Interstate 395 (Connecticut–Massachusetts)

Interstate 395 (I-395) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. states of Connecticut and Massachusetts; it is maintained by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). Spanning nearly 67 miles (108 km) on a south–north axis, it is the only spur route of I-95 in Connecticut. The 36-mile (58 km) section between its splits from I-95 in East Lyme and Connecticut Route 695 in Plainfield is a component highway of the Connecticut Turnpike. Within that state, the highway is named the American Ex-Prisoner of War Memorial Highway from Plainfield to Thompson.

Interstate 395
I-395 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-95
Maintained by ConnDOT and MassDOT
Length	66.60 mi^[1] (107.18 km)
Existed	1983–present
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
South end	I-95 in East Lyme, CT
Major intersections	Route 2A in Montville, CT Route 2 in Norwich, CT US 6 in Killingly, CT US 44 in Putnam, CT US 20 in Auburn, MA
North end	I-90 / Mass Pike / I-290 in Auburn, MA
Location
Country	United States
States	Connecticut, Massachusetts
Counties	CT: New London, Windham MA: Worcester
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future
← I-384 CT → I-484 ← I-391 MA → I-495 ← Route 49 CT 52 → Route 53 ← Route 49 MA 52 → Route 53

The highway was first established as part of the Connecticut Turnpike in 1958, while the Connecticut Route 52 designation was applied to the portion north of the turnpike in 1967. Connecticut Route 52 was intended to become a southern extension of I-290, although the current designation of I-395 was ultimately assigned in 1983.^[2]

Route description

Lengths

	mi^[1]	km
CT	54.69	88.02
MA	11.91	19.17
Total	66.60	107.18

Connecticut

See also: Connecticut Turnpike

I-395 begins at the East Lyme–Waterford town line as the Connecticut Turnpike leaves I-95 as the latter route turns more easterly toward New London. It is a relatively rural Interstate for most of its length. It passes through Waterford into Montville where it meets Route 2A at exit 9. Eastbound Route 2A provides access to the Mohegan Sun casino, while westbound Route 2A runs concurrently with I-395 into Norwich and ends at exit 13, where it terminates as it joins its parent route, Route 2. After passing Route 2, I-395 bends to the east, and continues into Lisbon, Griswold, and Plainfield, where it bends more northerly and parallels Route 12 for most of the rest of its length. At the Plainfleld–Killingly town line, the Connecticut Turnpike splits to the east as unsigned Route 695, providing access to US Route 6 (US 6) at the Rhode Island state line. I-395 continues north and meets US 6 in Killingly. After crossing into Putnam, it has an interchange with US 44. It then passes through Thompson before crossing the Massachusetts state line into Webster.^[3]

Massachusetts

After passing through Webster and Oxford, it enters Auburn where it has an interchange with US 20, which provides access to the Route 146 expressway. The I-395 designation for the highway ends as it meets I-90 (Massachusetts Turnpike) at exits 11A and 11B and becomes I-290 as it heads toward Worcester, although the mileage for I-395 runs in parallel with its I-290 counterpart until it reaches I-495 in Marlborough.

Service plazas

In Connecticut, there are three service plazas (a legacy of the turnpike) that provide 24-hour gas stations, convenience stores, plus a Subway and Dunkin' Donuts.

• Montville (milepost 8): It is southbound only between exits 9 and 6.
• Plainfield (milepost 35): It is northbound and southbound between exits 32 and 35.

The Connecticut State Police Troop E barracks occupies the former service plaza on the northbound side at Montville.

History

 

I-95 at the I-395 split in East Lyme/Waterford town line.

