CT Highway Timeline

Here's a list of important events in Connecticut highway history, from the 17th century to the present.

Since most maps, except those issued by the state, sometimes miss the opening or route change of a highway for the first few years, I don't use maps to date a highway opening. In most cases, I use a newspaper article or official state document.

State route numbers above 400 are not signed; see Secret Routes for details.

1670	Mohegan Road is laid out (now Route 32) between Norwich and New London. It remained little more than an Indian trail for more than a century.
1673	January 22: The first mail in North America is delivered from New York to Boston via what will become the Upper Post Road, via New Haven, Hartford, and Springfield. The trip takes two weeks.
1696	Farm Highway, Trumbull's first highway, opens. It's now part of Nichols Avenue and Route 108.
1792	May: Mohegan Road becomes first turnpike in New England and second in the United States.
1857	New Haven's Eli Whitney invents the stone crusher, paving the way (sorry!) for macadam and hard-surfaced roads.
1895	State Highway Department established. May 17: the Hartford Toll Bridge, a covered bridge across the Connecticut River, is destroyed in a fire. The Bulkeley Bridge is later built in its place.
1900	Around 1900, the United States' first automobile speed law is enacted in Connecticut. The speed limit is 12 mph in rural areas, and 8 mph in the city.
1908	Oct. 6: the Bulkeley Bridge opens. At the time, it is the largest stone-arched bridge in the world. It now carries I-84 between East Hartford and Hartford.
1913	March: The state first lays out a system of six trunk line highways, later expanded to fourteen highways with branches. However, route numbers are not signposted until 1922, where a different numbering system takes over. May 29: the East Haddam swing bridge on future Route 82 opens.
1919	The Stevenson Dam Bridge on future Route 34 opens.
1922	March: The New England Interstate route numbering system is set up. This is the first public route numbering done in the state. The 1920s numbering system for all state highways soon follows.
1925	Sept. 25: AASHO and US transportation officials announce the debut of several US numbered highways, including US 1, 5, 6, and 7. US numbers didn't appear on maps until 1926. Having said that, the FHWA web site says that AASHO approved route locations on Nov. 11, 1926, but maps and the public announcement came on Jan, 2, 1927. An interesting footnote is that in 1926 Rand McNally, to get quickly to market, had to guess on some of the routings, and got some of them wrong.
1930	Dec. 20: The Silas Deane Highway (now part of Route 99) opens.
1932	Jan. 1: The "Great Renumbering." Connecticut abandons its old numbering convention and renumbers nearly every state route. A 1931 map shows the old numbers; a 1932 map, the new. Several state routes have not changed appreciably since then, among them routes 47, 94, 112, and 341.
1935	US 44 and US 202 are commissioned. US 202 spends hardly any time by itself in the state, being paired with either US 6 or Route 10 except in Bethel and Danbury.
1936	A new section of Route 184 opens, from Old Mystic to the Rhode Island state line. Called Route 84 at the time, the road is one of several inland routes (including Route 80 and the Merritt Parkway) built in the 1930s to bypass congested US 1.
1938	June 29: first section of the Merritt Parkway opens, from New York to US 7. Originally designated US 1A (but not signposted with a number), the Parkway would become part of Route 15 ten years later. August 6: Arrigoni Bridge (Portland - Middletown, Routes 66 and 17) opens. At the time, it was the longest bridge (3,428 feet) in New England. November: more of the Merritt Parkway opens, extending to Route 57 in Westport.
1939	September 21: Tolls instituted on the Merritt Parkway, to pay for the construction of the Wilbur Cross Parkway. A passenger car paid 10 cents. November: more of the Merritt Parkway opens, extending to Huntington Turnpike in Trumbull.
1940	Sept. 2: Remaining 20 miles of Merritt Parkway, including Housatonic River Bridge, open.
1941	Jan. 1: Most of Route 14 becomes US 6A. Feb. 25: Construction on Groton-New London bridge begins. At present, traffic is crossing the Thames on a converted railroad bridge built in 1919. Dec. 24: Wilbur Cross Parkway (Route 15) opens from the Housatonic River Bridge to Derby Avenue (Route 34).
