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 at the Southington-Cheshire line
	US 5 / Route 15 in Meriden
East end	I-91 / Route 66 in Meriden
Location
Country	United States
State	Connecticut
Highway system
	Interstate Highway System; Main; Auxiliary; Suffixed; Business; Future; Connecticut State Highway System; Interstate; US; State SSR; SR; ; Scenic;

Interstate 691 (abbreviated 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

County	Location	mi^[1]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Hartford–New Haven county line	Southington–Cheshire line	8.92 7.89	14.36 12.70	1-2	I-84 – Waterbury, Danbury, Hartford	Western terminus of I-691; signed as left exit 1 (west) & 2 (east); I-84 exit 27
New Haven	Cheshire	7.03	11.31	3	Route 10 – Cheshire, Milldale
Hartford–New Haven county line	Southington–Meriden line	4.79	7.71	4	Route 322 west (West Main Street) – Southington
New Haven	Meriden	2.92	4.70	5	Route 71 (Chamberlain Highway) – Kensington	Eastbound exit, westbound entrance
		2.41	3.88	6	To Route 71	Westbound exit, eastbound entrance
		2.36 1.71	3.80 2.75	7	Columbia Street – Downtown Meriden State Street/Colony Street – Downtown Meriden	Eastbound exit to Columbia Street; eastbound traffic enters I-691 via Lewis Avenue (exit 6) Westbound off ramp to State Street Ext.; westbound onramp from Colony Street
		1.32	2.12	8	US 5 (Broad Street) to Route 15 north	Westbound traffic to Route 15 north uses exit 9
		0.48	0.77	9	Route 15 north (Berlin Turnpike) – Newington	Westbound exit only
		0.57 0.07	0.92 0.11	10	Route 15 south (Wilbur Cross Parkway) to I-91 south – New Haven, New York City I-91 south to Route 15 south (Wilbur Cross Parkway) – New Haven, New York City	Eastbound exit onto Route 15 South; I-91 traffic uses Route 15 exit 67S; raffic headed for I-691 west from I-91 north uses exit 17 to Route 15 exit 68W Westbound traffic exits onto I-91 South; Route 15 traffic uses I-91 exit 17 (shares ramp with Exit 16)
		0.02	0.032	11	I-91 north – Hartford, Springfield	I-91 Exit 18 SB to I-691 west.; westbound Exit 11 is part of Route 66 (milepost 0.16)
				12	Preston Avenue	Eastbound exit only (Route 66 milepost 0.60)
Middlesex	Middlefield			13	East Main Street	Westbound exit only (Route 66 milepost 1.22)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Incomplete access