Route 87 is a

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 cap ...

state highway running from

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia * Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Ando ...

, generally in a southeast–northwest direction. The route is part of the road connecting the towns of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

, Columbia, and Andover. Route 87 is a two-lane rural collector road for its entire length.

Route description

Route 87 begins as Norwich-Lebanon Road at an intersection with Route 32 in the southeast corner of the town of

, just northwest of the Yantic neighborhood of

. It heads northwest across the Susquetonscut Brook and railroad tracks, briefly crossing into

Bozrah Busaira ( ar, بُصَيْرا, buṣayrā; also Busayra, Busairah or Buseirah) is a town in Tafilah Governorate, Jordan, located between the towns of Tafilah (Tophel) and Shoubak and closer to the latter. Bozrah ( he, בָּצְרָה ; also Bo ...

(for 0.18 miles), before re-entering Franklin. The road runs for another in the southwest part of Franklin then enters the town of

, where the road name becomes Trumbull Highway. Route 87 heads directly into the town center where it has a junction with Route 207. About a mile further, Route 289 splits off heading north towards Willimantic while Route 87 continues northwest towards Columbia. At the Columbia town center, it intersects with

Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

. North of the town center, Route 87 skirts the north shore of Columbia Lake before crossing into the town of

. Route 87 ends about half a mile from the town line at an intersection with

US 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to ...

. Westbound US 6 continues directly into the Andover town center. Route 87, over its entire length, is one of the last remaining sections of the Jonathan Trumbull Highway.Connecticut Routes, Route 87
/ref>

History

The road between Norwich and Bolton Notch, through the town centers of Lebanon, Columbia, Andover, and Bolton, was chartered 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 October 1795, and was called the Hartford, New London, Windham, and Tolland County Turnpike. The toll road was in operation for about 40 years. In 1922, when Connecticut first numbered its state highways, the route of the old turnpike was designated as State Highway 168. Modern Route 87 was established in 1932 as a renumbering of old State Highway 168 and originally ended in

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

like the old turnpike, approximately at the current intersection of US 6 and

US 44 U.S. Route 44 (US 44) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that runs for through four states in the Northeastern United States. The western terminus is at US 209 and New York State Route 55 (NY 55) in Kerhonkson, ...

. In 1934, the Bolton Notch to Andover portion became part of U.S. Route 6A (later to become US 6) and Route 87 was truncated to its current northern end.

Junction list

References

External links

{{Attached KML, display=inline,title 087 Transportation in New London County, Connecticut Transportation in Tolland County, Connecticut Franklin, Connecticut Lebanon, Connecticut Columbia, Connecticut Andover, Connecticut U.S. Route 6