Route 354 is a third alternate southbound route for those unwilling to take either Route 11 or 85 (actually, it's a nice drive; and it's officially an east-west road).
Updated Sept 2, 2024
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Route 354 is a third alternate southbound route for those unwilling to take either Route 11 or 85 (actually, it's a nice drive; and it's officially an east-west road).
Before 1932, State Highway 354 followed today's Route 97 south of Route 14 in Scotland.
The modern Route 354 was commissioned in 1963 from unposted SR 654, at the prompting of Colchester politician Ruby Cohen. Chairman of the state Appropriations Committee, he also convinced the state to signpost SR 658 from Colchester to Lebanon as an extension of Route 16.
In 1960, a project titled "Improvement to Road 654" was targeted to bring SR 654 up to state standards: two 11-foot lanes with 6-foot shoulders. The road was only 20 feet wide at the time.
In 1973, Montville First Selectman Howard R. Beetham proposed that the state take over Old Colchester Road, which leads south-southeast from the Route 82/354 intersection to Route 32 in Waterford, just south of the Montville Connector. His reasoning: Old Colchester Road should be an extension of Route 354. (Also, the town would have saved about $225,000 in improvements.)
The state held a hearing about this. If it had accepted Old Colchester Road, Route 354 would have been about 10 miles longer. But the proposal was turned down.