Interstate 91

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Interstate 91 Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Length:	290.33 mi (467.24 km)
South end:	I-95 in New Haven, CT
Major junctions:	I-84 in Hartford, CT I-90 near Springfield, MA I-89 in White River Junction, VT I-93 near St. Johnsbury, VT
North end:	A-55 at the Canadian Border at Derby Line, VT
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Interstate 91 (abbreviated I-91) is an Interstate highway in the New England section of the United States. It provides the primary north-south thoroughfare in the western part of New England. The interstate's southern end is in New Haven, Connecticut (map) at Interstate 95; its northern end is at Derby Line, Vermont, a village in the town of Derby, at the Canadian border, where it continues as Autoroute 55. The largest cities along its route are New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, and Springfield, Massachusetts.

Interstate 91 is 290 miles (467 km) long and runs nearly straight north and south through the U.S. states of Connecticut (for 58 miles, 93 km), Massachusetts (for 55 miles, 89 km) and Vermont (for 177 miles, 285 km). (The net distance as the crow flies is 259 miles (417 km), and the net direction is 9.0 degrees clockwise from north or south, i.e. northeast by north or southwest by south.) Interstate 91 parallels U.S. Route 5 for its entire length in all three states, and many of the Interstate's exits provide direct or indirect access to the older U.S. Highway.

Contents 1 Route description 1.1 Connecticut 1.2 Massachusetts 1.3 Vermont 2 History 3 Exit list 3.1 Connecticut 3.2 Massachusetts 3.3 Vermont 4 Auxiliary routes 5 References

[edit] Route description

Major cities Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs
New Haven, Connecticut Hartford, Connecticut Springfield, Massachusetts Greenfield, Massachusetts Brattleboro, Vermont White River Junction, Vermont St. Johnsbury, Vermont Newport, Vermont Sherbrooke, Quebec

[edit] Connecticut

Interstate 91 runs for exactly 58 miles (93 km) through Connecticut and is the major north-south transportation corridor for the center of the state. It serves as the Interstate link between the larger cities of New Haven, Hartford, and Springfield, MA. As such, it is almost always heavily trafficked (especially during rush hour), and maintains at least three lanes in each direction throughout its distance in Connecticut. The three larger cities also serve as Connecticut's control points along its length of the Interstate. Overhead signs in each direction consistently feature one or two of the cities, although very few (if any) conventional highway mileage signs are placed along the Interstate in Connecticut that indicate the remaining distance between the cities.

The highway begins just east of downtown New Haven at a complicated intersection with Interstate 95 and Connecticut Route 34. At the bottom of the ramp for Exit 5, U.S. Route 5 has its southern terminus and the first of its many interchanges with the freeway. Leaving New Haven, I-91 follows a northeastward trek through New Haven's suburbs of North Haven and Wallingford before entering the city of Meriden. In Meriden, about halfway between Hartford and New Haven, I-91 sees an interchange with its first spur route, Interstate 691. I-691 provides a westward link to Interstate 84 and the city of Waterbury. Leaving Meriden, I-91 travels briefly through Middletown before passing through Cromwell, Rocky Hill, and Wethersfield, eventually entering the Hartford city limits. Just south of Hartford, the highway begins to directly parallel the Connecticut River, and will do so until reaching St. Johnsbury, VT, almost 200 miles (320 km) north. In Hartford, I-91 interchanges with east-west I-84 before leaving the city limits. I-91 will maintain an urban character throughout its distance to Springfield. Halfway between the two cities, Exit 40 provides direct access (via Connecticut Route 20) to the busy Bradley International Airport. The airport is the second-largest in New England and serves both the Hartford and Springfield metropolitan areas. I-91 will run through Windsor, Windsor Locks, East Windsor, and Enfield (with several exits in each town) before crossing into Massachusetts at milepost 58.

I-91's final exit in Connecticut is Exit 49, which offers northbound travelers access to Longmeadow, MA. This is the highest-numbered exit along I-91's route in the three states. Just after Exit 49, I-91 enters Massachusetts.

[edit] Massachusetts

Interstate 91 travels through the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts along the Connecticut River. In Massachusetts, I-91 serves as the major transportation corridor linking the cities of Springfield, Northampton, and Greenfield, the shire towns and most populous cities of the three Massachusetts counties that I-91 serves. The three cities serve as the control cities listed on guide and mileage signs, along with Brattleboro, VT. Brattleboro is featured as the long distance control city throughout I-91's entire northbound length in Massachusetts, beginning with the first northbound conventional mileage sign in Longmeadow. Hartford, CT is featured as a control city on two of the southbound mileage signs.

