INTERSTATE 95 IN CONNECTICUT

'Interstate 95', the main north-south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, runs in a general east-west compass direction for 111.57 miles (179.55 km) in Connecticut. The majority of the road, west (south) of the New London area, is part of the Connecticut Turnpike, connecting to the New England Thruway in New York state. I-95 leaves the Turnpike in East Lyme west of New London, and continues east through that city towards Westerly, Rhode Island as the Jewish War Veterans Memorial Highway, while the Turnpike turns north designated Interstate 395.

Contents

Major cities

Spur routes

Disasters

History

Construction plans

Interstate upgrades

Mass transit upgrades

Exit list

Scenic Overlooks

References

Major cities

Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs.

★ 'New York City, New York'

★ Stamford

★ Norwalk

★ Bridgeport

★ 'New Haven'

★ 'New London'

★ 'Providence, Rhode Island'

Spur routes

★ Interstate 395 is I-95's only spur in Connecticut. It runs from I-95 west (south) of New London north along the Connecticut Turnpike to a split south of Danielson, where it continues north on a newer freeway to Interstate 90 and Interstate 290 south of Worcester, Massachusetts. At the split in Danielson, the Turnpike again turns east, merging with U.S. Route 6 near the Rhode Island state line; that short spur is unsigned Route 695, but the inclusion of 95 in its number is coincidental.

Disasters

In January 1983, a truck with a brake failure slammed into a line of cars waiting to pay a toll on I-95 in Stratford, Connecticut. Seven people were killed. This accident helped lead to the removal of toll barriers throughout Connecticut, which was completed six years after.
On the morning of June 28, 1983, a 100 foot (30 m) section of the Mianus River Bridge in Cos Cob collapsed, plunging northbound I-95 traffic into the Mianus River below, killing three. The collapse was blamed on the failure of the steel pins to hold the horizontal beams together and inadequate inspection prior to the collapse. Northbound traffic was diverted on this section of I-95 for 25 days. Southbound traffic was unaffected.
On March 26, 2004, a bridge on I-95 in Bridgeport, Connecticut was partly melted by the explosion of a tanker truck carrying over 11,900 gallons (45,000 L) of fuel oil. Repairs were estimated to take at least two weeks, but the highway was opened to northbound traffic in only a few days. Southbound traffic resumed about a week later.

History

While most of I-95 was built as the Connecticut Turnpike, the Connecticut Turnpike incorporated several pieces of already-built relocations, some to freeway standards, of U.S. Route 1 (the Turnpike split from the US 1 relocation in East Lyme, along the Old Lyme-New London section):

★ Darien bypass, opened ca. 1952

★ New Haven east of the Quinnipiac River, opened ca. 1951

★ Old Saybrook-Old Lyme Raymond E. Baldwin Bridge over the Connecticut River and approaches, opened 1948

★ Old Lyme-New London, opened by 1950 as a two-lane road

★ New London-Groton Gold Star Bridge over the Thames River and approaches, opened 1943
Other improvements in the corridor included the New York-Meriden Merritt Parkway/Wilbur Cross Parkway, New Haven-Old Saybrook Route 80, and Groton-Rhode Island Route 184, the latter connecting in Rhode Island to Route 3, a shortcut to Providence.
Most of the Turnpike opened January 2, 1958, and was designated I-95 south/west of the split with the relocated US 1 by 1959. The rest of I-95 to Rhode Island opened December 12, 1964. The Gold Star Bridge was twinned ca. 1975, along with a reconstruction of its approaches, and in 1993 the Raymond E. Baldwin Bridge was widened.
The state installed cameras to watch traffic along the highway in the early 1990s. As of 2007, about 100 cameras have been set up and are monitored by state police and the state Department of Transportation. In Fairfield County, local emergency responders (fire departments and ambulance services) that serve the highway in individual towns have asked for direct feeds from the cameras to avoid mistakes. When travelers report an accident, they sometimes tell authorities that it occurred near an exit that is actually not the nearest to the scene, slowing down response time. The traffic feed from the cameras is available on the World Wide Web, but the service can be spotty, according to the Stamford, Connecticut and Norwalk, Connecticut fire chiefs, who said they were hoping that a proposed $40 million upgrade of the camera system, under consideration by the state in 2007, would provide them access.^[2]

Construction plans

While the corridor was designated "High Priority Corridor 65" in 2005, work along Interstate 95 in Connecticut has been ongoing for nearly 15 years.

Interstate upgrades

★ Replace the bridge over the Connecticut River in Saybrook (completed in 1993)

★ Replace the bridge over the Saugatuck River in Westport (completed in 2001)

★ Widening and reconstruction of I-95 through Bridgeport (nearing completion)

★ Upgrade the median divider from New York State line to Waterford to meet current safety standards (segmented construction ongoing since 1993)

★ Construction of a new extradosed Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge (underway)

★ Reconfiguring the interchange between I-91, I-95, and Route 34 in New Haven (underway)

★ Replace bridge over the West River in New Haven (in planning)

★ Reconstruct I-95/I-395 interchange in Waterford to accommodate proposed Route 11 Expressway connection (in planning).

