U.S. Route 6 in Connecticut

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 6 in Connecticut. For the entire route, see U.S. Route 6.

U.S. Route 6 (US 6) within the state of Connecticut runs for 116.33 miles (187.21 km) from the New York state line near Danbury to the Rhode Island state line in Killingly. West of Hartford, the route either closely parallels or runs along Interstate 84 (I-84), which has largely supplanted US 6 as a through route in western Connecticut. East of Hartford, US 6 serves as a primary route for travel between Hartford and Providence.

U.S. Route 6
Grand Army of the Republic Highway
US 6 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by CTDOT
Length	116.33 mi^[1] (187.21 km)
Existed	1926–present
Major junctions
West end	US 6 / US 202 in Southeast, NY
Major intersections	I-84 / US 7 / US 202 in Danbury I-84 / Route 67 in Southbury Route 9 in Farmington I-91 in Hartford Route 15 in East Hartford Route 2 in East Hartford I-84 / I-291 / I-384 / US 44 in Manchester I-384 in Bolton Route 12 in Killingly I-395 in Killingly
East end	US 6 in Foster, RI
Location
Country	United States
State	Connecticut
Counties	Fairfield, New Haven, Litchfield, Hartford, Tolland, Windham
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Connecticut State Highway System Interstate US State SSR SR Scenic
← US 5 → US 7

Route description

Western Connecticut

US 6 enters Connecticut paired with US 202 from the town of Southeast, New York, just east of the village of Brewster. The concurrency runs for 3.8 miles (6.1 km) through the city of Danbury as a minor arterial road before it forms a 3.3-mile (5.3 km) four-way concurrency with I-84 and US 7 from I-84 exit 4 to exit 7. At exit 7, US 7 and US 202 split to the north, while US 6 stays duplexed with I-84 for another 0.8 miles (1.3 km) before returning to surface roads at exit 8. The route then goes through the towns of Bethel and Newtown. In Newtown, it has a 2.8-mile (4.5 km) concurrency with Route 25 before turning east toward the village of Sandy Hook, where it enters I-84 once again for 6.4 miles (10.3 km) between Newtown and Southbury (from exits 10 to 15).

After exiting I-84 in Southbury, US 6 once again becomes a surface road and is duplexed with Route 67 for 2.7 miles (4.3 km). It then passes through the northern Waterbury area suburbs of Woodbury, Watertown, and Thomaston. US 6 has a one-mile (1.6 km) overlap with the Route 8 expressway in Thomaston.

Hartford area

After leaving the Route 8 expressway, US 6 continues as an alternating two- and four-lane surface road through the towns of Plymouth, Bristol, and Farmington. In Farmington, it once again joins I-84 at exit 38 for 13.4 miles (21.6 km), passing through West Hartford, Hartford, and East Hartford. US 44 joins for 0.25 miles (0.40 km) to cross the Connecticut River on the Bulkeley Bridge from Hartford to East Hartford toward Bolton just past the eastern terminus of I-384.

Eastern Connecticut

In Bolton, US 6 and US 44 split. US 44 follows a more northerly route while US 6 continues through Bolton, Coventry, Andover, and Columbia. It intersects with Route 316 and Route 87 along the way and mostly follows the Hop River.

The US 6 Willimantic bypass begins in Columbia, at a four-way at-grade intersection with Route 66. The expressway starts out heading northeast and immediately crosses into Coventry. After crossing the town line, the eastbound and westbound sides of US 6 split, with a hill in between them. At the split, the eastbound side of the expressway curves and heads east. At this point, Hop River State Park Trail passes under both sides of the expressway. Soon after, the westbound lane also curves, and the two sides of the expressway soon become parallel again. The expressway then passes over Flanders River Road about 0.25 miles (0.40 km) east. The expressway then crosses the Willimantic River and enters the town of Windham. Right after entering Windham, it overpasses the New England Central Railroad. Immediately after this, there is an interchange with Route 32. After the interchange, the expressway enters Mansfield and passes under Mansfield Avenue before encountering another interchange for Route 195. The eastbound exit and westbound entrance use Mansfield City Road, while the westbound exit accesses Route 195 via North Frontage Road and eastbound access to US 6 is from Route 195 itself. Soon after the eastbound entrance ramp joins US 6, the expressway crosses the Natchaug River and once again enters Windham. The US 6 Willimantic bypass ends 0.5 miles (0.80 km) after entering Windham at an interchange with the eastern end of Route 66, whose roadway US 6 assumes east of the interchange. US 6 then continues as a surface road through the towns of Chaplin, Hampton, and Brooklyn. In Killingly, US 6 becomes a two-lane freeway in the vicinity of its junction with I-395 in Killingly, part of which (0.34 mi or 0.55 km) is duplexed with Route 12. Just before the Rhode Island state line, the unsigned portion of the Connecticut Turnpike (SR 695) merges into US 6 eastbound as it enters the town of Foster

