Route 138
Map of New London County in southeastern Connecticut with Route 138 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by CTDOT
Length	17.73 mi[1] (28.53 km)
Existed	1932–present
Major junctions
West end	Route 97 in Sprague
Major intersections	I-395 in Griswold
East end	Route 138 in Exeter, RI
Location
Country	United States
State	Connecticut
Counties	New London
Highway system
Connecticut State Highway System Interstate US State SSR SR Scenic
← Route 137 → Route 139

State Highway Route 138 is the portion of the 118-mile-long (190 km) multi-state Route 138 within the state of Connecticut. It is one of several New England state highways that travel through three states while keeping their number designation. The route begins in Sprague at Route 97. From its western terminus up to the junction with Interstate 395 in Griswold, the road functions as a collector road. From the Interstate 395 junction, it then enters Voluntown, and continues into the state of Rhode Island as Route 138.

Route description

Route 138 starts at Route 97, in the town of Sprague, where it is known as Bushnell Hollow Road.^[1] It heads east into the town of Lisbon becoming Kinsman Road and Town House Road. It intersects with Route 169 in Lisbon center and then becomes Newent Road, as it proceeds eastward. Route 138 overlaps with Route 12 as it crosses the Griswold town line. Route 138 splits off from Route 12 as Slater Avenue and later as Pachaug Road.^[1] It has an interchange with I-395 in the borough of Jewett City and intersects with Route 201 just west of the town line. The road continues into the town of Voluntown, where it becomes Jewett City Road. It has a three-way overlap with Route 165 and Route 49, along Beach Pond Road. Route 138 continues east as Rockville Road into the state of Rhode Island, becoming Rhode Island Route 138.^[1]

History

In the 1920s, a loop route of New England Route 12 from south of Taftville to Jewett City via the village of Newent was a secondary state highway known as Highway 356. At the same time, the road connecting Jewett City and the town center of Voluntown was known as Highway 321. In the 1932 state highway renumbering, Route 138 was established from the piece of old Highway 356 from Newent to Jewett City and from the entire length of old Highway 321. Route 138 was extended to the Rhode Island state line in 1938 along former SR 420, where it connected with the westward extension of Rhode Island Route 138, which had originally ended in Newport. This resulted in a three-state Route 138 all the way to the Boston area. Route 138 in Connecticut was extended west to its current western terminus located at Route 97 in 1962 as part of the Route Reclassification Act.^[2]

Junction list

The entire route is in New London County.

Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Sprague	0.00	0.00	Route 97 – Baltic, North Franklin, Scotland
Lisbon	4.05	6.52	Route 169 – Canterbury, Norwich, Taftville
	5.78	9.30	Route 12 south – Norwich	Southern terminus of CT 12 overlap
Griswold	6.17	9.93	Route 12 north – Plainfield, Hopeville	Northern terminus of CT 12 overlap
	6.91	11.12	Route 164 south – Preston City
	7.24	11.65	I-395 / Conn. Turnpike – Worcester, Norwich	Exit 22 (Interstate 395 / Connecticut Turnpike)
	11.16	17.96	Route 201 – Glasgo, Hopeville Pond State Park
Voluntown	13.33	21.45	Route 165 west – Preston City, Norwich Route 49 south – Westerly, RI	Western terminus of CT 165 overlap Southern terminus of CT 49 overlap
	13.72	22.08	Route 49 north – Oneco	Northern terminus of CT 49 overlap
	14.82	23.85	Route 165 east – Providence, RI	Eastern terminus of CT 165 overlap
	17.73	28.53	Route 138 east – Hope Valley, Rockville	Continuation into Rhode Island
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus