Route 161
Map of New London County in southeastern Connecticut with Route 161 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by CTDOT
Length	8.03 mi[1] (12.92 km)
Existed	1932[2]–present
Major junctions
South end	Route 156 in East Lyme
Major intersections	I-95 / Conn. Turnpike in East Lyme
North end	Route 85 in Montville
Location
Country	United States
State	Connecticut
Counties	New London
Highway system
Connecticut State Highway System Interstate US State SSR SR Scenic
← Route 160 → Route 162

Route 161 is a state highway in southeastern Connecticut, running from the shoreline village of Niantic in East Lyme to the village of Chesterfield in Montville.

Route description

Route 161 begins as Pennsylvania Avenue at an intersection with Route 156 in the village of Niantic in East Lyme. It proceeds north for 1.1 miles (1.8 km), curving left then turning right onto Flanders Road. Route 161 continues north for another 1.8 miles (2.9 km) until it reaches the interchange with I-95 (at exit 74). After crossing under I-95, it continues for another 0.4 miles (0.64 km) to the Boston Post Road US 1 in the village of Flanders, where it becomes Chesterfield Road. In this area, one can access East Lyme High School and the Flanders Shopping Plaza from Route 161. The road continues north through the northeastern portion of the town of East Lyme for 3.5 miles (5.6 km) before entering the town of Montville, where the road name changes to Flanders Road. The road turns northeast for another 1.1 miles (1.8 km) to end at an intersection with Route 85 in the village of Chesterfield.^[1]

History

The Niantic-Flanders-Chesterfield road was a primary state highway in the 1920s known as Highway 188. In the 1932 state highway renumbering,^[2] Route 161 was created from the northern half of old Highway 188, running from US 1 in Flanders to Route 85 in Chesterfield. In 1950, Route 161 was extended south to Niantic along former SR 669. At an unconfirmed time after 1965, a section near East Pattagansett Road in East Lyme was rerouted for safety reasons.^[3]

Junction list

The entire route is in New London County.

Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
East Lyme	0.00	0.00	Route 156 – Old Lyme, Waterford
	3.00	4.83	I-95 / Conn. Turnpike – New London, New Haven	Exit 74 (I-95/Connecticut Turnpike)
	3.37	5.42	US 1 – Old Lyme, Waterford
	5.22	8.40	Route 11 – New London, Colchester	Proposed interchange with future CT 11 extension
Montville	8.03	12.92	Route 85 – Salem, Waterford	Northern terminus of CT 161
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Unopened