diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 433a0e2df..e91fbed0f 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](http://semver.org/).
 - Routing Policy: eliminate unnecessary TemplateString allocation per request [PR #1585](https://github.com/3scale/APIcast/pull/1585)
 - Headers Policy: don't render template string when delete header [PR #1586](https://github.com/3scale/APIcast/pull/1586)
 - 3scale Batcher Policy: replace regex with string operations [PR #1583](https://github.com/3scale/APIcast/pull/1583)
+- Proxy/Upstream Connection: setup configuration in init phase - [PR #1602](https://github.com/3scale/APIcast/pull/1602)
 
 ### Fixed
 - Correct FAPI header to `x-fapi-interaction-id` [PR #1557](https://github.com/3scale/APIcast/pull/1557) [THREESCALE-11957](https://issues.redhat.com/browse/THREESCALE-11957)
diff --git a/gateway/src/apicast/policy/http_proxy/proxy.lua b/gateway/src/apicast/policy/http_proxy/proxy.lua
index 5e9d6f4fd..592d23a1c 100644
--- a/gateway/src/apicast/policy/http_proxy/proxy.lua
+++ b/gateway/src/apicast/policy/http_proxy/proxy.lua
@@ -8,6 +8,10 @@ local new = _M.new
 
 local proxies = {"http", "https"}
 
+local function find_proxy(self, scheme)
+  return self.proxies[scheme]
+end
+
 function _M.new(config)
   local self = new(config)
   self.proxies = {}
@@ -27,22 +31,21 @@ function _M.new(config)
     end
     self.proxies[proto] = val or self.all_proxy
   end
-  return self
-end
-
-local function find_proxy(self, scheme)
-  return self.proxies[scheme]
-end
 
-function _M:rewrite(context)
-  -- APIcast reads this flag in the access phase, that's why we need to set it
-  -- in rewrite phase.
-  context.get_http_proxy = function(uri)
+  self.get_http_proxy = function(uri)
     if not uri.scheme then
       return nil
     end
     return find_proxy(self, uri.scheme)
   end
+
+  return self
+end
+
+function _M:rewrite(context)
+  -- APIcast reads this flag in the access phase, that's why we need to set it
+  -- in rewrite phase.
+  context.get_http_proxy = self.get_http_proxy
 end
 
 return _M
diff --git a/gateway/src/apicast/policy/upstream_connection/upstream_connection.lua b/gateway/src/apicast/policy/upstream_connection/upstream_connection.lua
index 1b1d66110..cecbae09b 100644
--- a/gateway/src/apicast/policy/upstream_connection/upstream_connection.lua
+++ b/gateway/src/apicast/policy/upstream_connection/upstream_connection.lua
@@ -15,15 +15,17 @@ function _M.new(config)
   self.send_timeout = tonumber(config.send_timeout)
   self.read_timeout = tonumber(config.read_timeout)
 
-  return self
-end
-
-function _M:rewrite(context)
-  context.upstream_connection_opts = {
+  self.upstream_connection_opts = {
     connect_timeout = self.connect_timeout,
     send_timeout = self.send_timeout,
     read_timeout = self.read_timeout
   }
+
+  return self
+end
+
+function _M:rewrite(context)
+  context.upstream_connection_opts = self.upstream_connection_opts
 end
 
 return _M
diff --git a/spec/policy/http_proxy/http_proxy_spec.lua b/spec/policy/http_proxy/http_proxy_spec.lua
index ef989c35f..b3e716a0b 100644
--- a/spec/policy/http_proxy/http_proxy_spec.lua
+++ b/spec/policy/http_proxy/http_proxy_spec.lua
@@ -46,6 +46,17 @@ describe('HTTP proxy  policy', function()
     assert.is_nil(context.get_http_proxy(http_uri))
   end)
 
+  it("reuses the same get_http_proxy function across requests instead of allocating a new one", function()
+    local proxy = proxy_policy.new({ all_proxy = all_proxy_val })
+
+    local context_a = {}
+    local context_b = {}
+    proxy:rewrite(context_a)
+    proxy:rewrite(context_b)
+
+    assert.equal(context_a.get_http_proxy, context_b.get_http_proxy)
+  end)
+
   describe("get_http_proxy callback", function()
     local proxy = proxy_policy.new({
       all_proxy = all_proxy_val,
diff --git a/spec/policy/upstream_connection/upstream_connection_spec.lua b/spec/policy/upstream_connection/upstream_connection_spec.lua
index 59987c7c5..e99482167 100644
--- a/spec/policy/upstream_connection/upstream_connection_spec.lua
+++ b/spec/policy/upstream_connection/upstream_connection_spec.lua
@@ -23,5 +23,16 @@ describe('Upstream connection policy', function()
 
       assert.same(config_timeouts, context.upstream_connection_opts)
     end)
+
+    it('reuses the same table across requests instead of allocating a new one', function()
+      local policy = UpstreamConnectionPolicy.new({ connect_timeout = 1, send_timeout = 2, read_timeout = 3 })
+
+      local context_a = {}
+      local context_b = {}
+      policy:rewrite(context_a)
+      policy:rewrite(context_b)
+
+      assert.equal(context_a.upstream_connection_opts, context_b.upstream_connection_opts)
+    end)
   end)
 end)