History

 

Before the creation of the U.S. Numbered Highway System in 1926, most of the proposed routing in Connecticut was part of New England Route 3 (Route 3). There were two places where Route 3 and US 6 were not overlapped. Route 3 began in Bedford, New York, at New York State Route 22, entering Connecticut via modern Route 35. Route 3 continued north to Danbury via the old non-expressway alignment of US 7. US 6, on the other hand, went east from Brewster on its current alignment, meeting with Route 3 in downtown Danbury.

Another difference in routing is between Manchester and Windham. US 6 originally used a more northern alignment via Coventry, running along present US 44 then modern Route 31. Route 3 used current US 6 for its routing. East of Windham, the routes overlapped into Rhode Island. Between 1926 and 1932, Route 3 and US 6 were cosigned where they overlapped. Route 3 was finally deleted in 1932.

Willimantic bypass

 

The sign at the start of the bypass in North Windham

I-84 was to be an expressway that would connect the modern I-384 with the modern US 6 Willimantic bypass. From here, I-84 would continue to Providence, Rhode Island. This idea was planned in the 1960s but abandoned in 2005.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) had planned since the 1960s to upgrade the segment between Bolton and Columbia to an expressway, connecting I-384 to the existing expressway segment in Windham. However, this particular segment of US 6 passes through an environmentally sensitive area centered around the Hop River. Construction had been planned to begin in the late 1980s, but federal, state, and local officials could not reach an agreement on a feasible route that avoided the Hop River wetlands and development within the towns of Andover, Bolton, Coventry, and Columbia. The affected towns, CTDOT, and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) favored a northern alignment (Alternative 133B), which would avoid the town centers and nearby wetlands. The Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) favored a southerly alignment (Alternative 133 18/25) that would cut through residential and commercial areas as well as the Hop River's adjoining wetlands.

Despite opposition from CTDOT, DEP, and affected towns, the FHWA issued a record of decision and USACE issued required permits for Alternative 133 18/25 (southern alignment) in 2001. State and local officials continued to press USACE to approve the northern alignment. Due to the impasse between state, local, and federal officials, federal funds for the bypass were withdrawn in 2003. In 2005, the Capitol Region Council of Governments and CTDOT removed the US 6 bypass from planning, hence CTDOT effectively abandoned further study of the bypass in lieu of upgrading the existing road.

In 2007, CTDOT began making safety improvements and capacity upgrades to the existing US 6 through Andover, Bolton, and Columbia.

Major intersections

Exit numbers are signed throughout the route's overlap with I-84.

