Connecticut Route 9

Route 9
Route information
Maintained by ConnDOT
Length:	40.89 mi (65.81 km)
Existed:	1932 (truncated in 1969) – present
Major junctions
South end:	I-95 / US 1 in Old Saybrook
	I-91 in Cromwell US 5 / Route 15 in Berlin
North end:	I-84 / US 6 at the Farmington–West Hartford town line
Highway system
Routes in Connecticut Special Service Roads • State Roads ← Route 8 Route 10 →

Route 9 is a 40.89-mile (65.81 km), 4-lane freeway beginning in Old Saybrook and ending at the Farmington-West Hartford town line.

Route description

Route 9 begins at an interchange with I-95/U.S. 1, on the west banks of the Connecticut River. For about 29 miles (47 km) between Old Saybrook and Cromwell (passing through the towns of Essex, Deep River, Chester, Haddam, and Middletown), Route 9 follows the Connecticut River. After its junction with Interstate 91 in Cromwell, Route 9 continues westward then northward, running through the Hartford area towns/cities of Berlin, New Britain, Newington, and Farmington. At the junction with I-84/US 6 near the Farmington - West Hartford town line, Route 9 follows the ramps for eastbound I-84 and ends at the merge with I-84 immediately after crossing the town line.

Route 9 has a non-freeway portion in the downtown area of Middletown, where it overlaps with Route 17. The non-freeway portion is 0.35 miles (0.56 km) in length and consists of two at-grade intersections with traffic lights (signed as Exits 15 and 16). One of these intersections is where Route 17 leaves Route 9 to join Route 66. ConnDOT may soon consider upgrading the at-grade interchanges of the expressway and make on/off ramps ^[1].

Special designations

The section from I-95 in Old Saybrook to I-91 in Cromwell is known as the Chester Bowles Highway. The section from I-91 in Cromwell to Exit 24 in Berlin is known as the Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway. The section from Route 72 in New Britain to Route 175 in Newington is known as the Taras Shevchenko Expressway. The section from Route 175 in Newington to the junction with I-84 is known as the Iwo Jima Memorial Expressway.

History

The road connecting Deep River (then known as Saybrook) and Wethersfield along the west bank of the Connecticut River was a toll road known as the Middlesex Turnpike, which operated from 1802 to 1876. Another toll road running from Hartford to the northwest corner of Granby was known as the Granby Turnpike and operated from 1800 to 1854.

The state took over maintenance of trunk highways at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1922, New England began publicly numbering its state roads. The road running from Old Saybrook to the Massachusetts state line in Granby was designated as part of Route 10, a multi-state route continuing all the way to northern New Hampshire. The portion of New England Route 10 in Connecticut used the alignments of the Middlesex and Granby Turnpikes. In the 1932 state highway renumbering, Route 10 was relocated to a different alignment beginning in New Haven instead. The Old Saybrook to Granby road was designated as Route 9.

In the mid-1950s and early 1960s, various plans for a freeway along the Route 9 alignment were developed. Construction also began on the Old Saybrook to Cromwell segment around this time. The freeway from I-95 to I-91 was completely open by 1969. Old Route 9 south of Middletown was re-designated as Route 9A (later to be designated as Route 154).

Several options were considered and then later abandoned for the freeway portion through Hartford and points north. By the mid-1960s, a Route 9 freeway alignment through Hartford was finally abandoned. Route 9 was truncated to end at I-91 in Cromwell instead. The portion of old Route 9 from Hartford to Granby was assigned as an extension of Route 189, while the Cromwell to Hartford segment that was not upgraded to freeway was re-designated as Route 99.

In 1979, the eastern end of the Route 72 freeway up to the Berlin Turnpike was completed, including a connector to the planned alignment of Interstate 291 in New Britain. By this time, however, this portion of Interstate 291 had been deleted from the state's Interstate network. By 1989, a freeway connection was completed between the north end of Route 9 at I-91 and the east end of Route 72 at the Berlin Turnpike. Route 72 was truncated to end at the I-291 connector while Route 9 was extended along the deleted portion of the Route 72 freeway. Route 9 also took over the I-291 connector, which was extended in 1986 to Route 175.

