Route 49 is a

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

state highway from Route 2 in Stonington to Route 14A in Sterling, in the southeast part of the state. It is a scenic route that runs through the

Pachaug State Forest Pachaug State Forest is the largest forest in the Connecticut state forest system, encompassing over 27,000 acres (110 km²) of land. It is located on the Rhode Island border in New London County, and parcels of the forest lie in the town ...

Route description

Route 49 begins as North Street at an intersection with Route 2 in the northeastern corner of the town of Stonington. It proceeds north into the town of

North Stonington North Stonington is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States which was split off from Stonington, Connecticut, Stonington in 1724. The town is part of the Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Southeastern Connect ...

as Pendleton Hill Road, intersecting with

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

and Route 184. Route 49 continues north, soon intersecting Route 216. As it enters the town of Voluntown, Route 49 then becomes Westerly Road, while still on a northward track. Route 49 briefly overlaps with Route 165 and Route 138 within the town center. North of the overlap, Route 49 continues as Ekonk Hill Road, crossing the Pachaug River and running through the

, before reaching its end at Route 14A in the Sterling Hill Historic District of the town of Sterling. Route 49 is designated as a scenic road from Route 184 (milepost 2.09) in North Stonington to milepost 12.95 (south of Route 165) in Voluntown and from the Voluntown boat launch (milepost 13.84) to the northern terminus in Sterling.

History

In the 1920s, the road from the northeast corner of Stonington (at New England Route 17) heading north through

and Voluntown to the Sterling Hill section of Sterling was designated as State Highway 216. In the 1932 state highway renumbering, State Highway 216 was renumbered to Route 95. In 1950, Route 95 was extended east along modern Route 14A up to the Rhode Island state line. In 1958,

was formally designated in Connecticut, and Route 95 was in need of a new designation due to the numbering conflict. The new designation chosen was Route 49. In 1963, as a result of the Route Reclassification Act, Route 14A was created and the north end of Route 49 was relocated to its current terminus. In early 2003, work on Route 49 and Route 14A Corridor Management Plan was started, funded by the

FHWA The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...

and ConnDOT. The concerns are speed along Route 49, stone walls, and the surrounding scenery. Since state budget constraints preclude adding more police, one idea was to repaint the fog line so that the lanes are wide. In October 2003, the state turned down a North Stonington request to lower the speed limit from to 35 and .

Junction list

References

External links

{{Portal, Connecticut 049 Transportation in New London County, Connecticut Transportation in Windham County, Connecticut