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 | New York resident Pat Defeo suggests dusting off the 312 number for a new route: an extension of NY 312. Here's his proposal: "Extend NY 312 in the Town of Southeast (north of Brewster), which currently ends at NY 22, by multiplexing with NY 22 north for about 1/2 mile, then turning northeast onto Doansburg Rd (CR 65), then east onto Fairfield Dr (CR 65, then CR 66) in Putnam Lake, Town of Patterson. NY 312 becomes CT 312 (no such route exists) in the Town of New Fairfield, terminating about 5/8 mile east at CT 39 next to Ball Pond. The Route 312 extension in CT would work well since "312" is one of only two (other is "746") phone exchanges in New Fairfield." (The Connecticut portion is Fairfield Drive, already a state road, but unsigned: SR 813). Massachusetts resident Neil Kelly adds: "Okay, so we have CT 312 coming up Fairfield Drive in New Fairfield. Cosign it along CT 39 southward to Gilotti Road (less than 500'). Route it along Gilotti Road in front of the New Fairfield schools to the other end, where it meets CT 39 again. Route it down Barnum Road into Danbury where it ends at Route 37. "I love the idea of routing a new state route practically through my backyard!" And so it is with Connecticut roadgeeks: they can move out of state, but still can't resist tinkering with its highways :-) But that's not all. In June 2000, Mr. DeFeo continued: "Let's reroute CT 37 away from 'downtown' New Fairfield by turning right onto seldom-used Warwick Road (Route 37A until 1963), then down the west side of (POWER)Ball Pond (hey, sports arenas now have corporate names!), and down Clapboard Ridge Road to I-84 (unless you want to continue south and eliminate CT 53). Then, shorten CT 39 by making Warwick Road the southern terminous. Finally, replace the current CT 37 (I-84 north to Warwick Road) with a rookie-CT 237. Let's see NK tinker with this one! If I were a New Fairfielder, I'd be gratified that so many people want to improve my highway system :-) |
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 | Rimmon Road, which carries Route 313 today, was once the Rimmon Falls Turnpike, which was chartered in May 1802. The original (1798) plan was to connect to the Derby Turnpike at Derby Landing, but instead the road went straight to New Haven from Seymour. It's not known when the turnpike was discontinued, but it survived beyond 1838. |
 | In the 1920s, state highway 313 followed today's Route 30 between US 5 and Route 83. The modern route 313 was commissioned in 1963. Most of it, from Old Ansonia Road in Seymour to Route 243, was formerly SR 563. Route 313 freeway once plannedIn the 1960s, the South Central Connecticut Planning Region proposed a freeway along Route 313, from the vicinity of a Route 10 freeway in New Haven to Route 8 in Seymour. Route 313, along with Route 34 and Route 17, would have served as a radial commuter route into New Haven. |
 | Route 313 extension plannedIn 2003, a Seymour construction company proposed extending Route 313 two miles northward, from Route 67 in Seymour to Route 42 in Beacon Falls. If extended, the road would run between Rimmon St. and Rimmon Hill Rd. to the west and Route 8 to the east. This would open up 230 acres -- one of the largest tracts left in town -- for light industrial use. In March 2003, representatives of the construction company met with the Valley Council of Governments (COG), the local planning agency, to work toward getting approval from ConnDOT: they are interested in extending the route designation, not just the road. In April 2003 the COG approved the conceptual plan: this doesn't mean construction can start, but makes it easier to apply for funds. In late 2003, the Valley COG identified the Route 313 extension as a candidate for future High Priority Project funding under the federal TEA-21 program. The project cost is listed as $3.5 million. |
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| 2.04 miles; a short segment of the Berlin Turnpike, from US 5 and Route 15, then most of Jordan Lane, leading to Route 99 in Wethersfield. It may surprise some that this short route has a signed number, with parallel routes close by. However, there was some justification in keeping this a state highway. |
| In the 1920s, state highway 314 followed today's Route 183 north of US 44 in Winchester and Colebrook. Later, Jordan Lane became a state road, though with the unsigned designation SR 759. When the state set out to reclassify its roads in 1961, the original plan was to turn over 5.19 miles of roads to town maintenance, including the segment of Berlin Turnpike north of the 5/15 freeway and Jordan Lane. Wethersfield officials protested the proposed Berlin Turnpike and Jordan Lane transfers, contending that the Berlin Turnpike still functioned as a state secondary route, and that Jordan Lane served a state prison (at the site of today's DMV office), the DOT (which later moved to Newington), and the Labor department building -- all state facilities. Either the state relented, or arbitrators sided with the town, because SR 759 stayed in the state system, and even got a signposted number: Route 314. Given the numbering convention at the time, "Route 359" would have been a likely number, but 314 was chosen instead. |
