Route 159 (Connecticut – Massachusetts)

Route 159
Map of northern Connecticut with CT 159 highlighted in solid red and of southern Massachusetts with MA 159 highlighted in dotted red
Route information
Length:	21.14 mi (34.02 km) Connecticut: 16.82 mi Massachusetts: 4.32 mi
Existed:	1968 – present
Major junctions
South end:	Main Street (near I-91) at the Hartford-Windsor town line
	I-291 in Windsor, CT I-91 in Windsor Locks, CT Route 57 in Agawam, MA
North end:	Route 75 / Route 147 in Agawam, MA
Location
Counties:	CT: Hartford, MA: Hampden
Highway system
Routes in Connecticut Interstate U.S. State SSR SR ← Route 157 Route 160 → ← Route 152 MA Route 168 → ← x20px US 5 US 5A (CT) US 6 x20px → ← US 5 US 5A (MA) US 6 →

Route 159 is a state highway connecting the Hartford and Springfield areas in the U.S. states of Connecticut and Massachusetts. It begins as the northern extension of Main Street in Hartford and proceeds northward along the west bank of the Connecticut River towards Agawam, Massachusetts. The route ends at the junction of Route 147 and Route 75 in Agawam center just south of the West Springfield city line. The route was originally designated as U.S. Route 5A in 1932 and was renumbered to its modern designation in 1968.

Route description

Southbound in Agawam, Massachusetts

Route 159 officially begins at the Hartford-Windsor town line as Windsor Avenue, near an interchange with I-91. The road runs along the west bank of the Connecticut River, crossing Interstate 91 a second time. It goes through the towns of Windsor, Windsor Locks, and Suffield (bypassing Suffield center) before crossing the state line into the city of Agawam. In Agawam, Route 159 signage ends at Route 57, but the official route continues north along Main Street to the intersection of Route 75 and Route 147 in downtown Agawam.

Route 159 in Windsor is also known as the Kasmir Pulaski Memorial Highway.

History

Modern Route 159 roughly follows the path of the Upper Boston Post Road between Hartford and Springfield. In the 1920s, current Route 159 in Connecticut, with a few minor exceptions, was a primary state road designated as State Highway 110. Around 1930, the continuation in Massachusetts was numbered as State Route 5A, which ran along Main Street but continued north along River Road to the South End Bridge, where it crossed into Springfield to connect with U.S. Route 5. In the 1932 state highway renumbering, the route in both Connecticut and Massachusetts was designated as U.S. Route 5A. However, by 1938, Massachusetts redesignated its portion of the route as State Route 5A, truncating US 5A to the state line. The new State Route 5A was also relocated to follow Main Street into West Springfield, then continuing along River Street, Park Street, and Elm Street, where it ended at US 5. In 1968, Connecticut decommissioned its U.S. Route 5A and the road was redesignated in both states as Route 159. The portion in West Springfield, which was not state-maintained, became an unnumbered road.

Junction list

Mileposts reset at the state line.

State	County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Connecticut	Hartford	Windsor	0.23	0.37	I-91 (Richard P. Horem Memorial Highway)
			1.20	1.93	I-291 east – South Windsor, Manchester
			1.24	2.00	Route 218 west – Bloomfield
			2.66	4.28	Route 178 (Park Avenue)
			3.76	6.05	Route 75 (Poquonock Avenue)
		Windsor Locks	8.52	13.71	I-91 – Hartford, Enfield
			9.12	14.68	Route 140 west (Elm Street)	Western end of CT 140 overlap
			9.42	15.16	Route 140 east (Bridge Street)	Eastern end of CT 140 overlap
		Suffield	13.82	22.24	Route 190 (Hazard Avenue)
			16.82 0.00	27.07 0.00	Connecticut–Massachusetts state line
Massachusetts	Hampden	Agawam	3.08	4.96	Route 57
			4.32	6.95	Route 75 Route 147
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus