street)Northbound exit and southbound entrance
30.0748.3929 Route 130 (Stratford Avenue) / Seaview Avenue
31.0750.0030 Route 113 (Lordship Boulevard)Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Stratford31.3050.3730Surf Avenue StratfordSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
32.1151.6831Honeyspot RoadNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
32.2951.9731South AvenueSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
32.8652.8832West Broad Street Stratford
3353Former toll plaza
33.9154.5733 US 1 / Route 110 / Route 130 / Ferry Boulevard DevonNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
Housatonic River34.5455.59Moses Wheeler Bridge
New HavenMilford35.3756.9234 US 1 Milford, Devon
35.8557.6935School House Road, Bic Drive
36.6959.0536Plains Road
37.4560.2737High StreetNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
37.5860.4838 Route 15 (Merritt Parkway, Wilbur Cross Parkway via SR 796)
39.1262.9639
A-B
A: US 1 south Downtown Milford
B: US 1 north Orange
Signed as exits 39A (south) and 39B (north)
40.2564.7840Old Gate Lane (Woodmont Road)
Orange41.8067.2741Marsh Hill Road Orange
West Haven43.9170.6742 Route 162 (Saw Mill Road) West Haven
4471Former toll plaza
44.8772.2143Campbell Avenue Downtown West HavenNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
45.1972.7343 Route 122 (First Avenue, SR 745)Southbound exit and northbound entrance
New Haven46.0574.1144 Route 10 (Ella Grasso Boulevard)Former Exit 45, Southbound
46.82–
47.26
75.35–
76.06
46Long Wharf Drive, Sargent Drive
47.46–
47.75
76.38–
76.85
47 Route 34 west Downtown New Haven
47.58–
47.91
76.57–
77.10
48 I-91 north HartfordSouthern terminus of I-91
47.8376.97Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge over the Quinnipiac River
49.2079.1850Woodward Avenue – Lighthouse PointAccess to Port Area and Route 337; northbound exit and southbound entrance
East Haven49.79–
50.18
80.13–
80.76
51 US 1 (Frontage Road) East HavenSouthbound is also signed for Lighthouse Point Park
50.5381.3252 Route 100 (North High Street) East HavenSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
Branford5182Former toll plaza
52.3384.2253 US 1 / Route 142 / Route 146 (via SR 794) Short BeachNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
53.2385.6754Cedar Street (SR 740) Branford
55.1888.8055 US 1 (East Main Street) North Branford
56.2590.5356Leetes Island Road Stony Creek
Guilford59.3295.4757 US 1 (Boston Post Road) North Branford
60.2396.9358 Route 77 North Guilford, Guilford
61.4998.9659Goose Lane (SR 718)
Madison63101Former toll plaza
63.48102.1660Mungertown RoadSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
64.73104.1761 Route 79 North Madison, Madison
66.43106.9162Hammonasset Connector MadisonExit to Hammonasset State Park
MiddlesexClinton68.61110.4263 Route 81 Clinton, Killingworth
Westbrook70.78113.9164 Route 145 (Horse Hill Road) Clinton
73.14117.7165 Route 153 Westbrook
Old Saybrook74.40119.7466 Route 166 (Spencer Plain Road)
75.92122.1867Elm StreetSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
76.73123.4867 Route 154 Old SaybrookNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
77.80125.2168 US 1 south Old SaybrookSouth end of US 1 overlap
78.06125.6369 Route 9 north Essex, Hartford
78126Former toll plaza
Connecticut River78.68126.62Baldwin Bridge
New LondonOld Lyme79.15127.3870 US 1 north / Route 156 Old Lyme, Hamburg, LaysvilleNorth end of US 1 overlap
83.49134.3671Four Mile River Rd.  Old Lyme, East Lyme
East Lyme84.02135.2272Rocky Neck Connector (SSR 449) East LymeAccess to Rocky Neck State Park
85.79138.0773Society Rd. East Lyme
87.27140.4574 Route 161 Flanders, Niantic
88.05141.7075 US 1 Waterford, Flanders
88.48142.3976 I-395 / Conn. Turnpike north Norwich, PlainfieldNortheast end of Connecticut Turnpike concurrency
Waterford88.88143.0480Oil Mill Rd.  WaterfordSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
90.12145.0381Cross Rd.  Waterford
91.79147.7282 Route 85 (Broad St.) Waterford, Chesterfield
New London92.26148.4882AFrontage Roads New LondonUnsigned SR 623 (North Frontage) and SR 624 (South Frontage); milepost at northbound off-ramp; southbound exit is via exit 83; access to the shopping malls, Coast Guard Academy, Mitchell College and Ocean Beach Park.
92.75–
93.15
149.27–
149.91
83 US 1 south (Colman St.) / Briggs St. / Frontage Roads – Ocean BeachSouth end of US 1 overlap; northbound exit is via exit 82A; access to shopping malls, Coast Guard Academy and Mitchell College.
93.35–
93.48
150.23–
150.44
84 Route 32 / Williams St. (SR 635) Quaker Hill, Downtown New London, NorwichSigned southbound as exits 84S (Route 32 south), 84N (Route 32 north), and 84E (Williams St.); northbound exit is signed as exit 83; access to the Hodges Square and State Pier
Thames RiverGold Star Bridge
Groton94.63152.2985 US 1 north / Thames St. Downtown GrotonNorth end of US 1 overlap; northbound exit and southbound entrance; southbound access to US 1 north is via exit 87
95.33153.4286 Route 12 north Gales FerryAccess exit to Naval Submarine Base New London
95.98154.4687 Route 349 south (Clarence B. Sharp Highway) Groton
97.48156.8888 Route 117 Poquonock Bridge, Ledyard, Groton, Groton Long Point, Noank
100.07161.0589Allyn St. West Mystic, Old Mystic, Groton Long Pt., NoankSR 614
Stonington101.29163.0190 Route 27 Mystic, Old MysticAccess to Mystic Aquarium and Seaport
102.27164.5991 Route 234 / N. Main St. Stonington Borough, Old Mystic
North Stonington105.32169.5092 Route 2 North Stonington, PawcatuckNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
106.45171.3192 Route 49 North Stonington, VoluntownSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
107.77173.4493 Route 216 North Stonington, Ashaway, RI, Clarks Falls
111.57179.55 I95 north Providence, BostonRhode Island state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. "Route Log - Main Routes of the Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways - Table 1". Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  2. Ginocchio, Mark, "Local leaders want access to DOT cameras", The Advocate of Stamford, Connecticut, July 15, 2007, pp 1, A6
  3. Lucas, Jonathan, "I-95 lanes open in time for holidays: Project aims to ease congestion in Darien", article in 'The Advocate of Stamford, Connecticut, December 8, 2007, pp 1, A4, Norwalk edition

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

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Interstate 95
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Rhode Island
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