Connecticut's Abandoned Highways

[kurumi]

https://kurumi.com/roads/ct/abandoned.html

These are not the cancelled freeways and ghost ramps -- but roads that were once numbered and open to traffic, but now are closed, though you might be able to hike them.

To make the list, a route has to satisfy the following:
* was previously a signed, numbered route
* is no longer open to traffic
* evidence of the road is there: pavement, bridges, cuts and fills, etc.
* it gets you far enough away from the new alignment to be interesting.

Connecticut has probably relocated 50% of its highways in part: straightening a curve, using a different road, and so on. Most of the time the old road reverts to the town, but stays open; people live on it, businesses still use it. However, it can be pretty cool to walk on a section of road that used to be the main drag and now it's not used at all, just slowly crumbling away.

The page linked above really suffers from not having photos. I'm not going to be able to go out there for some time. I do have Google Maps and street view links where available.

If there are roads I've overlooked, or you have more background or info to add, please let me know.

The most interesting ghost routes appear to be 89, 20, 179, and 8.

[abqtraveler]

https://kurumi.com/roads/ct/abandoned.html

These are not the cancelled freeways and ghost ramps -- but roads that were once numbered and open to traffic, but now are closed, though you might be able to hike them.

To make the list, a route has to satisfy the following:
* was previously a signed, numbered route
* is no longer open to traffic
* evidence of the road is there: pavement, bridges, cuts and fills, etc.
* it gets you far enough away from the new alignment to be interesting.

Connecticut has probably relocated 50% of its highways in part: straightening a curve, using a different road, and so on. Most of the time the old road reverts to the town, but stays open; people live on it, businesses still use it. However, it can be pretty cool to walk on a section of road that used to be the main drag and now it's not used at all, just slowly crumbling away.

The page linked above really suffers from not having photos. I'm not going to be able to go out there for some time. I do have Google Maps and street view links where available.

If there are roads I've overlooked, or you have more background or info to add, please let me know.

The most interesting ghost routes appear to be 89, 20, 179, and 8.

There's also what used to be the northbound lanes of Route 8 through the Naugatuck State Forest; this section referred to by locals as the "Ho Chi Minh Trail" as it winds its way through a steep canyon, along east the bank of the Naugatuck River. Heading north between Exits 24 and 25, one could see remnants of the old roadbed, with some sections of guardrail and retaining walls that were left behind when this section of Route 8 was upgraded from a 4-lane arterial to a freeway in the late '70s and early '80s. When I explored the old Route 8 carriageway about 20 years ago, I recall there being a hiking trail that followed the old roadbed. 

[shadyjay]

The present intersection of CT 4 with CT 179 in Burlington used to be located much closer to the Farmington River.  Old pavement can be seen if you walk the rail-trail which follows the river along CT 4 and CT 179 in this area.
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.7820323,-72.9225863,147m/data=!3m1!1e3

Most likely CT 4/179 was moved west away from the river after the '55 floods. 


In Old Lyme, there's a section of US 1 (Halls Road) that is abandoned.   Since there was a time between when this route didn't have a number (between the time the US 1 "Super 2" opened (today's I-95) to to time the present route via Halls Rd and Boston Post Road became designated Route 51), I'm not sure if the realignment occurred during that time or not. 
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.3240252,-72.3321873,228m/data=!3m1!1e3

If I-95 ever gets widened in this area, I would recommend putting US 1 back on that old alignment, so that there is more space to widen I-95 to the north.  It's pretty tight through there as it is, with wetlands and such.

[jon daly]

My life has been busy, but I did want to drop by and say that I am glad to see the new updates.

moto e5 play

[relaxok]

Always interested in ghost towns, I looked up more about the Rt 8 section.   I am from nearby and never heard of Fluteville - and I guess I thought Campville was still a neighborhood somewhere, I don't know much about Thomaston.

This FB page is viewable without an FB account and has a lot of posts and photos about the area.

https://www.facebook.com/Fluteville-and-Campville-CT-The-Forgotten-Villages-707725875995508/?ref=page_internal

[MikeTheActuary]

There are still traces of the former alignment of Route 189 crossing the ridge between Tariffville and Bloomfield, bypassed when the mini-almost-super-2 stretch opened...although hiking it requires some bushwhacking.

[Route7forever]

Im assuming CT-51 doesn't count?

[Alps]

Im assuming CT-51 doesn't count?

Right, this is old alignments, not former numbers.

[kurumi]

This doesn't quite fit the thread criteria, but it's still interesting: former SR 503 in Beacon Falls (the new section is part of CT 42), bypassed in 1968. The old Pines Bridge Road goes through a 9.2-foot railroad underpass nicknamed "The Rabbit Hole". You might be able to hike there; no barriers or signs are visible. There might be some traces of the old bridge across the Naugatuck River, though Google Sat View (low-res in this area) doesn't show anything.

https://goo.gl/maps/eGMeeLfhtBNNfxeN8

[RobbieL2415]

That is the stupidest place to put a stop sign. I get that they want people to slow down, but still.