The highway that is now I-395 from its southern terminus with I-95 in East Lyme to exit 35 in Plainfield opened on January 2, 1958, as part of the 129-mile (208 km) Connecticut Turnpike from Greenwich at the New York state line to Killingly at the Rhode Island state line. In 1964, work began on a freeway extension beyond the turnpike in Plainfield north toward Worcester, connecting to the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90). This new freeway, as well as the existing section of the Connecticut Turnpike from East Lyme to Plainfield, would be designated as Connecticut Route 52. The section between Plainfield and US 44 near Putnam opened in 1967, and the section from US 44 to the Massachusetts state line opened in 1969. Massachusetts completed its section of the freeway in 1977.^[4]

In 1983, in response to the cancelation of the proposed I-84 extension from Hartford to Providence, CTDOT wished to supplement the state's loss of Interstate mileage by applying an Interstate designation to Connecticut Route 52. Initially, I-290 was to be extended from its southern terminus in Auburn, Massachusetts. However, in 1983, it was decided to instead apply the I-395 designation to the freeway south of I-90.^[5][6]

In May 2013, CTDOT announced that a project that would begin in early 2014 that included renumbering exits along its section of I-395, and Connecticut Route 2A from the then-current sequential numbering system to a distance-based scheme to conform with federal exit numbering standards. During the transition, old exit numbers were posted atop the new exit numbers through 2017 to lessen any confusion.^[7] The renumbering began on June 24, 2015, and ended in January 2016; the project included renumbering one sign in Massachusetts announcing the first southbound Connecticut exit.

Exit list

Exit numbers were changed from sequential to distance-based numbering in Connecticut between July and December 2015. Along with Connecticut Route 2A, these are Connecticut's initial distance-based exit numbers.^[8] MassDOT also planned to switch exit numbers on all of its Interstates, including I-395, to distance-based numbering in 2016. But the contract to change exit numbers which was to be awarded in December 2015 was indefinitely postponed in the middle of 2016. It was not until November 18, 2019, that MassDOT confirmed that beginning in late summer 2020 the exit renumbering project will begin. On July 29, 2021, MassDOT announced that the exit renumbering on I-395 and I-290 will start on August 8, and it will last for two weeks.^[9][10]

