Wilbur Cross Highway

Route description

After splitting off of I-84 in East Hartford it continues in a southwesterly direction to the Charter Oak Bridge. After crossing the Connecticut River it intersects I-91 in southern Hartford. It changes to a direct south direction and intersects with Hartford–Brainard Airport access road. After I-91 it changes back into a southwesterly direction and intersects with Route 99 (Old Route 9). After that it has a merge with the Berlin Turnpike, which the highway ends at.

Highway History

The highway was built in the 1940s before the Interstate Highway era as a continuation of the Wilbur Cross Parkway, itself a continuation of the Merritt Parkway. Originally, the parkways were to span continuously from Greenwich to Union, but with the opening of Interstate 91, the planned segment between Meriden and Hartford was never built, and Connecticut Route 15 was instead routed along the Berlin Turnpike. In 1958, the East Hartford-Union portion of the parkway, as well as an extension to the Massachusetts Turnpike was cosigned as I-84 as part of its planned route through Connecticut. In 1968, the I-84 designation east of East Hartford was given to the proposed highway to Providence, and the portion from East Hartford to Sturbridge was renumbered to I-86. The CT 15 designation remained cosigned on the I-86 section to the MA line until October 1, 1980, when it was truncated back to its current northern terminus at I-84 Exit 57. In 1984, the planned extension of I-84 to Providence was cancelled and the I-84 designation returned to its original East Hartford-Sturbridge route. US 6 is also signed along the highway from the I-84/CT 15 junction to Exit 60. From 1948 to 1982, US 44 was signed along the highway from current Exit 60 to current Exit 69.

Charter Oak Bridge History

The Charter Oak Bridge, which carries the highway was originally opened 1942 and carried the Hartford Bypass. Due to clogging on the Bissell Bridge and the Founder's Bridge in the late 1980s and the failing condition of the bridge itself, the bridge and approach was completely rebuilt in 1991 to its current form.

Exit list

Exits 85-91 correspond to those of Connecticut Route 15, while Exits 58-74 in CT and all MA exits correspond to I-84. Old CT 15 Exit numbers along I-84 are in parentheses. An old exit to Forbes St. in East Hartford (former exit 91), was closed to make way for construction of I-84 Exit 59. Exit 61 to I-291 was not in the original exit numbers for CT 15, as this interchange did not open until 1994. Mileposts in CT are in reference to the length of the Wilbur Cross Highway along CT 15 and I-84