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Route 196 spends only a short time in Haddam before it becomes Young Street in East Hampton (an older alignment of this road has the droll name "Old Young Street"). After crossing Route 16, Route 196 passes through downtown East Hampton and the Belltown Historic District; this includes a short overlap with Main Street, formerly Route 16A.
An uphill climb on Summit Street, and a turn onto Lakeview Street (an aspirational name; there are houses in the way) leads to the terminus at Route 66.
In the 1920s, State Highway 196 was the name for modern-day Route 199.
The modern Route 196 was commissioned in 1932, and was state-maintained only from Daniel Street northerly to East High Street (today's Route 66). The remaining 3 miles to the south may still have been signed as 196.
In November 1932, the state sought bids on relocating the southern 3 miles.
In February 1935, the state sought bids on relocating 2.8 miles of Route 196: most of the town-maintained part. Old Young Street, a narrow road that is part paved, part gravel, is part of the old alignment.
In May 1941, State Rep. Raymond S. Thatcher announced he would petition the state highway commissioner to build a new road from Route 66 in East Hampton into Glastonbury. This would shorten the commute for aircraft workers in East Hartford, and enable development along North Main Street without exhausting the town's share of state aid funds.
The effort fizzled out, and it should be noted that no article was calling this proposed highway Route 196; but 196 (or 83) would have been a natural designation. There were also no details as to exactly where in Glastonbury the road would lead. Intersecting Route 2 near Route 83 might have been more useful than a northwesterly turn toward Route 17.