Interstate 84 in Connecticut

This article is about the section of Interstate 84 in Connecticut. For the entire route, see Interstate 84 (east).

Route information
Length	97.90 mi (157.55 km)
Existed	1944–present
Major junctions
West end	I-84 near Brewster, NY
Major intersections	US 7 / US 202 in Danbury Route 8 in Waterbury I-691 near Cheshire Route 9 near W. Hartford I-91 in Hartford Route 2 / Route 15 near E. Hartford I-384 / I-291 near Manchester
East end	I-84 near Sturbridge, MA
Location
Country	United States
State	Connecticut
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future Connecticut State Highway System Interstate US State SSR SR Scenic
← Route 83 → Route 85

Interstate 84 is an East–West Interstate highway across the state of Connecticut into Danbury, Waterbury, Hartford and Union.

Route description

I-84 (looking eastbound) just before becoming an elevated viaduct to cross downtown Waterbury

The interstate's first exit is at the state line, where it enters the city of Danbury. Here it is designated the Yankee Expressway. Two miles to the east, where US 7 comes in from the south near Danbury Fair Mall to join I-84, it turns to the north. At the next exit, routes 6 and 202 join the highway.

The four-way concurrency ends after 3 miles (4.8 km), when 7 and 202 split off north towards New Milford. Route 6 leaves the interstate at the next exit, and I-84 continues east across the countryside. At Exit 11 it turns to the northeast and descends to cross the Housatonic River on the Rochambeau Bridge, into New Haven County, then climbs into higher ground to the city of Waterbury, which it passes on an elevated viaduct with the eastbound and westbound lanes on different levels. Here the CT 8 expressway intersects.

The eastern heading continues past Waterbury to Milldale, where Interstate 691 splits off to the east. This section has many left-hand exits and entrances and sharp curves, which were built for a planned network of freeways. I-84 heads northeast towards New Britain and Hartford, the state capital and the largest community along its eastern length. After intersecting Interstate 91, the road crosses the Connecticut River on the Bulkeley Bridge, oldest on the Interstate system, then becomes the Wilbur Cross Highway and continues towards the northeast.

I-84 climbs steadily from the Connecticut River Valley and reaches the highest Interstate elevation in Connecticut near exit 73 in Union at 1,008 feet (307 m). The last exit in Connecticut is Exit 74, for Route 171 before crossing the Massachusetts border.

History

Road to Providence

Interstate 84 was originally to head east from Hartford, Connecticut to Providence, Rhode Island.

Original route

The original route of Interstate 84 would have used present-day Interstate 384 to Bolton, Connecticut, then along a never-built section of freeway that would have connected to the US 6 bypass around Willimantic, Connecticut. Another never-built freeway section would have connected it to Interstate 395 and extended I-84 onto State Road 695 in Connecticut, the easternmost portion of the Connecticut Turnpike in Killingly, Connecticut. From there, it would have roughly followed US 6 through western Rhode Island to connect to the present-day US 6 freeway in Johnston. From there, a freeway from Olneyville Square to the Interstate 95–Interstate 195 interchange was briefly considered, but abandoned in favor of what later became the Route 6-10 Connector.

Upgrades

Sections of I-84 in Connecticut were reconstructed and widened in the 1980s. The former I-86 portion from East Hartford to the Massachusetts state line was completely rebuilt from a narrow 4-lane freeway to a much wider profile ranging from 6 lanes at the Massachusetts state line, expanding to 8 lanes in Vernon, to 12 lanes with HOV lanes in East Hartford. Another section through Danbury was widened from 4 lanes to 6 lanes in 1985 and 1986. Widening of the highway through Danbury was funded by Union Carbide as part of building its world headquarters in Danbury.

Environmental concerns

Though the route was basically set in stone in Connecticut, many issues remained in Rhode Island, the biggest of which were major environmental concerns about how the freeway would affect the Scituate Reservoir, which is the main drinking water supply for Providence.

Long-range plans

In the 1992 long-range transportation plan released by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, a freeway has been added along the original route of Interstate 84 that will connect to the CT 695 freeway on the Rhode Island–Connecticut border.

I-86 relation

The section of I-84 between East Hartford, Connecticut (at the present-day junction with Interstate 384) and Sturbridge, Massachusetts (Interstate 90) was for a time signed as Interstate 86 (unrelated to present-day Interstate 86 in New York and Pennsylvania). Signs stating "I-84 Ends, I-86 to Boston" (eastbound) and "I-86 Ends, I-84 to Hartford" (westbound) were posted where the change took place. Exit numbering on I-86 was that of the road's predecessor, Route 15, in a sequence beginning on New York's Hutchinson River Parkway. Exits were renumbered to correspond with the rest of I-84 in Connecticut when the road was redesignated in 1984. The present I-384 as well as the present US 6 bypass near Willimantic, both of which were a part of what was then I-84's planned easterly continuation, were also numbered I-84 prior to 1984 even though they lacked any direct connection to the rest of I-84 at that time. (One had to use Silver Lane in East Hartford to travel between the two stretches of the highway.) These two sections were re-numbered I-384 and Rte 6 when what was then I-86 was re-numbered I-84.

