| I haven't found a Route 212; but the state seemed to assign 1920s route numbers in order (up to 226), so one might turn up. | |
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|  This 1948 map scan shows how Route 211 seemed to be another number for
part of state route 95.
The segment of Route 211 west of Route 95 was only 0.03 miles long, and I'm guessing it was not signed. This left the motorist with an intriguing intersection at Sterling Hill where routes 95 and 211 appeared to end at each other. I'm not sure what the plan was for routes 95 and 211, as this arrangement seemed temporary. Perhaps Route 211 would have been extended westward, but a dispute ended state maintenance at the town line. Or Route 95 might have been planned to continue north, perhaps along Sterling Hill Road, to Route 14 at Moosup. In 1950, Route 211 was deleted. Most of it became part of Route 95, except for the 0.03-mile segment to the west, which was designated "Route 95 Extension." It's doubtful this route was signed. In 1958, Route 95 became Route 49, to avoid a number conflict with Interstate 95. In 1963, the former-former Route 211 became part of Route 14A. |
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 | Commissioned in 1932, Route 213 originally extended 4.71 miles, from Route 85 to a dead end at Ocean Beach, along Jefferson Avenue and Ocean Avenue. In the mid-1900s, a trip to the shore from Hartford might include Route 2, Route 85 and finally Route 213. In 1963, Route 213 was changed significantly. It was extended westward from Ocean Beach, then north along Great Neck Road, to a new terminus at Route 156 in Waterford. The other end of Route 213 was relocated to follow Colman Street northward from the Boston Post Road, to end at I-95. Circa 1976, when US 1 was separated from I-95 in East Lyme, to absorb the local US 1A, Route 213 was truncated to leave its northern terminus where it is today, at US 1. |
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| Route 214 was created on Jan. 2, 1963 from a set of town-maintained roads accepted into the state highway system. In the meantime, a few small improvements have been studied and made. In October 1972, a candidate for state assembly pledged to secure improvement funds for routes 117 and 214 if elected. "We should be able to widen the roads by four to six feet without spending too great a sum of money," Kenneth Stober said. In 1973, the state General Assembly called for a study of realigning and reconstructing the Stoddards Wharf Road section of Route 214, between Route 12 and Route 117. The conclusion: given the highway's local traffic service, and local opposition to major changes in the road, an upgrade to state highway standards (40-foot roadway, with 100-foot right of way) was not feasible. There was still a future need for a shorter realignment, between Route 12 and Avery Hill Road, but that would be at least a decade into the future. In 1979, the Southeast Connecticut Regional Planning Agency discussed improving Route 214 between Route 12 and Route 117. One factor that hurt the road's funding priority: it exists entirely within Ledyard, so the benefits would be limited to a single town. In the late 1990s, spot improvements were made to handle increased casino traffic, including a short 2-lane divided section near the casino, and left-turn lanes at Route 117. Brick pavers separate the left and thru-right lanes by about 24 inches: a decorative touch. In 2003, more safety improvements were being considered, as traffic and accidents increase. This might include widening and straightening parts of Route 214. |
 | Tolls proposed for casino trafficIn February 2003, a state representative from Greenwich introduced a bill to study assessing a $10 toll on each car exiting the Mohegan Sun or Foxwoods casinos. Route 214 would have a tollbooth, and there would probably be an exemption for local traffic. At the time, the bill had very little support in the legislature. Senate President Pro Tem Kevin Sullivan remarked that such a law would be subject to litigation. |
 | "I remember you could drive on that road, and not pass another car." Tonya Rivers, longtime resident of Ledyard, to the Norwich Bulletin
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| 4.65 miles; loop of US 1 in the Mystic section of Groton. |
| Commissioned in 1932, Route 215 originally extended 3.38 miles, from US 1 to Groton Long Point, along Water Street, Noank Road, Elm Street, and Groton Long Point Road. In 1963, the southern/western terminus was extended north along Groton Long Point Road, completing a U-shape back to US 1. |
