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 Interstate 691 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry D. Altobello Highway | ||||
 I-691 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Auxiliary route ofI-91 | ||||
| Maintained byCTDOT | ||||
| Length | 8.38 mi[1] (13.49 km) | |||
| Existed | 1988 (completed)–present | |||
| NHS | Entire route | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  I-84 inSouthington | |||
| Major intersections |  US 5 inMeriden Route 15 /Wilbur Cross Parkway in Meriden | |||
| East end |   I-91 /Route 66 in Meriden | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Connecticut | |||
| Counties | Hartford,New Haven | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Interstate 691 (I-691) is anauxiliary Interstate Highway inConnecticut beginning atI-91 inMeriden and ending atI-84 near theCheshire–Southington town line. According to theFederal Highway Administration, it is 8.38 miles (13.49 km) in length;[1] however, theConnecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) includes the 0.54 miles (0.87 km) of the exit ramp that I-691 uses to the merge with westboundI-84, making their recorded length 8.92 miles (14.36 km) long.[2]
I-691 is also known as theHenry D. Altobello Highway for its entire length.
I-691 is the main east–west highway of the city ofMeriden. The freeway actually begins inMiddlefield asRoute 66, technically becoming I-691 at the junction withI-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 theRoute 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 meetsUS Route 5 (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 toRoute 71, as well as access toMeriden Mall. Exit 6 exits to Lewis Avenue, while exit 5 exits directly to Route 71. From here, I-691 passes along the north side ofHubbard Park as well as byCastle Craig before it crosses intoSouthington. It then meets the eastern end ofRoute 322 at exit 4. It then crosses theQuinnipiac River intoCheshire, where it has an interchange withRoute 10, then continues west to end atI-84 at the Southington–Cheshire town line. The highway officially ends as it merges into I-84 west.
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 toI-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 allowingCTDOT to convert Route 66 from a two-lane road to four lanes from the eastern end of the I-691 freeway to the business district inMiddletown. Construction on the Route 66 widening project was completed in 2005.
Exits are currentlysequential but are planned to be converted tomileage-based exit numbering in 2023.[needs update]
| County | Location | mi[2] | km | Old exit | New exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hartford | Southington | 8.38 | 13.49 | 1 | 8B |  I-84 west –Waterbury | Western terminus; |
| 7.96 | 12.81 | 2 | 8A |  I-84 east –Hartford | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; exit 40A on I-84 | ||
| New Haven | Cheshire | 6.97 | 11.22 | 3 | 7 |  Route 10 –Cheshire,Plantsville | |
| Hartford–New Haven county line | Southington–Meriden line | 4.78 | 7.69 | 4 | 5 |  Route 322 –Southington | Eastern terminus of Route 322 |
| New Haven | Meriden | 3.02 | 4.86 | 5 | 3 |  Route 71 (Chamberlain Highway) | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance |
| 2.47 | 3.98 | 6 | 3 |  ToRoute 71 (Chamberlain Highway) | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; access via Lewis Avenue | ||
| 2.36– 1.71 | 3.80– 2.75 | 7 | 2B | Downtown Meriden | Access via Columbia Street eastbound, State Street westbound | ||
| 1.31 | 2.11 | 8 | 2A | US 5 –Downtown Meriden | |||
| 0.40 | 0.64 | 10 | 1B |    Route 15 south (Wilbur Cross Parkway) toI-91 south –New Haven | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | ||
| 9 | 1C |  Route 15 north (Wilbur Cross Parkway) | Westbound exit only; Wilbur Cross Parkway. signed as Berlin Turnpike. | ||||
| 0.00 | 0.00 | 10-11 | 1A-B | I-91 toRoute 15 south (Wilbur Cross Parkway) –Hartford,New Haven | No eastbound access to I-91 south; signed as exits 1A (I-91 north) and 1B (I-91 south) | ||
| — | — |  Route 66 east –Middlefield,Middletown | Continuation east | ||||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||||
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1Former | ||
