Connecticut Route 9
Route information | ||||
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Maintained by CTDOT | ||||
Length | 40.89 mi (65.81 km) | |||
Existed | 1932[1] (truncated in 1969)–present | |||
Major junctions | ||||
South end | ||||
North end | ||||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | Connecticut | |||
Counties | Middlesex, Hartford | |||
Highway system | ||||
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Route 9 is a 40.89-mile (65.81 km) four-lane expressway beginning in Old Saybrook and ending at I-84 near the Farmington–West Hartford town line. It connects the Eastern Coastline of the state along with the Lower Connecticut River Valley to Hartford and the Capital Region.
Route description
Route 9 is a four-lane freeway for most of its length. It begins at I-95/U.S. 1 exit 69, on the west bank of the Connecticut River. It runs northwesterly, parallel to the river for approximately 25 miles (40 km) between Old Saybrook and Route 99 in Cromwell. Along the river, it passes through the towns of Essex, Deep River, Chester, Haddam, and Middletown). 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 23C and 24), and one southbound at-grade intersection with Miller Street. 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.[2]
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.[1]
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 Cromwell serves the areas through which the southwest leg of I-291 was to be built; I-291 would have provided a parallel route to the north connecting roughly between Exit 29 (Route 175) on Route 9, to a new exit north of Exit 22 on I-91.
Exit list
Exit numbers have been converted to mile-based numbering as of January, 2023.
County | Location | mi | km | Old exit | New exit | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Middlesex | Old Saybrook | 0.00– 0.40 | 0.00– 0.64 | — | 1 | Exit 69 on I-95 / US 1; signed as exits 1A (north) and 1B (south); trumpet interchange; southern terminus | |
0.61 | 0.98 | 1 | — | Ferry Point | Northbound exit and southbound entrance via Essex Road | ||
1.54 | 2.48 | 2 | 2 | ||||
Essex | 3.91 | 6.29 | 3 | 3 | Also provides access to Centerbrook, Ivoryton, and Westbrook | ||
5.21 | 8.38 | 4 | 5 | Also provides access to Centerbrook and Ivoryton | |||
Deep River | 7.01 | 11.28 | 5 | 6 | |||
Chester | 8.93 | 14.37 | 6 | 8 | |||
10.69 | 17.20 | 7 | 10 | West end of Route 82, also provides access to Goodspeed Opera House and Moodus, via swing bridge | |||
Haddam | 13.93 | 22.42 | 8 | 13 | Beaver Meadow Road | ||
15.74 | 25.33 | 9 | 15 | ||||
Higganum | 19.43 | 31.27 | 10 | 19 | North end of Route 154 | ||
Middletown | 21.31 | 34.30 | 11 | 21 | Randolph Rd, East end of Route 155 | ||
22.41 22.86 | 36.07 36.79 | 12 | 22 | Bow Lane (northbound) / Silver Street (southbound) – Harbor Area | |||
23.34 | 37.56 | 13 | 23A | South end of Route 17 concurrency; no northbound exit | |||
23.70 | 38.14 | 14 | 23B | DeKoven Drive – Harbor Area | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
23.94 | 38.53 | Northern end of freeway section | |||||
15 | 23C | At-grade intersection; signed as exit 23 northbound | |||||
24.29 | 39.09 | 16 | 24 | At-grade intersection; north end of Route 17 concurrency | |||
24.46 | 39.36 | 17 | — | Miller Street / Bridge Street | Southbound at-grade intersection | ||
Southern end of freeway section | |||||||
Cromwell | 25.30 | 40.72 | 18 | 25 | Northbound exit and southbound entrance; south end of Route 99 | ||
27.61 | 44.43 | 19 | 27 | ||||
29.28– 29.58 | 47.12– 47.60 | 20 | 29-30 | Signed as exits 29 (north) and 30 (south) | |||
Hartford | Berlin | 31.68 | 50.98 | 21 | 31 | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | |
32.16 | 51.76 | Southbound exit and entrance | |||||
32.29 | 51.97 | 22 | 32 | Northbound exit and entrance | |||
32.37 | 52.09 | Southbound exit only | |||||
33.05 | 53.19 | 23 | 33 | Christian Lane – Berlin | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
34.07 | 54.83 | 24 | 34 | Northbound exit and southbound entrance; unsigned SR 571 | |||
New Britain | 35.13 | 56.54 | 25 | 35 | Signed for Ellis Street northbound, Route 71 southbound | ||
35.39 | 56.95 | 26 | 36 | Columbus Boulevard – Downtown New Britain | Northbound exit only | ||
35.74 | 57.52 | 27 | 36 | Chestnut Street | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
35.84– 36.40 | 57.68– 58.58 | 28 | 37A | Signed as exit 37 northbound | |||
36.08 | 58.07 | 28A | 37B | East Main Street – Downtown New Britain | Southbound exit only | ||
Newington | 37.95– 38.33 | 61.07– 61.69 | 29 | 38 | Southbound exit and northbound entrance are via Ella Grasso Boulevard | ||
New Britain | 39.48 | 63.54 | 30 | 39 | |||
Farmington–West Hartford line | 40.89 | 65.81 | 31-32 | 40 | Signed as exits 40A (west) and 40B (east); exit 39A on I-84 / US 6 | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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References
- ^ a b "Road Conditions in Connecticut". The Hartford Daily Courant. August 6, 1932. p. 13. Retrieved December 24, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "CT DOT Construction Route 9" (PDF). Retrieved 2017-05-15.