Route 101 is a numbered state highway running in
Rhode Island
Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...
. It runs from the
Connecticut
Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
state line east to
U.S. Route 6
U.S. Route 6 (US 6) or U.S. Highway 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 United States Numbered Highway System. While it ...
(US 6) in the town of
Scituate.
Route description
Route 101 begins at the Connecticut state line between the towns of
Killingly and Foster as a continuation of
Connecticut Route 101. The route, known locally as Hartford Pike, runs for about through several reservoirs before ending at US 6 Bypass in the town of Scituate, near the north edge of the
Scituate Reservoir
The Scituate Reservoir is the largest inland body of water in the state of Rhode Island. It has an aggregate capacity of and a surface area of . It and its six tributary reservoirs—which make up a total surface area of —supply drinking water ...
. Route 101 passes near
Jerimoth Hill
Jerimoth Hill () is the highest point in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It is the lowest state highpoint in New England. Located in the town of Foster in the northwest of the state, the site is used as an observatory. It is also a popular dest ...
, the highest point in Rhode Island.
History
In the 19th century, modern Route 101 was a
toll road
A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...
that was administered by the Rhode Island and Connecticut Turnpike corporation. The former turnpike route was not assigned a route number in 1923 when the state first designated route numbers. At the time, the Route 101 designation was assigned to what is now
US 44. In 1934, US 44 was designated by
AASHO
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway design and construction throughout the United St ...
along its current alignment. Connecticut and Rhode Island reassigned the Route 101 designation by the following year to the Rhode Island and Connecticut Turnpike route and its continuation in Connecticut.
Until 2003, eastbound signage clearly showed Route 101 beginning concurrent with the US 6 Bypass, from the eastern split of US 6 Business (Danielson Pike) and US 6 Bypass in Scituate. Signage westbound at that intersection has now been changed to say "TO Route 101", leading to the belief that the western terminus is now the split between Hartford Pike and the US 6 Bypass, where the concurrency ended.
Major intersections
References
External links
2019 Highway Map, Rhode Island{{Numbered routes in Rhode Island, state=expanded
101
101 may refer to:
*101 (number), the number
* AD 101, a year in the 2nd century AD
* 101 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC
It may also refer to:
Entertainment
* ''101'' (album), a live album and documentary by Depeche Mode
* "101" (song), a 19 ...
Transportation in Providence County, Rhode Island
U.S. Route 44