1942	June 13: a section of the Wilbur Cross Highway opens in Meriden. September: four sections of the Berlin Turnpike, a four-lane divided upgrade to a busy two-lane road, are completed. Sept. 2: Merritt Parkway is extended to the Milford Parkway (not signed publicly, but is secretly SR 796) which also opens. This connects Route 15 to I-95 and US 1. Sept. 5: Original Charter Oak Bridge (Hartford-East Hartford, Route 15) opens. Dec. 2 and 3: The Wethersfield-Hartford Bypass, aka South Meadows Highway, opens. It's now part of Route 15, from the Berlin Turnpike to the Charter Oak Bridge. Dec. 4: New 1.73-mile section of Route 72 opens, a two-lane road bypassing village of Berlin. This includes a new four-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange at the Berlin Turnpike.
1943	Feb. 27: Original $6M Gold Star Bridge (Groton-New London, now carries US 1 and I-95) opens. Understand that wartime, when metal and other resources were being conserved, was a tough time to build roads (and especially bridges). One factor that helped this one get built was the proximity of the submarine base and facilities on the Thames. [Better Roads, May 1963] April 13: a section of the Wilbur Cross Highway opens in Willington, Ashford, and Union. The two-lane highway is built with accommodations for a future expansion to four lanes and a median. April 28: In western Connecticut, Route 25, Route 67 and Route 133 are redefined, affecting Brookfield, Bridgewater and New Milford. Oct. 7: Reconstruction of Route 84 (now Route 184) begins, starting at the bridge and extending 6.5 miles east into Groton. Also, Route 12 is extended to US 1. Dec. 2: New section of Route 12 opens, shifted east between Gales Ferry and the Gold Star Bridge. The original route, Military Highway, passes through a naval base (now home to the USS Nautilus, the nation's first nuclear-powered submarine).
1945	Nov. 23: Hartford's Riverfront Boulevard (now part of I-91) and Park River Highway (now the Whitehead-Conland Highway, SR 598) open to traffic after wartime construction delays.
1947	Exit numbers are added to the Merritt Parkway. The Wilbur Cross Parkway opens between Dixwell Avenue and Meriden.
1948	May 1: Merritt Parkway becomes part of Route 15, along with the Wilbur Cross highways and Berlin Turnpike. Route 17 is born, taking over the old Route 15 from East Hartford south. Dec. 4: Original Baldwin Bridge (Old Lyme-Old Saybrook over the Connecticut River, now carries US 1 and I-95) opens. This bridge is replaced in 1993.
1949	Nov 1: The West Rock Tunnel in New Haven opens, along with the Wilbur Cross Parkway between Route 34 and Dixwell Avenue. This completes a parkway route from Greenwich to Meriden.
1950	"Curve 11", a dangerous curve about 6 miles from the New York state line on the Merritt Parkway, is made more gradual when a section of the Parkway is moved about 100 feet to the north.
1951	Sept. 27: Routes 8, 110, and 113 rearranged; Routes 8A, 65, and 65A deleted. Route 110A is also created, but not well publicized. Dec. 17: Commodore Isaac Hull bridge opens, carrying Route 8 over the Housatonic river.
1953	Mar. 31: State General Assembly recommends a $400 million freeway program for the state. Routes that would be upgraded to freeways ("thruways") were US 1 (east of New London), Route 2 (west of Colchester), US 5 (all), US 6 (all), US 7 (all), Route 8 (all), Route 9 (south of Cromwell), Route 12 (all), Route 184 (then called Route 84), and Route 85 (south of Colchester). The only parts that didn't get done (though some have different names) were the eastern US 6 and most of US 7.
1954	May 1: Route 72 is extended from Terryville to the Massachusetts state line, via today's Route 4 and Route 272. Old Route 49 and Route 117 are decommissioned.
1955	Governor Ribicoff establishes the Greater Hartford Bridge Authority, charged with developing a multi-bridge plan for the Hartford region. In the following years, two new toll bridges are built (Bissell and Putnam), the Founders Bridge is completed, and tolls go up on the Bulkeley Bridge. Duties of the Authority are transferred to the Commissioner of Highways in 1959. Oct. 16: Flooding causes the Silvermine River Bridge in Norwalk to subside, closing the Merritt Parkway.
