Route 161 is a state highway in southeastern

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, running from the shoreline village of

Niantic Niantic may refer to: * Niantic people, tribe of American Indians * Niantic, Inc., mobile app developer known for the mobile games ''Ingress'' and ''Pokémon Go'' Ships * ''Niantic'' (whaling vessel), relic of San Francisco Gold Rush *USS ''Ni ...

in East Lyme to the village of

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

in Montville.

Route description

Route 161 begins as Pennsylvania Avenue at an intersection with Route 156 in the village of

in East Lyme. It proceeds north for , curving left then turning right onto Flanders Road. Route 161 continues north for another until it reaches the interchange with

I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...

(at exit 74). After crossing under I-95, it continues for another to the Boston Post Road

US 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making ...

in the village of

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

, where it becomes Chesterfield Road. In this area, one can access

East Lyme High School East Lyme High School is a 9-12 high school in the Flanders Village region of East Lyme, Connecticut, United States. The school serves students from the towns of East Lyme and Salem, Connecticut Salem is a town in New London County, Connecticu ...

and the Flanders Shopping Plaza from Route 161. The road continues north through the northeastern portion of the town of East Lyme for before entering the town of Montville, where the road name changes to Flanders Road. The road turns northeast for another to end at an intersection with Route 85 in the village of

History

The Niantic-Flanders-Chesterfield road was a primary state highway in the 1920s known as Highway 188. In the 1932 state highway renumbering, Route 161 was created from the northern half of old Highway 188, running from US 1 in Flanders to Route 85 in Chesterfield. In 1950, Route 161 was extended south to Niantic along former SR 669. At an unconfirmed time after 1965, a section near East Pattagansett Road in East Lyme was rerouted for safety reasons.Connecticut Routes, Route 161
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Junction list

References

External links

{{Portal, Connecticut 161 Transportation in New London County, Connecticut