Interstate 95 in Connecticut

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:	I‑95 in Hopkinton, RI
Location
Counties:	Fairfield, New Haven, Middlesex, New London
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Routes in Connecticut Interstate U.S. State SSR SR ← Route 94 Route 97 →

Interstate 95 is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running in a general east–west 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

• Interstate 395 is I-95's only spur in Connecticut, it's also part of the Connecticut Turnpike which runs continues Northbound to Danielson, where it continues north to the Massachusetts state line where it meets Interstate 90 Massachusetts Turnpike and Interstate 290 south of Worcester, Massachusetts. At the split in Danielson, the Turnpike again turns east, merging with U.S. Route 6 near the Rhode Island state line; that short spur is unsigned Route 695, but the inclusion of 95 in its number is coincidental.

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):

• Darien bypass, opened ca. 1952
• New Haven east of the Quinnipiac River, opened ca. 1951
• Old Saybrook-Old Lyme Raymond E. Baldwin Bridge over the Connecticut River and approaches, opened 1948
• Old Lyme-New London, opened by 1950 as a two-lane road
• New London-Groton Gold Star Bridge over the Thames River and approaches, opened 1943

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

• Replace the bridge over the Connecticut River in Saybrook (completed in 1993)
• Replace the bridge over the Saugatuck River in Westport (completed in 2001)
• Widening and reconstruction of I-95 through Bridgeport (completed in 2006)
• Upgrade the median divider from New York state line to Waterford to meet current safety standards (segmented construction ongoing since 1993)
• Construction of a new extradosed Q Bridge (Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge) over the Quinnipiac River (underway)
• Reconfiguring the interchange between I-91, I-95, and Route 34 in New Haven (underway)
• Replace bridge over the West River in New Haven (underway). Exit 44, southbound, was closed in April 2015, and the remaining ramps at Exit 45, northbound, and southbound were realigned and renumbered Exit 44.
• Reconstruct I-95/I-395 interchange in Waterford to accommodate proposed Route 11 Expressway connection (in planning).
• Replacement of the Moses Wheeler Bridge over the Housatonic River (underway)
• Widening and reconstruction of I-95 between Norwalk and Stamford — in December 2007 a 15-month, $5.5 million project was completed to add fourth (or "operational") lanes in each direction between the entrances and exits at Exits 10 and 11 in Darien. This project was completed in 2007. A similar project between Exits 11 and 13 began in 2008 and was completed in 2010. An earlier project added a fourth lane on the southbound side from the entrance at Exit 10 to Exit 8. After that lane was added, a state Department of Transportation study concluded that accidents were down on that stretch of the highway by 20 percent, amounting to about 160 fewer accidents per year. ^[3]
• Widen I-95 mainline from Branford to the Rhode Island state line (proposed)
• Adding an operational lane between exits 14 and 15 in Norwalk (completed in 2016)
• From 2011 to 2015, all 10 of the service plazas along I-95 were rebuilt (pairs of plazas are located in Darien, Fairfield, Milford, Branford, and Madison, with a separate plaza in each direction). All of the renovated plazas feature modern Mobil gas stations, Alltown convenience stores, Dunkin Donuts, and Subway shops. McDonald's is available at eight of the ten plazas, while the largest plazas also feature Sbarro, Panda Express and various other quick-service options. The last plaza to be rebuilt, Southbound in Madison, opened in August 2015.

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:

• New train station near the Fairfield/Bridgeport city line (completed in 2011, fully operational in January 2012)
• Intermodal Transportation Center in Bridgeport (completed)
• New train station in West Haven (completed)
• Upgrade catenary power lines along the New Haven Line (underway through the 2010s)
• New train station in Madison
• Purchase new railroad cars and refurbish existing cars to increase capacity and reliability
• Construct new container barge ports at Bridgeport and New Haven
• Expansion of freight service on the New Haven Line
• Replace outdated bridges and straighten various sections of the New Haven Line to allow higher operating speeds for Amtrak and Metro-North trains

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.

