U.S. ROUTE 5

'U.S. Route 5' is a north-south United States highway running through the New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Significant cities along the route include New Haven, Connecticut; Hartford, Connecticut; and Springfield, Massachusetts. From Hartford northward to St Johnsbury, VT, the road closely follows the route of the Connecticut River.
As of 2004, the highway's northern terminus is in Derby Line, Vermont at the Canadian border, where it continues into Quebec as Route 143, which was Route 5 until renamed in the mid 1970s. Its southern terminus is in New Haven, Connecticut at an intersection with Interstate 91. The entire route of US 5 closely parallels Interstate 91, the northern terminus of which is also Derby Line, where it continues northward as Autoroute 55.^[5]

Contents

Route description

Connecticut

Massachusetts

Vermont

History

See also

Bannered routes

References

Route description

|-
|CT || 54.59 || 87.85
|-
|MA || 53.43 || 85.99
|-
|VT || 192.32 || 309.50
|-
!Total !! 300.34 !! 483.35
|}
US 5 enters three states, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont, with the latter containing over half of US 5's total distance.

Connecticut

Main articles: U.S. Route 5 in Connecticut

US 5 begins in the city of New Haven, heading north through Hartford to Massachusetts. It generally parallels Interstate 91.

Massachusetts

US 5 stays very close to Interstate 91 in the state following along the Connecticut River. It enters the state at the town of Longmeadow on the east bank of the river going up to Springfield. In Springfield, US 5 then overlaps with Interstate 91 for about 0.5 miles, then separates as its own freeway crossing the Connecticut River on the South End Bridge into Agawam. The freeway portion runs for about 3.3 miles up to West Springfield. From the town of Northampton up to Bernardston, US 5 is multiplexed with Route 10 (for 26 miles). US 5 goes through the following towns listed below. Access to Interstate 91 is indicated below each town where present. Junctions with major roadways are also indicated.

★ Longmeadow

★ Springfield

★
★ Interstate 91 (multiplexed for 0.5 miles) (Exit 1, 3)

★
★ begin freeway section

★ Agawam

★ West Springfield

★
★ US 20

★
★ end freeway section (3.3 miles)

★
★ Interstate 91 (Exit 13)

★
★ Interstate 90 (Massachusetts Turnpike)

★ Holyoke

★
★ US 202

★ Easthampton

★ Northampton

★
★ Interstate 91 (Exit 18, 20)

★ Hatfield

★
★ Interstate 91 (Exit 21, 22)

★ Whately

★
★ Interstate 91 (Exit 23, 24)

★ Deerfield

★ Greenfield

★ Bernardston

Vermont

US 5 stays close to Interstate 91 in Vermont, traveling along the west bank of the Connecticut River. The river is also the state line between Vermont and New Hampshire. US 5 enters the state at the town of Guilford. It passes through the counties of (from south to north) Windham, Windsor, Orange, Caledonia, and Orleans. Near the town of St. Johnsbury, the Connecticut River heads northeast while US 5 (and Interstate 91) continue northward. US 5 ends at the Canadian border in the town of Derby. The road continues into Canada as Route 143. As in Connecticut and Massachusetts, US 5 has many interchanges with Interstate 91, with a total of 22 junctions over its 192-mile length in the state. Below is a list of major junctions:

★ Hartford town (Windsor County)

★
★ Interstate 89 (via Interstate 91)

★
★ US 4

★ Newbury town (Orange County)

★
★ US 302

★ St. Johnsbury town (Caledonia County)

★
★ Interstate 93 (via Interstate 91)

★
★ US 2

History

Prior to the U.S. Highway system, the route was designated as 'New England Interstate Route 2' (NE-2), part of the New England Interstate Route system that existed between 1922 and 1927. When US 5 was first commissioned, it took over the entirety of NE-2. Originally, the route began at the New Haven Green in downtown New Haven (at US 1). Between New Haven and North Haven, it originally ran east of the Quinnipiac River along modern day Middletown Avenue (part of Route 17) and Route 103 (the modern alignment was then designated as US 5A).
In Hartford, US 5 also passed by Central Row in the downtown area, entering the city via Maple Avenue and exiting on the Bulkeley Bridge with US 6. In Springfield, US 5 crossed the Connecticut River into West Springfield on the Memorial Bridge with US 20. An alternate route between Hartford and West Springfield on the west side of the Connecticut River was also designated as US 5A (now Route 159). From 1927 to 1929, US 5 also entered New Hampshire along part of what is now New Hampshire Route 12 between North Walpole and Charlestown.^[6]
The southern terminus of US 5 has since been realigned several times. By 1947, US 5 bypassed downtown New Haven via the Prospect Hill, Dixwell and West River neighborhoods, ending at Davenport Avenue and Columbus Avenue.[1] In the mid 1950s, US 5 was instead routed through the Mill River neighborhood ending at East Street and Forbes Avenue.[2] The modern New Haven to North Haven designation was also in place around this time. In the 1960s, the alignment was again shifted, following State Street all the way to Water Street (US 1). The route was later truncated to its current terminus at Exit 5 of I-91.

See also

★ Route 103 (Connecticut)

★ Route 159 (Connecticut) and Route 159 (Massachusetts)

★ Berlin Turnpike

★ Vermont Route 5A

★ New England Interstate Routes

Bannered routes

★ U.S. Route 5 Alternate (St. Johnsbury, Vermont)

★ U.S. Route 5 Alternate (Derby, Vermont)

★ U.S. Route 5 Alternate (Newport, Vermont)

References

1. Connecticut DOT Route Log
2. Executive Office of Transportation - Office of Transportation Planning Roads
3. VTrans Route Log
4. US Highways From US 1 to US 830 Robert V. Droz
5. Endpoints of US highways
6. North-South routes - US 1 to US 101 - Odd numbered highways