I-91 enters Massachusetts at the town of Longmeadow with no interchange there. After Longmeadow, I-91 enters Springfield where there are a number of close exits before entering Chicopee.

I-91 in Springfield, intersects Interstate 291, a spur route heading east from I-91 providing access to the eastbound Mass Pike (I-90) in eastern Chicopee.

North of Springfield, I-91 briefly enters Chicopee itself where there is an interchange with the spur of Interstate 391 before turning due west to cross the Connecticut River into West Springfield. I-391 provides better^{[citation needed]} direct access to the cities of Chicopee and Holyoke. From this point northward, I-91 continues on the western side of the river.

Just after the river crossing, I-91 has a major interchange with the east-west Mass Pike, (I-90) before entering the city of Holyoke where Exit 15 is located. Just after Exit 16, I-91 narrows from six-lanes four-lanes for the rest of its length north.

After a short exit-less stretch, I-91 enters Northampton and has a few more interchanges. The towns of Hadley and Amherst, home to the main campus of the University of Massachusetts, are accessible from I-91 exits in Northampton via Massachusetts Route 9.

Continuing north, I-91 enters Hatfield, and where it begins its straightest section - nearly 6 miles (9.7 km) without a bend in the road. Several exits provide access to U.S. Route 5 and Massachusetts Route 10 in Hatfield and Whately before entering Deerfield.

I-91 has two exits in the control city of Greenfield. At Exit 26, there is a rest area/visitor information center for Franklin County. Exit 28,Bernardston is the last in Massachusetts. I-91 continues for about 5 more miles before crossing into Vermont.

Massachusetts' portion of I-91 is the only portion to feature motorist-aid call boxes. The call boxes are still important, as a good part of I-91 in Massachusetts is rural, unlike many other freeways in the state. There are some places in the state where I-91 runs for several miles between exits. Massachusetts is the only state traversed by Interstate 91 where another numbered highway is co-signed onto the Interstate (in this case, U.S. Route 5, for a half-mile near the Springfield-Longmeadow town line).

[edit] Vermont

Interstate 91 runs along the eastern border of Vermont and serves as a major transportation corridor for both Vermont and western New Hampshire, though it nevers enters New Hampshire directly. Many exits along Vermont's length of I-91 feature New Hampshire towns on the guide signs (for example, Exit 3, which lists Brattleboro and Keene, NH, as the points of access). I-91 will run for 177 miles (285 km) in Vermont, nearly two-thirds of the Interstate's total length, yet only carries 29 interchanges along that length. The highway's rural character and long distances between exits in Vermont are in stark contrast to that of its length in Connecticut and greater Springfield, MA, where exits are more frequent and the road carries four lanes of traffic in each direction at some points. The major control "cities" are Brattleboro, White River Junction, St. Johnsbury, and Newport. Of these, only Newport is actually chartered as a city, although the others are fairly sizable towns.

I-91 enters Vermont in the town of Guilford and straddles the town line between Guilford and Vernon, though neither town has a direct interchange. They can be accessed at Exit 1, just after the highway enters the town of Brattleboro. I-91 runs through the geographic center of town and has three exits in Brattleboro. Exit 3 is considered to be one of the busiest exits along I-91 in Vermont. Brattleboro's busy suburban-like retail center is located here, including one of Vermont's few Home Depots, a supermarket, and a multi-screen movie theater. There are also several hotels and motels as well as a few fast-food outlets. Following Vermont Route 9 eastward, one can reach Keene in 15 miles (24 km). After Exit 3, I-91 heads out of Brattleboro to pass through the towns of Dummerston, Putney, Westminster, Rockingham, Springfield, Weathersfield, Windsor, Hartland, and White River Junction. White River Junction, listed as a control city on mileage signs as far south as Greenfield, MA, is where I-91 and I-89 interchange and provide access to many points in Vermont and New Hampshire. Motorist services like hotels and restaurants, as well as many stores, are available in both states near the intersection of the Interstate highways.

North of the interchange with I-89, I-91 continues towards St. Johnsbury and passes through the small towns of Norwich, Thetford, Fairlee, Bradford, Wells River, and Barnet before coming to its next major intersection. Towns in New Hampshire on the other side of the river can also be easily accessed in this stretch. At Exit 19, travelers reach the northern terminus of Interstate 93, one of the major highways in New Hampshire. Taking I-93 south, one can pass through the White Mountains on a trip towards the larger cities in southern NH. Just after the I-93 interchange are three exits for the town of St. Johnsbury, including a major intersection with U.S. Route 2. Along westbound U.S. Route 2, the capital city of Montpelier is eventually reached from I-91, although I-89 provides Montpelier with immediate Interstate access.