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| In the 1920s, State Highway 315 also stayed within a single town, following today's Route 31 between US 44 and Route 32 in Coventry. Today's Route 315 started out as SH 305 in the 1920s; and afterward became unsignposted SR 915. It served as a short but important connector between Route 10 in Simsbury and Route 9 (now Route 189) in Tariffville. In 1963, SR 915 became signed route 315. Plans: relocate highway, build new bridgeDuring the 1960s and 1970s, the town and state studied how to fix some deficiencies with Route 315. The one-lane steel girder bridge over the Farmington River, built in 1892, could no longer support trucks or emergency vehicles. Two sharp curves at Terry's Plain Road and Quarry Road were a safety problem. Studies were also done to examine relocating the highway from the center of Tariffville. In 1966, the state announced plans to widen 1/2 mile of Route 315, starting at Route 189. In June 1970, the state was planning to replace the steel bridge and relocate Route 315. Town officials wanted the new route to not split up Tariffville. In August 1970, the steel bridge was closed two weeks for retrofitting. This was a temporary measure: after the work, the bridge was given a 10-ton limit, enough for school buses but not fire trucks. In 1971, the prevailing plan would replace two old bridges, at Route 315 and Drake Hill Road to the south, with a new bridge leading from an extension of Owens Brook Boulevard across Route 10. An improved roadway would connect the relocated Route 315 to Route 185 to the south. This configuration would relieve some traffic on Route 10. Tariffville citizens worried about the traffic impact of the relocation. In 1974, the state still advocated one new bridge, a $3.7 million two-lane span, to replace the older bridges. Simsbury officials restated their desired for a relocated Route 315 as well. By late 1977, the plan had changed: a new bridge would be built 200 feet north of the existing Route 315 bridge; and Route 315 would be straightened in the area between Terry's Plain Road and Quarry Road. This was done circa 1992. In 1988, the Drake Hill Road bridge was also replaced. The old one was to be torn down, but fortunately some Simsbury residents had other plans. Since the bridge was historically important, connected to a 22-mile greenway trail, and could provide pedestrian access that the new bridge did not, the town council agreed the bridge should be saved. The bridge was restored, with rust and lead paint removed, and the roadway was replaced with wooden planks. Each spring and summer, local volunteers place and water more than 100 varieties of flowers and 1,000 plants in boxes along the bridge, now known as the Old Drake Hill Flower Bridge. |
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| 6.10 miles; from Route 67 in Roxbury to US 6 in Woodbury. An 0.4-mile segment of Route 317, from Route 67 to Painter Hill Road, is a state scenic road. The Danbury News-Times wrote: "A favorite stop for photographers, antiquers and pumpkin pickers alike, this short (.4 miles), but scenic country road runs through the town of Roxbury. Rolling hills and fields provide the perfect backdrop for barns and homes - many over a century old." |
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 | Renumber as part of extended Route 14. |
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| 3.14 miles; from US 44 to Route 219 in Barkhamsted. The Ripley Hill Road portion connects US 44 to Route 181. The Saville Dam Road portion, from Route 181 to Route 219, is a state scenic road, leading past the Saville Dam and Barkhamsted Reservoir. |
| For decades, today's Route 318 -- Ripley Hill Road and Saville Dam Road -- was locally maintained. When the Farmington River flooded in summer 1955, washing out several bridges, Ripley Hill Road was pushed into service as a temporary state road, routing traffic around the ruined bridge on US 44 in New Hartford. In January 1957, a local state representative introduced a bill to have the state take over Ripley Hill Road permanently. On June 11, 1957, the state took over the road, as unsigned route SR 860. By 1960, the state had also accepted Saville Dam Road as SR 418. In 1963, SR 860 and SR 418 were combined into Route 318. |
 | After a picnic lunch at [Barkhamsted] Reservoir I headed for Pleasant Valley on Route 319 [actually 318 - K.]. Until now I'd thought of routes as the kind of thoroughfares I was trying to avoid. Not in New England. Calling a cowpath a "route" was the only case of Yankee exaggeration I'd ever encountered. Bob Ragaini,
Shunning the Pikes of New England.