County	Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Fairfield	Greenwich	0.00	0.00		I-95 south (New England Thruway) – New York	New York state line
		0.78	1.26	2	Delavan Avenue – Byram
		2.00	3.22	Former toll plaza
		2.54	4.09	3	Arch Street – Greenwich
		3.73	6.00	4	Indian Field Road – Cos Cob, Greenwich
		4.98	8.01	Mianus River Bridge over the Mianus River
		5.53	8.90	5	US 1 – Riverside, Old Greenwich, Mianus
	Stamford	6.50	10.46	6	Harvard Avenue	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		6.62	10.65	6	West Avenue	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		7.30	11.75	7	To Route 137 north / Greenwich Avenue	Access to Route 137 via Washington Boulevard (SSR 493); northbound exit and southbound entrance
		7.67	12.34	8	Atlantic Street	Southbound signed as exit 7 to Route 137 North (via SSR 493)
		8.20	13.20	8	Elm Street	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		9.28	14.93	9	US 1 / Route 106 – Glenbrook
	Darien	10.75	17.30	10	Noroton
		11.61	18.68	11	US 1 – Darien, Rowayton
		12.23	19.68	12	Route 136 (Tokeneke Road) – Rowayton	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		13.14	21.15	13	US 1 (Post Road)
	Norwalk	14.83	23.87	14	US 1 (Connecticut Avenue)	No northbound exit
		15.49	24.93	15	US 7 – Norwalk, Danbury South Norwalk	Split northbound into exit 14 (South Norwalk) and exit 15 (US 7)
		15.91	25.60	Yankee Doodle Bridge over the Norwalk River
		16.24	26.14	16	East Avenue – East Norwalk
		18	29	Former toll plaza
	Westport	18.13	29.18	17	Route 33 / Route 136 – Westport, Saugatuck
		20.36	32.77	18	Sherwood Island Connector (SSR 476)	To US 1 and Sherwood Island State Park
	Fairfield	22.88	36.82	19	Center Street – Southport	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		23.12	37.21	19	US 1 – Southport	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		23.72	38.17	20	Bronson Road – Fairfield	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		24.38	39.24	21	Mill Plain Road – Fairfield
		25.03	40.28	22	Round Hill Road – Fairfield	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		25.21	40.57	22	Route 135 (N. Benson Rd.) – Fairfield	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		25.83	41.57	23	US 1 (Kings Highway) – Fairfield
		26.72	43.00	24	Black Rock Turnpike (US 1)	Connects to Routes 58 and 59
	Bridgeport	27.43	44.14	25	Commerce Drive, State Street	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; off-ramp is within Fairfield
		27.64	44.48	25	Route 130 (Fairfield Avenue)	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		28.29	45.53	26	Wordin Avenue
		29.00	46.67	27	Lafayette Boulevard – Downtown Bridgeport	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		29.03	46.72	27A	Route 25 / Route 8 north – Trumbull, Waterbury
		29.14	46.90	27	Lafayette Boulevard – Downtown Bridgeport	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		29.33	47.20	P.T. Barnum Bridge over the Pequonnock River
		29.86	48.06	28	Route 127 (East Main Street)	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		30.07	48.39	29	Route 130 (Stratford Avenue) / Seaview Avenue
		31.07	50.00	30	Route 113 (Lordship Boulevard)	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	Stratford	31.30	50.37	30	Surf Avenue – Stratford	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		32.11	51.68	31	Honeyspot Road	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		32.29	51.97	31	South Avenue	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		32.86	52.88	32	West Broad Street – Stratford
		33	53	Former toll plaza
		33.91	54.57	33	US 1 / Route 110 / Route 130 / Ferry Boulevard – Devon	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Housatonic River		34.54	55.59	Moses Wheeler Bridge
New Haven	Milford	35.37	56.92	34	US 1 – Milford, Devon
		35.85	57.69	35	School House Road, Bic Drive
		36.69	59.05	36	Plains Road
		37.45	60.27	37	High Street	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		37.58	60.48	38	Route 15 (Merritt Parkway, Wilbur Cross Parkway via SR 796)
		39.12	62.96	39 A-B	A: US 1 south – Downtown Milford B: US 1 north – Orange	Signed as exits 39A (south) and 39B (north)
		40.25	64.78	40	Old Gate Lane (Woodmont Road)
	Orange	41.80	67.27	41	Marsh Hill Road – Orange
	West Haven	43.91	70.67	42	Route 162 (Saw Mill Road) – West Haven
		44	71	Former toll plaza