Widening projects in Waterbury

A widening project along the congested stretch of I-84 through Waterbury and Cheshire, Connecticut has been beset by cost overruns, delays, and construction defects involving storm drains, as state and federal officials have launched criminal investigations stemming from this project. This episode has waned local enthusiasm for a proposed $2 billion reconstruction of the Mixmaster interchange in downtown Waterbury. Cost estimates for the Mixmaster replacement have increased to $3 billion. CT Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has begun a lawsuit against the contractor and an engineering firm in response to threats from the U.S. DOT to withhold funds from the project. On May 18, 2007, the Waterbury Republican-American reported this area had defective light poles, while Governor M. Jodi Rell released an audit report of the construction disaster. A number of DOT personnel were either fired or reprimanded following the scandal. Meanwhile the FBI and a federal grand jury are investigating the now-defunct construction company and the same DOT officials, which may eventually lead to criminal charges in the case.

Auxiliary routes in Connecticut

	Interstate	City	Type	Notes
	Interstate 384	Manchester	Spur
	Interstate 684	Greenwich	Bypass route	This route has no exits in Greenwich but in New York.

Exit list

County	Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Fairfield	Danbury	0.00	0.00		I-84 west – Newburgh	Continuation into New York
		0.29	0.47	1	Saw Mill Rd. – Ridgebury
		1.23	1.98	2	Old Ridgebury Rd. – Ridgebury, Mill Plain	Access to the Connecticut Welcome Center eastbound
		4.54	7.31	3	US 7 south – Norwalk	South end of US 7 overlap
		4.73	7.61	4	US 6 / US 202 west (Lake Ave.)	West end of US 6/US 202 overlap
		5.98	9.62	5	Route 39 / Route 53 to Route 37 – Downtown Danbury, Bethel, New Fairfield	Signed as Route 39 / Route 53 westbound
		6.48	10.43	6	Route 37 – New Fairfield, Danbury	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		7.16	11.52	7	US 7 north / US 202 east – Brookfield, New Milford	Northeast end of US 7/US 202 overlap
	Danbury- Bethel	7.91	12.73	8	US 6 east (Newtown Road, SR 911) – Bethel	East end of US 6 overlap
	Newtown	10.79	17.36	9	Route 25 – Hawleyville, Brookfield, Newtown
		14.10	22.69	10	US 6 west – Newtown, Sandy Hook	West end of US 6 overlap
		15.23	24.51	11	Route 34 east – Derby, New Haven	Connection to Route 34 is SSR 490 To Route 25 – Bridgeport
Housatonic River		17.97	28.92	Rochambeau Bridge
New Haven	Southbury	18.64	30.00	13	River Road – Southbury	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		19.83	31.91	14	Route 172 – South Britain, SouthburyModule:Jct warning: "road" parameter is deprecated
		21.58	34.73	15	US 6 east / Route 67 – Southbury, Oxford, Woodbury	East end of US 6 overlap
		24.26	39.04	16	Route 188 – Middlebury, Southford
	Middlebury	28.89	46.49	17	Route 63 – Watertown, Naugatuck	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
	Waterbury	29.35	47.23	17	Route 64 west – Middlebury, Woodbury	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		30.45	49.00	18	Chase Parkway (SR 845) – Waterbury	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		30.72	49.44	18	W. Main St., Highland Ave. – Waterbury	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		31.08	50.02	19	Route 8 south – Naugatuck, Bridgeport
		31.08	50.02	20	Route 8 north – Thomaston, Torrington
		31.20	50.21	21	Meadow Street, Bank Street	The Mixmaster
		31.58	50.82	22	Baldwin Street  – Downtown Waterbury (EB) Union Street – Downtown Waterbury (WB)
		33.74	54.30	23	Route 69 (Hamilton Ave.) – Wolcott, Prospect
		34.36	55.30	24	Harpers Ferry Rd.	No entrance ramps; signed as exit 25 eastbound
		35.18	56.62	25	Reidville Rd., E. Main St., Scott Rd.	Eastbound exit is via exit 25 (Harpers Ferry Road)
		36.11	58.11	25A	Austin Rd. – Waterbury, Prospect
	Cheshire	37.30	60.03	26	Route 70 – Cheshire
		39.49	63.55	27	I-691 east – Cheshire, Meriden
Hartford	Southington	39.86	64.15	28	Route 322 – Marion, Milldale, Wolcott
		41.05	66.06	29	Route 10 – Milldale	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance, connection is SR 597
