SR 501 is a short freeway once planned to continue north to Farmington Avenue; called the "Trout Brook Connector," it would have been one of several spurs to I-84 in metropolitan Hartford.

To my knowledge, it has never (even in planning) been given a number other than 501. Presumably had it been built, a state route number under 400 would have been chosen for signage -- or, if the FHWA had approved it, an interstate highway number. Federal interstate highway funding fo I-84 at the time covered the highway itself, interchange ramps, and short connectors (about a mile or less); longer connectors were considered separate highways. In 1963, Rep. Emilio Daddario filed a request to add SR 501 to the interstate highway system, along with "a number of short stretches of highway in Connecticut." (The article doesn't list them.) The request was not granted.

Engineers started planning the expressway network around Hartford in the 1940s. By the early 1950s, the consensus had the major east-west expressway (now I-84) passing near Corbins Corner on the way to New Britain, well south of West Hartford Center. To serve that location, a Farmington Avenue Connector, paralleling Trout Brook Drive, was proposed. The portion of I-84 that turns directly south after exit 43, then veers west again near New Britain Avenue, is recognizable in planning maps from 1955.

On Sept. 3, 1965, SR 501 opened to traffic, along with a section of I-84 from Route 71 in West Hartford to Prospect Avenue in Hartford. Though the three-level interchange and short freeway were designed to extend further north, a lack of federal funds led the state to temporarily end SR 501 at Park Road.) The freeway was to be elevated and cross Farmington Avenue to end at Milton Street, at a cost of about $10 million.

In 1968, however, the state highway department said SR 501 could no longer be built exactly as planned because the "lane design and weave patterns" were no longer acceptable for modern traffic. West Hartford's mayor and state senator discussed other changes (now that SR 501 was no longer cast in stone), including shortening the route to south of Farmington Avenue.

In late 1970, open space concerns prompted officials to propose a lower profile roadway, at grade and ending at Farmington Avenue.

In 1975, the state planned to extend SR 501 to Farmington Avenue. Design was already complete, and construction expected to start soon, but the environmental impact statement status was "negative, pending."

At some time after that, the idea was abandoned.

SR 502, better known as Silver Lane and Spencer Street, is a busy four-lane arterial road serving retail and offices in East Hartford and Manchester.

SR 503, the Sisson Avenue Connector, resembles an overgrown interchange with some unused stubs. Once planned for a Route 189 freeway, the ramps are now in danger of being torn down. The 1999 "Hartford West" transportation plan included some safety and flow improvements on I-84, including a "reduction in profile" of the interchange. The left exit from I-84 eastbound does not help its case, as left exits are now deprecated.

In late 2000, ConnDOT initiated the West Side Access Study, examining four interchanges including Exit 46, SR 503. The favored alternative as of late 2001 is a single-point urban interchange (SPUI).

For more information about the canceled 189 freeway and SR 503's role in it, see: Woods River Expressway.

Also known as the Flatbush Avenue Connector, the 2-lane SR 504 freeway shows signs of greater plans for it in the 1960s: a complete interchange with I-84, and a southeasterly extension to US 5 and Route 15 near the point where they merge with the Berlin Turnpike.

SR 508 is the short freeway connecting to I-84 exit 39 in Farmington. It was once planned for a segment of Route 4 freeway leading from I-84 to a planned Route 10 freeway. The connector mainline is only about a mile long, but the official length includes 0.8 miles adjacent to I-84 eastbound. This is the stretch walled off by Jersey barrier, so that SR 508 left-hand entrance traffic doesn't cross I-84 to the right-hand Route 9 exit.

Believe it or not, SR 508 was even shorter when it first opened: the terminus was not at Route 4, but at Patrick Flood Road. The familiar reason: federal funds ran out. On Dec. 15, 1972, the extension to Route 4 opened to traffic.

SignMaker mockup of SR 533 sign goof on I-86 circa 1982.

