 U.S. Route 5 | |||||||||||||||||||
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 US 5 highlighted in red | |||||||||||||||||||
| Route information | |||||||||||||||||||
| Length | 300.338 mi[1][2][3] (483.347 km) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Existed | 1926[citation needed]–present | ||||||||||||||||||
| Major junctions | |||||||||||||||||||
| South end |  I-91 inNew Haven, CT | ||||||||||||||||||
| Major intersections |
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| North end |  R-143 at theCanada–US border inDerby Line, VT | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||||||||||
| Country | United States | ||||||||||||||||||
| States | Connecticut,Massachusetts,Vermont | ||||||||||||||||||
| Highway system | |||||||||||||||||||
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U.S. Route 5 (US 5) is a north–southUnited States Numbered Highway running through theNew England states ofConnecticut,Massachusetts, andVermont. Significant cities along the route includeNew Haven, Connecticut;Hartford, Connecticut; andSpringfield, Massachusetts. From Hartford northward toSt. Johnsbury, Vermont, the road closely follows the route of theConnecticut River.
The entire route of US 5 is closely paralleled byInterstate 91 (I-91). US 5 now serves as the local business route and alternate route for the Interstate Highway. The northern terminus of US 5 is inDerby Line, Vermont, at theCanada–United States border, where it continues past theDerby Line–Stanstead Border Crossing intoQuebec asRoute 143, which was Route 5 until renumbered in the mid-1970s. Its southern terminus is inNew Haven, Connecticut, at an intersection with I-91.[4]
| mi[1][2][3] | km | |
|---|---|---|
| CT | 54.59 | 87.85 |
| MA | 53.432 | 85.990 |
| VT | 192.316 | 309.503 |
| Total | 300.338 | 483.347 |
US 5 runs through three states: Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont, with the latter containing over half of US 5's total distance. Throughout nearly all of US 5's entire length, it remains its own road entirely separate from I-91, which has largely replaced it as a through route (and now carries most of the traffic). It is only cosigned onto I-91 for less than half of a mile (0.80 km) in Springfield, Massachusetts, before splitting off alone again.
US 5 begins in the city ofNew Haven, heading north throughHartford to Massachusetts. It generally parallelsI-91. FromMeriden northward throughWethersfield, it runs concurrent withRoute 15 and is known locally as theBerlin Turnpike. Much commerce is located there resulting in high traffic.[citation needed] The Berlin Turnpike leaves the roadway south of the Hartford city line.
After an interchange in Hartford with I-91, US 5/Route 15 travels over theCharter Oak Bridge, which spans the Connecticut River, intoEast Hartford. US 5 then splits off to head toward downtownEast Hartford. It then has a short overlap withUS 44, which joins it from the west as Connecticut Boulevard. US 44 continues to the east along Burnside Avenue as US 5 continues northward intoSouth Windsor,East Windsor, andEnfield. It leaves the state soon after a junction with I-91, heading intoLongmeadow, Massachusetts (a part of theSpringfield metropolitan area).
US 5 stays very close to theConnecticut River. It enters the state at the town ofLongmeadow on the east bank of the river going up toSpringfield. In Springfield, US 5 then overlaps with I-91 for about 0.5 miles (0.8 km), then separates as its own freeway crossing the Connecticut River on the South End Bridge intoAgawam. The freeway portion runs for about 3.3 miles (5.3 km) up toWest Springfield. From the town ofNorthampton up toBernardston, US 5 overlapsRoute 10 (for 26 miles [42 km]). US 5 also passes throughHolyoke,Hatfield,Whately,Deerfield, andGreenfield. As in Connecticut, US 5 has many interchanges with the parallel I-91.
US 5 follows theConnecticut River valley from the southern border of Vermont, traveling along the west bank of that river until it reaches St. Johnsbury.
US 5 enters the state at the town ofGuilford. It passes through the counties of (from south to north)Windham,Windsor,Orange,Caledonia, andOrleans. Near the town ofSt. Johnsbury, US 5 continues northward, following thePassumpsic River valley until it reachesSheffield Heights. After crossing the heights, it follows theBarton River valley until it reachesOrleans. It then turns north-northwest and crosses the divide near the Airport Road inIrasburg and follows theBlack River valley intoNewport. US 5 ends at the Canada–United States border in the village ofDerby Line, where the roadway continues into Canada asRoute 143.
As in Connecticut and Massachusetts, US 5 has many interchanges with I-91, with a total of 22 junctions over its 192-mile (309 km) length in the state.
Prior to the U.S. Numbered Highway System, the route was designated asRoute 2 of theNew England road marking system that existed between 1922 and 1927. When US 5 was first commissioned, it took over the entirety of Route 2. In 1927, US 5 had still not been paved in Vermont. Paving in Vermont was completed by 1933.
