Route 31 was commissioned in 1942, heading from US 44 in Coventry to Route 32, for a length of 6.45 miles. The road had previously been US 6A; and until 1940, part of US 6. Say what you'd like about the current "Suicide 6" in Andover; in 1938, this was considered a better, safer route than the old, rough, obsolete path of what is now Route 31.

The southernmost segment of Route 31 followed Depot Road in Coventry, eastward to Route 32. In 1947, this was changed, and Route 31 was moved to its current diagonal route along Main Street and Higgins Highway. For one year, Depot Road was called Route 31A, though I don't know if it was ever signed.

Today's Route 31 north of US 44 was originally not a state road. In 1951, the state added two roads:

• SR 484: Mile Hill Road and Bread and Milk Street, roughly from I-84 to US 44
• SR 529: Grove Street, from Route 74 to Route 30

In 1963, Route 31 was extended north along those two state roads to Route 74.

In 1934, a report to the state highway commissioner mentions design work on a "Route 31" in Bridgeport. Perhaps the writer meant Route 316, a very old numbering for Route 8. But the one-line mention doesn't provide enough information.

• Connecticut Highway Department. Highway Commissioner's Biennial Report. Wethersfield: 1934.
• United States Work Projects Administration (WPA). "Connecticut: A Guide to its Roads, Lore and People." Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1938.
• Connecticut State Highway Department. Routes and Road Numbers on the State Highway System, Showing Control Numbers and Sections. Dated Jan. 1, 1942.
• "Three State Roads Suffering Growing Pains." Hartford Courant, Feb. 11, 2003.
• Connecticut Department of Transportation. "Route change table.xls". Microsoft Excel spreadsheet file, received April 4, 2008.

• Route 31 photos (Doug Kerr)