This 1967 photo shows the I-84 / CT 2 "mixmaster" interchange and the Governor Street ramps in East Hartford, looking south. The Governor Street ramps were to be part of the East Bank Expressway (I-284, originally designated "Relocated US 5") stretching north to East Windsor. (Photo by Connecticut Highway Department.)

AN EAST BANK EXPRESSWAY: For years, the city of East Hartford lobbied the state to construct an expressway along the east bank of the Connecticut River in order to relieve congestion on the US 5 corridor. As the East Hartford-Glastonbury Expressway (which would eventually become parts of the CT 2 and CT 17 expressways) was being constructed in the early 1950's, state officials made plans for a northern extension that would bypass East Hartford along the riverbank.

In 1962, both the Connecticut Highway Department and the Tri-State Transportation Commission outlined plans for the construction of a 12-mile-long, four-lane expressway to connect the I-84 / CT 2 "mixmaster" interchange in East Hartford with I-91 in East Windsor. The US 5 Expressway, which was to include an interchange with the then-proposed I-291 in South Windsor, was to have a design capacity of 40,000 vehicles per day (AADT). Expected completion dates were slated for 1970 for the section between I-84 and I-291, and for 1975 for the section between I-291 and I-91.

From I-84 in East Hartford north to I-291, the US 5 Expressway became eligible for Interstate funding in 1968, and was designated I-284. (However, for some time thereafter, the proposed highway continued to be known as the "Relocated US 5.") This 2.9-mile-long section, which was designated as a priority project by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT), was estimated to cost $30.5 million. North of I-291, the remainder of the US 5 Expressway, which was classified as a "future needs" proposal, may have received the I-284 designation upon its completion.

Through much of the 1970's, when much of the I-291 Greater Hartford beltway was being killed off, the future of I-284 appeared in jeopardy. Plans for the I-284 project were revived in the early 1980's when the connecting I-291 section between I-91 and I-84 was approved. However, after environmental studies concluded that construction of the four-lane expressway would have resulted in extensive wetlands damage and adversely affected the Connecticut River floodplain, the I-284 project was canceled in 1983.

Vestiges of I-284 can be found on the long, multi-lane entrance and exit ramps connecting I-84 (EXIT 56) with Governor Street in East Hartford. (These ramps are known as "secret" CT 500.)

THE PROSPECT STREET BYPASS: Nevertheless, the congestion along the US 5 corridor needed to be addressed. In 1992, ConnDOT and the city of East Hartford proposed a 1.5-mile-long, four-lane divided arterial bypass. To minimize environmental disruption, part of the bypass was to be on new alignment along the eastern edge of the Connecticut River floodplain. The remainder of the bypass was to be on a widened Prospect Street, which would require the displacement of 45 homes.

The Prospect Street Bypass, which is planned to begin at the current end of the I-84 ramps in East Hartford, is estimated to cost $20 million. No further plans have been announced since the early 1990's.

This 1999 photo shows the Governor Street ramps from I-84 and CT 2 in East Hartford. Despite several attempts to extend the highway over the decades, no progress had made on I-284 since the 1967 photo was taken. (Photos by Steve Anderson.)

SOURCES: Regional Highways: Status Report, Tri-State Transportation Commission (1962); Connecticut Highway Needs, Connecticut Highway Department (1967); Planning for the Future, Connecticut Highway Department (1968); "Relocation of US 5: Administrative Action Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Section 4(f) Statement," Federal Highway Administration and Connecticut Department of Transportation (1972); "Master Transportation Plan," Connecticut Department of Transportation (1975); Greater Hartford Study, Connecticut Department of Transportation (1980); "Interstate 284: Administrative Action Final Environmental Impact Statement and Section 4(f) Statement," Federal Highway Administration and Connecticut Department of Transportation (1982); "Prospect Street Bypass: Administrative Action Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Section 4(f) Statement," Federal Highway Administration and Connecticut Department of Transportation (1992); Scott Oglesby.

  • I-284 and US 5 shields by Ralph Herman.

INTERSTATE 284 LINKS:

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