Connecticut Route 63

State highway in Connecticut, US

Route 63

Map of western Connecticut with Route 63 highlighted in red

Route information
Maintained by CTDOT
Length| 52.57 mi[1] (84.60 km)
Existed| 1932[2]–present
Major junctions
South end|  Route 10 in New Haven
Major intersections|

* Route 15 / Wilbur Cross Parkway in New Haven
* Route 8 in Naugatuck
* I-84 in Middlebury

North end|  US 7 in Canaan
Location
Country| United States
State| Connecticut
Counties| New Haven, Litchfield
Highway system

* Connecticut State Highway System

* Interstate
* US
* State
* SSR
* SR
* Scenic

| ←  Route 61| | →  Route 64

|
|

Route 63 is a secondary state highway in the U.S. state of Connecticut, from New Haven up to Canaan, running for 52.57 miles (84.60 km). It connects the Greater New Haven area to Northwestern Connecticut via the western suburbs of Waterbury.

## Route description

[edit]

Route 63 follows a mostly northwest-southeast path its entire route, and is mostly a 2 lane road with some 4 lane sections. It begins at the corner of Whalley Avenue and Fitch Street in New Haven where Route 10 turns onto Fitch Street. Heading northwest on Whalley Avenue, it almost immediately passes the eastern end of Route 243 and the northern end of Route 122. About 0.6 miles later, it leaves Whalley Avenue for Amity Road at the southern end of Route 69. It then passes under the Wilbur Cross Parkway (Route 15), offering southbound access only. After crossing into Woodbridge, the road becomes less suburban in nature. In Woodbridge, it intersects the eastern end of Route 114, and the southern/eastern end of Route 67. It then crosses into Bethany, where it has a brief (0.1 mile) concurrency with Route 42. It then enters Naugatuck, where the road takes on a more suburban character. It then meets the Route 8 expressway at Exit 26 before crossing the Naugatuck River into the downtown area. It then passes by the western end of Route 68 before becoming more rural again. After clipping the southwest corner of Waterbury, it enters Middlebury. After meeting the northern end of Route 188, it intersects I-84 at Exit 17, with access to/from the west. Access to/from I-84 east is provided by Route 64 at the next intersection. Route 63 then enters Litchfield County and the town of Watertown. Here it is a major retail strip in the southern part of town. It meets the northern end of Route 73 before crossing US 6 in the center of town. It then becomes a minor arterial road north of town, and passes by the eastern end of Route 132 before entering Morris. In Morris, it has junctions with Route 109 and the northern end of Route 61. It then enters Litchfield, where it meets US 202 at the Litchfield Green. Leaving Litchfield, Route 63 becomes a minor rural road as it passes into Goshen. It meets Route 4 at a traffic circle in the center of town. North of there, it passes into Cornwall, where it meets the north end of Route 43, then into the town of Canaan. It has one junction with the southern end of Route 126, which leads to Falls Village. Route 63 ends approximately 1.5 miles later at US 7.[3]

A 3.4-mile (5.5 km) section of the road in Litchfield is a designated state scenic road.[4]

## History

[edit]

Route 63 was designated in 1932[2] and originally connected Morris to Woodbridge using the alignment of the Straits Turnpike, an early 19th-century toll road connecting New Haven to Litchfield. Route 63 is still locally called the Straits Turnpike in Middlebury and Watertown. In the mid-1940s, Route 61 between Morris and Cornwall was reassigned to an extended Route 63. Another extension happened on September 11, 1951 when Route 63 took over part of Route 43 from Cornwall to Canaan where it ends today.[5] In 1954, Route 63 was extended south to US 1 via an overlap with Route 10.[6]

## Junction list

[edit]

County| Location| mi| km| Destinations| Notes

|
|
|
|
|

New Haven| New Haven| 0.00| 0.00|  Route 10 (Fitch Street / Whalley Avenue) – Hamden, Westville| Southern terminus
0.12| 0.19|
Route 243 west – Ansonia| Eastern terminus of Route 243
0.71| 1.14|
Route 122 south – Allingtown| Northern terminus of Route 122
1.29| 2.08|
Route 69 north – Bethany, Prospect, Waterbury| Southern terminus of Route 69
1.51| 2.43|
Route 15 south (Wilbur Cross Parkway) – New York City|
Woodbridge| 1.75| 2.82| Lucy Street (SR 749 east)|
2.85| 4.59|
Route 114 west – Orange| Eastern terminus of Route 114
4.69| 7.55|
Route 67 west – Seymour| Eastern terminus of Route 67
Bethany| 9.75| 15.69|

To Route 42 west – Beacon Falls| Access via SR 703
10.04| 16.16|
Route 42 west – Beacon Falls| Southern end of Route 42 concurrency
10.14| 16.32|
Route 42 east – Cheshire| Northern end of Route 42 concurrency
Naugatuck| 14.40| 23.17|  Route 8 / South Main Street (SR 709 north) – Bridgeport, Waterbury| Exit 25A on Route 8
15.80| 25.43|
Route 68 east – Prospect, Waterbury, Cheshire| Western terminus of Route 68
Middlebury| 18.07| 29.08|
Route 188 west – Middlebury Center| Eastern terminus of Route 188
18.97| 30.53|
I-84 west – Danbury| Exit 17 on I-84
19.39| 31.21|

Route 64 to I-84 east – Middlebury, Waterbury|
Litchfield| Watertown| 22.93| 36.90|
Route 73 south – Oakville| Northern terminus of Route 73
24.11| 38.80|

To US 6 west – Woodbury| Access via SR 838
24.20| 38.95|  US 6 – Woodbury, Thomaston|
27.35| 44.02|
Route 132 south – Bethlehem| Northern terminus of Route 132
Morris| 30.81| 49.58|  Route 109 – Morris, Thomaston|
32.18| 51.79|
Route 61 south – Bethlehem, Morris| Northern terminus of Route 61
Litchfield| 34.91| 56.18|
Route 118 east – Harwinton| Western terminus of Route 118
34.95| 56.25|
US 202 east – Torrington| Southern end of US 202 concurrency
34.99| 56.31|
US 202 west – New Milford| Northern end of US 202 concurrency
Goshen| 41.18| 66.27|  Route 4 – Cornwall, Torrington| Roundabout
Cornwall| 47.62| 76.64|
Route 43 south – Cornwall| Northern terminus of Route 43
Canaan| 51.21| 82.41|
Route 126 north – Falls Village| Southern terminus of Route 126
52.46| 84.43|

To US 7 south – Sharon| Access via SR 812
52.57| 84.60|  US 7 – Sharon, Canaan, Norfolk, Sheffield| Northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

*       Concurrency terminus
*       Incomplete access

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Connecticut State Highway Log" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2011. Retrieved December 22, 2012.
2. ^ a b "Road Conditions in Connecticut". The Hartford Daily Courant. September 17, 1932. p. 18. Retrieved December 24, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
3. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 5, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2008.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
4. ^ "Scenic Roads As of March 10, 2003" (PDF). Connecticut Department of Transportation. p. 2. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
5. ^ "Route Changed". Bridgeport Telegram. September 11, 1951. Retrieved November 5, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ "Extended Routes Will Cause Two Number Changes". The Hartford Courant. April 25, 1954. p. 7. Retrieved January 24, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.

## External links

[edit]

KML file (edit • help)

Template:Attached KML/Connecticut Route 63

KML is from Wikidata
*[mi]: Miles
*[km]: Kilometers