Route Numbering and Location

Once the state started numbering roads, it went a little crazy. By 1927, good old Trunkline 12 had been sliced up into 101, 109, 3, 10, 17 and 121.

As its out-of-place number implies, US 44 was not one of the original US routes in Connecticut (US 1, US 5, US 6 and US 7). It was commissioned on March 1, 1935 (along with US 202) to encourage tourism.

The western half (between Hartford and Canaan) was originally part of a cross-state NE-17; the small part west of US 7 was state highway 121 (1923-1932) and CT 199 (until 1934). Between 1932 and 1934, all of US 44 east of US 7 was part of a long Route 101.

The highway over Avon Mountain, from Mountain Road in West Hartford, opened to traffic in September 1929. This may have been built as four lanes; a paving contract in 1938 refers to existing four-lane pavement east of Avon center.

In 1935, US 44 inherited most of the Route 101 alignment. West of Hartford, that's most where it remains today; eastward, there have been some changes.

In East Hartford, US 44 eastbound originally turned south, not north, on Main Street, then followed Silver Lane into Manchester, met up again with US 6, and then went through Bolton Notch, Coventry, Mansfield Depot, and Willington. In 1943, shortly after the Charter Oak Bridge opened, the state decided to place US 6 on Silver Lane and move US 44 to its current alignment on Burnside Avenue.

In 1952, officials in West Hartford and the state discussed options for widening or relocating US 44 in the Bishops Corner area (at Route 218); these included two one-way bypasses, forming a loop, or relocating US 44 to the north entirely.

US 44A...

As the Wilbur Cross Highway was upgraded toward Union in 1948, US 44 was rerouted between Manchester and Willington; the new alignment followed Route 15 (now I-84) from US 6 in Manchester to the Route 74 interchange in Tolland. There, US 44 left Route 15 and followed present-day Route 74 to the 74/44 intersection. The old portion of US 44 through Bolton and Coventry became US 44A.

On Dec. 1, 1982, all this was undone: US 44A was deleted, US 44 moved back, and Route 74 re-extended; US 44 and Route 74 returned to their early 1940s alignments.

Freeway plans - Hartford area

In the early 1950s, a relocated US 44 freeway was proposed, passing from West Hartford to East Hartford near the Bloomfield and Windsor town lines, and using a new bridge across the Connecticut River. It would be the northernmost of the east-west freeways planned for the immediate Hartford area. Connections to other freeways would include the proposed Woods River Freeway (Route 189, since cancelled), the North Meadows Freeway (today's I-91), and a US 5 relocation east of the river. More details on this proposal, from west to east:

• a bypass of Avon Mountain (OK, not much detail here)
• an east-west highway between Tower Avenue in Hartford and Park Avenue (Route 178) in Windsor
• a new bridge near where the Bissell Bridge (I-291) was eventually built
• a new highway leading to today's I-84 at Buckland Street

By the late 1950s, the state was instead planning Interstate 291, whose corridor would have been a few miles north of the US 44 proposal. This segment of I-291 encountered fierce opposition circa 1970 and did not survive.

Freeway plans - Northwest Connecticut

In 1956, Connecticut attempted to have the US 44 corridor west of Hartford added to the interstate system; though this was turned down, the state proceeded with planning an freeway there in the 1960s.

In 1963, the state proposed a four-to-six lane freeway leading from I-291 to North Canaan, slated sometime after 1975. In 1966, this was added to the state's highway needs list. The first 5.6 miles, from West Hartford to Simsbury, were on the priority list. A $75 million section to Canton would start by 1975, and the remaining 26 miles (about $90 million) would start sometime thereafter.

In late 1967, highway officials were planning to get funding for a portion of relocated US 44 by about 1972. This segment would lead from I-291 to a point on present-day US 44 near Route 167. A plan presented by engineers at Yale included 4 interchanges:

• directional interchange with I-291, just south of present-day US 44
• folded diamond interchange with present-day Route 10
• stack interchange with proposed Route 10 freeway
• diamond interchange with Route 167.

Because the freeway would start with a planned interchange with I-291 in the reservoir areas of West Hartford, US 44 plans were somewhat dependent on the controversial I-291 plans. In 1970, the state decided not to build US 44 over the reservoir, and debated dropping the planned tunnel through Avon Mountain as well.

In 1973, Gov. Meskill cancelled the project in favor of mass transit for the northwest corridor -- but Avon, Simsbury, and Canton have proven too lightly populated for public mass transit.

In 1975, however, the state's 1975 Master Transportation Plan called for allocating $133 million for "studies" of the corridor, from West Hartford to North Canaan.

Lakeville and Salisbury, 1954

US 44 and Route 41 overlap between the villages of Lakeville and Salisbury, in the town of Salisbury. Both highways are state scenic roads along their entire lengths in town. It's hard to imagine a freeway being built there, and no such plans exist today. Many years ago, one plan did.

In June 1954, state highway commissioner G. Albert Hill spoke to a group of residents at the Lakeville Chamber of Commerce, describing a possible alignment of a US 44 freeway in Lakeville and Salisbury. The route would start near US 44 at Indian Mountain Road and proceed east, skirting Wononskopomuc Lake to the north. Crossing the Town Grove at Lakeville, it would follow the abandoned railroad tracks (still explorable as the Railroad Ramble) through downtown Lakeville. It would continue along the track alignment to meet US 44 again east of downtown Salisbury, near Cobble Road.

