Connecticut Route 286

Route 286 is a bit of a strange road. It starts at a five-way roundabout at Route 74 (completed in 2011), which is not that strange; then it comes very close to, but does not intersect, Route 140, at the Ellington town green. Afterward, Route 286 northbound continues east-southeast to end at Route 83.

The number does appear to have been pulled out of a hat; I haven't seen evidence of an old SR 586 or similar that might suggest a reason for it.

It's Astrid, not "Asterisk"

Route 286's 1963 commissioning was early enough for it to be included in that year's official state highway map. Whoever selected the number might have been miffed at how the map turned out:

'CT 282' shown on 1963 official state highway map.

The 1963 state highway map spoils Route 286's debut with the wrong number: 282.

Former Route 140A

This very old drawing illustrates what happened to Route 140A.

In 1932, the state designated SR 802, an unsigned but state-maintained route in Ellington:

Pinney Street in Ellington, from Windermere Avenue north to Main Street
Main Street, from Pinney Street to Park Street, which was then part of Route 140

Around 1940, there appears to be a maintenance issue that created a short gap along Pinney Street, between Middle Street (approximately) and Main Street. The portion of SR 802 south of this gap became SR 802A. In 1944 SR 802A was cancelled. All that remained of SR 802 was the short Main Street section.

The recommendations for the state Route Reclassification in 1961 included adding a secondary route from South Windsor to Ellington along Ellington Road, Wappingwood Road, and Pinney Street. SR 802 was briefly extended along these roads in 1962.

Later in 1962, the extended SR 802 was apportioned to two signed routes: an extended Route 74, and the new Route 286.

The remaining mysteries here are:

what caused the SR 802A split around 1940
where the "286" number came from

Most 3-digit routes after 1960 will "rhyme" with a previous designation: for example, Route 222 was previously SR 722. In Ellington, SR 802 could have been promoted to Route 302, as that number was still available. But 286... maybe (and this is a reach) there had been the concept of extending north to meet Route 186 in Somers? There's no evidence of this so far, though.

Connecticut State Highway Department. The functional classification of all public roads, State of Connecticut : an engineering report to the Governor & the General Assembly / by the Committee to Reclassify All Public Roads ; with the cooperation of the State Highway Commissioner & the assistance of Edwards & Kelcey.
Connecticut Department of Transportation. "Route change table.xls". Microsoft Excel spreadsheet file, received April 4, 2008.

CT 286 photos (Doug Kerr)

It's Astrid, not "Asterisk"

CT 286 History

CT 286 Sources

CT 286 Links