1956	Sept. 15: A freeway upgrade to US 5 in Hamden and New Haven is tentatively approved. This would tunnel through East Rock Park and connect approximately where the Exit 6 "Evel Knievel" ramps on I-91 are. This proposal became the East Rock Connector, which was never built.
1957	Hammonasset connector (SSR 450) opens. August 14: American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO, now AASHTO) approves the general routes for interstates 84, 91, and 95. September 9-11: Early stirrings of highway revolt appear in the Hartford conference "The New Highways: Challenge to the Metropolitan Region." Lewis Mumford leads a group of city planners urging a stop to all urban interstate highway construction until comprehensive land use plans could be developed. Mumford contends that the 1956 Federal Aid Highway Act, effectively creating the Interstate system, was slipped through to favor "the second mistress that exists in every household right alongside the wife--the motor car." [FHWA] Dec. 16: Bissell Bridge (now I-291) opens. Dec. 23: Founders Bridge opens.
1958	Jan. 2: Connecticut Turnpike (later called I-95) officially opens, though the Byram Bridge is not done yet. Total cost was $464 million. June 27: American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO, now AASHTO) approves the numbers for interstates 84, 91, and 95. Nov. 12: AASHO approves the I-491 number for a proposed southeastern Hartford bypass. Dec. 31: The Putnam Bridge opens, connecting Glastonbury and Wethersfield across the Connecticut River. Half of a once-planned dual-span, eight-lane bridge for I-491, the single span carries four lanes for Route 3.
1959	March 27: AASHO approves the addition of a western bypass for Hartford (later I-291). April 30: AASHO approves the I-291 number for this western bypass. July 1: AASHO approves Connecticut's complete interstate system, comprising interstates 84, 91, 95, 291 and 491. Fall: Route 219 is extended over a realigned roadway from Route 179 in Barkhamsted to Route 20 in Granby Oct. 14: West Street in Southington becomes SR 491 (now part of Route 229).
1960	Jan. 11: New Route 9 (now Route 189) and Route 187 open in North Bloomfield and East Granby.
1961	Road Reclassification Act is signed, causing the "Small Renumbering" of many routes. Most of the sign changes started in 1963. Stats from June 1963 Better Roads: From town to state control, 368 miles of roads; from state to town, 208 miles; new state routes, 94 miles. This act also establishes the present secret route system, though an earlier system has been shown to exist as well. March: the first I-91 signs are installed on the completed portion of the highway north of Hartford. July 3: Route 20 freeway (Bradley Airport Connector) opens. Sept. 1: section of Route 2 in East Hartford opens. Sept. 24: section of Route 2 in Bozrah, Lebanon, and Norwich opens. Dec. 16: 15-mile section of I-84 opens near Danbury. Dec. 18: section of I-84 in Waterbury opens.
1962	July 19: SR 564 is designated; this becomes Route 364 a year later. US 5A in Berlin and Meriden are also announced, but they appear in another cancellation story in March 1963. Aug. 20: State accepts King and Middle Streets in Bristol (future Route 229) as a state highway. SR 862 becomes Route 262 in Plymouth. Sept. 1: Route 74 is extended westward from Ellington to South Windsor. Oct. 5: Two lanes are added to the Danielson Connector, and then what is now I-395 is extended north to Route 101. Nov. 1: Kensington Bypass for Route 72 opens. This is now a segment of Route 9 and all of SR 571, the Willow Brook Connector.
1963	Jan. 2: Route 214 is created, from former town roads. March 29: US 1A (Branford), US 5A (Berlin), and US 5A (Meriden - Wallingford) are deleted. Route 85 is shifted in Bolton, absorbing SR 807 and creating SR 534. March 31: Tolls are removed from Gold Star Bridge linking New London, Groton. April 26: SR 597, the Route 10 connector at I-84 exit 29, opens. Dec. 17: 11.2-mile, $12.5M section of I-84 west of Waterbury opens, including elegant arch bridge in Southbury.
