Interstate 291 (Connecticut)

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Interstate 291
Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System

Length:

6.40 mi (10.30 km)

Formed:

1994

West end:

I-91 in Windsor

East end:

I-84 in Manchester

Route 289

Route 302

Interstate 291 (abbreviated I-291) is a short interstate highway in the state of Connecticut that starts at I-91 as a continuation of Route 218 in Windsor and ends at I-84 in Manchester. It serves as a mortheastern bypass of Hartford.

1 Route description
2 Special designations
3 Exit List
4 History
5 Notes
6 External links

[edit] Route description

Heading east from I-91, I-291 has a partial interchange with Route 159, then goes across the Connecticut River on the Bissell Bridge. It has an interchange with US 5 in East Windsor and ends at I-84 in a complex interchange that also includes ramps for US 6, US 44, and I-384.

[edit] Special designations

I-291 is also known as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway for its entire length.

[edit] Exit List

Town	Number	Mile	Destinations	Notes
Windsor	1	0.0	Route 218, Bloomfield	westbound exit
	2A	0.0	I-91 SOUTH	westbound exit
	2B	0.3	NORTH I-91	westbound exit
	3	0.9	Route 159, Windsor	westbound exit
East Windsor	4	2.9	US 5
Manchester	5	5.4	Tolland Turnpike	eastbound exit
		5.7	I-84 WEST TO I-384 EAST	eastbound exit
		6.0	I-84 EAST	eastbound exit; exit ramp as main line

[edit] History

The current I-291 is only the northeastern arc of what was originally planned as a three-quarter beltway around Hartford. From Windsor, I-291 would have continued to cross I-84 again in Farmington, and end at I-91 in Rocky Hill. While the remainder of I-291 was cancelled amidst environmental concerns, those two interchanges were built as part of I-84 and I-91 construction, and stood unused for over 20 years as ghost ramps. Half of the stack interchange at I-84 was eventually placed in service when Route 9 was extended to run along a portion of the I-291 right of way south of I-84 in 1992. The I-91 ramp was demolished in 1999 during expansion of I-91. Ironically, in 1992, the Route 9 expressway was extended northwest from I-91 in Cromwell to The Stack interchange at I-84 originally intended for I-291. The Route 9 Expressway largely follows the original path for the southwest segment of I-291, leaving only the northwest section of I-291 unbuilt. The Connecticut Department of Transportation headquarters was built on land originally acquired for I-291 where it intersects US Route 5 in Newington.

[edit] Notes

I-291 is only 22.4 miles from Interstate 291 (Massachusetts), and there are no intervening interstate highway interchanges between them. It can be easy for travelers to become confused between the two highways.