 |
| Transportation in Connecticut | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Transit type | Rapid transit, commuter rail, buses, private automobile, Taxicab, bicycle, pedestrian |
| Operation | |
| Operator(s) | Connecticut Department of Transportation |
The transportation system of Connecticut is a cooperation of complex systems of infrastructure. Trains and highways are the central pieces of the system.
Southwestern Connecticut is served by MTA's Metro-North Railroad New Haven Line, providing commuter service to New York City and New Haven, with branches servicing New Canaan, Danbury, and Waterbury. Connecticut lies along Amtrak's Northeast Corridor which features frequent Northeast Regional and Acela Express service. Towns between New Haven and New London are also served by the Shore Line East commuter line. Operation of commuter trains from New Haven to Springfield on Amtrak's New Haven-Springfield Line is under consideration. [1] Amtrak also operates a shuttle service between New Haven and Springfield, Massachusetts, servicing Hartford and other towns on the corridor.
Statewide bus service is supplied by Connecticut Transit, owned by the Connecticut Department of Transportation, with smaller municipal authorities providing local service. Bus networks are an important part of the transportation system in Connecticut, especially in urban areas like Hartford, Stamford, Norwalk, Bridgeport and New Haven. The state also operates CTfastrak, a bus rapid transit line linking New Britain and Hartford. [2] [3] [4]
The Interstate highways in the state are I-95 (the majority of the Connecticut Turnpike) traveling southwest to northeast along the coast, I-84 traveling southwest to northeast in the center of the state, I-91 traveling south to north in the center of the state, and I-395 (the rest of the Connecticut Turnpike) traveling south to north near the eastern edge of the state. The other major highways in Connecticut are the Merritt Parkway and Wilbur Cross Parkway, which together form Route 15, traveling from the Hutchinson River Parkway in New York State parallel to I-95 before turning north of New Haven and traveling parallel to I-91, finally becoming a surface road in Berlin. Route 15 and I-95 were originally toll roads; they relied on a system of toll plazas at which all traffic stopped and paid fixed tolls. A series of terrible crashes at these plazas eventually contributed to the decision to remove the tolls in 1988. [5] Other major arteries in the state include U.S. Route 7 (US 7) in the west traveling parallel to the NY state line, Route 8 farther east near the industrial city of Waterbury and traveling south to north along the Naugatuck River Valley nearly parallel with US 7, and Route 9 in the east.
Between New Haven and New York City, I-95 is one of the most congested highways in the United States. Many people now drive longer distances to work in the New York City area. This strains the three lanes of traffic capacity, resulting in lengthy rush hour delays. Frequently, the congestion spills over to clog the parallel Merritt Parkway. The state has encouraged traffic reduction schemes, including rail use and ride-sharing. [6]
Connecticut also has a very active bicycling community, with one of the highest rates of bicycling ownership and use in the United States. New Haven's cycling community, organized in a local advocacy group called ElmCityCycling, is particularly active. According to the U.S. Census 2006 American Community Survey, New Haven has the highest percentage of commuters who bicycle to work of any major metropolitan center on the East Coast.[ citation needed ]
The Heroes Tunnel on the Wilbur Cross Parkway is the only tunnel in Connecticut to pass under a natural obstacle, though there are other vehicular tunnels in Hartford and New Haven. Connecticut has many bridges, especially along the coast of Long Island Sound.
Specific rules of the road in Connecticut, especially those that may differ from those of the United States in general, include:
Drivers aged 16 to 17 years are not allowed to drive between 11pm and 5am.
Driving while intoxicated (DWI) is defined as a blood alcohol content of 0.02% for those under 21 years of age, and 0.08% for older drivers. [8]
Drivers must move over one lane when it is safe to do so when there is an emergency vehicle, tow truck or road maintenance vehicle with its lights flashing stopped on the road or highway. [7]
A right turn on red is allowed after stopping, unless it is prohibited by a traffic sign. Left turn on red is not permitted. [7]
Drivers must slow down or stop if necessary when approaching a horse and rider. Blowing the horn when approaching or even passing a horse is illegal. [7]
Studded tires are permitted between November 15th and April 30th unless there are signs or other regulations that do not allow them on certain roadways. [7]
Motorists who are driving slowly and have several cars behind them must pull over when it is safe to allow them to pass, or increase speed to the posted speed limit. [7]
If wipers are required because of weather conditions, the headlights must be on as well. [7]
Any accident involving property damage, injury or death must be reported to the police. [7]
Bradley International Airport is located in Windsor Locks, 15 miles (24 km) north of Hartford. Regional air service is provided at Tweed New Haven Regional Airport. Larger civil airports include Danbury Municipal Airport (private planes only) and Waterbury-Oxford Airport in western Connecticut. Sikorsky Memorial Airport is located in Stratford and mostly services cargo, helicopter and private aviation. The Westchester County Airport in Harrison, New York serves much of southwestern Connecticut.
