Rhode Island Route 78

Route 78

Westerly Bypass

Length:

4.6 mi (7.4 km)
Connecticut: 0.2 mi
Rhode Island: 4.4 mi

Formed:

1979

West end:

Route 2 in Stonington, CT

East end:

US 1 in Westerly, RI

Rhode Island Routes
< Route 77		Route 81 >
< Route 77	CT		Route 79 >

Route 78, also known as the Westerly Bypass is a divided two-lane freeway, taking traffic around downtown Westerly in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It has a posted speed limit of 50 mph.

Route description

Route 78 begins at Route 2 in the town of Stonington just across the state line in Connecticut. The highway goes around the north and east of Westerly center, ending at an at-grade intersection with U.S. Route 1. Beyond US 1, a state maintained two-lane road continues south to Route 1A, serving Westerly State Airport.

History

Because of increased traffic through Route 1 in Westerly, a four-lane expressway bypass was proposed in 1959 by the Rhode Island Department of Public Works connecting Route 1 near the Westerly Airport to I-95 in Stonington. Highway officials in Connecticut joined the project in 1967 for the proposed Route 78 Expressway.

Construction of the expressway began in 1974. However, because of lack of funding, the project was scaled down. Only a single carriageway was built, the interchange with US 1 was not built, and the connection to I-95 never happened. The highway had been constructed only up to Route 2.

The two-lane freeway opened in 1979. Jersey barriers were eventually placed along the highway due to the many head on collisions that occurred. In 2002, the Rhode Island State Legislature officially designated the highway as Veterans Way. Connecticut also did so the following year.

There are currently no plans to extend or add additional lanes to Route 78 although the states have already acquired the right of way.

Exit list

County	Location	Mile	#	Destinations	Notes
Connecticut
New London	Stonington		1	I-95
New London	Stonington	0.0	2	Route 2	At-grade intersection. All traffic must exit.
Rhode Island
Washington	Westerly		3	High Street	Exit has no destination signage. Eastbound exit and westbound entrance only. To Route 3.
			4	Route 3 (Ashaway Road) - Ashaway, Hopkinton	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance only.
			5	Route 91 (Westerly-Bradford Road) - Carolina, Westerly
			6	US 1	At grade intersection.
Unnumbered road continues to Westerly State Airport and Misquamicut State Beach

External links

References

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