★ Replacement of the Moses Wheeler Bridge over the Housatonic River (to start in late 2007)

★ Widening and reconstruction of I-95 between Norwalk and Stamford

★ Widen I-95 mainline from Branford to the Rhode Island state line

Mass transit upgrades

★ New train station near the Fairfield/Bridgeport city line (construction started May 2006)

★ Intermodal Transportation Center in Bridgeport (in planning)

★ New train stations in Orange and West Haven (in planning)

★ Upgrade catenary power lines along the New Haven Line

★ New train station in Madison

★ Purchase new railroad cars and refurbish existing cars to increase capacity and reliability

★ Construct new container barge ports at Bridgeport and New Haven

Exit list

Town	Number	Mile	Destinations	Notes
Interstate 95 continues into New York as the New England Thruway
Begin Connecticut Turnpike section
Greenwich	2	0.8	Delavan Avenue - Byram
			former Greenwich barrier toll
	3	2.5	Arch Street - Greenwich
	4	3.7	Indian Field Road - Cos Cob
	5	5.5	U.S. Route 1 - Riverside, Old Greenwich
Stamford	6	6.5	Harvard Avenue (NB) West Avenue(SB)
	7	7.3	Route 137 North, Greenwich Avenue (NB)/Atlantic Street (SB)
	8	7.7	Atlantic Street (NB) Elm Street (SB)
	9	9.3	U.S. Route 1, Route 106 - Glenbrook
Darien	10	10.8	Noroton
	11	11.6	U.S. Route 1 - Darien
	12	12.2	Route 136 (Tokeneke Road) - Rowayton	northbound exit and southbound entrance
	13	13.1	U.S. Route 1 (Post Road)
Norwalk	14	14.8	U.S. Route 1 (Connecticut Avenue)	southbound exit and northbound entrance
	14	15.0	South Norwalk	northbound exit and southbound entrance
	15	15.5	U.S. Route 7 - Norwalk, Danbury
Norwalk River crossing on the Yankee Doodle Bridge
Norwalk	16	16.2	East Norwalk
			former Norwalk barrier toll
Westport	17	18.1	Route 33/Route 136 (Saugatuck Avenue) - Westport
	18	20.4	Sherwood Island State Park
Fairfield	19	22.9	U.S. Route 1, Center Street - Southport
	20	23.7	Bronson Road	southbound exit and northbound entrance
	21	24.4	Round Hill Road
	22	25.2	Route 135 (North Benson Road)	southbound exit and northbound entrance
	23	25.7	U.S. Route 1 (Kings Highway)
	24	26.6	Black Rock Turnpike
Bridgeport	25	27.4	State Street, Commerce Drive (NB) Route 130 (Fairfield Avenue) (SB)
	26	28.3	Wordin Avenue
	27	28.9	Lafayette Boulevard - Downtown Bridgeport	northbound exit and southbound entrance
	27A	29.0	Route 25/Route 8 - Trumbull, Waterbury
	27	29.1	Lafayette Boulevard - Downtown Bridgeport	southbound exit and northbound entrance
	28	29.9	Route 127 (East Main Street)	northbound exit and southbound entrance
	29	30.4	Route 130 (Stratford Avenue), Seaview Avenue
Stratford	30	31.1	Route 113 (Lordship Boulevard), Surf Avenue
	31	32.1	Honeyspot Road (NB) South Avenue (SB)
	32	32.9	West Broad Street - Stratford
			former Stratford barrier toll
	33	34.1	U.S. Route 1, Route 110, Ferry Boulevard - Devon	northbound exit and southbound entrance
Housatonic River crossing on the Moses Wheeler Bridge
Milford	34	35.4	U.S. Route 1 - Milford
	35	35.8	School House Road/Bic Drive
	36	36.7	Plains Road
	37	37.4	High Street	northbound exit and southbound entrance
	38	37.6	Route 15 - Merritt Parkway/Wilbur Cross Parkway
	39	39.1	U.S. Route 1	split into 39A and 39B
	40	40.2	Old Gate Lane/Woodmont Road
Orange	41	41.8	Marsh Hill Road - Orange
West Haven	42	43.9	Route 162 - Saw Mill Road
			former West Haven barrier toll
	43	44.9	Downtown West Haven	northbound exit and southbound entrance
	43	45.2	Route 122 - First Avenue	southbound exit and northbound entrance
New Haven	44	45.9	Route 10 - Kimberly Avenue	northbound exit and southbound entrance
	44	45.9	Downtown West Haven	southbound exit and northbound entrance
	45	46.0	Route 10 - Boulevard	southbound exit and northbound entrance
	46	46.8	Long Wharf Drive/Sargent Drive
	47	47.7	Route 34 - Downtown New Haven
	48	47.8	Interstate 91 north - Hartford
	50	49.2	Woodward Avenue - Lighthouse Point	northbound exit and southbound entrance
