Route 15 and 15A have their own page.

17.05 miles; from Route 66 in East Hampton to Route 207 in Lebanon.

Commissioned in 1933 or 1934, slightly after the Great Renumbering, Route 16 picked up some miles from the old Route 171. It originally ran from Route 66 to Route 85 in Colchester. In 1963, it was extended to Lebanon, absorbing the old "secret route" SR 658.

The state plans to realign routes 85 and 16 in central Colchester, encroaching on part of the town green. Though some grass would be paved over, the green would be extended in another portion, leaving the town with a net gain of about 25 square meters.

Renumber Routes 190 and 197 as the new Route 16; then it would seamlessly flow into MA 16 and be a substantial route.

Extend Route 138 numbering westward along present-day Routes 207 and 16 to end at Route 66 in East Hampton.

"Route 16" is the title of a 1981 arcade game (see screenshot). I have to say I can't see the resemblance.

"Veterans concerned about green: town says road project won't harm memorial site." Hartford Courant, Nov. 10, 2000.

No longer assigned; Old numbering for Main Street in East Hampton, between Routes 16 and 66. It was commissioned in 1949 (apparently from an old secret route) and decommissioned in 1963.

For a year or two starting in 1932, Main Street (north of Route 16) was part of the old Route 171.

36.33 miles; from Route 2 in Glastonbury to Middletown Ave (just west of I-91 and Route 80) in New Haven.

Route 17 offers a lot to interest the road enthusiast. Starting at New Haven, it quickly enters scenic rural countryside, passing through Durham on the way north. At Middletown, Route 17 turns onto a short expressway, with one interchange at Main Street, before merging with Route 9.

After a few blocks on the only non-freeway part of Route 9, Route 17 joins Route 66 to cross the Connecticut River on the Arrigoni Bridge. It continues on a four-lane boulevard with Route 66 into eastern Portland.

Turning north, Route 17 becomes two lanes again until it approaches Glastonbury, where another short expressway starts again; after a neat 5-ramp interchange at New London Turnpike (pictured), it silently merges with Route 2. No "End 17" sign (or "Begin 2", for that matter) lets the unfamiliar motorist know what happened.

Scenic... in portions

In 2001, a 1.4-mile portion of Route 17 in southern Durham was designated a state scenic road. In 2003, North Branford officials nominated a 1.5-mile segment of Route 17, from Northford Center to Woods Hill Road. However, the DOT's Scenic Road Advisory Committee declined, saying while Route 17 here "many historic structures and natural resources," the route "does not possess continuous characteristics of a scenic road.". Town officials plan to continue their efforts.

In the 1920s, the number 17 was used for NE-17, which crossed the state along US 44 and CT 2 from northwest to southeast. Meanwhile, the modern route 17 was numbered like this: Route 104, Glastonbury to Portland; Route 112, Middletown to Durham; and Route 114, Durham to New Haven. At the time, Main Street (today's Route 17A) was the primary route through Portland, and Route 104 went there instead of strictly following today's Route 17.

In 1932, NE-17 was disbanded and the number 17 went into retirement for a while. The Glastonbury to New Haven route, including Portland's Main Street, became Route 15. The section of today's Route 17 paralleling Route 17A was not numbered at first, then became Route 15A. In about 1940, Routes 15 and 15A were switched so 15A followed today's 17A.

In the late 1940s, Connecticut mulled over how to make its connected highways from Greenwich to Union easier to follow (there were currently eight named highways, including the Merritt Parkway). On May 1, 1948, these roads were christened Route 15, and the leftovers (East Hartford to New Haven) became Route 17.

Freeway history

In 1952, the East Hartford - Glastonbury Expressway opened, from Main Street in Glastonbury to near Exit 5A in Hartford. You'll recognize this today as the narrow part of Route 2 and the northern freeway portion of Route 17, which was shifted there from Main Street when the expressway opened.

The portion from New London Turnpike north was used by Route 2 until the 1960s, when the Route 2 freeway east of there opened. The sweeping 5-ramp interchange at New London Turnpike is a legacy of that era.

In the 1950s, the Route 9 highway and short Route 17 freeway opened in Middletown.

Did the state ever plan to connect these two bits of Route 17 freeway? Yes. In 1963, the state planned to connect Route 2 in Glastonbury to a Route 66 expressway in Portland, slated for sometime after 1975 (a common phrase at that time probably closer to "way in the future" than any specific year).

In 1966, the state projected that by century's end, Route 17 between Glastonbury and Portland would have twice the traffic volume of US 7 between Danbury and New Milford, and should be upgraded to an expressway by then. However, the 1998 traffic logs show an average daily traffic (ADT) of 7.200 for Route 17 between South Glastonbury and Portland, and from 22,000 to 26,000 ADT for US 7 between Brookfield and New Milford: not all projections pan out.

An April 1967 "Long Range Proposals" map included the Glastonbury to Portland freeway, which would have run west of Main Street. The 1968 "Plan for the Future" and "Expressway Test Plan" proposed another 17 freeway from Middletown to Durham; and South Central Connecticut Planning Region maps from the same era called for a new freeway following Routes 17, 22, and 100 from Durham to East Haven. If all these plans had come to fruition, Route 17 would be a freeway for its entire length.