1964	Sept. 15: Route 52 is designated along the partially completed highway that today is I-395. Oct. 15: 13-mile section of Route 2 opens in Glastonbury and Marlborough. Dec. 1: Route 89 is removed from Lebanon and Windham, leaving an extended Route 195 and a new Route 289. Dec. 13: final section of I-95 opens, 16.6 miles from Waterford to Rhode Island.
1965	Oct. 28: 11-mile section of I-91 between Hartford and Meriden opens. October: East Hartford Mixmaster interchange opens, connecting Route 2 with I-84, I-91, and the proposed I-284.
1966	For compatibility with New York State routes, part of Route 4 becomes Route 361; part of Route 33 becomes Route 116; and all of Route 29 becomes Route 124. Jan 7: 18.8-mile section of I-91 between New Haven and Meriden opens for $54.5 million.
1967	Jan. 1: route 116 in Litchfield and Harwinton becomes Route 118. Jan. 6: New Route 190 bridge over the Connecticut River opens. The old bridge to the north is destroyed. May 25: four-mile section of Route 2 in Colchester opens. Oct. 31: I-84 portion through the Route 8 interchange in Waterbury opens. Dec. 1: Route 2A opens, including the Mohegan - Pequot Bridge.
1968	State's first New Jersey barrier installed, on I-91 in New Haven. June 25: 11 miles of Route 9 open, from Higganum (route 81) to Essex. Sept. 12: Route 52 (now I-395) opens between Route 101 in Killingly and the Massachusetts state line. Oct. 21: A new segment of Route 175 opens at Cedar Mountain in Newington and Wethersfield, including a bridge over Mountain Rd (SSR 405). Oct. 24: US 5A becomes Route 159. Oct. 30: a section of I-87 opens in Greenwich, causing a numbering conflict with Route 87 in east central Connecticut. Dec. 13: Federal Aid Highway Act of 1968 authorizes additional interstate miles, including I-291 from Windsor to Manchester and I-82(!) from Manchester to Providence.
1969	March 20: the planned Interstate 484 gets its number, after being added to the Interstate system in 1968. May 29: Route 9 freeway opens between I-91 and the existing Route 9 in Middletown. The old Route 9 becomes Route 99. July 31: Route 87 was to have been changed to 287, to resolve a number conflict with I-87; however, New York has already announced it plans to change that part of I-87 to I-684. Aug. 14: Ellis St. Connector opens in New Britain as SR 507; it became part of Route 72, then Route 9. Dec. 14: final section of I-84, 3 miles between Farmington and Plainville, opens.
1970	Feb. 2: Route 72 freeway opens from I-84 to Corbin Ave. in New Britain. June 16: Route 72 is extended a small distance east to W. Main St.
1971	June 21: proposed I-82 freeway to Providence is renumbered to be part of I-84. However, this was already unofficially the case by early 1969. July 21: DOT announces new Route 85 freeway will be called Route 11. I-84 in Manchester (now I-384) opens. US 7 freeway in Norwalk opens.
1972	Jan. 5: Allyn Street Connector (part of SR 614, once intended to be Route 319) opens. Dec. 15: SR 508, the Route 4 Connector, is extended in Farmington.
1973	Federal funds for I-491 (aka I-86 through Glastonbury) and I-291 west of I-91 "traded in" for other projects, including CT 9 from I-91 to I-84, and US 6 from Bolton to Windham. Jan. 16: DOT announces that SR 614 in Groton (including the Allyn Street Connector) will become Route 319. Jan. 26: The Route 319 designation in Groton is withdrawn. Also, DOT announces the following projects have been dropped: the Route 189 freeway, the US 44 freeway between Winsted and Canaan; and a Route 10 freeway in New Haven.
1974	May 1: US 202 is separated from a long overlap with US 6, to its current route through New Milford and Torrington. June 27: DOT halts plan to renumber exits on I-91 from sequential to mileage-based. Aug. 30: Construction starts on the US 7 freeway north of I-84 in Brookfield. Aug. 30: Two ramps are added to the Route 2A interchange at Route 32 in Montville.
