Connecticut Route 156

Route 156
Route 156
	Map of southeastern Connecticut with Route 156 highlighted in red
Route information
	Maintained by CTDOT
Length	22.76 mi (36.63 km)
Existed	1932–present
Major junctions
West end	Route 82 in East Haddam
	I-95 / US 1 in Old Lyme
East end	US 1 in Waterford
Location
Country	United States
State	Connecticut
Counties	Middlesex, New London
Highway system
	Connecticut State Highway System; Interstate; US; State SSR; SR; ; Scenic;

Route 156 is a Connecticut state highway running from East Haddam to Waterford.

Route description

Drawbridge carrying CT 156 over the Niantic River between East Lyme and Waterford

Route 156 begins at an intersection with Route 82 in southeastern East Haddam and heads southeast into Lyme. It continues south through Lyme into Old Lyme. In Old Lyme, it continues south, intersecting I-95 and US 1. It then continues south and southeast along the Connecticut River, turning east at Long Island Sound and proceeding along the shore before turning northeast through the South Lyme section of Old Lyme and crossing into East Lyme. It continues east through southern East Lyme past Niantic Bay before crossing the Niantic River into Waterford. In Waterford, it continues east and northeast to end at an intersection with US 1. Although much of the route follows a north-south trajectory, the entire road is signed east-west.^[1]

The section of Route 156 in East Haddam and Lyme is designated as a scenic road.^[1]

History

In 1922, a loop route of the Boston Post Road (New England Route 1) serving the coastal settlements of the towns of Old Lyme, East Lyme, and Waterford was designated as State Highway 333. At the same time, the road serving the village of Hamburg in the town of Lyme on the east side of the Connecticut River was designated as State Highway 150. In the 1932 state highway renumbering, old Highway 333 was renumbered as Route 156, running from US 1 in Old Lyme to the eastern terminus at US 1 in Waterford.^[2] Old Highway 150 from East Haddam to Old Lyme was renumbered to Route 86. In 1948, former Route 86 was absorbed by Route 156 resulting in its modern configuration.

In 1961, the section running from the Lieutenant River to the intersection of Shore Road and McCurdy Road in Old Lyme was reassigned from Ferry Road and McCurdy Road to the current route along Shore Road. Improvements in the Niantic section of East Lyme have been considered several times since 1963, but the only change has been the replacement of the bridge over the Niantic River.^[3]

Junction list

County	Location	mi^[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Middlesex	East Haddam	0.00	0.00	Route 82 – Hadlyme, Salem
New London	Old Lyme	8.44	13.58	US 1 north – East Lyme	Northern terminus of US 1 overlap
	Old Lyme	8.54	13.74	I-95 / US 1 south – New Haven, New London	Exit 70 on I-95; southern terminus of US 1 overlap
	East Lyme	16.05	25.83	To I-95 – New London, New Haven	Access via SSR 449
	East Lyme	19.01	30.59	Route 161 north – Flanders, Chesterfield
	Niantic River	19.69– 20.04	31.69– 32.25	Niantic River Bridge
	Waterford	22.24	35.79	Route 213 north – Harkness Memorial State Park
	Waterford	22.76	36.63	US 1 – New London, Groton, East Lyme
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus