Interstate 691

Interstate 691
Interstate 691
Henry D. Altobello Highway
	I-691 highlighted in red
Route information
	Auxiliary route of I-91
	Maintained by CTDOT
Length	8.92 mi (14.36 km)
Existed	1988 (completed)–present
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
West end	I-84 near Southington
	US 5 in Meriden
East end	I-91 / Route 15 / Route 66 / Wilbur Cross Parkway / Berlin Turnpike in Meriden
Location
Country	United States
State	Connecticut
Counties	Hartford, New Haven
Highway system
	Interstate Highway System; Main; Auxiliary; Suffixed; Business; Future; Connecticut State Highway System; Interstate; US; State SSR; SR; ; Scenic;

Interstate 691 (I-691) is a portion of the Interstate Highway System in Connecticut beginning at Interstate 91 in Meriden and ending at Interstate 84 near the Cheshire-Southington town line. It is 8.92 miles (14.36 km) in length, including 0.54 miles (0.87 km) of the exit ramp to the merge with westbound I-84.

I-691 is also known as the Henry D. Altobello Highway for its entire length.

Route description

I-691 is the main east–west highway of the city of Meriden. The freeway actually begins in Middlefield as Route 66, technically becoming I-691 at the junction with I-91 (Exit 11). However, westbound signage indicates I-691 begins at the start of the freeway (just west of Exit 13), while eastbound signage shows I-691 ending at the Route 15 interchange (at eastbound Exit 10 about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) west of the interchange with I-91). To go from I-91 northbound to I-691 westbound (or from I-691 eastbound to I-91 southbound), one must actually use Route 15. Exit 9 westbound provides access to Route 15 North.

West of the I-91/Route 15 interchange, I-691 meets US 5, which provides access to Route 15 North for eastbound traffic. Exit 7 provides access to Downtown Meriden. Westbound traffic exits onto State Street Extension, while eastbound traffic enters onto Columbia Street. Exits 6 and 5 provide access to Route 71, as well as access to Westfield Meriden. Exit 6 exits to Lewis Avenue, while Exit 5 exits directly to Route 71. From here, I-691 passes along the north side of Hubbard Park as well as by Castle Craig before it crosses into Southington. It then meets the eastern end of Route 322 at Exit 4. It then crosses the Quinnipiac River into Cheshire, where it has an interchange with Route 10, then continues west to end at I-84 at the Southington/Cheshire town line. The highway officially ends as it merges into I-84 West.

History

In the 1940s, the I-691 routing was part of a planned US 6A Expressway from Southington to Willimantic. A section of the expressway (from its Middlefield terminus west to Exit 8) first opened in 1966. By 1968, the US 6A designation was dropped in favor of Route 66. The highway was extended west to Exit 4 by 1971. The connection to I-84 was eventually completed in 1987, with the renumbering to I-691 done at the same time. The portion east of I-91 remained as Route 66. Environmental and community groups successfully blocked attempts to extend the freeway east of its present terminus due to potential impacts on the Mt. Higby Reservoir, which provides drinking water for the local area. A compromise was reached in the late 1990s allowing CONNDOT to convert Route 66 from a 2-lane road to 4 lanes from the eastern end of the I-691 freeway to the business district in Middletown. Construction on the Route 66 widening project was completed in 2005.

Exit list

Exits are currently sequential, but are planned to be converted to mileage-based exit numbering in 2023.

County	Location	mi^[1]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Hartford–New Haven county line	Southington–Cheshire line	8.92	14.36	1	I-84 west – Waterbury, Danbury	Western terminus; Exit 27 on (I-84)
Hartford–New Haven county line	Southington–Cheshire line	7.89	12.70	2	I-84 east – Hartford	Western terminus; Exit 27 on (I-84)
New Haven	Cheshire	6.79	10.93	3	Route 10 – Cheshire, Milldale
Hartford–New Haven county line	Southington–Meriden line	4.58	7.37	4	Route 322 west (West Main Street) – Southington	Eastern terminus of Route 322; Route 322 not signed eastbound
New Haven	Meriden	2.92	4.70	5	Route 71 (Chamberlain Highway) – Kensington	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		2.40	3.86	6	Lewis Avenue to Route 71	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		2.36– 1.71	3.80– 2.75	7	Downtown Meriden	Westbound entrance is via Exit 6; access via Columbia Street eastbound, State Street westbound
		1.01	1.63	8	US 5 (Broad Street) / Route 15 north	No westbound signage for Berlin Turnpike
		0.40	0.64	9	Route 15 north (Berlin Turnpike)	Westbound exit only
		0.57	0.92	10	I-91 south (Wilbur Cross Parkway) to Route 15 south – New Haven	Eastbound exit and westbound left entrance; Exit 68W on Route 15 north
		0.07	0.11	10	I-91 south to Route 15 south (Wilbur Cross Parkway) – New Haven	Westbound left exit and eastbound entrance; Exit 18 on (I-91) north
		0.00	0.00	11	I-91 north – Hartford, Springfield	Left exit eastbound. Exit 18 on (I-91) south
		0.00	0.00	–	Route 66 east	Western terminus of Route 66
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Incomplete access