		44.87	72.21	43	Campbell Avenue – Downtown West Haven	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		45.19	72.73	43	Route 122 (First Avenue, SR 745)	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	New Haven	46.05	74.11	44	Route 10 (Ella Grasso Boulevard)	Former Exit 45, Southbound
		46.82– 47.26	75.35– 76.06	46	Long 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 – Hartford	Southern terminus of I-91
		47.83	76.97	Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge over the Quinnipiac River
		49.20	79.18	50	Woodward Avenue – Lighthouse Point	Access to Port Area and Route 337; northbound exit and southbound entrance
	East Haven	49.79– 50.18	80.13– 80.76	51	US 1 (Frontage Road) – East Haven	Southbound is also signed for Lighthouse Point Park
		50.53	81.32	52	Route 100 (North High Street) – East Haven	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	Branford	51	82	Former toll plaza
		52.33	84.22	53	US 1 / Route 142 / Route 146 (via SR 794) – Short Beach	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		53.23	85.67	54	Cedar Street (SR 740) – Branford
		55.18	88.80	55	US 1 (East Main Street) – North Branford
		56.25	90.53	56	Leetes Island Road – Stony Creek
	Guilford	59.32	95.47	57	US 1 (Boston Post Road) – North Branford
		60.23	96.93	58	Route 77 – North Guilford, Guilford
		61.49	98.96	59	Goose Lane (SR 718)
	Madison	63	101	Former toll plaza
		63.48	102.16	60	Mungertown Road	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		64.73	104.17	61	Route 79 – North Madison, Madison
		66.43	106.91	62	Hammonasset Connector – Madison	Exit to Hammonasset State Park
Middlesex	Clinton	68.61	110.42	63	Route 81 – Clinton, Killingworth
	Westbrook	70.78	113.91	64	Route 145 (Horse Hill Road) – Clinton
		73.14	117.71	65	Route 153 – Westbrook
	Old Saybrook	74.40	119.74	66	Route 166 (Spencer Plain Road)
		75.92	122.18	67	Elm Street	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		76.73	123.48	67	Route 154 – Old Saybrook	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		77.80	125.21	68	US 1 south – Old Saybrook	South end of US 1 overlap
		78.06	125.63	69	Route 9 north – Essex, Hartford
		78	126	Former toll plaza
Connecticut River		78.68	126.62	Baldwin Bridge
New London	Old Lyme	79.15	127.38	70	US 1 north / Route 156 – Old Lyme, Hamburg, Laysville	North end of US 1 overlap
		83.49	134.36	71	Four Mile River Rd.  – Old Lyme, East Lyme
	East Lyme	84.02	135.22	72	Rocky Neck Connector (SSR 449) – East Lyme	Access to Rocky Neck State Park
		85.79	138.07	73	Society Rd. – East Lyme
		87.27	140.45	74	Route 161 – Flanders, Niantic
		88.05	141.70	75	US 1 – Waterford, Flanders
		88.48	142.39	76	I-395 / Conn. Turnpike north – Norwich, Plainfield	Northeast end of Connecticut Turnpike concurrency
	Waterford	88.88	143.04	80	Oil Mill Rd.  – Waterford	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		90.12	145.03	81	Cross Rd.  – Waterford
		91.79	147.72	82	Route 85 (Broad St.) – Waterford, Chesterfield
	New London	92.26	148.48	82A	Frontage Roads – New London	Unsigned 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 Beach	South 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, Norwich	Signed 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 River			Gold Star Bridge
	Groton	94.63	152.29	85	US 1 north / Thames St. – Downtown Groton	North end of US 1 overlap; northbound exit and southbound entrance; southbound access to US 1 north is via exit 87
		95.33	153.42	86	Route 12 north – Gales Ferry	Access exit to Naval Submarine Base New London
		95.98	154.46	87	Route 349 south (Clarence B. Sharp Highway) – Groton
		97.48	156.88	88	Route 117 – Poquonock Bridge, Ledyard, Groton, Groton Long Point, Noank
		100.07	161.05	89	Allyn St. – West Mystic, Old Mystic, Groton Long Pt., Noank	SR 614
	Stonington	101.29	163.01	90	Route 27 – Mystic, Old Mystic	Access to Mystic Aquarium and Seaport
		102.27	164.59	91	Route 234 / N. Main St. – Stonington Borough, Old Mystic
	North Stonington	105.32	169.50	92	Route 2 – North Stonington, Pawcatuck	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		106.45	171.31	92	Route 49 – North Stonington, Voluntown	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		107.77	173.44	93	Route 216 – North Stonington, Ashaway, RI, Clarks Falls
		111.57	179.55		I‑95 north – Providence, Boston	Rhode Island state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access       Unopened

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

• kurumi - Connecticut Interstate 95

Route map: Bing / Google