Selected Secret Routes: 900s

There are over 200 "secret" routes in Connecticut: highways with numbers above 400. "Secret" is just an unofficial term for unsignposted state roads and state service roads. Many of these are small auxiliary roads, or even long exit ramps.

The general public should never hear about secret routes, but they sometimes show up on maps, and a few road signs have even gone up.

This page discusses some of the more interesting routes in the 900s.

Length 0.14 miles
From US 6 westbound at I-84 westbound entrance ramp, Exit 8, Danbury
To US 6 eastbound at I-84 eastbound exit ramp, same interchange

SR 911 is the short one-way, two-lane westbound roadway (part of Newtown Road) overpassing I-84 at the west end of the "basket weave" interchange at Exit 8. It can't be part of US 6 like its eastbound counterpart, because westbound US 6 has already followed an entrance ramp to overlap with I-84.

It's a little more well-known than other 900-series routes for two reasons:

In 1998, when Connecticut raised some speed limits to 65 mph, SR 911 was cited in the bill as the official point at which I-84 switched from 55 (Danbury side) to 65 (Southbury side).
On overpasses, Connecticut tends to affix a small green sign identifying the overcrossing street. Circa 2004, the Newtown Road overpass on I-84 had a sign reading "SR 911".

911 Sources

Kelly, Neil. "On to 65! With the Commentary." http://www.neilbert.com/roads/misc/ct-65mph.html. (4 Oct 2004)
Regan, Jeffery P. "Secret Route 911." Personal email, Sept. 21, 2004.

Length 0.06 miles
From south end of Route 314 at Berlin Turnpike, Wethersfield
To merge point of US 5/Route 15 flyover, same location

SR 919 was the highest existing modern route number in Connecticut until 2005. It's vanishingly small, like the other 900's: it's the southbound lanes of the Berlin Turnpike between the northbound Route 15 ramp (where Route 314 ends) and the southbound Route 15 merge (where 15 begins on the Turnpike), 0.06 mile south. The northbound lanes across from SR 919 are part of Route 15, since it hasn't left the Turnpike yet in that direction.

Length 0.04 miles
From Columbus Boulevard, Hartford
To entrance ramp to I-91

For a while the highest modern route number, SR 920 is an 0.04-mile segment of Grove Street leading from Columbus Boulevard to an entrance to Hartford's new convention center. Grove Street continues to an I-91 entrance ramp.

In 1935, an old SR 920 in Bloomfield became part of Route 218.

920 Sources

Connecticut Department of Transportation. "Route change table.xls". Microsoft Excel spreadsheet file, received April 4, 2008.

Length 0.23 miles
From Fulton Terrace, New Haven
To I-95 exit 50 entrance ramp, New Haven

Currently the highest route number in Connecticut, SR 921, the 2-way, 2-lane Waterfront Connector, extends from Fulton Terrace to the Exit 50 ramps at I-95 in New Haven. This route was created as part of the I-95 widening and reconfiguration that eliminated Exit 49 and relocated Exit 50.

SR 921, as shown on the ConnDOT Town Map for New Haven, dated Dec. 31, 2010. ConnDot does not mark 900-series routes on the map; the "SR 921" annotation is mine.

921 Links

I-95 New Haven Harbor Crossing Corridor Improvement Program project site.

Length 0.97 miles
From c. 1941
To 1944

SR 950 was a section of former Route 20, which was relocated away from the newly opened Bradley Field (now Bradley International Airport).

SR 950 probably included Nicholson Road, and might have also included School Street. Drawing a line easterly from Nicholson Road extends across the airport to Spring Street, the old location of Route 20 in Windsor Locks.

When I discovered SR 950, I thought possibly it would retain the record of highest route number ever in Connecticut. (I had also thought the same thing about SR 925, SR 919, and SR 867.)

950 Sources

Connecticut Department of Transportation. "Route change table.xls". Microsoft Excel spreadsheet file, received April 4, 2008.

A short-lived secret designation for the Merritt Parkway
From 1938
To 1948

For a decade (1938 - 1948), SR 999 was the secret designation for the Merritt Parkway. The Parkway became Route 15 in 1948. (I think "Route 999" would have been more awesome.)

999 Sources

Connecticut Department of Transportation. "Route change table.xls". Microsoft Excel spreadsheet file, received April 4, 2008.

A short-lived secret designation for the Wilbur Cross Parkway
From 1939
To 1940

For a short time (1939 - 1940), Connecticut route numbers extended into four digits. SR 1000 was the designation for the Wilbur Cross Parkway, which in 1940 became SR 998, and in 1948 became part of Route 15.

1000 Sources

Connecticut Department of Transportation. "Route change table.xls". Microsoft Excel spreadsheet file, received April 4, 2008.

A short-lived secret designation for the Wilbur Cross Highway
From 1939
To 1940

This could be the highest state route number ever. I've been wrong before. SR 1001 was a short-lived designation for an unspecified segment of the Wilbur Cross Highway in Union, and possibly extending to the Charter Oak Bridge. (It also might have been for the newer section, from East Hartford to Tolland. The source is vague.) The designation was created in 1939, but discarded in 1940 in favor of SR 997. In 1948, the highway became part of Route 15.

1001 Sources

Connecticut Department of Transportation. "Route change table.xls". Microsoft Excel spreadsheet file, received April 4, 2008.