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| In 1931, State Highway 216 followed today's Route 49 and Route 14A from Stonington to the Rhode Island state line at Sterling. This is very close geographically to the modern Route 216, and I wondered if the number was retained because Rhode Island carried over its Route 216 from before 1932. Unfortunately, no maps I have show this. The modern Route 216 was commissioned between 1932 and 1934. Its original reported length in Connecticut was 3.66 miles: longer than today. Perhaps it followed Dennison Hill Road north to Laurel Glen, and then Putker Road to Route 49. I haven't found enough detail on this issue yet. |
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| 3.84 miles; from Route 66 in Middlefield to Route 372 in Cromwell. It's notable for serving the exact geographic center of the state: 41° 35" 7' north, 72° 42" 4' west, a point north of Glenwood in (appropriately named) Middletown. This was announced in 2004 by Professor John Harmon of Central (!) Connecticut State University, which is several miles off-center, in New Britain. |
| Two instances of Route 217 have existed, quite close to each other. First: Jackson Hill Road, MiddlefieldCommissioned in 1935, the original Route 217 extended along 2.28 miles of Jackson Hill Road in Middlefield, from Route 157 to the Middletown town line just north of today's Route 66. In 1963, this route was turned over to local maintenance. Second: Ballfall Road and East Street, MiddletownToday's Route 217, following Ballfall Road and East Street, was a town road until the 1950s. In May 1959, Cromwell officials said they were arranging with the state to take over maintenance of East Street. On Dec. 16, 1959, 3.68 miles of East Street and Ballfall Road were accepted into the state highway system as part of a multi-route deal including new and old sections of Route 9 southeast of downtown Middletown. (The small part of Ballfall Road in Middlefield was not included.) Actual transfer of maintenance, including plowing snow, took place the following spring. I don't know what the "secret route number" was for future Route 217, which is a little annoying. In 1963, it became Route 217. Four-laning proposal apparently a mistakeIn March 1973, residents protested a proposed transportation bill that included widening Route 217 to four lanes. Transportation committee members told the mayor and residents that the bill would be corrected to leave the road at two lanes. In November 1966, however, the state met with the mayor of Middletown to discuss turning Route 217 back over to the town. The mayor said "No dice", and Route 217 has remained in the state highway system. In 1995, an assembly act called for adding Jackson Hill Road back to the state highway system. It didn't succeed. |
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| Commissioned in 1936, Route 218 originally followed this alignment:
1947: Trade offer for Route 187 declinedIn 1947, Bloomfield officials submitted a bill to have the state accept Blue Hills Avenue Extension, a portion of today's Route 187 north of Park Avenue, into the state highway system. Gov. McConaughy vetoed the bill, saying the two population centers served by the road were already served by parallel trunk routes (such as Route 9, which is now Route 189). Gov. McConaughy also noted that the state had offered to turn over the Cottage Grove Road portion of Route 218 to the town in return for the Blue Hills segment, but that offer had been declined. In a general note attached to his veto, he criticized the recent practice of the Legislature to prod the Highway Commissioner into incorporating more and more local roads into the state system. He concluded: "I believe the interests of the whole state should take precedence over the desires of the local community, as much as I would like to sign each bill that improves local roads." CG Campus and Route 218 upgradeIn the mid-1950s, the state highway plan included a four-lane expressway along Route 218, from Hall Blvd. all the way to Wilson, to connect with the new Bissell Bridge. This was not implemented, but in 1957, Route 218 was widened to a four-lane boulevard between Hall Blvd. and Route 189, around the opening of the Connecticut General Life Insurance office campus. The campus itself was the site of a landmark conference, titled "The New Highways: Challenge to the Metropolitan Region," that marked an early pushback by urban planners against highway expansion. Pundits also decried the campus, set on 450 acres of rural land, as another milestone in the exodus of industry and commerce from the city to the suburb. By 2000, however, when some buildings were to be demolished, sentiment had taken an unexpected turn: the National Trust for Historic Preservation had named one of the buildings among the 11 most endangered historic places in America. 