Route 286 (Massachusetts – New Hampshire)

Route 286 is a short, east–west state highway in Salisbury, Massachusetts and Seabrook, New Hampshire. The route was previously known as Route 86 and renumbered to avoid a numerical conflict with the designation of a freeway as Interstate 86 in the 1970s.

Route description

The eastern terminus of Route 286 is at the junction with New Hampshire Route 1A (Ocean Boulevard), which runs north–south along the Atlantic shore, approximately 160 feet (49 m) north of the Massachusetts/New Hampshire state line. The road continues into Massachusetts on Collins Street in Salisbury, and then connects with U.S. Route 1 and Interstate 95. Some maps incorrectly^[3] show the New Hampshire section of Route 286 briefly crossing into Massachusetts, just west of its terminus at NH Route 1A.

The total length of Route 286 is approximately 3.7 miles (6.0 km), of which approximately 2.3 miles (3.7 km) is in New Hampshire. The total length of Route 286 in Massachusetts is approximately 1.4 miles (2.3 km).

Street names

Route 286 is known by the following street names:

• Salisbury, Massachusetts
  • Main Street
  • High Street
  • Pike Street
  • Collins Street
• Seabrook, New Hampshire
  • Collins Street
  • Route 286

History

Route 286 was previously designated as Route 86 in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Between 1971 and 1984, Massachusetts had an Interstate 86, which ran from Sturbridge, Massachusetts, to Hartford, Connecticut. The construction of I-86 prompted Massachusetts Route 86 to be renumbered to "286" because, according to Massachusetts Highway Department (MassHighway) protocol, a state highway and an Interstate Highway may not share the same number. (The only exception to this rule is Massachusetts Route 295 and I-295, which are on opposite ends of the state.) When Massachusetts renumbered Route 86 to 286, New Hampshire matched the change on its section.

In 1984, plans to connect I-84 along the present day I-384/US 6 corridor from Hartford to Providence were scuttled for environmental reasons. As a result, I-84 was rerouted onto the completed I-86 freeway. The existing section of the old I-84 became I-384. The Massachusetts State Route has kept the 286 number, and by extension the New Hampshire road has as well.

Today I-86 is the former Southern Tier Expressway/NY-17 in New York State as that road is upgraded to Interstate Highway standards. Modern I-86 is unrelated to the I-86 that existed in Massachusetts.

Junction list

Mileposts resest at the state line.

References