County	Location	mi^[1]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Fairfield	Danbury	0.00	0.00		US 6 west / US 202 west	Continuation into New York
		0.04	0.064		Saw Mill Road to I-84 – Newburgh, Waterbury	Exit 1 on I-84
		1.03	1.66		Milestone Road to I-84 – Newburgh, Waterbury	Exit 2 on I-84
		1.10	1.77		Old Ridgebury Road to I-84 east – Waterbury	Exit 2A on I-84
		4.15	6.68	4	I-84 west / US 7 south – Newburgh, Norwalk	Western end of I-84 / US 7 concurrency; westbound exit and eastbound entrance to/from US 7
		5.61	9.03	5	Route 37 / Route 39 / Route 53 – Downtown Danbury, Bethel
		6.25	10.06	6	Route 37 – New Fairfield	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		7.97	12.83	7	US 7 north / US 202 east – Brookfield, New Milford	Eastern end of US 7 / US 202 concurrency
		8.26	13.29	8	I-84 east – Waterbury	Eastern end of I-84 concurrency
	Town of Newtown	11.45	18.43		Route 25 north – Hawleyville, Brookfield, Bridgewater	Western end of Route 25 concurrency
	Borough of Newtown	14.26	22.95		Route 25 south – Bridgeport	Eastern end of Route 25 concurrency
	Town of Newtown	15.52	24.98	10	I-84 west – Danbury	Western end of I-84 concurrency
		16.33	26.28	11	Route 34 east to Route 25 – Derby, New Haven, Bridgeport	Access via SSR 490
New Haven	Southbury	18.93	30.46	13	River Road	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		20.40	32.83	14	Route 172 north – South Britain
		21.96– 22.19	35.34– 35.71	15	I-84 east / Route 67 south – Waterbury, Southford, Oxford, Seymour, New Haven	Eastern end of I-84 overlap; western end of Route 67 concurrency
		23.76	38.24		Route 67 north (Roxbury Road)	Eastern end of Route 67 concurrency
Litchfield	Woodbury	25.94	41.75		Route 64 east – Middlebury, Waterbury	Western end of Route 64
		26.90	43.29		Route 317 west – Roxbury	Eastern end of Route 317
		27.60	44.42		Route 47 north – Hotchkissville, Washington	Southern end of Route 47
		31.48	50.66		Route 61 north – Bethlehem	Southern end of Route 61
	Watertown	34.57	55.64		Route 63 – East Morris, Waterbury
		35.81	57.63		Route 262 north – Oakville	Southern end of Route 262
	Thomaston	38.61	62.14		Route 109 west – Morris	East end of Route 109
		39.12	62.96		Route 254 north – Litchfield	South end of Route 254
		39.40	63.41		Route 8 south – Waterbury	Western end of Route 8 concurrency; Exit 38 on Route 8
		40.39	65.00		Route 8 north – Torrington	Eastern end of Route 8 concurrency; Exit 39 on Route 8
		40.61	65.36		Route 222 north – Harwinton	South end of Route 222
	Plymouth	41.28	66.43		Route 262 south – Airport	North end of Route 262
		44.15	71.05		Route 72 – Harwinton, Bristol
Hartford	Bristol	46.86	75.41		Route 69 south – Wolcott	Western end of Route 69 concurrency
		47.25	76.04		Route 69 north – Burlington	Eastern end of Route 69 concurrency
		48.30	77.73		Route 229 south – Southington, Theme Park	Northern end of Route 229
	Farmington	50.95	82.00		Route 177 – Plainville, Unionville
		53.09	85.44		Route 10 to I-84 west – Plainville, Waterbury	Grade-separated interchange; access via Scott Swamp Road
		55.15	88.76		Fienemann Road to I-84	To Exit 37 on I-84
		55.92– 56.34	89.99– 90.67	38	I-84 east – Hartford	Western end of I-84 concurrency; westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		56.21	90.46	39	Route 4 – Farmington	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance via SR 508
		56.91– 57.92	91.59– 93.21	39A	Route 9 south – Newington, New Britain	Northern terminus of Route 9
	West Hartford	58.19	93.65	40	Route 71 (New Britain Avenue) – Corbins Corner
		59.15	95.19	41	South Main Street – Elmwood
		59.97	96.51	42	Trout Brook Drive – Elmwood	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		59.87– 60.32	96.35– 97.08	43	Park Road – West Hartford Center	Access via SR 501
		61.09	98.31	44	Prospect Avenue / Oakwood Avenue
	Hartford	61.85	99.54	45	Flatbush Avenue	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance via SR 504
		62.37– 62.71	100.37– 100.92	46	Sisson Avenue	Access via SR 503
		62.96	101.32	47	Sigourney Street	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		63.30– 63.69	101.87– 102.50	48A	Asylum Street	Signed as Exit 48 westbound
		63.30	101.87	48B	Capitol Avenue	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		63.91	102.85	49	Ann Uccello Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; to XL Center
		63.96 64.52	102.93 103.83	50	US 44 west (Main Street) to I-91 south – Downtown Hartford	Western end of US 44 concurrency; no eastbound signage for I-91 or US 44
