Connecticut Route 372
Encyclopedia
Route 372 is a state highway in central Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

 running from Plainville
Plainville, Connecticut
Plainville is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 17,328 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 9.8 square miles , of which 9.8 square miles is land and 0.1 square miles is water...

 to Cromwell
Cromwell, Connecticut
Cromwell is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States located in the middle of the state. The population was 12,871 at the 2000 census.The town was named after Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England.-Points of interest:...

, and serving to communicate between the numerous freeways in the area. The section of Route 372 from Route 10
Connecticut Route 10
Connecticut Route 10 is a state highway that runs between New Haven and the state line near Granby.-Route description:Route 10 begins at Interstate 95 as Ella T. Grasso Boulevard in the city of New Haven. It then passes by Southern Connecticut State University before entering the town of Hamden...

 in Plainville to the Plainville-New Britain town line is designated the Joseph E. Tinty Memorial Highway. The section of Route 372 from the interchange with Route 72 in New Britain to the intersection with Route 71A and SR 571 in Berlin is designated the Polish Legion of American Veterans Memorial Highway.

Route description

Route 372 begins at an intersection with Route 72 in western Plainville, near the Plainville-Bristol
Bristol, Connecticut
Bristol is a suburban city located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States southwest of Hartford. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 61,353. Bristol is primarily known as the home of ESPN, whose central studios are in the city. Bristol is also home to...

 town line, and heads generally east. It intersects Route 72 again near Hamlin Pond and continues east, crossing into New Britain
New Britain, Connecticut
New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately 9 miles southwest of Hartford. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 71,254....

. In New Britain, it intersects I-84
Interstate 84 (east)
Interstate 84 is an Interstate Highway extending from Dunmore, Pennsylvania at an interchange with Interstate 81 to Sturbridge, Massachusetts, at an interchange with the Massachusetts Turnpike . I-84 has mile-log junction numbering in Pennsylvania; otherwise, exit numbers are roughly sequential...

 just east of the town line, continues east, then turns southeast to intersect Route 72 again. It continues southeast into Berlin
Berlin, Connecticut
Berlin is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 19,866 at the 2010 census. It was incorporated in 1785. The geographic center of Connecticut is located in the town. Berlin is residential and industrial, and served by the Amtrak station of the same name...

. In Berlin, in intersects SR 571 (Willow Brook Connector
Willow Brook Connector
The Willow Brook Connector is a unsigned expressway in the town of Berlin, Connecticut. The road is designated but not signed as State Road 571...

) and briefly overlaps Route 71A just southeast of the town line, and continues southeast through the Kensington
Kensington, Connecticut
Kensington is a census-designated place and section of the town of Berlin in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The Berlin town offices are located in Kensington...

 section of Berlin to the town center. At the Berlin town center, it intersects Route 9, the US 5
U.S. Route 5
U.S. Route 5 is a north–south United States highway running through the New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Significant cities along the route include New Haven, Connecticut; Hartford, Connecticut; and Springfield, Massachusetts. From Hartford northward to St...

/Route 15 concurrency (the Berlin Turnpike
Berlin Turnpike
The Berlin Turnpike is a 4-lane/6-lane divided arterial road carrying U.S. Route 5 and Route 15 through the towns of Berlin, Newington, and Wethersfield, Connecticut, United States. The road begins at the Meriden-Berlin town line. The official length of the Berlin Turnpike is 11.02 miles but the...

), and Route 9 again in rapid succession. It continues southeast through East Berlin and crosses the Mattabesset River into Cromwell. In Cromwell, it continues southeast and east along the Mattabesset River, intersecting 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...

, then turns east to intersect Route 9 again. It then turns southeast to at an intersection with Route 99
Connecticut Route 99
Route 99 is a state highway in Connecticut running for from Route 9 in Cromwell, through the town of Rocky Hill, ending in Wethersfield at the Hartford city line. The road continues into Hartford as a local road...

 at the Cromwell town center.

History

Route 72
Route 72 (Connecticut)
Route 72 is a state highway in the western part of the Greater Hartford area. Route 72 is an L-shaped route with a north–south section in Plymouth and Harwinton and an east–west section from Bristol to New Britain...

 was established in the 1932 state highway renumbering
1932 state highway renumbering (Connecticut)
In 1932, the Highway Department of the U.S. state of Connecticut , decided to completely renumber all its state highways. The only exceptions were the U.S. Highways and some of the New England Interstate Routes. Between 1922 and 1932, Connecticut used a state highway numbering system shared with...

 between Route 66
Route 66 (Connecticut)
Route 66 is a Connecticut state highway running from Meriden to Windham, serving as an alternate east–west route to US 6 through east-central Connecticut.- Route description:...

 in Middletown
Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles south of Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated as a town under its original Indian name, Mattabeseck. It received its present name in 1653. In 1784, the central...

 and Route 10 Plainville
Plainville, Connecticut
Plainville is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 17,328 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 9.8 square miles , of which 9.8 square miles is land and 0.1 square miles is water...

