U.S. Route 6 is the primary regional arterial carrying traffic the 74 miles between Hartford, Connecticut and Providence, Rhode Island. The 5-mile section, centered in Brooklyn is about halfway between the two capitol cities.

The need for a corridor improvement was recognized in the 1950s. An expressway was proposed running parallel to the existing Route 6 in the late 1970s. In the early 1980s the expressway between Hartford and Providence had been rejected due to environmental impacts to the Scituate Reservoir in Rhode Island. With the rejection of a continuous expressway between Hartford and Providence, a decision was made to upgrade the existing east-west corridors in eastern Connecticut. A total of 11 projects were initiated in 1986 to address the 23-mile portion of Route 6 between Windham and the state line of Rhode Island. All improvements to the Route 6 corridor have been implemented except the 5-mile portion in Brooklyn.

Further Reading:

Reconstruction of U.S. Route 6 - Brooklyn, CT