1963: Routes 185 and 218 are untangledIn 1963, Routes 218 and 185 were straightened out by swapping their southern parts, which sounds more salacious than it really is. In the 1980s, spot improvements were done at various intersections, including a reroute at Blue Hills Avenue to form a four-way intersection with the Putnam Highway in 1982. The aftermath of cancelled I-291 (and built I-291)A glance at Route 218 on a map shows a road passing north, then east, around Hartford, like a quadrant of a poor man's beltway. The comparison is apt, as an interstate beltway (I-291) was planned, and later cancelled, along a corridor quite close to Route 218. In 1974, shortly after I-291 was cancelled, the state studied relocating Route 218 as a four-lane divided highway with access partially controlled. The relocated highway would have continued east from the Route 218/185 intersection, passing through the Connecticut General campus, and paralleling Cottage Grove Road to the south until nearly reaching Blue Hills Avenue. An undivided four-lane road would have continued, carrying Route 218 to exit 35 at I-91. This was not implemented; around 1980, however, Route 218 was widened at the Route 185 intersection, as well as rerouted along a new four-lane divided Mount St. Benedict connector to meet Route 187 across from Wolcott St. I-291 was completed from I-91 easterly to I-84 in Manchester in 1994. The state prepared for increased traffic to Bloomfield by widening Route 218 to four lanes divided all the way from Hall Blvd. to Route 187 circa 1992, and extending Route 218 as a four-lane undivided road to Route 159 on Nov. 1, 1992. The extended Route 218 was given separate ramps to and from I-291, and a full interchange with I-91. |
 | Extend numbering south along Main Street to I-84 exit 41 (at route 173). |
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| 14.98 miles; from US 202 in New Hartford to Route 20 in Granby. Route 219 is a scenic road between Route 318 and the "Green Bridge" in Barkhamsted, a length of 3.30 miles. |
|  Approaching Route 219 on a lonely stretch of Route 20, on a cloudy day in Granby.
Photo taken April 2004 by Kurumi.
Extended to Barkhamsted, then GranbyCommissioned between 1932 and 1934, as the 4.63-mile segment from today's US 202 to US 44 in New Hartford. Aside from some realignment work, the portion of today's Route 219 from US 44 to Route 179 was actually part of Route 179; and the remainder leading to Route 20 was part of Route 181. In 1941, Route 181 was relocated, as the planned Barkhamsted Reservoir would sever the route. In 1943 or 1944, routes 179 and 219 were redefined: Route 179 followed N. Canton Road toward US 44 in Canton, and Route 219 was extended along Reservoir Road and E. Hartland Road to Route 179, for a length of 11.17 miles. On April 15, 1955, the state passed a bill to add 400 feet of Steele Road to the state system, completing state maintenance of Route 219 in the area. In the fall of 1959, Gavitt Road and Barkhamsted Road (the old Route 181) were reconstructed and realigned. Route 219 was extended along these roads from Route 179 to Route 20. Realigned in New Hartford after FloodRoute 219's original alignment in New Hartford, west to east, included Bridge Street and Cottage Street, with the Cottage Street Bridge, a steel span over the Farmington River. In August 1955, severe floods destroyed that bridge, along with dozens of others in Connecticut. Several months later, a temporary Bailey Bridge was erected in the same spot, with alternating one-way traffic controlled by a traffic signal. In August 1956, design work started on a new bridge, to be located downstream of the old one, with a longer span, higher above the river. In August 1957, a public hearing was held regarding the proposed relocation of Route 219 in the area. The 1-mile realignment would accommodate the new bridge location, and provide smoother, safer curves. The new bridge and roadway opened to traffic on June 20, 1959. Scenic designation requested from US 202 to US 44In summer 1998, New Hartford's conservation commission applied for state scenic road status for six miles of Route 219, from US 202 to the Barkhamsted town line. This was turned down. Small changes proposedIn the 1990s, the state was pursuing two changes to Route 219; I don't know if either was completed. The first project: fixing the intersection at Johnnycake Lane, a sharp, unsafe S curve. The second: minor widening along 2.7 miles, from the Farmington Turnpike to Route 318. Both projects spurred discussion from residents concerned that the rural charm of the route not be marred. |
| The state is proposing a $1.7 million project to realign 1,800 feet of Route 219 near Johnnycake Lane in New Hartford, to straighten out an unsafe S curve. However, approval is needed from the town selectmen. |
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Updated July 4, 2007
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