The Long Island Sound link is a proposed bridge or tunnel that would link Long Island with either Connecticut or New York across the Long Island Sound. The currently proposed tunnel, however, does not enter Connecticut.
Transportation in Boston includes roadway, subway, regional rail, air, and sea options for passenger and freight transit in Boston, Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) operates the Port of Boston, which includes a container shipping facility in South Boston, and Logan International Airport, in East Boston. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operates bus, subway, short-distance rail, and water ferry passenger services throughout the city and region. Amtrak operates passenger rail service to and from major Northeastern cities, and a major bus terminal at South Station is served by varied intercity bus companies. The city is bisected by major highways I-90 and I-93, the intersection of which has undergone a major renovation, nicknamed the Big Dig.
The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Bridgeport, Stamford, New York City, Trenton, Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore to Washington, D.C. The NEC closely parallels Interstate 95 for most of its length, and is the busiest passenger rail line in the United States both by ridership and by service frequency as of 2013. The NEC carries more than 2,200 trains daily.
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated principally in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of the New York and New Haven and Hartford and New Haven railroads, the company had near-total dominance of railroad traffic in Southern New England for the first half of the 20th century.
Greater Hartford is a region located in the U.S. state of Connecticut, centered on the state's capital of Hartford. It represents the only combined statistical area in Connecticut defined by a city within the state, being bordered by the Greater Boston region to the northeast and New York metropolitan area to the south and west. Sitting at the southern end of the Metacomet Ridge, its geology is characterized by land of a level grade along the shores of Connecticut River Valley, with loamy, finer-grained soil than other regions in the state. Greater Hartford, had a total population of 1,213,531 at the 2020 United States census.
Union Station, also known as New Haven Railroad Station or simply New Haven, is the main railroad passenger station in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the third such station in the city of New Haven, preceded by both an 1848 built station in a different location, and an 1879 built station near the current station's location. Designed by noted American architect Cass Gilbert, the present beaux-arts Union Station was completed and opened in 1920 after the previous Union Station was destroyed by fire. It served the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad for the next five decades, but fell into decline following World War II along with the United States railroad industry as a whole.
Shore Line East (SLE) is a commuter rail service which operates along the Northeast Corridor through southern Connecticut, United States. The rail service is a fully owned subsidiary of the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) and is operated under the CT Rail brand. SLE provides service seven days a week along the Northeast Corridor between New London and New Haven; limited through service west of New Haven to Bridgeport and Stamford has been suspended since 2020. Cross-platform transfers to Metro-North Railroad New Haven Line trains are available at New Haven for service to southwestern Connecticut and New York City. Pre-COVID, around 2,200 riders used the service on weekdays.
Interstate 84 (I-84) is an Interstate Highway in the Northeastern United States that extends from Dunmore, Pennsylvania, at an interchange with I-81 east to Sturbridge, Massachusetts, at an interchange with the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90). Among the major cities that the road passes through is Hartford, Connecticut, and the road provides a major portion of the primary route between New York City and Boston. Another highway named I-84 is located in the Northwestern United States.
The New Haven Line is a 72.7 mi (117.0 km) commuter rail line operated by the Metro-North Railroad in the U.S. states of New York and Connecticut. Running from New Haven, Connecticut, to New York City, the New Haven Line joins the Harlem Line in Mount Vernon, New York, and continues south to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. The New Haven Line carries 125,000 passengers every weekday and 39 million passengers a year. The busiest intermediate station is Stamford, with 8.4 million passengers, or 21% of the line's ridership.