Originally, the route began at theNew Haven Green in downtownNew Haven (atUS 1). Between New Haven andNorth Haven, it originally ran east of theQuinnipiac River along modern-day Middletown Avenue (part ofRoute 17) andRoute 103 (the modern alignment was then designated as US 5A).
InHartford, US 5 passed byCentral Row in the downtown area, entering the city via Maple Avenue and exiting on theBulkeley Bridge withUS 6.
The southern terminus of US 5 has been realigned several times. By 1938, US 5 bypassed downtown New Haven via theProspect Hill,Dixwell, andWest River neighborhoods, ending at Davenport and Columbus Avenues.[5] In the mid-1950s, US 5 was instead routed through theMill River neighborhood ending at East Street and Forbes Avenue.[6] The modern New Haven to North Haven designation was also in place around this time. WhenI-91 opened in 1967, the alignment was truncated to its current terminus at exit 5 of I-91.
TheMassachusetts Highway Commission noted in 1912 that betweenLongmeadow andAgawam, the traffic between thePioneer Valley and Connecticut was heavier on the east side.[7]
The western route from Hartford toWest Springfield, via what is now River Road in Agawam[8] andRoute 159 in Connecticut, was designatedUS 5 Alternate.[9]
The main route, US 5, was originally designated to run on the east side of the river from Hartford into downtownSpringfield, over theMemorial Bridge, along Memorial Avenue, up a four-lane Main Street, and then to Park Street (and Park Avenue going in the opposite direction), and up what is now Elm Street, to Riverdale Street. Riverdale Street at that time followed the northern part of the current Elm Street and ended at Witch Path.
In 1938, due to congestion in the West Springfield town center, US 5 was moved to a newly constructed bypass from the North End Bridge to East Elm Street, where it continued north along the modern Elm Street and Riverdale Road.[10]
In 1941–1942, a four-lane highway was built from East Elm Street to the current Elm Street fork just south of Morgan Road. The designations of both Riverdale Road and US 5 were moved to the new more easterly route.[11]
In 1952–1953, construction was started on the modern four-lane highway from the new South End Bridge in Agawam to the existing bypass at the North End Bridge. Tunnels were built under the rotaries at the Memorial and North End bridges so US 5 traffic and local traffic would not intersect. In 1971, the Riverdale Road portion of US 5 was upgraded to a divided highway, with the installation of a steel median, and in 1987–1988, a new lane was added to accommodate the new Riverdale Shops at Daggett Drive.[11]
The 1953 Massachusetts Department of Public Works Master Plan would have relocated US 5 between Morgan Road in West Springfield andMount Tom inHolyoke to aright-of-way similar to the current path ofI-91, but this was never implemented.[12]
US 5 in Vermont mostly followed the Route 2 alignment when it was first designated. Minor deviations from the current route are found in the urban compacts ofWhite River Junction,Burke,Coventry, andDerby Center.
From 1927 to 1929, US 5 was temporarily routed intoNew Hampshire along part of what is nowNew Hampshire Route 12 betweenNorth Walpole andCharlestown.[citation needed] The US 5 designation was removed when the road opposite the Connecticut River in Vermont had been improved.[citation needed] In 1931, US 5 in Vermont was taken over by the state, which began paving the road. Over the years a few minor reroutings within populated centers have taken place. The current alignment was in place by 1975.
I-91 inNew HavenI-91 inNorth HavenI-91 inNorth Haven
I-691 inMeridenI-91 inHartford
I-84 /US 6 inEast Hartford
US 44 in East Hartford. The highways travel concurrently through the city.
I-291 inSouth WindsorI-91 inEast WindsorI-91 inEnfieldI-91 in EnfieldI-91 inSpringfield. The highways travel concurrently through the city.
US 20 inWest SpringfieldI-91 in West Springfield
I-90 /I-91 in West Springfield
US 202 inHolyokeI-91 inNorthamptonI-91 in NorthamptonI-91 in NorthamptonI-91 inHatfieldI-91 inWhatelyI-91 in WhatelyI-91 inBrattleboroI-91 inDummerstonI-91 southeast ofSpringfieldI-91 inHartlandI-91 inHartford
US 4 inWhite River Junction. The highways travel concurrently through the city.I-91 inNorwich
US 302 inNewbury. The highways travel concurrently through the city.I-91 inSt. Johnsbury
US 2 in St. Johnsbury. The highways travel concurrently for one block.I-91 inLyndonI-91 inOrleansI-91 inDerbyR-143 at theCanada–United States border inDerby Line![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(January 2014) |
Routes initalics are no longer a part of the system. Highlighted routes are considered main routes of the system. |