Interstate 91 continues northward, passing through the center of Vermont's Northeast Kingdom and the towns of Lyndon (home of Lyndon State College), and Sheffield. Here it reaches the highest point on the road, just north of mile marker 150 on Sheffield Heights, 1,856 feet (566 m).

After leaving the Heights, it follows the Barton River Valley north through Barton, and Orleans before entering Newport, just a few miles south of the Canadian border. Two exits serve Newport and its neighboring town of Derby. I-91's final exit in Vermont, just after mile marker 177, is Exit 29 in Derby Line. Beyond the exit ramp, northbound motorists enter Canadian customs. To reverse direction without crossing the border, motorists must use Exit 29 to re-enter I-91 southbound. The road passing over the Interstate actually straddles the international border; westbound drivers are driving in Canada while eastbound drivers are driving in Vermont. This road, if followed westward for a mile, eventually meets U.S. Route 5 at its northern terminus.

As with Connecticut and Massachusetts, U.S. Route 5 closely parallels Interstate 91 for their entire lengths in Vermont. Indeed, most of the large exit signs on I-91 list U.S. 5 as one of the roads (if not the only road) that can be accessed from the exit, as seen in the exit list below. While paralleling I-91 in Vermont, U.S. 5 is never co-signed onto the freeway, but remains its own two-lane road.

Traffic tends to diminish as the road proceeds northwards. Average daily traffic count for 2002 were - Brattleboro (25,600), White River Junction (28,900), St. Johnsbury (10,800), and Derby Line (2,500).^[1]

[edit] History

Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

In the 1970s there were plans to extend I-91 across the Long Island Sound from New Haven, Connecticut to Long Island in New York. The extension would continue south to the southern shore of the island perhaps along the route of the current William Floyd Parkway^{[citation needed]} in central Suffolk County. It would also provide easier access to New York City via the Long Island Expressway, as well as to the Hamptons via Sunrise Highway (NY-27).

After the September 11 attacks there has been a seldom manned temporary border patrol checkpoint near White River Junction, VT that is about 100 miles (160 km) from the US-Canada border in an effort to stop terrorism.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Exit list