East Haven	51	49.8	U.S. Route 1 - East Haven/Frontage Road	northbound exit and southbound entrance
	51	50.2	U.S. Route 1 - Frontage Road/Lighthouse Point	southbound exit and northbound entrance
	52	50.5	Route 100 - East Haven/North High Street	southbound exit and northbound entrance
Branford			former Branford barrier toll
	53	52.3	U.S. Route 1/Route 142/Route 146 - Short Beach	northbound exit and southbound entrance
	54	53.2	Branford/Cedar Street
	55	55.2	U.S. Route 1 - North Branford/East Main Street
	56	56.2	Leetes Island Road - Stony Creek
Guilford	57	59.3	U.S. Route 1 - Boston Post Road/North Branford
	58	60.2	Route 77 - Guilford/North Guilford
	59	61.5	Goose Lane
Madison			former Madison barrier toll
	60	63.5	Mungertown Road	southbound exit and northbound entrance
	61	64.7	Route 79 - Madison/North Madison
	62	66.4	Hammonasset State Park
Clinton	63	68.6	Route 81 - Clinton/Killingworth
Westbrook	64	70.8	Route 145 - Horse Hill Road/Clinton
	65	73.1	Route 153 - Westbrook
Old Saybrook	66	74.4	Route 166 - Spencer Plain Road
	67	75.9	Elm Street	southbound exit and northbound entrance
	67	76.7	Route 154 - Old Saybrook	northbound exit and southbound entrance
	68	77.7	U.S. Route 1 - Old Saybrook	southbound exit and northbound entrance; US 1 joins northbound and leaves southbound
	69	78.1	Route 9 north - Essex/Hartford
			former Baldwin Bridge barrier toll
Connecticut River crossing on the Baldwin Bridge
Old Lyme	70	79.2	U.S. Route 1/Route 156 - Old Lyme	northbound exit and southbound entrance; US 1 joins southbound and leaves northbound
	70	79.8	Old Lyme	southbound exit and northbound entrance
East Lyme	71	83.5	Four Mile River Road
	72	84.0	Rocky Neck State Park
	73	85.8	Society Road
	74	87.3	Route 161 - Flanders/Niantic
	75	88.0	U.S. Route 1 - Flanders/Waterford
	76	88.6	Interstate 395 north - Norwich/Plainfield	northbound exit and southbound entrance
I-95 leaves the Connecticut Turnpike Begin Jewish War Veterans Memorial Highway section
Waterford	80	88.9	Oil Mill Road	southbound exit and northbound entrance
	81	90.1	Cross Road
	82	91.8	Route 85 - Waterford/Broad Street/Shopping Mall
	82A	92.3	New London - Frontage Road/Shopping Malls	northbound exit and southbound entrance
New London	83	92.8	U.S. Route 1 - New London/Frontage Roads/Shopping Malls	southbound exit and northbound entrance; US 1 joins northbound and leaves southbound
	83	93.2	Route 32 north - Norwich/Downtown New London	northbound exit and southbound entrance
	84S-N-E	93.6	Route 32 - Norwich/Downtown New London	southbound exit and northbound entrance
Thames River crossing on the Gold Star Bridge
Groton	85	94.6	U.S. Route 1 north - Thames Street/Downtown Groton	northbound exit and southbound entrance; US 1 joins southbound and leaves northbound
	86	95.2	Route 12/Route 184 - U.S. Sub Base/Gales Ferry
	87	96.2	Route 349 to U.S. Route 1 north - Clarence B. Sharp Highway
	88	97.5	Route 117 - Noank/Downtown Groton/Groton Long Point
	89	100.1	Allyn Street - Noank/Groton Long Point
Stonington	90	101.3	Route 27 - Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration/Mystic Seaport
	91	104.2	Route 234 - North Main Street/Stonington Borough
North Stonington	92	107.8	Route 2/Route 49 - North Stonington/Pawcatuck
	93	111.3	Route 216/Route 184 - Clarks Falls/Ashaway, Rhode Island
Interstate 95 continues into Rhode Island

Scenic Overlooks

Between Exits 89 and 90 heading eastbound, you will find the Jerome Hoxie Scenic Overlook. This overlooks Mystic Cove.

Panaramic View from the Jerome Hoxie Scenic Overlook. Photos were taken in March of 2006.

References

★ kurumi - Connecticut Interstate 95
1. Route Log - Main Routes of the Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways - Table 1
2. Ginocchio, Mark, "Local leaders want access to DOT cameras", ''The Advocate'' of Stamford, Connecticut, July 15, 2007, pp 1, A6