Oak Street Connector
Encyclopedia
The Oak Street Connector, officially known as the Richard C. Lee Highway, is a 1.1 miles (1.8 km) long freeway section of Route 34
that is located in downtown
New Haven, Connecticut
. The freeway begins at the junction of Interstate 95
and Interstate 91
and ends at York Street/the Air Rights parking garage.
, where it would intersect with Route 8
. The current connector section was completed in 1959. The entire project was conceived with a dual purpose: urban renewal
and traffic flow. The first goal was to completely clear this area of New Haven's downtown.
The highway replaced Oak Street (formerly Morocco Street) which had been a poor area since the days when leather workers congregated along West Creek. In the beginning of the twentieth century, the area became home to many Jewish immigrants.also a significant number of Irish lived in the oak st area. The freeway was also meant to bring cars into the city and facilitate the east–west flow of traffic between New Haven and its growing western suburbs. Due to its limited completion, only the first goal can be said to have been fully achieved. Other plans for the highway to be extended into a larger expressway from New Haven to Peekskill, New York
were shelved in the mid-1970s, following successful challenges by highway opponents. The right-of-way between Legion Avenue and Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard (originally North Frontage Road). in New Haven to Route 10 was preserved for a future extension of the connector past Route 10 to rejoin the existing Route 34 near Route 122 in Orange
. A small portion of the planned freeway extension that was built in Orange during the 1980s is now used as a commuter parking lot.
.
Following the completion of the Pfizer research facility in 2005, New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, Jr.
and several leaders of local civic groups began pushing the Connecticut Department of Transportation
to study removing the existing Oak Street Connector and replace it with a four-lane landscaped boulevard with access to local streets and businesses. The boulevard would encompass the existing Oak Street Connector from the I-95
/I-91
interchange to its present terminus, and continue west along a widened Legion Avenue (South Frontage Road). After the completion of the boulevard, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, which carries the westbound lanes of Route 34, would be returned to the City of New Haven. While this would be a separate project from the reconstruction of the nearby I-91/I-95 interchange, it has been gaining increasing popular support among residents, business-owners and city officials in New Haven.
CONNDOT and the City of New Haven began preparing the environmental impact statement
for removing the Oak Street Connector in 2011, and officials plan to start demolishing the freeway by 2016.
One factor which would argue against demolition of the expressway is that it serves as the primary access route for ambulances to reach Yale-New Haven Hospital
and the Hospital of St. Raphael from the interstate highways, thus removal would degrade service available to suburban patients and victims of motor vehicle accidents.
Currently, the Connecticut Department of Transportation is engaged in a redesign of the entire Interstate 95/91
/Oak Street Connector interchange. It is estimated that the Connector handles 73,900 vehicles each day.
Route 34 (Connecticut)
Route 34 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Route 34 is long, and extends from Washington Street near I-84/US 6 in Newtown to the junction of I-95 and I-91 in New Haven. The highways connects the New Haven and Danbury areas via the Lower Naugatuck River Valley...
that is located in downtown
Downtown New Haven
Downtown New Haven is the neighborhood located in the heart of the city of New Haven, Connecticut. It is made up of the original nine squares laid out in 1638 to form New Haven, including the New Haven Green, and the immediate surrounding central business district, as well as a significant portion...
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
. The freeway begins at the junction of Interstate 95
Interstate 95 in Connecticut
Interstate 95, the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, runs in a general east–west compass direction for 111.57 miles in Connecticut from the Rhode Island state line to the New York State line. I-95 Southbound from East Lyme to the New York State...
and Interstate 91
Interstate 91 in Connecticut
Interstate 91 is a north–south Interstate Highway in the state of Connecticut. The interstate's southern end is in New Haven, Connecticut at Interstate 95.-Route description:...
and ends at York Street/the Air Rights parking garage.
History
As originally planned in 1957, the Connector was supposed to extend as a full expressway extending ten miles (16 km) westward from New Haven to the town of DerbyDerby, Connecticut
Derby is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 12,391 at the 2000 census. With of land area, Derby is Connecticut's smallest municipality.The city has a Metro-North railroad station called Derby – Shelton.-History:...
, where it would intersect with Route 8
Route 8 (Connecticut)
Route 8 is the portion of the multistate New England Route 8 within the state of Connecticut. It is a state highway running north–south from Bridgeport, through Waterbury, all the way to the Massachusetts state line where it continues as Route 8...
. The current connector section was completed in 1959. The entire project was conceived with a dual purpose: urban renewal
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
and traffic flow. The first goal was to completely clear this area of New Haven's downtown.