		64.05– 64.55	103.08– 103.88	51	I-91 north – Springfield, Bradley International Airport	Exits 32B (west) and 30 (east) on I-91 south
		64.43	103.69	52	I-91 south – New Haven	Westbound access is via Exit 50
	Connecticut River	64.50– 64.74	103.80– 104.19	Bulkeley Bridge
	East Hartford	64.87	104.40	53	US 44 east (Connecticut Boulevard) / East River Drive – East Hartford	Eastern end of US 44 concurrency; no westbound exit
		65.19	104.91	54	Route 2 west – Downtown Hartford	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance from Restricted Lanes
		65.10– 65.41	104.77– 105.27	55	Route 2 east – Norwich, New London
		65.29	105.07	–	I-84 east (Restricted Lanes) – Boston	Western terminus of I-84 Restricted Lanes
		65.29– 65.55	105.07– 105.49	56	Governor Street – Downtown East Hartford	Access via SR 500
		66.76	107.44	57	Route 15 south to I-91 – Charter Oak Bridge, New York City	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		66.56– 67.13	107.12– 108.04	58	Roberts Street – Silver Lane (SR 502) – Burnside Avenue	Westbound exit from Restricted Lanes
		68.35	110.00	59	I-384 east – Providence	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance from Restricted Lanes
	Manchester	69.71– 70.09	112.19– 112.80	60	I-84 east / US 44 west (Burnside Ave) – Boston, East Hartford	Eastern end of I-84 concurrency; western end of US 44 concurrency
		72.67	116.95		Route 83 – Glastonbury, Vernon
Tolland	Bolton	75.83	122.04		Route 85 south – Bolton Center, Gay City State Park
		76.62	123.31		I-384 west – Manchester, Hartford	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		76.95	123.84		US 44 east – Coventry, Mansfield	Eastern end of US 44 concurrency
	Andover	82.68	133.06		Route 316 south – Andover, Hebron	Northern end of Route 316
		83.91	135.04		Route 87 south – Columbia, Norwich	Northern end of Route 87
	Columbia	87.81	141.32		Route 66 – Columbia, Middletown, Willimantic
Windham	Windham	89.72	144.39	89	Route 32 – Stafford Springs, Willimantic	Grade-separated interchange
Tolland	Mansfield	91.94	147.96	91	Route 195 – Storrs, Univ. of Connecticut	Grade-separated interchange
Windham	Windham	93.15	149.91		Route 66 west – Willimantic	Eastern end of Route 66
		95.00	152.89		Route 203 south – Windham Center	Northern end of Route 203
	Chaplin	96.96	156.04		Route 198 north – Chaplin, Phoenixville, Woodstock, Putnam	Southern end of Route 198
	Hampton	101.30	163.03		Route 97 – Pomfret, Scotland
	Brooklyn	107.44	172.91		Route 169 – Pomfret, Canterbury
	Killingly	110.96	178.57		Route 12 north – Danielson	Western end of Route 12 concurrency
		111.31	179.14		Route 12 south – Plainfield	Eastern end of Route 12 concurrency
		111.80	179.92		I-395 – Norwich, Worcester	Cloverleaf interchange; westbound access to I-395 south only at CT-RI border; Exits 37A-B on I-395 south and 37 on I-395 north
		116.04	186.75		To I-395 south – Norwich	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance via unsigned Connecticut Turnpike
		116.33	187.21		US 6 east – Providence	continuation into Rhode Island
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       HOV only       Incomplete access

Special routes

 

There have been several routes signed as US 6A in the state. No special routes currently exist.

• Newtown–Southbury: Original surface routing before creation of expressway later to become I-84; currently SR 816.
• Plymouth–Hartford: Now US 6. At this time, the old US 6 went along Route 64 to downtown Waterbury then along Route 10 to Farmington.
• Woodbury–Willimantic: West of Meriden, this was the original alignment of US 6. When US 6 was reassigned to the former US 6A from Plymouth to Farmington, this became US 6A. This US 6A was subsequently extended through Meriden to Willimantic along modern Route 66. An expressway upgrade was planned for this US 6A. Only a portion of the highway was built and is now I-691. Between Woodbury and Waterbury this section is now Route 64.
• Coventry–Windham: Became US 6A when Route 3 was deleted. Swapped with the old US 6 in 1939 and finally deleted in 1942 when US 6A became Route 31.
• Danielson: Old routing prior to construction of the two-lane freeway.

References

1. Connecticut Department of Transportation, "Highway Log" (PDF). (1.80 MiB) as of December 31, 2014

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to U.S. Route 6 in Connecticut.

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U.S. Route 6
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