51 miles; from Route 66 in Windham to US 6 in Providence, R. I. 24.30 miles in-state. There is a short four-lane boulevard portion near I-395 in Plainfield.

Route 14 is a "back road" east-west route into Rhode Island. US 6, Route 101, and US 44 carry more traffic.

On January 26, 1999, part of Route 14 was designated a state scenic road: the 4.4-mile segment from the Windham Center School to a point 0.3 mile east of Scotland center. This designation means that any further alteration or improvement on this section of Routes 14 will maintain the character of the road.

A portion of Route 203 was also designated that day.

Pre-20th Century

Route 14 is one of those highways that really does follow an old Indian path: settlers in the area were pleased to find a "remarkably straight" Indian trail in Windham County, leading from Canterbury to Narragansett Bay. This trail soon served as the main street for villages in its path and was extended to Windham; then became known simply as the "Great Road."

On Aug. 17, 1706, the Town Council of Providence ordered a road laid out leading to Plainfield, which was then an important commercial center. The road, then known as the Great North Road, is today the Plainfield Pike.

Titles aren't everything; by 1712 the legislature recognized the "Great Road" was poor even by 18th century standards and recommended improvements. Not much happened, however, until some funding arrived, under the sponsorship of the new Windham Turnpike Company in 1799. The corporation operated the road from Coventry to Plainfield along what are now roughly Routes 31 and 14. In 1852, the company folded (the turnpike era was fading), and control reverted to the towns.

The turnpike (and today's Route 14) included Main Street in Windham, laid out in 1707 to help farmers gathering hay along the Willimantic River.

1920s

In 1922 or 23, State Highway 103 was commissioned from Route 12 in Plainfield to Providence. In the late 1920s, SH 141 was added from Willimantic to Plainfield. These later became parts of Route 14.

1930s: 135 miles long

In the 1932 renumbering, Route 14 was created, and was much longer than it is now. It included SH 141 and SH 103 from Willimantic to Providence, but also incorporated 65 miles of additional roadway leading through Middletown, Meriden, Waterbury, and Woodbury. Parts of the original Route 14, which extended nearly 90 miles within the state, are now Route 64, Route 322, and Route 66.

Route 14's alignment through Plainfield was different from today's: entering from the west, it followed present-day Route 14A (Canterbury Road and Railroad Avenue). It then overlapped with Route 12 for 2.8 miles, finally going east along present-day Route 14. Black Hill Road and School Street, part of today's Route 14, comprised unposted State Road 580.

1941: Route 14 truncated

In the 1930s, Route 14 became known as an alternative to congested US 6, which passed through Hartford. The 1938 travel book Connecticut Guide recommended it as a "a smooth, speedy, and scenic cross-state route."

In late 1940, the state announced it would renumber all of Route 14 west of Willimantic as US 6A: most likely in order to encourage more use of this alternate route. The change took effect on Jan. 1, 1941.

1960s: US 6A deleted; Route 14A created

When Interstate 84 and other expressways appeared, US 6A west of Southington grew less important for thru traffic. In 1968, the state decommissioned the route and assigned various parts to the state routes (64, 322, and 66) we have now.

In Waterbury and Meriden, US 6A (nee 14) was largely turned over to the city.

In 1963, as a result of the state's route reclassification, Route 14 was straightened out in Plainfield, and Route 14A created from part of Route 14 and other state roads.

I'll Rochambeau you for it

Gen. Rochambeau's march to Yorktown during 1781 entered Connecticut on what is now Route 14. (These were the cowardly, contrarian French that helped us win the Revolutionary War. :-)

• United States Work Projects Administration (WPA). "Connecticut: A Guide to its Roads, Lore and People." Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1938.
• "To renumber Connecticut Road." New York Times, Nov. 15, 1940.
• "Once a hot spot, Rice City represents a by-gone era." Coventry [R.I.] Courier, July 16, 2004.

• The Revolutionary Road in Connecticut - part of which includes today's Route 14.
• Route 14 Ends (Photos; Doug Kerr at state-ends.com)

Give a nod to history and give Route 14 its 65 miles back. Then extend Route 14 along Route 317 and Route 67 to meet US 7 and 202 in New Milford. This would be Connecticut's longest east-west state highway. Commemorate it with an annual Route 14 bike ride.

10.34 miles; from Route 14 in Plainfield to Route 14 in Sterling.

Route 14A was created in the Small Renumbering, circa 1963. Before that, portions of it had the following numbers:

• Canterbury Road and Railroad Avenue, from Route 14 to Route 12 in Plainfield: Route 14 (the earlier alignment)
• Plainfield Pike Road, from Route 12 in Plainfield to Route 49 in Sterling: unposted SR 586
• Plainfield Pike, Sterling: Route 211 (1932-1950); part of Route 95 (1950-1960); then part of Route 49 (to 1963).

Early 2000s: reconstructed in Plainfield

A three-mile section of Route 14A, from I-395 to the Sterling town line, was reconstructed from summer 2002 through spring 2005. The existing narrow, winding road, known as the Plainfield Pike, had blind curves, winding hills, and (to top it off), heavy truck traffic.

After the $6.5 million project, the reconstructed Route 14A is straighter and less hilly, and a uniform 40 feet wide including shoulders.

"Two projects, one fairly interesting, are continuing in Northeastern Connecticut if anyones taking a road trip in the area soon.

"CT 101 just east of CT 169 is having approx. 1 mile widened & straightened. The road was cut into a hillside, so it's taking quite a bit of fill to straighten. But otherwise kinda unremarkable.

"The more interesting construction is CT 14-A from approx. 1 mile east of I-395 to CT 49 is being rebuilt, and there is still a few sections of the old roadway in place for comparison.

"It's kind of a bummer that 14-A is being rebuilt, as that was on my list of where to drive the first weekend I finally own a BMW :) It was a twisty, up and down road that really gave you a ride, and heavily shaded as well...just a fun road to drive on if you're not trying to go anywhere in particular in any given time.

"It's being rebuilt as a more typical modern state highway, straighter, no up-and-down dips, big curve radiuses, and wide shoulders. Lots of fills, some cuts, and temporary gravel sections."

• "Route 14A safety improvements begin." Norwich [Conn.] Bulletin, June 12, 2002.
• "Crews begin to unravel Route 14A." Norwich [Conn.] Bulletin, August 5, 2002.

Thanks to Wm. F. Yurasko for several sources.