1975	Dec. 17: Route 78, the Westerly Bypass, opens to traffic.
1977	Oct. 13: The 4.6-mile segment of US 7 expressway north of I-84 in Brookfield opens.
1978	Apr. 27: Rhode Island governor approves I-84 extension to Providence. This was eventually killed because of concerns with the Scituate Reservoir, which supplies much of RI's water. Nov. 22: Route 72 is completed through New Britain, bringing joy to the New British.
1979	March 1: Route 102 is pulled back from the New York state line to Route 35. Route 179 is pulled back from the Massachusetts state line to Route 20.
1980	Oct. 1: Route 15 is removed from its overlap with I-86 (now I-84) to the Massachusetts state line in Union. It now ends at I-84 exit 57 in East Hartford. Oct. 1: Tolls are removed from the Mohegan - Pequot Bridge on Route 2A. Nov. 6: A segment of Route 72 opens in Plainville. Route 372 is a new designation for former Route 72 in New Britain and Plainville.
1981	Feb. 2: SR 567, Park Place in Granby, is turned over to the town. Feb. 20: Church Hill and Glen Roads in Newtown, formerly enl(US 6A), had been under arbitration since the 1960s for a state to town transfer of maintenance. On this day, the arbitrators ruled in favor of the town, and the roads (known as SR 816) remain state maintained. Nov. 16: SR 803, a short route in New Canaan between Routes 123 and 124, is turned over to the town.
1982	Jan. 21: interchange on rml(Route 72) at Route 177 opens. June 1: The Route 25 expressway opens, from Route 8 in Bridgeport to Route 111 in Trumbull. Route 111 is extended over the old Route 25 to Route 15. Also, a new section of Route 8 freeway opens in Beacon Falls. Dec. 1: A big shuffle in the eastern state: US 44A is deleted, US 44 moved back to Manchester and Coventry, and Route 74 extended to Ashford.
1983	June 20: I-395 is created over the former Route 52 alignment, from Waterford to the Massachusetts Turnpike. June 28: I-95 bridge over Mianus River in Greenwich collapses; three people die as their vehicles fall 70 feet to the ground. The bridge reopens a month later, but the incident highlights Connecticut's failing infrastructure and inadequate maintenance program. (Connecticut is not alone here.) Governor O'Neill institutes a 10-year rehabilitation program funded by a gas tax to fix and resurface bridges and roads. Traffic cones sprout like weeds. In the next 10 years, we also see some freeway gaps filled in, namely CT 3, CT 8, CT 9, CT 25, I-384, and I-691. July 1: SR 658, Main Street in Chester, is turned over to the town. September 16: I-284 is cancelled. September 29: I-484 is cancelled. Not a good two weeks for 3di fans.
1984	Jan. 30: Secret routes SR 804 and SR 808 in Danbury are deleted. March: construction on the I-384/I-84 interchange begins. June 29: Market - Weston street connector (SR 547) opens in Hartford, offering better access to the North Meadows area. Dec. 12: Bye bye Interstate 86: that number goes away as I-84 is rerouted there, I-384 created in Manchester over the previous I-84, US 6 moved to the previous I-84 in Willimantic, and Route 66 extended over the former US 6 there.
1985	May: Revised exit numbering for I-84 east of Manchester is announced. Exits 92 through 106, a continuation of Route 15 exit numbering, are changed to exits 60 through 74, a continuation of I-84 exit numbering. June 1: Route 349 created, from SR 440 and part of SR 649 in Groton. October 9: Tolls removed from I-95, partly in response to a runaway truck that plows into a line of cars stopped at a Stratford tollbooth, killing seven. Tolls were removed from the Bissell Bridge, now part of I-291.
1986	June 1: Route 9A is renumbered to be part of an extended Route 154. July 17: Taras Shevchenko Expressway opens in New Britain and Newington. This 4-lane freeway, an extension of a planned I-291 connector built in 1979, connected CT 72 to CT 175. Then known as CT 506, it became part of CT 9 when it was extended to I-84 in 1992. October 1: Connecticut Turnpike (I-95 and I-395) is renamed John Davis Lodge Turnpike, after the governor who approved its construction. October 9: Ramp from I-84 east to I-384 opens.