There were questions, including about a former Department booklet explaining an even earlier US 44 plan in a different location, though Commissioner Hill said that was before his time. A resident engineer in Salisbury recommended a more rural aligment, roughly following US 7 to Route 112, then going west in the valley south of Route 112 toward Amenia, N. Y.

In September 1954, Commissioner Hill visited the area again with a new bit of information: in the Department's opinion, a freeway for Route 44 would not be needed west of Canaan for at least 50 years. However, east of Canaan, the state would have to start work on a freeway within the next few years, to have US 7 and US 44 connect with the Mass Pike and northwestern Connecticut Towns. Also, US 7 in Canaan, though listed as a long range proposal, would start in the following year, 1955. Commissioner Hill then reportedly disparaged the worries of Lakeville residents who understood the June 1954 freeway alignment as a "serious final project".

For residents wanting to keep the lakefront and their town unspoiled, those few months in 1954 must have been quite dramatic. Decades later, with the scenic road designation in place, US 44 is now protected from any construction that changes the character of the road (much less building a freeway).

US 44 route swap proposed, 1959

In late 1959, the states of New York and Connecticut advised the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) of their intent to reroute US 44 along safer, better roads in the vicinity of the state line. The change would make US 44 a bit more serpentine in Connecticut, but remove a long overlap with NY 22 and simplify navigation in New York.

From Lakeville, Conn., US 44 would follow today's Route 41 into Sharon, and then Route 343 into New York State to Amenia, to rejoin existing US 44. Route 343 would be redefined to cross into Connecticut using Route 41, then cross back into New York replacing Connecticut Route 4 (now Route 361), to end at Millerton, N. Y. New York state would reuse the 361 number for old Route 343 between Millbrook and Dover Plains; Route 361 would never have existed in Connecticut. The remainder of US 44 between Millerton and Lakeville would return to its previous designation before US 44 was created: Route 199. Not mentioned in the the application or related news articles: Route 199 in Roxbury and Washington would need to be renumbered; following common DOT practice, the new number would have likely been 299.

US 44 would have been a bit longer in Connecticut, totaling 111.48 miles -- still a bit shorter than US 6 (116.33 miles).

To sum up:

• US 44 west of Lakeville becomes Route 199
• Route 41 south of Lakeville is divided into US 44 and Route 343
• Route 343 west of Sharon becomes part of US 44
• Route 4(361) northwest of Sharon becomes part of Route 343
• Route 199 becomes (probably) Route 299

The plan originated in New York State, but opposition in Millerton, which the new US 44 would have bypassed, appears to have helped scuttle it. There was also some opposition in Sharon, where the new US 44 would have gone through. Many Lakeville and Salisbury residents, having dealt with state plans to build a US 44 freeway in the area, were wary of the proposal until it was made clear that only signs would be moved.

In the end, US 44 was not changed in the area.

Proposed US 44 swap, 1959

Connecticut and New York proposed rerouting US 44 along Routes 41 and 343, which were better roads at the time. Diagram from Connecticut route change application to AASHO in 1959.

Norfolk alignment

In 1971, with the "freeway to Canaan" plan still active, the state held a corridor hearing in Norfolk. Out of the three northern alignments and one southern route proposed, Norfolk officials preferred the southern route. I haven't seen more details at this time.

Winsted alignment

In August 1955, two hurricanes struck Connecticut, causing severe flooding in many locations. In Winsted, the Mad River overflowed its banks and destroyed nearly all businesses on Main Street (US 44). Main Street used to have shops on both sides; but the side facing the river was never rebuilt.

In 1961, the state started work on a dam and reservoir west of Winsted for flood control. The project included relocating 2.3 miles of US 44. Traveling east on US 44 from Rugg Brook Road, drivers can see a fenced-off road leading southeast. That's the older alignment of US 44. It originally continued past the dam site to rejoin the "future" alignment (today's US 44) west of Route 183.

The new segment was reportedly built to freeway standards and would have been used for one direction of a future US 44 freeway.

Other relocations and improvements

There are short streets named "Old Route 44" in Abington (west of Route 97) and Eastford (east of Route 198), suggesting earlier reroutings, but I don't have any information yet.

The Y-interchange at Bolton Notch where US 6 and 44 separate was built in 1953. With the US 6 freeway extension effectively dead, the interchange may stay as is.

US 44 was widened to four lanes in Canton in 1984.

Streetscape improvements: Main Street, Winsted

In the late 1990s, Winsted was mulling over streetscape improvements to US 44, which is their Main Street. Their goals included shade trees and various traffic calming devices, including narrowing from four lanes to two; however, the state DOT informed the town that if lanes were removed, "[Winsted] could own the road too" - and pay for its upkeep.

Agreements were eventually reached, however. In 1998 work started on renovating Main Street, and by summer 2003 the work was almost complete. Main Street features a center divider with trees, new sidewalks, and new lampposts along the south side, which is a bank of the Mad River. There are fewer turning lanes, which is slowing traffic in the area.