In 1992 Route 9 was finally connected to I-84 in Farmington using a portion of the cancelled I-291 right of way, completing Route 9 as it exists today. The segment between I-84 in Farmington and I-91 in Rocky Hill serves the areas through which the southwest leg of I-291 was to be built.

Exit list

Town	#	Mile	Destinations	Notes
Old Saybrook		0.3	I-95 / US 1 north – Old Lyme, New London
		0.4	I-95 / US 1 south – Old Saybrook, New Haven
	1	~0.5	Ferry Point	Northbound exit from southbound I-95 only. Milepost at off-ramp.
		0.8	Springbrook Road	Southbound entrance only. Milepost at on-ramp.
	2	1.5	Route 154 (Middlesex Turnpike) – Old Saybrook
Essex	3	3.9	Route 154 to Route 153 – Essex, Westbrook, Centerbrook
	4	5.2	Route 154 (Middlesex Turnpike) – Centerbrook, Deep River, Ivoryton
Deep River	5	7.0	Route 80 – Deep River, Killingworth
Chester	6	8.9	Route 148 – Chester, Hadlyme
	7	10.7	Route 82 east – East Haddam
Haddam	8	13.9	Beaver Meadow Road – Haddam
	9	15.7	Route 81 – Higganum, Killingworth, Clinton
Middletown	10	19.4	Route 154 south / Aircraft Rd. – Higganum	Pratt & Whitney plant
	11	21.3	Route 155 (Randolph Rd.) to Route 17 – Durham
	12	22.4	Bow Lane – Harbor Area	northbound exit and southbound entrance
	12	22.9	Silver Street	southbound exit and northbound entrance
	13	23.3	Route 17 south – New Haven	Route 17 joins northbound and leaves southbound No access Route 9 north to Route 17 south
	14	23.7	Dekoven Drive – Harbor Area	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	15	23.9	Route 66 west – Middletown, Meriden	At-grade intersection SR 545
	16	24.3	Route 17 north / Route 66 east – Portland, Willimantic	Route 17 leaves northbound and joins southbound At-grade intersection
	(17)	24.5	Miller Street, Bridge Street	Unsigned exit (at-grade intersection)
Cromwell	18	25.4	Route 99 north – Cromwell, Rocky Hill
	19	27.6	Route 372 (West St.) – Cromwell
	20N	29.3	I-91 north – Rocky Hill, Wethersfield
	20S	29.5	I-91 south – Meriden, New Haven
Berlin	21	31.7	Route 372 to US 5 / Route 15 north – East Berlin, Wallingford, Newington	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	21	32.2	US 5 / Route 15 – Wallingford, Newington	Southbound entrance and exit only
	22	32.4	Route 372 (Mill St.) – East Berlin	Northbound entrance and exit, southbound exit only
	23	33.0	Christian Lane – Berlin	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	24	34.1	Route 372 to Route 71 – Kensington	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
New Britain	25	35.1	Ellis St. To Route 71 – Kensington
	26	35.4	Columbus Blvd. – Downtown New Britain	Northbound exit only
	27	35.7	Chestnut Street	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	28	36.0	Route 72 west – Bristol
	28A	36.2	Route 174 (E. Main St.) – Downtown New Britain	Northbound entrance and southbound exit
Newington	29	38.0	Route 175 – Newington	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	29	38.3	Ella Grasso Blvd. To Route 175 – Newington	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
New Britain	30	39.5	Route 71 – West Hartford, New Britain
Farmington	31 W–E	40.3	W: I-84 / US 6 west to Route 4 – Farmington, Bristol, Waterbury E: I-84 / US 6 east – Hartford, East Hartford

References

Connecticut portal

1. ^ "Connecticut Route 9". http://www.kurumi.com/roads/ct/ct9.html. Retrieved 2010-01-02. 

• Connecticut State Highway Log (2006)
• kurumi.com - History of the many alignment changes Scott Oglesby
• kurumi.com Connecticut Route 506 Scott Oglesby
• nycroads.com - Route 9 Expressway Steve Anderson
• CT 9 (Greater New York Roads)

Coordinates: 41°30′16″N 72°35′02″W / 41.504464°N 72.583923°W / 41.504464; -72.583923

External Links