Route 68 is an east–west state highway in the U.S. state of Connecticut connecting the towns of
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
* Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
and
Naugatuck
Naugatuck is a consolidated borough and town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town spans both sides of the Naugatuck River just south of Waterbury and includes the communities of Union City on the east side of the river, wh ...
.
Route description
Route 68 begins at
Route 63 in Naugatuck. After crossing the
Naugatuck River
The Naugatuck River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Its waters carve out the Naugatuck River Valley in the wes ...
, it overpasses the
Route 8 expressway, with access via Union Street (SR 723) and North Main Street (SR 710). Route 68 then leaves the
Naugatuck River Valley
The Naugatuck River Valley is the watershed area of the Naugatuck River in the western part of Connecticut. The Naugatuck Valley straddles parts of Litchfield County, New Haven, and Fairfield counties. The Route 8 corridor and Waterbury Branch ...
and ascends to
Prospect, where it intersects
Route 69 in the center of town. It then descends once again into
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
, where it joins
Route 70 for a 3.1 mile concurrency. In the center of Cheshire, the concurrency becomes a 0.15 mile triplex with
Route 10. After the Route 70 concurrency ends, Route 68 becomes a 4 lane road as it enters
Wallingford. The road narrows to 2 lanes as it passes through
Yalesville where it intersects
Route 150. After passing under the
Wilbur Cross Parkway
The Wilbur Cross Parkway (also known locally as "The Merritt" in conjunction with its counterpart) is a limited access road in Connecticut, comprising the portion of Route 15 between Milford and Meriden. It is named after Wilbur Lucius Cross, ...
(
Route 15) without an interchange, it meets
US 5
U.S. Route 5 (US 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 Spring ...
at a
one-quadrant interchange
A quadrant roadway intersection adds an additional "quadrant roadway" between two legs of an intersection. This roadway adds two three-way intersections in addition to the original four-way intersection moving all left turns (in right-hand traff ...
. Route 68 becomes a 4-lane undivided, partially access controlled road for the next 2.3 miles to its junction with
I-91
Interstate 91 (I-91) is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It provides the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of the region. The Interstate generally follows the course of the Connecti ...
at Exit 15. After overpassing I-91 and passing a couple of business parks, Route 68 becomes a 2 lane road once again. It then enters
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
* Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
, where it passes the southern end of
Route 157 before ending at
Route 17 in the center of town.
[
]
History
The road connecting Naugatuck and Cheshire was designated in 1922 as State Highway 325. In the 1932 state highway renumbering, former Highway 325 was renumbered to
Route 68. The route was later extended east to Middlefield in 1966 along former SR 607 (Wallingford to Middlefield) and SR 730 (Cheshire to Wallingford) via an overlap with Route 70. In 1973 and 1974, parts of Route 68 were rerouted in Wallingford.Connecticut Routes, Route 68
/ref>
Junction list
References
External links
{{Portal, Connecticut
068
Transportation in New Haven County, Connecticut
Transportation in Middlesex County, Connecticut