Route 74 is a state highway in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

in the eastern part of the

Greater Hartford Greater Hartford is a region located in the U.S. state of Connecticut, centered on the state's capital of Hartford. It represents the only combined statistical area in Connecticut defined by a city within the state, being bordered by the Greater B ...

area. It runs from Route 194 in South Windsor to US 44 in Ashford, going through the towns of Ellington, Vernon, Tolland, and Willington. East of its junction with

I-84 Interstate 84 may refer to: * Interstate 84 (Oregon–Utah), passing through Idaho, formerly known as Interstate 80N * Interstate 84 (Pennsylvania–Massachusetts) Interstate 84 (I-84) is an Interstate Highway in the Northeaster ...

, it becomes a rural collector road.

Route description

Route 74 begins at an intersection with Route 194 in South Windsor and proceeds northeastward into the southwestern part of Ellington. In Ellington, it continues northeastward and then loops southeastward into Vernon. In Vernon, Route 74 becomes Windsorville Road and continues to a concurrency with Route 83 through the west end of the village of Rockville. When Route 83 turns to the north at West Street, Route 74 continues eastward towards Tolland. In Tolland, Route 74 continues east through town, with a brief concurrency with Route 30. Just prior to the Willington town line, it crosses

. In Willington, Route 74 continues eastward, with a brief concurrency with Route 320 in the center of town, and continues into Ashford. In Ashford, Route 74 continues southeastward to its terminus at an intersection with US 44.

History

The eastern half of modern Route 74 (east of Tolland center) was originally laid out as a

turnpike Turnpike often refers to: * A type of gate, another word for a turnstile * In the United States, a toll road Turnpike may also refer to: Roads United Kingdom * A turnpike road, a principal road maintained by a turnpike trust, a body with powers ...

in 1809 known as the Tolland County Turnpike. The turnpike ran from Ellington center, through Tolland and Willington, to the village of West Ashford, ending at the Boston Turnpike. The turnpike corporation collected tolls until 1834 when the corporation was dissolved. In 1922, the turnpike route between Tollland and West Ashford and the road between Rockville and Tolland was designated as State Highway 107. Route 74 was commissioned in the 1932 state highway renumbering from old Highway 107 and ran from Route 83 in Rockville to US 44 (then Route 101) in Ashford. In 1948, the section from I-84 in Tolland to US 44 was transferred to US 44, which had been relocated to the new

Wilbur Cross Highway The Wilbur Cross Highway is the designation for a highway beginning at Wethersfield, running along a portion of Connecticut Route 15 and U.S. Route 5 to East Hartford, Connecticut, and then continuing northeast as a section of Interstate ...

between Manchester and Tolland. This change was reversed on December 1, 1982 with the connection of Interstate 84 with I-384 and the southward rerouting of US 44 to its original surface route. In 1963, Route 74 was extended west to the intersection of Routes 30 and 194 and Buckland Road in South Windsor center. In 1993, for safety reasons, the western terminus was moved slightly north to its current location.Connecticut Routes, Route 74
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Junction list

References

External links

* *{{portal-inline, U.S. Roads 074 Transportation in Hartford County, Connecticut Transportation in Tolland County, Connecticut Transportation in Windham County, Connecticut U.S. Route 44