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| In the 1920s, State Highway 319 followed today's Route 372 between New Britain and Route 99. The New Route 319In January 1961, the state announced that 5.4 miles of roads in Stafford would become state roads, including Orcuttville Road. This new route was given the "secret" designation SR 611, used for internal records and not signposted. On Feb. 10, 1988, SR 611 was promoted to signed Route 319. In 2002, the state proposed realigning one mile of Route 319 between Gale Drive and Furnace Avenue, straightening some curves and flattening hills to improve visibility and safety. This has not been done, though the road was resurfaced around 2004. The Rejected Route 319The story of Route 319 in Groton is much more intriguing. The road was never signed that way, and the public designation lasted all of 10 days before being pulled. The construction of the road itself was controversial, but the climax of the fight over the road, after it opened to traffic, was over what number it would have. The story of Route 319, now SR 614, is also a rare public look into the state's system of "secret" unposted route numbers. ""We didn't actually oppose the tallying of a number for their designation. It already has a number, 614. We opposed the mentality of advertising it with a number as if it would lead somewhere..." In 1960, the general location of future I-95 in Groton and Stonington had been decided, and planners were studying local access to and from the highway. On the east side of the Mystic River in Stonington, I-95 would have an interchange with Route 27. On the west side of the river, in Groton, access from the I-95 area to US 1 would use High Street. The state proposed a new $1.2 million road, 24 to 40 feet wide with two traffic lanes, from Mystic Street and I-95 to US 1. The road would have cut through the Pequot Woods. Even without the new connector, an interchange was planned at Mystic Street. Local and state officials disagreed on signing: locals wanted a "Mystic" destination, to help siphon local traffic from Route 27, while the state preferred a "West Mystic" sign, to avoid having two exits marked "Mystic." When I-95 opened in 1964, a West Mystic interchange opened too, with a segment of Mystic Street leading from Cow Hill Road, through the interchange, to Sandy Hollow Road; and the segment of Sandy Hollow Road leading back to High Street. In August 1969, area residents petitioned the Groton town council to favor the Allyn Street Connector. The touchdown point at US 1 would be directly across from West Mystic Avenue. A year later, however, opposition had grown, prompting the state to withdraw its plan and work on a less ambitious alternative. In January 1971, the new Allyn Street plan was unveiled, and there was little difference from the old one. A slightly more narrow road, and elimination of sidewalks, would save some trees from being felled. The next month, the Groton Planning Board reversed its earlier stance supporting the road, and asked for a new needs study. In March 1971, most town officials opposed the road, and a flood of protest mail arrived at the State Senate. The traffic counts taken to support the road's need were questioned, as construction on nearby Route 27 might have diverted more traffic to West Mystic. In August 1971, the state announced that Allyn Street would still be a state road. Mystic Street was already given the "secret" designation SR 614. In September 1971, construction on the connector began. On June 5, 1972, the Allyn Street Connector opened to traffic. It is two lanes wide, undivided with shoulders, and thirty years later has only a few intersecting streets and driveways. The SR 614 designation was extended along Allyn Street to US 1. Here it gets interesting. To help relieve traffic on Route 27, the state proposed attracting more traffic to SR 614 by giving it a signed route number. On Jan. 16, 1973, the DOT announced that the connector would become Route 319. I don't know if Route 319 would have extended north to Route 184, but it certainly would have extended south to US 1. (It could have been called Route 27A.) A local advocacy group called To Reassess Ecology Environment, Safely (TREES) denounced the plan. They were concerned the state would extend 319 south across US 1 and north to Route 2. Said TREES President Katherine O'Beirne: "We didn't actually oppose the tallying of a number for their designation. It already has a number, 614. We opposed the mentality of advertising it with a number as if it would lead somewhere... it would have increased the traffic flow, and then be used as an excuse to extend construction north and south." Ten days later, on Jan. 26, 1973, the state withdrew the Route 319 designation, or strictly its signing as such, citing adverse publicity about the new number. A spokesman said the state would retain the number as an internal designation. If that had taken place, Route 319 would be the only number below 400 that wasn't signed, a trait of the "secret" numbers above 400. Highway logs show the Route 319 number was adopted internally in 1972; but in 1973, Route 319 reverted to SR 614. Where I first read about this controversy was the highway logs, where the change and reversion were tersely chronicled, with no explanation. Only when the Hartford Courant archives were available could I piece together the rest. |
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Updated Dec 7, 2007
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