State	County	Location^[11]	mi^[11]	km	Old exit	New exit^[12]	Destinations^[13]	Notes
Connecticut	New London	East Lyme	0.00	0.00	76	—	I-95 south (Conn. Turnpike) – New Haven	Exit 76 on I-95 northbound
		Waterford	2.13	3.43	77	2	Route 85 – Waterford, Colchester
		Montville	5.34	8.59	78	5	To Route 32 south (via SR 693) – New London	Southbound left exit and northbound entrance
			6.33	10.19	79	6	Route 163 – Uncasville, Montville
			9.60	15.45	79A	9	Route 2A east – Ledyard, Preston	Southern terminus of Route 2A concurrency
		Norwich	11.08	17.83	80	11	Route 82 – Salem, Downtown Norwich
			13.71	22.06	81	13	Route 2 / Route 32 – Norwich, Hartford	Signed as exits 13A (east/south) and 13B (west/north) northbound; northern terminus of concurrency with Route 2A
			14.23	22.90	82	14	West Town Street (SR 642) – Yantic, Norwichtown (NB)            To Route 2 west / Route 32 north – Hartford, Colchester (SB)
			18.17	29.24	83	18	Route 97 – Taftville, Occum
		Lisbon	19.53	31.43	83A	19	Route 169 – Lisbon, Canterbury	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			21.16	34.05	84	21	Route 12 – Jewett City, Griswold, Lisbon, Taftville	Signed as exits 21A (north) and 21B (south) southbound
		Griswold	22.28	35.86	85	22	Route 164 / Route 138 – Jewett City, Preston City, Pachaug
			24.26	39.04	86	24	Route 201 – Hopeville, Jewett City
	Windham	Plainfield	28.23	45.43	87	28	Lathrop Road (SR 647)
			29.65	47.72	88	29	Route 14A – Plainfield, Oneco
			32.30	51.98	89	32	Route 14 – Central Village, Moosup
			35.50	57.13	90	35	To US 6 east – Providence, RI	Northbound exit and southbound left entrance; access via Connecticut Turnpike
		Killingly	37.62	60.54	91	37	US 6 – Danielson, Willimantic, Hartford, Providence, RI	Signed as exit 37A (east) and 37B (west) southbound
			38.40	61.80	92	38	Lhomme Street / Westcott Road (SR 607) – South Killingly, Danielson
			41.16	66.24	93	41	Route 101 – Dayville, East Killingly
			42.99	69.19	94	43	Lake Road – Attawaugan, Ballouville
		Putnam	45.24	72.81	95	45	Kennedy Drive
			46.09	74.17	96	46	To Route 12 / Heritage Road – Putnam, Putnam Heights
			47.05	75.72	97	47	US 44 – Woodstock, East Putnam
		Thompson	49.52	79.69	98	49	Route 12 – Grosvenordale	Northbound left exit and southbound entrance
			50.25	80.87	99	50	Route 200 – Thompson, North Grosvenordale
			53.57	86.21	100	53	Wilsonville Road – East Thompson, Wilsonville
					Connecticut–Massachusetts state line
Massachusetts	Worcester	Webster	1.006	1.619	1	1	Route 193 – Webster, Thompson, CT
			2.578	4.149	2	3	Route 16 – Webster, Douglas
			4.025	6.478	3	4	Cudworth Road – North Webster, South Oxford	Exit partially in Oxford
		Oxford	6.583	10.594	4	7	Sutton Avenue – Oxford, Sutton	Split into exits 7A (east) and 7B (west)
			8.989	14.466	5	9	Depot Road – North Oxford
		Auburn	11.495– 11.500	18.499– 18.507	6	11	US 20 east to I-84 west / Route 146 – Shrewsbury, Sturbridge^[14]	Signed as exits 11A (east) and 11B (west)
			11.94	19.22	7-8	12	I-90 / Mass Pike / Route 12 – Boston, Springfield, Auburn, Webster	No northbound exit; signed as exits 12A (I-90/Route 12 north) and 12B (Route 12 south); exit 90 on I-90 / Mass Pike
					8	12	I-90 / Mass Pike / Route 12 south – Auburn, Webster	Northbound exit only; exit 90 on I-90 / Mass Pike
					—	—	I-290 east – Worcester, Marlboro	Continuation east
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

References

1. Starks, Edward (January 27, 2022). "Table 2: Auxiliary Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways". FHWA Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
2. "State Ordered to Lift Ban on Tandem Trucks". Hartford Courant. June 14, 1983. The article lists "I-290 (formerly Route 52)" as one of the highways the lifting of the ban applies to.
3. Bureau of Policy and Planning Office of Roadway Information Systems Roadway Inventory Section (2015). (PDF). Hartford: Connecticut Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 5, 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2008. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
4. Anderson, Steve. "Interstate 395 (Connecticut)". NYC Roads. Retrieved January 8, 2019.^{[self-published source]}
5. "I-290". Connecticut Roads. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
6. "I-395". Connecticut Roads. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
7. "New Details Emerge for I-395 Exit Renumbering". Montville Patch. May 14, 2013. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
8. Bureau of Policy and Planning Office of Roadway Information Systems Roadway Inventory Section (2011). (PDF). Hartford: Connecticut Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 16, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2013. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
9. Massachusetts Department of Transportation (September 12, 2015). "Bid Solicitation:AP# HSIP-002S(874)X Exit Signage Conversion to Milepost-Based Numbering System along Various Interstates, Routes and the Lowell Connector". COMMBUYS. Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
10. Malme, Robert H. (2017). "Massachusetts Interstate Highways Exit Lists". Retrieved January 18, 2017.^{[self-published source]}
11. Planning Division. . Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
12. Massachusetts Department of Transportation (December 5, 2019). "I-395 Renumbering" (PDF). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
13. Massachusetts Department of Transportation. . Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
14. "Major highway routes and exits". Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Retrieved February 20, 2020.

External links

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