. By the beginning of 1963, after the implementation of the 1962 Route Reclassification Act, Route 72 was extended west and north through Bristol
Bristol, Connecticut
Bristol is a suburban city located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States southwest of Hartford. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 61,353. Bristol is primarily known as the home of ESPN, whose central studios are in the city. Bristol is also home to...

 and Plymouth
Plymouth, Connecticut
Plymouth is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England. The population was 11,634 at the 2000 census. The Town of Plymouth includes the villages of Terryville and Pequabuck.-Geography:...

 to Route 4
Route 4 (Connecticut)
Route 4 is an east–west primary state highway connecting rural Litchfield County to the Greater Hartford area of the U.S. state of Connecticut...

 in Harwinton
Harwinton, Connecticut
Harwinton is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 5,283 at the 2000 census. The name of the town is a portmanteau of Hartford and Windsor, which is where its settlers came from.-Geography:...

. A freeway along the Route 72 corridor between Berlin (incorporating sections of what is now Route 9
Route 9 (Connecticut)
Route 9 is a , 4-lane freeway beginning in Old Saybrook and ending at the Farmington-West Hartford town line.-Route description:Route 9 begins at an interchange with I-95/U.S. 1, on the west banks of the Connecticut River...

) and Plainville was built beginning in the late 1950s and opened in stages beginning in 1961. By late 1980, the Route 72 freeway was fully open between the Berlin Turnpike
Berlin Turnpike
The Berlin Turnpike is a 4-lane/6-lane divided arterial road carrying U.S. Route 5 and Route 15 through the towns of Berlin, Newington, and Wethersfield, Connecticut, United States. The road begins at the Meriden-Berlin town line. The official length of the Berlin Turnpike is 11.02 miles but the...

 and the current west end of the freeway in Plainville.

With the extension of the Route 72 freeway in New Britain in 1978 and in Plainville in 1980, Route 372 was designated along the former surface route of Route 72. In 1980, Route 372 ran from the end of the Route 72 freeway in Plainville to Exit 24 of Route 9 in Berlin, including the Willow Brook Connector (now State Road 571). In 1990, a freeway link between I-91 and the east end of the Route 72 freeway was completed. This resulted in the Route 9 designation being extended westward to Exit 28, Route 72 being truncated in the east to end at Route 9, the Willow Brook Connector being redesignated as SR 571, and Route 372 being rerouted and extended eastward along the former Route 72 in Berlin and Cromwell to Route 3
Route 3 (Connecticut)
Route 3 is a long route connecting Middletown to the Glastonbury-East Hartford town line. It passes through the towns of Cromwell, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield, and Glastonbury. The northernmost of Route 3 is an expressway that was originally intended for the cancelled...

 (Route 3 was extended south along old Route 72 to Middletown at the same time). Additionally, Route 372 continued east to Route 99 along a former unsigned state road.

Junction list

Town Mile Destinations Notes
Plainville
Plainville, Connecticut
Plainville is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 17,328 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 9.8 square miles , of which 9.8 square miles is land and 0.1 square miles is water...

0.00
0.54
1.50
2.24
New Britain
New Britain, Connecticut
New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately 9 miles southwest of Hartford. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 71,254....

3.54
3.66 Exit from northbound Route 72 only
4.56
Berlin
Berlin, Connecticut
Berlin is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 19,866 at the 2010 census. It was incorporated in 1785. The geographic center of Connecticut is located in the town. Berlin is residential and industrial, and served by the Amtrak station of the same name...

6.10 and SSR 571 Begin Concurrency with Route 71A
6.18 End Concurrency
7.46
8.94 Exit from southbound Route 9 only
8.98 Exit from southbound US 5/Route 15 only
8.99 Exit from southbound Route 9 only
9.25
9.82
Cromwell
Cromwell, Connecticut
Cromwell is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States located in the middle of the state. The population was 12,871 at the 2000 census.The town was named after Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England.-Points of interest:...

11.78
12.17
13.13
13.32
14.95
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