1987	September 1: Route 3 freeway in Glastonbury fully opens, including decades-planned interchange with Route 2. Sept. 1: After 26 years of arbitration, the state of Connecticut and town of Kent come to an agreement on the disposition of two roads. SSR 477 (Macedonia Brook Road) is turned over to the town; SR 827 (South Kent Road) remains in the state system. Sept. 15: SR 704 in New Haven and East Haven becomes Route 337, and SR 645 in Stonington becomes Route 234. Dec. 1: Interstate 691 is completed to I-84, and takes over from Route 66 between I-91 and I-84. Route 322 is extended to I-691 exit 4, over the former Route 66. Dec. 24: Route 103 created, from former SR 750, in New Haven and North Haven. Merry Christmas!
1988	Feb. 1: Route 244 created, from former SR 622 in Eastford and Pomfret. Feb. 10: Route 319 created, from former SR 611 in Stafford. June 24: tolls on Merritt and Wilbur Cross Parkways (Route 15) removed. Another source has this as June 25.
1989	April 28: Tolls on Charter Oak Bridge removed. No more tollbooths exist in Connecticut. Fall: HOV lanes open on I-84 east of Hartford.
1990	Oct. 11: new flyover ramp from I-84 east to I-91 north opens. This is big news; in the past, travelers had to get on and off city streets to make this connection.
1991	State abandons US 7 freeway extension to New Milford in favor of a plan to widen the road in-place. Aug. 8: New Charter Oak Bridge opens. The old one, alongside which it was built, is later taken down.
1992	September 30: CT 9 freeway (the Iwo Jima Highway) between I-84 and CT 72 opens. This lies in the original I-291 corridor and puts to use the 4-level stack interchange that had gathered dust for 25 years. At the request of the Iwo Jima survivors Association, 100 evergreen trees are planted in the median as a living memorial -- one for every Connecticut soldier who died in the battle. Oct. 17: US 7 freeway is extended from Route 123 to Grist Mill Road in Norwalk. The old US 7 (Main Ave) becomes SR 719. Nov. 1: Route 218 extended eastward from Route 187 to Route 159 in Windsor, to connect with the new I-291.
1993	State abandons Route 25 freeway extension to Newtown because of insufficient funds. May 25: New 8-lane Baldwin Bridge (Connecticut River, US 1 and I-95) opens, south of the original span. Construction began in February 1990. October: Buckland Five Corners loses a corner, as Route 74 is realigned for better safety and traffic flow.
1994	Feb. 13: new flyover from CT 2 west to I-84 west opens. This places merging traffic on the right side instead of the left, eliminating the frantic three-lane merge to get from CT 2 to I-91 north. Sept. 22: The final section of I-291 (US 5 to I-84) opens, completing the I-91 to I-84 link, roughly 35 years behind schedule :-) Oct. 14: new interchange at Route 3 and I-91 in Wethersfield fully opens. Now Route 3 is a full-fledged freeway between Route 2 and I-91.
1996	Summer: Route 2A west of the Thames gets a facelift, because of the new Mohegan Sun casino. The former "Super 2" is now four lanes with a Jersey barrier from I-395 to a new interchange at Mohegan Sun Boulevard. Route 2A also gets "street credibility" with the introduction of exit numbers.
1998	Gov. Rowland makes finishing Route 11 one of his "top priorities." Planners say it could still take about 10 years to build. Oct. 1: Connecticut raises the speed limit to 65 mph on several freeways; it's the last state in the continental US to do so. Neil Kelly has a list of the areas now at 65.
1999	Jan. 4: SR 860 (Wasserman Way) in Newtown is designated, as part of an access route from Route 25 to I-84 exit 11.
2000	September: New "Frog Bridge" on SR 661 opens in Willimantic.
2001	July: Route 2 is widened to four lanes between I-95 and Route 78. Also, the interchange with Route 32 in Fitchville is modernized.
2003	Nov. 21: New span of Sikorsky Bridge on Route 15 opens. Both directions of traffic will share this span until the old bridge is demolished and the new span built.