[edit] Connecticut

Town	Exit #	Mile	Destinations	Notes
New Haven		0.0	I-95 South – To New York City	Southbound junction only
	1	0.2	Route 34 – Downtown New Haven	Southbound junction only
		0.4	I-95 North – To New London	Southbound junction only
	2	0.6	Hamilton Street	The northbound exit is accessible only from the southbound lanes of I-95.
	3	1.0	Trumbull Street	Yale University
	4	1.3	State Street	Southbound exit only (via Humphrey Street)
	5	1.4	US 5 (State Street) – Fair Haven	Northbound exit only
	6	1.7	Willow Street to Blatchley Avenue, US 5 (SB)
	7	2.1	Ferry Street – Fair Haven	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	8	2.8	Route 17 (Middletown Avenue), Route 80 – North Branford
North Haven	9	4.8	Montowese Avenue	SR 715 to Route 103
	10	6.6	Route 40 – Hamden, Mt. Carmel (SB), Cheshire (NB)	Quinnipiac University
	11	7.6	Route 22 – North Haven	Northbound and southbound entrance To US 5
	12	8.6	US 5 (Washington Avenue)
Wallingford	13	10.9	US 5 – Wallingford, North Haven	SR 702 to Wharton Brook State Park
	14	12.3 (NB) 13.2 (SB)	Route 150 (Woodhouse Avenue) (NB), East Center Street (SB) – Wallingford	East Center Street is SR 738 to Route 150
	15	16.0	Route 68 – Yalesville, Durham
Meriden	16	18.7	East Main Street	Northbound junction only
	17	18.9 (NB) 19.7 (SB)	NB: Route 15 North (Berlin Turnpike) To I-691, Route 66 SB: Route 15 South (Wilbur Cross Parkway), East Main Street
	18	20.1	NB: Route 66 – Middlefield, Middletown SB: I-691 – Meriden, Waterbury
	19	21.0	Baldwin Avenue, Preston Avenue	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
Middletown	20	23.2	Country Club Road, Middle Street
Cromwell	21	25.7	Route 372 – Cromwell, Berlin
	22	27.4	Route 9 – New Britain, Middletown, Old Saybrook (SB)	Split southbound into 22N and 22S
Rocky Hill	23	29.4	West Street to Route 3 – Rocky Hill	SSR 411 to Dinosaur State Park
	24	31.7	Route 99 – Rocky Hill, Wethersfield
Wethersfield	25	33.7	Route 3 – Glastonbury, Wethersfield (SB), Old Wethersfield (NB)	Partial interchange Split southbound into 25N and 25S Access to northbound Exit 26
	26	34.3	Old Wethersfield	Northbound exit must use Exit 25 ramp.
Hartford	27	35.6	Brainard Road to Airport Road – Brainard Airport	Northbound and southbound entrance Airport Road is SR 530
	28	35.9	US 5/Route 15 South (Berlin Turnpike) – Newington, Wethersfield
	27	36.5	Airport Road to Brainard Road – Brainard Airport	Southbound exit only Airport Road is SR 530
	29	36.8	US 5/Route 15 North to I-84 East – East Hartford, Boston	Northbound junction only
	29A	37.6 (NB) 38.0 (SB)	Capitol Area	Whitehead Highway
	32AB	37.8	A: I-84 West – Waterbury B: Trumbull Street	Northbound ramps
	30	38.4	I-84 East to Route 2 East – East Hartford, New London	Southbound junction only
	31	38.4	State Street	Southbound junction only Route 2 West
	32AB	38.8	A: I-84 West – Waterbury B: Trumbull Street	Southbound ramps
	33	39.9	Jennings Road
Windsor	34	41.1	Route 159 (Windsor Avenue) (NB), North Main Street (SB)
	35AB	42.2	A: I-291 – Manchester B: Route 218 – Windsor, Bloomfield
	36	43.5	Route 178 (Park Avenue) – Bloomfield
	37	44.5	Route 305 (Bloomfield Avenue) – Windsor Center
	38	46.0	Route 75 – Poquonock, Windsor	split southbound into 38A and 38B
	39 & 41	47.2	Kennedy Road to Center Street	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	40	48.2	Route 20 – Bradley International Airport
Windsor Locks	39 & 41	48.9	Center Street	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	42	49.6	Route 159 – Windsor Locks
Connecticut River crossing on the Dexter Coffin Bridge
East Windsor	44	50.3	US 5 – East Windsor
	45	51.1	Route 140 – Warehouse Point, Ellington
Enfield	46	52.7	US 5 (King Street)
	47	55.6	Route 190 – East: Hazardville, Somers; West: Suffield	Split into 47E and 47W
	48	56.1	Route 220 (Elm Street) – Thompsonville
	49	57.7	US 5 (Enfield Street) – Longmeadow MA
		58.00[2]	CT-MA state line

[edit] Massachusetts

Town	Exit #	Mile	Destinations	Notes
Longmeadow		0.0	CT-MA state line
Springfield	1	3.6	US 5 South – Forest Park, Longmeadow	Southbound exit only US 5 joins northbound and leaves southbound
	2	3.9	Route 83 – Forest Park, East Longmeadow	northbound exit only
	3	4.2	US 5 North To Route 57, Columbus Avenue (NB) – West Springfield (NB), Agawam (SB)	US 5 leaves northbound and joins southbound
	4	4.6	Route 83, Main Street – East Longmeadow	southbound only
	5	4.9	Broad Street	northbound only Formerly northbound Exit 4
	6	5.3	Springfield Center (NB) Union Street (SB)	Old Exit 5 merged with Exit 6
	7	5.9	Columbus Avenue – Springfield Center	southbound only
	8	6.6	I-291/US 20 East to I-90/Mass Pike East
	9	7.0	US 20 West, Route 20A East – West Springfield	northbound only
	10	7.2	Main Street – Chicopee, North Springfield	northbound only
	11	7.5	US 20 West, Birnie Avenue – West Springfield	southbound only
Chicopee	12	8.3	I-391 – Chicopee, Holyoke Center (NB)
Connecticut River crossing
West Springfield	13	9.2	US 5 (Riverdale Street) – West Springfield	split into 13N and 13S
	14	11.5	I-90/Mass Pike – Boston, Albany NY
Holyoke	15	12.7	Lower Westfield Road – Ingleside
	16	14.5	US 202 – Holyoke, South Hadley, Westfield (SB)
	17	15.2	Route 141 – Holyoke Center, Easthampton	split into 17A and 17B northbound
Northampton	18	22.8	US 5 – Northampton, Easthampton (SB)
	19	24.7	Route 9 – Northampton, Amherst	northbound only
	20	25.7	US 5, Route 9, Route 10 – Northampton, Hadley	southbound only
	21	27.3	US 5/Route 10 – Hatfield, Whately (NB)
Hatfield	22	29.8	US 5/Route 10 – Whately, North Hatfield	northbound only
Whately	23	33.4	US 5/Route 10 – Whately, North Hatfield	southbound only
	24	35.0	US 5/Route 10 – Deerfield, Whately (SB)
Deerfield	25	36.2	Route 116 – Deerfield, Conway	southbound only
Greenfield	26	42.9	Route 2 West, Route 2A East – Greenfield Center, North Adams
	27	46.1	Route 2 East – Boston
Bernardston	28	50.4	Route 10 – Bernardston, Northfield	split into 28A and 28B northbound
		54.90[3]	MA-VT state line

