Route 66 is a

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 (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

state highway running from Meriden to Windham, serving as an alternate east–west route to

US 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to ...

through east-central Connecticut.

Route description

Route 66 officially begins at

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 ...

in Meriden as the extension of

I-691 Interstate 691 (I-691) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in Connecticut beginning at I-91 in Meriden and ending at I-84 near the Cheshire–Southington town line. According to the Federal Highway Administration, it is in length; howev ...

, which officially ends at its interchange with

. This freeway portion runs for about into the town of Middlefield, where it becomes a four lane surface road. In Middlefield, it has junctions with the northern end of Route 147, and the southern end of Route 217. It then enters Middletown and becomes Washington Street, where it has junctions with the northern end of Route 157 and the southern end of Route 3 before passing by

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...

and entering the downtown area. Route 66 then turns onto Main Street, as Washington Street becomes SR 545, providing southbound access to the Route 9 freeway. At the north end of Main Street, it intersects Route 17. Southbound Route 17 provides access to both directions of Route 9, while northbound Route 17 joins Route 66 to 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 Islan ...

on the Arrigoni Bridge into Portland. Immediately east of the bridge, it meets the southern end of Route 17A, which leads to Portland center. After Route 17 leaves to the north, Route 66 narrows to 2 lanes and follows the east shore of the Connecticut River into East Hampton. It passes the northern end of

Route 151 Route 151, or Highway 151, may refer to: Canada * Prince Edward Island Route 151 Costa Rica * National Route 151 India * National Highway 151 (India) Ireland * R151 road (Ireland) Japan * Japan National Route 151 Korea, South * Seocheo ...

, and bends northeast as it intersects the western end of Route 16. In the center of town, it meets the northern end of Route 196, then crosses into Marlborough. Here, it has a junction with the

Route 2 The following highways are numbered 2. For roads numbered A2, see list of A2 roads. For roads numbered B2, see list of B2 roads. For roads numbered M2, see list of M2 roads. For roads numbered N2, see list of N2 roads. International * AH2, As ...

freeway at Exit 13. It then passes into Hebron, Connecticut, where it has junctions with Routes 85 and 316 in the center of town. It then enters

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

, intersecting Route 87 before reaching a junction with

at the western end of the Willimantic bypass. Route 66 turns east as a collector of local traffic headed for Willimantic. In Willimantic, it has a 0.74 mile concurrency with Route 32, and intersects the southern end of Route 195, and the western end of Route 14. It then turns north-northeastward and continues to US 6 at the east end of the Willimantic bypass, where Route 66 ends and US 6 assumes the roadway. From US 6 in Columbia to the end in Windham, Route 66 is designated the Grand Army of the Republic Highway. The easternmost of the route is named

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 was part of the former mail route.

History

The entire length of modern Route 66 was originally improved in the 19th century as various private turnpikes. The road from Meriden to Middletown was the Middletown and Meriden Turnpike chartered in 1809 and used the former surface alignment of Route 66 in Meriden (East Main Street). Between Middletown and East Hampton, modern Route 66 was the western half of the Colchester and Chatham Turnpike (the eastern half is modern Route 16), which was chartered in 1808. From East Hampton via Marlborough to the Hebron-Columbia line, the road was the Hebron and Middle Haddam Turnpike that was chartered in 1802. From the Hebron-Columbia line through Columbia to Willimantic, the road was the Columbia Turnpike, chartered in 1808. Route 66 was originally part of State Highway 111 designated in 1922. It ran from the Milldale section of Southington, via Meriden and Middletown, to Willimantic. In the 1932 state highway renumbering, old Highway 111 was designated as part of Route 14, which extended from Woodbury to the

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

state line. In 1941, the section of Route 14 from Woodbury to Willimantic was redesignated as

US 6A Several special routes of U.S. Route 6 (US 6) exist. In order from west to east, these special routes are as follows. Helper business loop U.S. Route 6 Business (US-6 Bus.) is a short highway serving the downtown areas of Helper, Utah. ...

, connecting at

on both ends. In the early 1960s, plans for constructing a US 6A expressway between

I-84 Interstate 84 may refer to: * Interstate 84 (Oregon–Utah), passing through Idaho, formerly known as Interstate 80N * Interstate 84 (Pennsylvania–Massachusetts) Interstate 84 (I-84) is an Interstate Highway in the Northeaster ...

in Southington and Willimantic were announced. By 1966, a short portion of the expressway from US 5 in Meriden to Middlefield (where the current expressway ends) opened to traffic. By 1968, the US 6A designation was removed and split into several routes. The section from

in Southington to US 6 in Columbia was renumbered as Route 66, including the newly opened freeway segment. In 1971, another section of the Route 66 freeway opened from between Route 322 and US 5. In 1987, with the completion of the freeway connection to

, the section of Route 66 west of

was redesignated as

, truncating the western end of Route 66. In 1983,

was rerouted to a newly constructed bypass around Willimantic, and the former surface route section of

from Columbia to Windham was transferred to Route 66.Connecticut Routes, Route 66
/ref>

Major intersections

''Exits are currently sequential and continue from I-691, but are planned to be converted to mileage-based exit numbering in 2023.''

References

External links

{{Commons category, Connecticut Route 66

066 Transportation in New Haven County, Connecticut Transportation in Middlesex County, Connecticut Transportation in Hartford County, Connecticut Transportation in Tolland County, Connecticut Transportation in Windham County, Connecticut U.S. Route 6 Transportation in Windham, Connecticut