The highway replaced Oak Street (formerly Morocco Street) which had been a poor area since the days when leather workers congregated along West Creek. In the beginning of the twentieth century, the area became home to many Jewish immigrants.also a significant number of Irish lived in the oak st area. The freeway was also meant to bring cars into the city and facilitate the east–west flow of traffic between New Haven and its growing western suburbs. Due to its limited completion, only the first goal can be said to have been fully achieved. Other plans for the highway to be extended into a larger expressway from New Haven to Peekskill, New York
Peekskill, New York
Peekskill is a city in Westchester County, New York. It is situated on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across from Jones Point.This community was known to be an early American industrial center, primarily for its iron plow and stove products...
were shelved in the mid-1970s, following successful challenges by highway opponents. The right-of-way between Legion Avenue and Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard (originally North Frontage Road). in New Haven to Route 10 was preserved for a future extension of the connector past Route 10 to rejoin the existing Route 34 near Route 122 in Orange
Orange, Connecticut
Orange is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 13,233 at the 2000 census. A 2007 Census Bureau estimate puts the population at 13,813. The town is governed by a Board of Selectmen.-History:...
. A small portion of the planned freeway extension that was built in Orange during the 1980s is now used as a commuter parking lot.
"Downgrading" the Oak Street Connector
During Connecticut's budget crisis of 2002, the State of Connecticut sold off land acquired for numerous planned expressways throughout the state, including land set aside for extending the Oak Street Connector. Pfizer Pharmaceuticals purchased a portion of the Oak Street Connector right-of-way, and built a US$35 million research facility. The Pfizer deal ensured the Oak Street Connector could not be extended beyond its current terminus at the Air Rights Parking Garage near Yale-New Haven HospitalYale-New Haven Hospital
Yale-New Haven Hospital , Connecticut's largest hospital with 966 beds, is located in New Haven, Connecticut.The hospital is owned and operated by the Yale New Haven Health System, Inc...
.
Following the completion of the Pfizer research facility in 2005, New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, Jr.
John DeStefano, Jr.
John DeStefano, Jr. is the current mayor of New Haven, Connecticut. He was the Democratic candidate in 2006 for Governor of Connecticut, unsuccessfully challenging incumbent Republican Governor M. Jodi Rell. He was also the named defendant in the landmark 2009 U.S. Supreme Court case of Ricci v...
and several leaders of local civic groups began pushing the Connecticut Department of Transportation
Connecticut Department of Transportation
The Connecticut Department of Transportation is responsible for the development and operation of highways, railroads, mass transit systems, ports, waterways and aviation facilities in the U.S. state of Connecticut. The current Commissioner of ConnDOT is Jeffrey Parker...
to study removing the existing Oak Street Connector and replace it with a four-lane landscaped boulevard with access to local streets and businesses. The boulevard would encompass the existing Oak Street Connector from the I-95
Interstate 95 in Connecticut
Interstate 95, the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, runs in a general east–west compass direction for 111.57 miles in Connecticut from the Rhode Island state line to the New York State line. I-95 Southbound from East Lyme to the New York State...
/I-91
Interstate 91
Interstate 91 is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It provides the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of New England...
interchange to its present terminus, and continue west along a widened Legion Avenue (South Frontage Road). After the completion of the boulevard, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, which carries the westbound lanes of Route 34, would be returned to the City of New Haven. While this would be a separate project from the reconstruction of the nearby I-91/I-95 interchange, it has been gaining increasing popular support among residents, business-owners and city officials in New Haven.
CONNDOT and the City of New Haven began preparing the environmental impact statement
Environmental impact statement
An environmental impact statement , under United States environmental law, is a document required by the National Environmental Policy Act for certain actions "significantly affecting the quality of the human environment". An EIS is a tool for decision making...
for removing the Oak Street Connector in 2011, and officials plan to start demolishing the freeway by 2016.
One factor which would argue against demolition of the expressway is that it serves as the primary access route for ambulances to reach Yale-New Haven Hospital
Yale-New Haven Hospital
Yale-New Haven Hospital , Connecticut's largest hospital with 966 beds, is located in New Haven, Connecticut.The hospital is owned and operated by the Yale New Haven Health System, Inc...
and the Hospital of St. Raphael from the interstate highways, thus removal would degrade service available to suburban patients and victims of motor vehicle accidents.
Currently, the Connecticut Department of Transportation is engaged in a redesign of the entire Interstate 95/91
Interstate 91
Interstate 91 is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It provides the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of New England...
/Oak Street Connector interchange. It is estimated that the Connector handles 73,900 vehicles each day.
Exit list
Numbered exits are westbound exits and eastbound entrances only. The connector's exit numbering violates standard numbering conventions, with exit numbers increasing heading west.| Exit # | Mile | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24.37 | Merge onto | ||
| 24.15 | Ramp to | ||
| 24.11 | Ramp to | ||
| 1 | 23.68 | Church Street Downtown New Haven Downtown New Haven Downtown New Haven is the neighborhood located in the heart of the city of New Haven, Connecticut. It is made up of the original nine squares laid out in 1638 to form New Haven, including the New Haven Green, and the immediate surrounding central business district, as well as a significant portion... |
To Union Station Union Station (New Haven) Union Station, also known as New Haven Railroad Station, is the main railroad passenger station in New Haven, Connecticut. Designed by noted American architect Cass Gilbert, the beaux-arts Union Station was completed and opened in 1920 after the previous Union Station was... , |
| 2 | 23.46 | College Street | |
| 3 | 23.29 | , York Street All traffic must exit |