To drive the original Route 17, start on Main Street in East Hartford, underneath the Route 15 overpass, facing south. This four-lane portion, abutting the Pratt & Whitney plant, became unsigned SR 517 in the late 1960s. Route 17 was officially extended north from Glastonbury probably in the 1950s, when the expressway opened; but I'm not sure if the state ever put up Route 17 signs in East Hartford. At the Route 2 overpass, 17 joins 2 into Glastonbury. Stay on Main Street instead, following the old Route 2 and 15.

The Main Street/Hebron Avenue intersection, at the center green, was the original north end of Route 17. The three-way intersection used to be four-way, with the New London Turnpike heading southeast. The Turnpike was rerouted eastward in the mid-1970s.

Main Street south of there is quiet and residential, lined with centuries-old houses. After a few miles, you'll meet the end of the Glastonbury Expressway as Route 17 rejoins Main Street. Follow Route 17 and 17A into Portland and Middletown.

After you cross the Arrigoni Bridge (which opened in 1938), stay on Main Street. Modern Route 17 goes left to pair with Route 9; the original route followed Main. You'll intersect Route 17 again at the end of the Middletown 17 freeway.

Follow Route 17 into New Haven and turn right on Route 80. There still may be a stray sign implying Route 17 continues, and it once did, all the way to US 1. Route 80 ends at I-91, but Middletown Avenue continues. Follow it, and turn left on State Street, where you'll pass the undocumented place US 5 ends. Turn left again on East Street, and follow it to US 1.

The state is planning to upgrade the interchange with I-91 and Route 80; see that page for details. (This was proposed back in 1997, though.)

Route 17 from Durham to Middletown is quite congested and unsafe in areas. In the late 1990s, the Mid-State Regional Planning Agency conducted a corridor study here and published several findings, primarily spot improvements and other recommendations. Unfortunately, these are no longer available on-line.

A freeway bridge over the river, south of the Arrigoni Bridge, connecting Route 66, Route 9, and a proposed (but probably moribund) I-691 extension. The freeway would end at Route 66, with 17 continuing north in its present form.

"At one time, Route 17 was a direct route between Boston and New York City, so over the years Cypress has seen its fair share of such entertainment notables as Cab Calloway, Benny Goodman, Count Bassey, Louis Armstrong and the Dorsey brothers, to name just a few." -- Hometown News

• "Survey Plots Expressway Plans." Hartford Times, Jan. 1, 1963.
• "Connecticut: Choices for Action." Connecticut Interregional Planning Program, 1966.
• "155 Miles of Superhighways Projected." Hartford Times, June 1, 1967.
• "Faultless Food for Fastidious Folk: Cypress Restaurant - A Middletown Landmark for Over 60 Years. " Hometown News [Moodus, Conn.], Oct. 22, 1999.
• "North Branford finds Route 17's beauty is in eye of beholder." New Haven Register, Oct. 29, 2003.

• East Hartford- Glastonbury Expressway
• Route 15
• Arrigoni Bridge
• Metro Hartford's Proposed Freeways (map)
• CT 17 Expressway (Steve Anderson)
• Waterfront Development Opportunity (City of Middletown; ambitious plans to develop the South Cove area and reconfigure the Routes 9/17 interchange)

3.02 miles; from Route 17 in northern Portland to Routes 17/66 at the Arrigoni Bridge approach. Runs close to the river and is sometimes under water.

From 1932 to about 1940, part of the old Route 15; from then to 1948, called Route 15A. When 15 became 17 on May 1, 1948, Route 15A became 17A as well.

A Rand McNally state map (1956 or 1957) shows Main Street in Glastonbury, from the Route 17 split to an undetermined point downtown, as Route 17A. The Glastonbury Expressway carrying Route 17 had opened a few years earlier.

No longer assigned. It's now part of Route 372 in Cromwell. Commissioned in 1941, Route 18 followed West Street from Route 3 to Route 99. It reverted to town control in 1951. In 1963, the road became secret route SR 525.

In the early 1990s, when Route 9 was extended to New Britain, Route 372 was extended along the old Route 18. Here's three thousand words' worth of explanation:

For related info, see the Route 9 and Route 72 pages.

A side note: both the 1934 and 1938 biennial reports to the Highway Commissioner mention work on a "Route 18" in Colchester. A typo for Route 16? A new highway that never panned out? The one-liner mentions don't give enough information.

• Connecticut Highway Department. Highway Commissioner's Biennial Report. Wethersfield: 1934.
• Connecticut Highway Department. Highway Commissioner's Biennial Report. Wethersfield: 1938.

22 miles; from Route 190 in Stafford to MA 9 in West Brookfield, Mass. 6.99 miles in Connecticut.

Commissioned in 1932. Before this, Route 19 was part of NE-32 (now state route 32). No changes since then.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation maintains a digital photolog of its entire highway system: almost 4000 miles. Updated annually, the photolog includes forward- and side-facing views, including this scene on Route 19 approaching Route 319 in Stafford.

• Route 19 Ends (Photos; Doug Kerr at state-ends.com)