U.S. Route 1 (US 1) 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. ...

is a major east–west

U.S. Route The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...

along

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), 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 (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...

. It has been replaced by Interstate 95 (I-95) as a through route, which it closely parallels, and now primarily serves as a local business route.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

I-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 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

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 Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

to Branford, US 1 is mostly a four- or six-lane principal arterial road (with some two-lane sections in dense areas). From Branford to Stonington, US 1 it a two- or four-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 Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Is ...

; and 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.

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 into Long Isl ...

via the Raymond E. Baldwin Bridge. The eastern concurrency is between exits 83 and 85 from New London to Groton, where the routes cross the

Thames River The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the ...

via the

Gold Star Memorial Bridge The Gold Star Memorial Bridge is a pair of steel truss bridges that carry both Interstate 95 in Connecticut, Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1 across the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River between New London, Connecticut and Groton, Connecticu ...

. US 1's two other major bridge crossings closely parallel the I-95 crossings of those rivers. The Washington Bridge 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 ...

, 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 The Quinnipiac River ( ) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 long river in the New England region of the United States, located entirely in the state of ...

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

, are a short distance away from I-95's Moses Wheeler and Pearl Harbor Memorial bridges, respectively. US 1 also forms a

frontage road A frontage road (also known as an access road, outer road, service road, feeder road, or parallel road) is a local road running parallel to a higher-speed, limited-access road. Where parallel high-speed roads are provided as part of a maj ...

for I-95 in parts of Fairfield, Stratford, and New London.

History

US 1 generally follows the old

and turnpike roads 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 ...

ed in 1792, was the part in

and became part of the longer

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

-to- Fairfield Connecticut Turnpike (not to be confused with the contemporary

Connecticut Turnpike The Connecticut Turnpike (officially the Governor John Davis Lodge Turnpike) is a freeway and former toll road in the U.S. state of Connecticut; it is maintained by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT). Spanning approximately ...

) in 1806. The New Haven and Milford Turnpike (1802) continued from

, 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 town is part of the Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The population was 18,693 at the 2020 census. The villages of Niantic and Flanders are located in the town. ...

. However, from 1949 to 1976, US 1 existed where

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