Route 17 is a primary north–south state route beginning in

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

, through Middletown, and ending in

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury ...

, with a length of .

Route description

Route 17 officially begins about west of its interchange with Interstate 91 (at Exit 8). Route 80 begins at the interchange and continues eastward while Route 17 turns northward. Route 17 is a 4-lane principal arterial road, becoming 2 lanes as it passes through North Haven, Northford (where it briefly overlaps with Route 22), and Durham. In Middletown it becomes a 4-lane

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...

for leading to an interchange with the Route 9 freeway. Route 17 duplexes with Route 9 for about on a surface road from Exit 13 to Exit 16, where Route 17 exits and shortly thereafter begins a concurrency with Route 66 as it crosses the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...

from Middletown into

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

. on the

Arrigoni Bridge The Arrigoni Bridge, also known locally as the Portland Bridge is a steel through arch bridge carrying Route 66 and Route 17 across the Connecticut River, connecting Middletown, Connecticut to Portland, Connecticut. When it opened in 1938, t ...

. Just after the bridge, it spawns a alternate, Route 17A, which leads to the center of town. Routes 17 and 66 become a 4 lane principal arterial for the rest of the concurrency, where Route 17 turns north and becomes a secondary 2-lane arterial. After meeting the northern end of Route 17A, it enters

, passing through the South Glastonbury Historic District and gradually becoming more suburban. The last of Route 17 is a

, which ultimately merges into Route 2 West at Exit 7. The southern surface road section from New Haven to Middletown is also known as

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of t ...

Memorial Highway. The freeway section from South Main Street to Route 9 in Middletown is known as the Catholic War Veterans Memorial Highway. A section in Durham, from the junction with Route 77 to just north of the junction with Route 68, is a designated ''state scenic road''.

History

The road between New Haven and Middletown via Durham was one of the routes used by the

Boston Post Road The Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York City and Boston, Massachusetts that evolved into one of the first major highways in the United States. The three major alignments were the Lower Post Road (now U.S. Ro ...

in colonial times. In 1813, the road became a private turnpike known as the Middletown, Durham and New Haven Turnpike. The turnpike corporation was dissolved in the late 19th century. By 1922, Connecticut had numbered roads that were maintained by the state, which included all of modern Route 17. The roads were designated as Highway 114 from New Haven to Durham; part of Highway 112 from Durham to Middletown; and Highway 104 from Middletown to Glastonbury. In the 1932 state highway renumbering, the road from New Haven to Glastonbury became part of the newly established Route 15. At that time, Route 15 used all of modern Route 17, then continued north along Main Street in East Hartford, then northeast via modern Route 30, Route 190, and Route 171 to the Massachusetts state line. In 1948, the Route 15 designation was reassigned to the

Merritt Parkway The Merritt Parkway (also known locally as "The Merritt") is a limited-access parkway in Fairfield County, Connecticut, with a small section at the northern end in New Haven County. Designed for Connecticut's Gold Coast, the parkway is know ...

Wilbur Cross Parkway The Wilbur Cross Parkway (also known locally as "The Merritt" in conjunction with its counterpart) is a limited access road in Connecticut, comprising the portion of Route 15 between Milford and Meriden. It is named after Wilbur Lucius Cross, ...

Berlin Turnpike The Berlin Turnpike is a 4-lane/6-lane divided arterial road mostly carrying U.S. Route 5 (US 5) and Route 15 in New Haven County and Hartford County in the U.S. state of Connecticut. The road begins one mile south of the Meriden-Berlin tow ...

, and

Wilbur Cross Highway The Wilbur Cross Highway is the designation for a highway beginning at Wethersfield, Connecticut, Wethersfield, running along a portion of Connecticut Route 15 and U.S. Route 5 (Connecticut), U.S. Route 5 to East Hartford, Connecticut, and t ...

. The old Route 15 south of Glastonbury was renumbered to Route 17.

Junction list

''Exit numbers are currently unnumbered, but will receive mile-based exit numbers starting in 2021 as part of ongoing sign replacement projects.''

Route 17A

Route 17A is an alternate route running for from Route 17 and 66, through

center, and back to Route 17. It serves as the Main Street of the town. The original Route 17 (then Route 15) used the 17A alignment. The main route bypassed the town center by 1940 and Main Street became Route 15A. When Route 15 was relocated and the route through Portland became Route 17, Route 15A was also renumbered to 17A.

References

External links