CT 94

More than 90% of Route 94's mileage is inside Glastonbury, where the road is better known as Hebron Avenue. Between Route 2 and Eastern Boulevard, Route 94 is four lanes wide, serving office parks and light industry. It narrows to two lanes thereafter as the scenery transitions from suburban to rural.

CT 94 History

One of the first state highways

After the state Highway Department was formed in 1895, one of its first contracts was "Specifications for grading and macadamizing a portion of the highways of the town of Glastonbury, Conn.", dated September 1895. Work on the 16-foot-wide road extended for about 7,600 feet, from Main Street toward Addison.

This was long before any highway in the state was numbered, but this contract places that section of Hebron Avenue, the ancestor to Route 94, as one of the very first state highways.

Modern Route 94

Route 94 was commissioned in 1932, from the 1920s State Highway 165. It originally started at Main Street in Glastonbury, which was Routes 2 and 15 at the time. In 1952, the section of the Glastonbury Expressway intersecting Route 94 opened. In 1955, Route 94's western terminus was moved to Sycamore Street, across from the Route 2 eastbound offramp.

In late 1931, state planning maps had Route 94 marked instead as Route 180.

A nip here, a tuck there

Route 94 has had several curves straightened over the years:

Widened to four lanes in the 90s

One primary role of Route 94 is to funnel traffic from a large portion of Glastonbury and Hebron to Route 2. Near the interchange are a few large industrial parks. In the mid-1990s, the stretch between Route 2 and Eastern Boulevard was widened to four lanes to relieve congestion.

Former Route 94 in downtown Glastonbury

In late 2002, a "concept plan" was unveiled in Glastonbury that recommended widening Hebron Avenue to four lanes between Sycamore Street and New London Turnpike. East of Sycamore Street is the beginning of Route 94, and an existing four-lane section extending to Eastern Boulevard.

The town was given a Dec. 10, 2002 deadline to decide how to use a $1 million state grant: widen Hebron Avenue, or reconstructing Main Street (former Route 17) through the historic district.

In January 2003, the town council approved rebuilding part of Main Street and seeking money for widening Hebron Avenue.

As of 2020, widening Hebron Avenue appears to be off the table, two large projects have taken place. The traffic signal at New London Turnpike was replaced with a roundabout; and another roundabout was installed at House Street. Reasons for these included state concerns that traffic signals would lead to traffic backups on the state-maintained Route 94 portion of Hebron Avenue.

Trivia

For a long time, possibly since Route 2 opened, the guide signs for Route 94 read "Glastonbury Center / [94] Hebron". However, the better way to Hebron is to stay on Route 2 and use Route 66 from Marlborough. In a signing revision in the late 80s or 90s, the signs were changed to say "[94] / Hebron Avenue".

A 1949 Rand McNally map erroneously shows Route 94 co-signed with Route 85 down to Route 66 (US 6A at the time) in Hebron.

CT 94 Sources