CT Transit is a public transportation bus system serving many of the metropolitan areas and their surrounding suburbs in state of Connecticut. CT Transit is a division of the Connecticut Department of Transportation, although it contracts a number of private companies for most of its operations. CT Transit began operations in 1976 as Connecticut Transit after the Connecticut DOT's acquisition of the Connecticut Company that year. Although initially serving only the Hartford, New Haven, and Stamford areas, various local companies and private operators became part of the CT Transit system from the 1970s to the early-2000s. CT Transit's service now extends across much of Connecticut, although specifically around the cities of Bristol, Hartford, Meriden, New Britain, New Haven, Stamford, Wallingford and Waterbury. In 2015, CT Transit began operation of CT Fastrak, the first bus rapid transit system in Connecticut and the second in New England.
Hartford Union Station is a railroad station in Hartford, Connecticut, United States on the New Haven–Springfield Line. It is served by Amtrak Hartford Line, Northeast Regional, Valley Flyer, and Vermonter intercity rail service, plus CT Rail Hartford Line commuter rail service and CTfastrak bus rapid transit service.
The Hartford Line is a commuter rail service between New Haven, Connecticut, and Springfield, Massachusetts, using the Amtrak-owned New Haven–Springfield Line. The project is a joint venture between the states of Connecticut and Massachusetts, with support from the federal government as well. CT Rail-branded trains provide service along the corridor, and riders can use Hartford Line tickets to travel on board most Amtrak trains along the corridor at the same prices. The service launched on June 16, 2018.
Transportation in Florida includes a variety of options, including Interstate Highways, U.S. Highways, and Florida State Roads; Amtrak and commuter rail services; airports, public transportation, and sea ports, in a number of the state's counties and regions.
CTfastrak is a regional bus rapid transit system currently operating between downtown Hartford and Downtown New Britain station in New Britain in central Connecticut. Operated by Connecticut Transit, it is the first bus rapid transit system in Connecticut and the second in New England after the MBTA Silver Line. CTfastrak opened on March 28, 2015 after fifteen years of planning and three years of construction.
Flatbush Avenue is a bus rapid transit station on the CTfastrak line, located near the intersection of Flatbush Avenue and New Park Avenue in West Hartford, Connecticut. It opened with the line on March 28, 2015. The station consists of one island platform to the side of the busway, with passing lanes to allow express buses to pass buses stopped at the station. A CTrail Hartford Line commuter rail platform is planned to open in 2022 under the name West Hartford.
Transportation in New Jersey utilizes a combination of road, rail, air, and water modes. New Jersey is situated between Philadelphia and New York City, two major metropolitan centers of the Boston-Washington megalopolis, making it a regional corridor for transportation. As a result, New Jersey's freeways carry high volumes of interstate traffic and products. The main thoroughfare for long distance travel is the New Jersey Turnpike, the nation's fifth-busiest toll road. The Garden State Parkway connects the state's densely populated north to its southern shore region. New Jersey has the 4th smallest area of U.S. states, but its population density of 1,196 persons per sq. mi causes congestion to be a major issue for motorists.
Waterbury station is a commuter rail stop on the Waterbury Branch of the Metro-North Railroad's New Haven Line, located on Meadow Street in Waterbury, Connecticut. It is the northern terminus of the Waterbury Branch.
Newington Junction is a bus rapid transit station on the CTfastrak line opened in 2015 located off Willard Avenue (CT-173) in the Newington Junction neighborhood of Newington, Connecticut.
International Parkway is a major north–south highway in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main purpose is to provide access to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) from the metropolitan area. Part of the Parkway from its southern end at State Highway 183 and SH 360 to the South Toll Plaza for DFW Airport is designated as State Highway Spur 97. International Parkway is a de facto toll road, though the toll booths also handle parking fees for the airport.
Transportation in New England encompasses the region's rail and highway networks, seaports, and airports. New England has one of the United States' oldest intercity transportation systems, which remain important to the region's economy. It is also home to the continent's first subway system. The densely populated area has many cities and towns connected by rail and road, and the larger cities each have commercial airports with daily flights to destinations outside of the region.
CT Rail, stylized as CTrail, is the brand for commuter rail services overseen by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT), in the U.S. state of Connecticut, with some service extending into Massachusetts. CTDOT oversees two lines: Shore Line East, between New Haven and New London, Connecticut, and the Hartford Line, from New Haven, through Hartford, to Springfield, Massachusetts.
State of Connecticut | |
|---|---|
Hartford (capital) | |
| Topics | |
| Society | |
| Regions |
|
| Planning regions | |
| Counties | |
| Cities | |
| All Towns |
|
| Places | |
