Route 70 officially begins as a continuation of SSR 801', known locally as Waterbury Road and East Main Street, near its interchange with Interstate 84 in Cheshire. Route 70 proceeds southeast on Waterbury Road into the Mixville section of Cheshire, then meets Route 68 about east of the I-84 junction. Routes 68 and 70 become concurrent as they proceed east along West Main Street and Main Street into Cheshire center. After a brief three-way overlap with Route 10, Routes 68 and 70 continue eastward together as Academy Road for another. Route 68 then splits off to the east towards Wallingford while Route 70 heads northeast towards Meriden. The Route 68/70 overlap is long. Route 70 enters the city of Meriden, where the roadname changes to River Road. Route 70 follows River Road for about then turns onto Main Street. After crossing the Quinnipiac River, Route 70 turns southeast onto Hanover Avenue, ending after another at Route 71. Route 70 carries average traffic volumes of about 15,400 vehicles per day west of Route 10 and about 6,300 vehicles per day east of Route 10.
History
The route directly connecting downtown Waterbury and Cheshire center was first improved in 1852 by the Waterbury and Cheshire Plank Road Company, which had built the toll road. The company continued operating the toll road until 1880 when the company charter was repealed by the Connecticut General Assembly. In 1922, the Waterbury to Cheshire road was designated as a secondary state highway known as Highway 323. Highway 323 began at the intersection of Meriden Road and East Main Street and followed East Main Street towards Cheshire. In Cheshire, Highway 323 followed modern Route 70 until the junction with Highland Avenue. In the 1932 state highway renumbering, modern Route 70 was created from old Highway 323 plus an extension east of Route 10 along a previously unnumbered road tothe South Meriden section of the city of Meriden. The original eastern terminus was at Hanover Road just after crossing the Quinnipiac River. The route was extended by 1955 along New Hanover Avenue to Old Colony Road. In 1962, Route 70 took over the former south end of Route 71 to its modern terminus at Old Colony Road after Route 71 was relocated to the former US 5A. In 1964, Route 70 was truncated in the west so that it now began at the I-84 Interchange 26 westbound onramp. The former Route 70 in Waterbury was redesignated as unsigned State Road 801.
