Connecticut Route 131

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Route 131
Length: 3.78 mi[1] (6.08 km)
Formed: 1935
South end: Route 12 in Thompson
North end: Route 131 in Dudley, MA
Routes in Connecticut
< Route 130 Route 132 >
Special Service RoadsState Roads

Route 131 is a state highway in northeastern Connecticut, running entirely within the town of Thompson. It begins at Route 12 in the village of North Grosvenor Dale and heads northwest into Massachusetts, where it continues as Route 131 towards Southbridge.

Contents

[edit] Route description

Route 131 begins at an intersection with Route 12 in the North Grosvenor Dale section of the town of Thompson. It heads in a northwest direction, passing by the Knollwood Rest Area, a picnic area along the highway, then intersects with Fabyan Road, which leads to the village of Fabyan. After crossing a small brook, it soon enters the village of Quinebaug and intersects with Route 197, which leads to North Woodstock and Webster. Route 131 then reaches the Massachusetts state line about a quarter of a mile after that, where the road continues as Massachusetts Route 131. Route 131 is known as Quinebaug Road for its entire length.[1]

[edit] History

In October 1803, the Thompson Turnpike company was chartered to improve and maintain the highway between the Rhode Island state line in West Glocester to the Massachusetts line in Quinebaug. The toll road was established as part of a direct route from Providence to Springfield. At the Rhode Island line, the road continued east as the West Glocester Turnpike (modern Route 44). At the Massachusetts line, the road did not continue as a turnpike and the route to Springfield was over public roads. The Thompson Turnpike used Elmwood Hill Road, Quaddick Road, Thompson Hill Road, Buckley Hill Road, and Quinebaug Road. It went through the village of Quaddick, Thompson center, North Grosvenor Dale, and Quinebaug.

In 1922, the southern New England states began numbering their main highways, most of which had, by the time, been under state control. Massachusetts had numbered the continuation of the Thompson Turnpike as Route 131 but the designation did not continue into Connecticut. The middle portion of the turnpike, between Thompson center and North Grosvenor Dale had become part of Highway 185. The southern and northern sections remained unnumbered. In the 1932 state highway renumbering, the southern portion and part of the middle portion (Thompson Hill Road) became a section of Route 200. The northern portion was designated as SR 874, an unsigned state road. At the same time, a Route 131 was also created in Roxbury. This Route 131 was then renumbered in 1935 to Route 199 and the number 131 was then assigned to SR 874 (Quinebaug Road) to match the existing route number in Massachusetts.[2]

[edit] Junction list

Town Road names Junction Milepost
Thompson
(3.78 miles)[1]
Quinebaug Road Route 12 0.00
Route 197 3.53
MA Route 131 3.78


[edit] References