		41.61	66.96	30	W. Main St., Marion Ave. – Downtown Southington, Plantsville
		43.36	69.78	31	Route 229 – Bristol, Southington, Plantsville
		45.18	72.71	32	Route 10 – Southington, Plainville
	Plainville	48.24	77.63	33	Route 72 west – Bristol	West end of Route 72 overlap
		50.34	81.01	34	Route 372 – PlainvilleModule:Jct warning: "road" parameter is deprecated	No westbound exit, eastbound exit only
	New Britain	50.34	81.01	35	Route 72 east – New Britain	East end of Route 72 overlap
		51.03	82.12	36	Slater Rd. – New Britain
	Farmington	52.01	83.70	37	Fienemann Rd. – New Britain, Farmington
		54.03	86.95	38	US 6 west – Bristol	West end of US 6 overlap
		54.40	87.55	39	Route 4 – West Hartford, Farmington	Connection is SR 508
		55.46	89.25	39A	Route 9 south – Newington, New Britain
	West Hartford	56.31	90.62	40	Route 71 – West Hartford, New Britain (EB) Ridgewood Ave. – West Hartford (WB)
		57.15	91.97	41	Route 173 (S. Main St.) – West Hartford, Newington
		59.13	95.16	42	Trout Brook Drive – Elmwood	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		59.13	95.16	43	Park Road – West Hartford Center	Connection is SR 501
		60.06	96.66	44	Caya Ave., Kane St., Prospect Ave. – West Hartford
	Hartford	60.56	97.46	45	Flatbush Avenue	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; connection is SR 504
		61.38	98.78	46	Sisson Avenue	Connection is SR 503
		61.75	99.38	47	Sigourney Street	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		62.31	100.28	48A	Asylum Street	Signed as exit 48 westbound
		62.31	100.28	48B	Capitol Ave.	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		62.69	100.89	49	Ann Ucello St.	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		62.88	101.20	50	US 44 west (Main Street) – Downtown Hartford	West end of US 44 overlap
		63.13	101.60	51	I-91 north – Windsor Locks	Access to the Bradley International Airport
		63.21	101.73	52	I-91 south – Wethersfield	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
	Connecticut River	63.30	101.87	Bulkeley Bridge
	East Hartford	63.50	102.19	53	US 44 east (Connecticut Blvd.) – East Hartford	East end of US 44 overlap; no westbound exit; also connects with East River Drive
		63.94	102.90	54	Route 2 west – Downtown Hartford	HOV exit; Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		63.94	102.90	55	Route 2 east – Glastonbury
		63.94	102.90	56	Governor St. – Downtown East Hartford	Connection is SR 500
		64.88	104.41	57	Route 15 south – Wethersfield, Newington	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance.
		65.41	105.27	58	Roberts Street (SR 518), Silver Lane (SR 502) – E. Hartford	HOV exit to Silver Lane westbound
		66.63	107.23	59	I-384 east – Bolton, Willimantic	HOV exit to I-384 eastbound
	Manchester	67.28	108.28	60	US 6 east / US 44 (W. Middle Turnpike, Burnside Ave.) – Manchester, East Hartford	East end of US 6 overlap; westbound exit combined with exit 62
		67.78	109.08	61	I-291 west – South Windsor, Windsor
		68.96	110.98	62	Buckland St. – S. Windsor, Manchester	HOV exit
		70.65	113.70	63	Route 30 / Route 83 – Manchester, South Windsor
Tolland	Vernon	72.03	115.92	64	Route 30 / Route 83 – Vernon, Rockville, Talcottville	HOV exit; Eastbound exit 65 leaves I-84 on the same ramp as exit 64
		73.04	117.55	65	Route 30 – Vernon Center	Eastbound exit is combined with exit 64
		74.23	119.46	66	Tunnel Road – Vernon, Bolton
		76.03	122.36	67	Route 31 – Rockville, Coventry
	Tolland	79.56	128.04	68	Route 195 – Tolland, Mansfield, Storrs	access to the University of Connecticut
		83.38	134.19	69	Route 74 – Willington, Tolland, Rockville
	Willington	85.14	137.02	70	Route 32 – Stafford Springs, Willington, Mansfield
		87.10	140.17	71	Route 320 south (Ruby Rd.) – Willington
	Ashford- Union	91.20	146.77	72	Route 89 – Stafford Springs, Westford, Ashford
	Union	92.41	148.72	73	Route 190 – Union, Stafford Springs
		96.62	155.49	74	Route 171 – Union, Holland, MAModule:Jct warning: "road" parameter is deprecated
		97.90	157.55		I-84 east – Boston	Continuation into Massachusetts
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

External links

Template:Attached KML/Interstate 84 in Connecticut

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