[edit] Vermont

County	Location	Mile	#	Destinations	Notes
Windham	Guilford	0.0		MA-VT stateline
	Brattleboro	7.5	1	US 5 – Brattleboro
		8.7	2	VT Route 9 West – Brattleboro, Bennington
		11.6	3	US 5, VT Route 9 East – Brattleboro, Keene NH
	Dummerston	18.2	4	US 5 – Putney
	Westminster	28.6	5	US 5 to VT Route 121 – Westminster, Bellows Falls, Walpole NH	To NH Route 123
	Rockingham	35.2	6	US 5, VT Route 103 – Rockingham, Rutland (NB), Bellows Falls (SB)
Windsor	Springfield	41.7	7	US 5, VT Route 11, VT Route 106 – Springfield
	Weathersfield	51.4	8	US 5, VT Route 12, VT Route 131 – Ascutney, Windsor
	Hartland	60.4	9	US 5, VT Route 12 – Windsor, Hartland
	Hartford	69.8	10	I-89 – South: Airport, New Hampshire; North: Barre, Montpelier	split into 10S and 10N
		70.2	11	US 5 – White River Junction
		72.0	12	US 5 – Wilder, White River Junction (SB)
	Norwich	74.8	13	US 5, VT Route 10A – Norwich, Hanover NH
Orange	Thetford	84.2	14	VT Route 113 To US 5 – Thetford
	Fairlee	91.5	15	US 5 – Fairlee, Orford NH
	Bradford	97.6	16	VT Route 25 To US 5 – Bradford, Barre (NB)
	Newbury	110.3	17	US 302 To US 5 – Wells River, Woodsville NH
Caledonia	Barnet	120.4	18	To US 5 – Barnet, Peecham
	Waterford	128.2	19	I-93 – Littleton NH
	St. Johnsbury	128.9	20	US 5 To US 2 East – St. Johnsbury, Passumpsic (SB)
		130.6	21	US 2 To VT Route 15 – St. Johnsbury, Montpelier
		132.6	22	To US 5 – St. Johnsbury
	Lyndon	137.1	23	US 5 To VT Route 114 – Lyndonville, Burke (NB)
		139.9	24	VT Route 122 To VT Route 114 – NB: Wheelock, Sheffield; SB: Burke, Lyndonville, Lyndon Center
Orleans	Barton	156.0	25	VT Route 16 – Barton, Hardwick (SB)
		161.4	26	US 5, VT Route 58 – Orleans, Irasburg
	Derby	170.1	27	VT Route 191 To US 5, VT Route 105 – Newport
		172.4	28	US 5, VT Route 105 – Newport, Derby Center
		177.4	29	To US 5 – Derby Line
		177.43[4]		Continues into Quebec as Autoroute 55

[edit] Auxiliary routes

v • d • e Auxiliary routes of Interstate 91 Connecticut: 291 • 691 — Massachusetts: 291 • 391

• I-91 historical overview from bostonroads.com

[edit] References

edit Main Interstate Highways (multiples of 5 in pink)
4	5	8	10	12	15	16	17	19	20	22	24	25	26	27	29	30
35	37	39	40	43	44	45	49	55	57	59	64	65	66	68	69
70	71	72	73	74	75	76 (W)		76 (E)		77	78	79	80	81	82
83	84 (W)		84 (E)		85	86 (W)		86 (E)		87	88 (W)		88 (E)		89	90
91	93	94	95	96	97	99	(238)		H-1		H-2		H-3
Unsigned			A-1		A-2		A-3		A-4		PRI-1		PRI-2		PRI-3
Lists		Primary			Main - Intrastate - Suffixed - Future - Gaps
		Auxiliary			Main - Future - Unsigned
		Other			Standards - Business - Bypassed

Browse numbered routes
< Route 89	CT		Route 94 >
< I-90	MA		I-93 >
< I-89	VT		I-93 >