"Exit 23 will now be Exit 29. Exit 24 will now be Exit 31." That is how the Town of Rocky Hill's October 8 notice puts it. The notice adds that the change "will affect anyone needing to give directions to town."
The Connecticut Department of Transportation starts the I-91 work on Thursday, October 15, 2026. The new numbers won't show for a while, though. CTDOT spokesperson Josh Morgan told the Hartford Courant that "all new numbers will be covered until the full corridor is completed." The contractor is scheduled to finish that corridor in September 2028. So in Rocky Hill, "Exit 23" stays the working way to give directions through this fall, all of 2027 and most of 2028. Once the new numbers are uncovered, the old one stays on a small plaque under the new sign for a while longer.
What actually starts on Thursday
The contract covers sign panels along the entire highway. CTDOT's project advisory describes replacing or overlaying the aluminum sign panels along all of I-91, from New Haven to the Massachusetts line. It says those panels "have exceeded their useful service life." The Quaker Corporation is doing the work. Morgan put the scale at "well over 1,000 signs being installed, overlayed and removed." Many of those signs hang over live traffic, which means heavy lifting equipment and lane closures at night.
Here are the work windows CTDOT has posted:
- Daytime: 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday
- Overnight: 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., Monday through Friday
- What drivers will see: temporary lane and shoulder closures on I-91 North and South, with traffic control personnel and sign patterns guiding drivers through
- Caveat: CTDOT notes that weather or other conditions may change or extend the schedule
The order of the work matters for Rocky Hill. Morgan said crews will start in Enfield and work south to old Exit 15. Then they flip to New Haven and work north until they meet the finished section. Old exit numbers rise as you head north, so Rocky Hill's Exits 23 and 24 fall inside that first southbound leg from Enfield. Rocky Hill drivers could pass new, covered panels at the West Street and Silas Deane Highway ramps well before crews working up from New Haven reach the Meriden and Wallingford stretch.
Why the new numbers wait under covers
"Work will then flip to go from New Haven and head north until it meets the previous work. Work is being scheduled in this manner to prevent any number sequencing issues and to limit confusion for drivers."
Josh Morgan, CTDOT, speaking to the Hartford Courant
The issue is a highway that would mix two numbering systems. If Rocky Hill's signs read 29 and 31 while exits a few miles south still showed the old sequence, a northbound driver could pass Exit 29 and then hit a much lower number further along. Covering the new panels until the whole route is done means I-91 switches over all at once.
Old numbers will hang on even after that. Morgan said CTDOT tells GPS providers about the changes, but when those companies push updates to users is "not something CTDOT can control." To cover the gap, the agency leaves "old exit" signs up for about two years after a change. Rocky Hill's notice says the same thing at the local level: a small sign with the old number will sit under each new one.
How 23 becomes 29
The new numbers come from mileage. A federal rule, which the Courant described as a mandate from more than a decade ago with no firm deadline, ties exit numbers to the mile marker. CTDOT's exit renumbering page lays out the method:
- Mileage comes from CTDOT's Linear Referencing System and usually runs south to north and west to east.
- No highway has an Exit 0. Anything from mile 0.00 to 1.49 is Exit 1, and 1.50 to 2.99 is Exit 2.
- From mile 3 on, the number rounds down to the nearest whole mile.
- CTDOT may round up or down by a mile to avoid suffix letters or to keep an existing number.
- Split off-ramps don't get separate numbers or suffix letters.
I-91's mileage counts up from New Haven, so "29" places the West Street interchange about 29 miles up the highway from its southern end. The two-number jump to 31 at Silas Deane Highway reflects real distance between the ramps. Under the old system the two exits were simply next in line.
| Old exit | Road it serves | New exit | When the new number shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exit 23 | West Street and Route 3/Cromwell Avenue | Exit 29 | Covered until the corridor is done, scheduled September 2028 |
| Exit 24 | Route 99/Silas Deane Highway | Exit 31 | Covered until the corridor is done, scheduled September 2028 |
Some nearby highways already show how this goes. Route 9 switched in 2023, when Middletown's old Exit 16 became Exit 24. I-691 also changed in 2023, I-384 and Route 8 in 2024, and Route 2, I-291 and Route 15 in 2025. The Courant reports that I-84 should be done in late 2027 or early 2028. That leaves I-95 as the only Connecticut highway still to go. If the schedules hold, I-84 and I-91 will finish within months of each other, so Hartford-area drivers will be learning two sets of new numbers at once.
