U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in the U.S. state of Connecticut is a major east–west United States Highway along

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...

. It has been replaced by

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

as a through route, which it closely parallels, and now primarily serves as a local business route. Despite its largely east–west orientation, it is part of a north–south route, and is mostly signed north–south. Most of US 1 through Connecticut encompasses its predecessor, the

Boston Post Road The Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York City and Boston, Massachusetts that evolved into one of the first major highways in the United States. The three major alignments were the Lower Post Road (now U.S. Ro ...

, and in many towns it is still named Boston Post Road (or Post Road).

Route description

US 1 in Connecticut largely parallels

and has many interchanges with it. The route passes through each city and town of Connecticut bordering the

(in addition to the town of Orange). From Greenwich to Branford, US 1 is mostly a 4-lane or 6-lane principal arterial road (with some 2-lane sections in dense areas). From Branford to Stonington, US 1 it a 2-lane or 4-lane minor arterial road. US 1 is known as Boston Post Road or Post Road for the majority of its length, but it also encompasses other local street names. The route is known as Putnam Avenue in Greenwich, Tresser Boulevard, West Main Street and East Main Street in Stamford, Connecticut Avenue in parts of Norwalk, Boston Avenue in parts of Bridgeport, New London Road in parts of Groton. In Stonington, the route is known as Stonington Road, South Broad Street, and West Broad Street. US 1 is also known as Main Street in Branford, and

Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has frequently been used as a given ...

Overlap with I-95

US 1 is concurrent with I-95 in two sections, both of which are river crossings. The western concurrency is between exits 68 and 70 from Old Saybrook to Old Lyme, where the two routes cross the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...

via the

Raymond E. Baldwin Bridge The Raymond E. Baldwin Bridge is a concrete segmental bridge composed of eleven spans crossing the Connecticut River between Old Saybrook, Connecticut and Old Lyme, Connecticut. The bridge carries Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1, with an average ...

. The eastern concurrency is between exits 83 and 85 from New London to Groton, where the routes cross the Thames River via the Gold Star Memorial Bridge. Route 1's two other major bridge crossings closely parallel the I-95 crossings of those rivers. The

Washington Bridge The Washington Bridge is a -long arch bridge over the Harlem River in New York City between the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. The crossing, opened in 1888, connects 181st Street (Manhattan), 181st Street and Tenth Avenue (Manhattan), Am ...

over the

Housatonic River The Housatonic River ( ) is a river, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United S ...

, connecting

Milford Milford may refer to: Place names Canada * Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia * Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia * Milford, Ontario England * Milford, Derbyshire * Milford, Devon, a place in Devon * Milford on Sea, Hampshire * Milford, Shro ...

and Stratford, as well as the Tomlinson Lift Bridge over the Quinnipiac River in New Haven, is a short distance away from I-95's Moses Wheeler and Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridges, respectively. Route 1 also forms a frontage road for I-95 in parts of Fairfield, Stratford, and New London.

History

US 1 generally follows the old

and

turnpike road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented ...

s built to replace it. Specifically, the Greenwich Road,

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

ed in 1792, was the part in Greenwich, and became part of the longer

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

-to- Fairfield Connecticut Turnpike (not to be confused with the contemporary Connecticut Turnpike) in 1806. The New Haven and Milford Turnpike (1802) continued from

to New Haven, and the New London and Lyme Turnpike (1807) connected Old Lyme with New London.

Route 51

US 1 was originally built where it currently exists in Old Lyme and

East Lyme East Lyme is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 18,693 at the 2020 census. The villages of Niantic and Flanders are located in the town. Geography East Lyme is located in southern New London County, west ...

.However, from 1949 to 1976, US 1 existed where Interstate 95 (I-95) currently exists in Old Lyme and East Lyme. From 1962 to 1976, this stretch of road was Route 51, which traveled for through Old Lyme and East Lyme and was known as the

. In 1976, US 1 returned to the stretch of road, thus eliminating the need for Route 51.

Major intersections

References

External links

US 1 (Greater New York Roads)
{{DEFAULTSORT:U.S. Route 1 In Connecticut 01 1 Connecticut Transportation in Fairfield County, Connecticut Transportation in New Haven County, Connecticut Transportation in New Haven, Connecticut Transportation in Middlesex County, Connecticut Transportation in New London County, Connecticut