Connecticut Route 3

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Route 3

Route information
Maintained by CTDOT
Length14.48 mi (23.30 km)
Existed1941 (extended 1991)–present
Major junctions
South end Route 66 in Middletown
Major intersections I-91 in Wethersfield
North end Route 2 at the GlastonburyEast Hartford town line
Location
CountryUnited States
StateConnecticut
CountiesMiddlesex, Hartford
Highway system
  • Connecticut State Highway System
Route 2A Route 4
I-484I-491.svg I-684

Route 3 is a 14.48-mile-long (23.30 km) route connecting Middletown to the Glastonbury-East Hartford town line. It passes through the towns of Cromwell, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield, and Glastonbury. The northernmost 3 miles (4.8 km) of Route 3 is a freeway that was originally intended for the cancelled Interstate 491.

Route description

CT 3 at I-91 in Wethersfield.

Route 3 begins at Route 66 in Middletown, and is a secondary, minor arterial road for its first 11 miles (18 km) up to its interchange with Interstate 91 in Wethersfield. After crossing into Cromwell, it intersects Route 372, which offers access to Route 9 just east of the intersection. After overpassing Route 9, it continues north into Rocky Hill and overpasses Interstate 91 without an interchange (access is via West Street SSR 411). After a brief concurrency with Route 160, it crosses into Wethersfield, where it meets the eastern end of Route 287 and crosses over Route 99. After the Silas Deane Highway (Route 99) intersection, it becomes a freeway for the last 3.5 miles (5.6 km). After a partial interchange with Interstate 91 (no direct access to I-91 South from Route 3 North), it crosses the Connecticut River on the William H. Putnam Memorial Bridge into Glastonbury. The freeway has one exit for Main Street (via Glastonbury Boulevard northbound and Putnam Boulevard southbound) before ending at a trumpet interchange with the Route 2 freeway at the East Hartford town line. The last 0.75 miles (1.21 km) of Route 3 is the merging ramp from Route 3 northbound to Route 2 westbound.

History

1941

Route 3 was established in 1941. It originally ran from West Street/Berlin Road in Cromwell, which was part of Route 72 at the time (now Route 372), to the Silas Deane Highway (Route 99) in Wethersfield.

1958-1973 (I-491)

Interstate 491

LocationHartford, Connecticut
Existed1958–1973
NHSEntire route

In late 1958, as part of the planned Interstate 491 (a southeastern bypass of Hartford), a freeway from I-91 to Main Street in Glastonbury, crossing the Connecticut River on the Putnam Memorial Bridge, was opened. The Route 3 designation was temporarily extended along this freeway pending completion of I-491. In 1973, I-491 was cancelled due to local opposition and the Route 3 designation along this freeway segment became permanent. In the late 1980s, the freeway was extended so that it terminated at Route 2, rather than at Main Street.

1991

In 1991, when the Route 9 freeway through Berlin and New Britain was completed, Route 72 was truncated to end at Route 9 in New Britain. The east–west portion of the old alignment of Route 72 was reassigned to an extended Route 372 (running along Berlin Road/West Street to end at Route 99 in Cromwell). The north–south portion of old Route 72 from Cromwell to Middletown (ending at Route 66) was reassigned to Route 3.

Major intersections

As part of an upcoming sign replacement project on CT Route 3 between I-91 and CT Route 2, new mile-based exit numbers will be added along that stretch of freeway.

CountyLocationmikmExitDestinationsNotes
MiddlesexMiddletown0.000.00 Route 66 – Middletown, Portland, Meriden
Cromwell3.375.42
Route 372 to Route 9 – Middletown, Cromwell, Hartford, Berlin, New Britain
HartfordRocky Hill6.5910.61
West Street (SSR 411) to I-91 – Hartford, New Haven, Dinosaur State Park
7.2111.60
Route 160 east – Rocky Hill
Southern terminus of Route 160 concurrency
7.4011.91
Route 160 west – Berlin
Northern terminus of Route 160 concurrency
Wethersfield10.2116.43
Route 287 west – Newington
10.3716.69 Route 99 – Hartford, Rocky Hill
10.9917.69Southern end of freeway section
11.3118.2011 I-91 – Hartford, New HavenNo northbound access to I-91 south; signed as exits 11A (south) and 11B (north)
Connecticut River11.63–
12.09
18.72–
19.46
Putnam Bridge
Glastonbury12.96–
13.27
20.86–
21.36
13AMain Street  – GlastonburySigned as exit 13 southbound; Access via Glastonbury Boulevard northbound, Putnam Boulevard southbound
13.51–
14.48
21.74–
23.30
13B-C Route 2 – East Hartford, NorwichTrumpet interchange; signed as exits 13B (west) and 13C (east); exit 4A on Route 2
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

External links

Media related to Connecticut Route 3 at Wikimedia Commons