What is the Worst Exit Ramp in Connecticut?

Connecticut has a total of 880 highway exits. The total number of left exits in the Nutmeg State is 56 according to NBC. Just some quick math tells me that over 6% of our exits are left exits. The next state closest to us in the Northeast is Massachusetts with 39 left exits and from there it drops way off. In fact, there are no left exits in 27 states in America.

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In case you were wondering left exits happen to be really dangerous but more on that later. The left exit is not the only thing about Connecticut exits that suck. Many of them have potholes, sharp curves and others are positioned in a way that drivers make death-defying last-minute maneuvers to reach them.

Recently, someone posed the question, "What's the Worst Exit in CT?" The question was posted on the Connecticut Reddit page by a user called mynameisnotshamus and these were some of the many responses.

lbibz: "exit 52 on i84 which brings you to i91."

Jaymoacp: "Getting off 91 to 84 is a bitch too. You have like 30 ft to merge over like 4 lanes or your ass is going to Mohegan."

newfranksinatra: "The left exit from 91S onto 84E. My friend once missed 35A and we learned those nice yellow barrels are filled with sand."

battlerazzle01: "Surprised I haven’t seen any hate yet for the exits off 9 in Middletown. Who the f--- puts traffic lights on a HIGHWAY?"

pppork: "There are daily accidents at the Middletown on-ramp to 9N. The one with the stop sign."

Sentientkayak: "27A in Bridgeport."

Purple-Incident6886: "38 in Milford is also awful. Getting off/on in the same place is just abuse."

Darcer: "This is somewhat better now because of the recent work they did there. Still not a picnic. I actually hate coming down 8/25 into Bridgeport/95 more than getting on 27A."

NATO1092: "91 south to rt 15.......or 91 south to 95 south."

Last-Backfyre: "The north bound merge of Rte 15/91/691/Berlin Tpke. Hopefully improves once construction is completed."

rubyslippers3x: "Hmm..I drive that twice a week. The 84 w/91s merge in Hartford is way more f---- up. You have 20 seconds to get across 4 lanes while 2 more lanes are exiting and 2 other lanes are merging in... and you're totally f---- if you want to take exit 48. I was there today, asking myself " how did someone actually get paid to make this much of a disaster?" I hate that stretch with a passion."

Whiskeybowties: "I'm not a big fan of the Main Ave exits on the parkway in Norwalk."

OKRegular167: "The first time I took exit 40A I almost died I swear."

drumcraze92: "Exit 17 91 south to the Merritt."

Mundane_Feeling8034: "I effing hate getting on Route 8 from 84. Both ways suck, but that winding ramp from 8 to get on 84 East takes the cake. I keep thinking this ramp is going to fail and send me tumbling down 40 feet."

pharm77: "Easily 684 coming from NY onto 84 near Danbury. Civil engineering at its worst. Sharpest curve in the world."

rusty_shacklef0rd: "84 to 72 to the Plainville exit. It’s brutal crossing 4 lanes of traffic during rush hour to get to that exit."

Ishcabibbles: "The exit for Route 59/Congress St. In Fairfield on the southbound Merritt. It's right after an overpass and is a super-short exit that is almost a u-turn."

pt24601: "Exit 4 on 84 east in Danbury. Forced to move over two lanes to the right while also merging with accelerating traffic coming from Rt. 7. Super unsafe."

AMEN pt24601, atrocious! 

More information on left exits:

Northwestern University actually published a study on left-hand exits in America and pointed out some of the problems they create. These are just a few of the issues sited in that study:

• Repeated and hazardous lane changing by trucks and other vehicles moving at speeds slower than freeway running speeds, especially where trucks must enter or leave on an ascending grade.
• In increase in weaving at left-hand off - and on-ramps.
• The left-hand lane, the traditional high-speed lane, is slowed down as a result of merging maneuvers.
• Some driver confusion and hesitancy results from being confronted by a left-hand off-ramp, especially where signing is poor and the facility is one carrying a high-percentage of out-of-state traffic.
• Increased accidents and hazardous maneuvers.

We've all seen it, use Exit 7 on I-84 East as an example. In 2019, the I-84 West ramp was named the most dangerous in the Nutmeg State. But you don't need a study to tell you how dangerous it is, we've all experienced it. What do we encounter there? On a regular basis, you can see confused drivers make a last-ditch effort to change lanes dramatically. People either realize they want to get off Exit 7 (on the left), or stay on I-84 to get to Exit 8 or beyond and it leads to big trouble.