The state's own directions still say Exit 23
The most-used directions to Rocky Hill's two best-known attractions run through the old West Street exit, and the state's published directions haven't changed.
The Rocky Hill-Glastonbury Ferry page tells drivers on the west side of the river to take I-91 to Exit 23, West Street, and follow signs to the landing on Route 160. The state's park reservation directions for Dinosaur State Park put the park one mile east of I-91 at Exit 23. Drivers coming from New Haven turn right off the exit, drivers coming from Hartford turn left, and the park is about a mile ahead on the right.
Both places run on their own seasons, and both seasons will turn over several times before a new number shows at the ramp.
Dinosaur State Park. According to DEEP's park page, the grounds and trails are open daily from 9 a.m. until 30 minutes before sundown. The Exhibit Center is open Tuesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and closed Mondays. The two outdoor activities with end dates both close on October 31. Gem and fossil mining runs 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and track casting runs 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. That leaves under three weeks from today, and DEEP warns that its weekend activities depend on weather and staffing.
The ferry. The state calls it the oldest continuously operating ferry in the United States, with crossings that date to 1655. Its season runs April 1 through November 30, and it closes on Thanksgiving. Weekday hours are 7:00 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. and weekend hours are 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. There's no timetable. The boat runs on demand as cars and passengers arrive. A car crossing costs $5 on weekdays and $6 on weekends. Walk-ons and cyclists pay $2, and a book of 20 commuter crossings costs $60, which works out to $3 a trip. Any closures during the season for weather, water levels or mechanical problems are posted on CTroads.
On the current schedule, the ferry has one more full season, 2027, before the new I-91 numbers are uncovered, and its 2028 season will still be running when the corridor is set to finish in September. Every out-of-town guest heading to the landing between now and then will be following signs that still say Exit 23.
This Saturday, the busiest night on the local calendar
Rocky Hill's Fall Fest 2026 is Saturday, October 17, at the Elm Ridge Park Amphitheater, two days after the I-91 crews start. Fun Pass wristbands cover 3:00 to 7:30 p.m. They cost $15 in advance, the same price for residents and nonresidents, and $20 at the event. Wristband sales end at 6:45 p.m., and the rides shut down when the first firework goes up.
The town's lineup:
- Food vendors: Bricins Festival Foods, Burning Peel Pizza with the Flirti co Mobile Bar, Indulge by Palazzo, Los Mariachis on Wheels, and Wiches & Dogs
- Live music: Mac Daddy, playing rock and roll sets from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. and 5:45 to 7:00 p.m.
- Fireworks: around 7:30 p.m., though the town notes weather can move the show earlier or later without notice
The event page also links an overflow parking and transportation document. Check it before you go if you're driving in.
Exit 24's road has its own work
Silas Deane Highway, the road off the future Exit 31, has its own construction. On October 1, the town posted a notice of overnight milling and paving on Silas Deane Highway, from the north side of the I-91 interchange to Mill Street in Wethersfield, with two-way traffic kept open during the work. The town hasn't posted that the paving is finished. With I-91's overnight sign work starting Thursday, drivers coming off Exit 24 late at night could run into work zones on the highway and on Silas Deane on the same trip.
About your listing directions
Exit numbers turn up in listing descriptions, open-house directions and the driving directions agents send buyers, along with plenty of other places that outlast a single season. At the Burgio Sousa Team, we're following CTDOT's I-91 schedule. Directions for Rocky Hill homes we market will list both numbers once the new signs are uncovered, so buyers coming up from New Haven don't miss the West Street ramp. If you're curious what your Rocky Hill home is worth while the signs are still changing, get your instant home valuation, and we'll send directions that work whichever exit number the driver sees.
