Route 218 is a

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...

in the U.S. state of

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. ...

. It is located in the northwestern suburbs of

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, traveling in an L-shaped pattern from

West Hartford West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, west of downtown Hartford. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. The population was 64,083 at the 2020 census. The town's popular downtown area is colloquiall ...

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places *Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region Australia New South Wales *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...

Route description

Route 218 begins as North Main Street at an intersection with

US 44 U.S. Route 44 (US 44) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that runs for through four states in the Northeastern United States. The western terminus is at US 209 and New York State Route 55 (NY 55) in Kerhonks ...

in West Hartford and heads north for about into the town of Bloomfield, becoming Hall Boulevard. In the vicinity of the town line, Route 218 briefly becomes a four-lane road for about after its intersection with Route 185. Hall Boulevard continues north through southern Bloomfield following along Tumble Brook, then turns east at Cottage Grove Road, assuming the Cottage Grove name. Route 218 becomes a partially controlled-access divided four-lane highway for about four miles (6 km) as it runs east through southern Bloomfield. Along the way, it intersects Route 189 and Route 187. Just east of Route 187, Route 218 becomes undivided, but maintains 4 lanes, and soon reaches the

. In Windsor, it continues east, intersecting the ramps to and from

I-291 Interstate 291 is the designation for two Interstate Highways in the United States, both of which are related to Interstate 91: *Interstate 291 (Massachusetts), a connector to Interstate 90/Massachusetts Turnpike in Springfield *Interstate 291 (Con ...

at its western end. The road then runs parallel to

and soon crosses over

I-91 Interstate 91 (I-91) is an Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It is the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of the region. Its southern terminus is in New Haven, ...

at Exit 35B as part of the

interchange. It continues east for another half mile to end at an intersection with Route 159. The easternmost of Route 218 are designated the Putnam Memorial Highway.

History

Route 218 was commissioned in 1935 from previously unnumbered state roads, running from the current route of Route 189 in

(via modern Route 185) to the current route of Route 187 in Bloomfield. In 1963, the southern sections of Routes 185 and 218 were exchanged, resulting in the current western terminus of Route 218 at

. In 1982, it was rerouted along the Mount St. Benedict connector to the current intersection with Route 187. In 1992, Route 218 was extended to its current eastern terminus in preparation for the construction of

from 1992 to 1994.Connecticut Routes, Route 218
/ref> Route 218 serves the corridor that was to be part of the northwest quadrant of the I-291 Hartford Beltway that was canceled in the 1970s due to environmental and community opposition.

Major intersections

References

External links

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218 Year 218 ( CCXVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Adventus (or, less frequently, year 971 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 218 for th ...

Transportation in Hartford County, Connecticut