At its interchange with I-84, SR 533 is marked Tunnel Road. In the early 1980s, however, someone involved with the signing contract for reconstruction of Interstate 86 (now I-84) must have read a planning map too literally, and guide signs were actually installed with "Route 533" markers (see rendition to right). Sadly, someone noticed the mistake and it was corrected, and I never got a photo.

How did Tunnel Road get its name? For a one-lane tunnel on the route, built between 1846 and 1849. The 108-foot keystone arch tunnel, the longest in the state, was built with only the help of oxen and hand tools. The arch was built by leaning stones against a temporary wooden frame. When the keystone was placed, the arch became self-supporting. The tunnel is 14 feet wide and 16 feet high at the center. For more information, see http://www.vernonct.com/tunnel.htm.

Short-lived "sign goof" exposes SR 540 to motorists circa 2000.

This unassuming 1.43-mile route, known locally as Hatchett Hill Road, connects Routes 187 and 189 in East Granby. SR 540 would be another unremarkable secondary road except for the gorgeous marker sign at roadside near its intersection with Route 187.

The photo, at right, was contributed by a Connecticut resident who prefers not to be named. But thanks: this was quite a find! (The sign was taken down in 2004.)

Another wrinkle: road signs at each end (and the AAA map) spell "Hatchett" with only one trailing T.

SR 565 is Maple Ave and Dowd Ave in the Collinsville section of Canton. Part of it near Canton Village along the Farmington River is a state scenic byway; since the official DOT state map and other sources refer to this unsigned route as simply "Route 565," I figured I'd better tell you where it is.

SR 571 is a short freeway in Berlin with a complete interchange at Route 71 and an incomplete interchange with Route 9. It's lightly traveled these days and a good illustration of early 1960s highway construction. If it didn't already exist, there would not be a stampede to have it built.

SR 571 is part of the Kensington Bypass, a four-lane freeway that opened on Nov. 1, 1962, leading from Farmington Avenue to the Berlin Turnpike. It was originally signed as part of Route 72. In 1978, when Route 72 was completed through New Britain, the portion bypassed by the new Route 72 was designated Route 372. In 1990, Route 372 was moved to Farmington Avenue (the original Route 72 before the Kensington Bypass had opened), and the leftover freeway became unsigned SR 571. On Route 9, the exit to SR 571 is marked as leading to Route 71 and Route 372.

SR 597 is not much more than a pair of long exit ramps to and from points east on Interstate 84 in Southington. Most drivers know it only as Exit 29 (Route 10, Cheshire) and a left exit at that. It opened on April 26, 1963, at a reported cost of $602,356.46. (One pictures the contractor handing the DOT back $3.54 in change.)

As you exit I-84 on this connector, you can see that it was meant to continue across Route 10. This would have been a Route 10 expressway leading to New Haven. That plan was cancelled around 1974.

In the late 1990s, the state planned to eliminate SR 597 entirely as part of a project to widen I-84. A successful grass-roots support to save it earned Exit 29 fame as Connecticut's "best-loved exit."

SR 598 is the Whitehead Highway in Hartford; the "Capitol Area" freeway off I-91. There are two partial interchanges in addition to the 3-level interchange at I-91. Built on the bed of the Park River, which was put in a culvert, SR 598 tunnels under the Hartford Public Library. It was intended to be part of I-484, which would have tunneled under Bushnell Park and connected to I-84 at exit 48.

The original Conland Highway, dating back to late 1945, included what is now I-91 south of it the Charter Oak Bridge, and Route 15 from there to the Berlin Turnpike. It was originally called the South Meadows Expressway, and part of US 5 and Route 9.

SR 598 passes under Connecticut's oldest bridge carrying one roadway over another: the Main Street Bridge was built in 1832. Was this an extreme case of planning ahead for a highway that opened in 1945? Not really; until SR 598 covered it up, the Main Street Bridge crossed the Park River.