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 ...

, U.S. Route 202 (US 202) is usually signed as an east–west route. It enters from the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

state line in

Danbury Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2022 was 87,642. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut. Danbury is nicknamed the "Hat City ...

overlapped with

U.S. Route 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 P ...

and ends at the

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

state line in Granby overlapped with Route 10. Although the route serves no major city centers for most of its run, with the largest city being Danbury, it does pass through

Hartford County Hartford County is a county located in the north central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. According to the 2020 census, the population was 899,498, making it the second-most populous county in Connecticut. Hartford County contains the ...

, serving the northern fringe of Greater Hartford. US 202 is overlapped with other routes for most of its length.

Route description

US 202 enters Connecticut in the town of

duplexed 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 ...

. The duplex joins another duplex,

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 ...

and

US 7 U.S. Route 7 (US 7) is a north–south United States highway in western New England that runs for through the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. The highway's southern terminus is at Interstate 95 (I-95) exit 15 ...

at I-84 Exit 4 to form a 3 mile four-way concurrency. US 7 and 202 split from I-84 and US 6 at Exit 7. They remain duplexed on a freeway for a short stretch before 202 exits the freeway at the first exit (Exit 11) at the Brookfield town line to follow Federal Road, a two-lane road that was an old alignment of US 7. The two roads reunite at the end of the US 7 freeway about later just before the New Milford town line. Between the junctions of US 7 at Exit 12 and US 7 at the Brookfield-New Milford border, signage for US 202 briefly changes directions to become a north-south route through the center of Brookfield. US 202 returns to being signed in its dominant east-west directions again after overlapping with US 7 in New Milford. The 2 roads split again in the center of New Milford as US 202 turns east to cross the

Housatonic River The Housatonic River ( ) is a river, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United S ...

. It then turns northeast to pass through

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

and Morris (briefly), before entering Litchfield. Route 202 passes through the historic downtown district, where it intersects Route 63 and has a connection with Route 118 which heads toward the western suburbs of Hartford. It then enters Torrington, where it meets the Route 8 freeway at Exit 44. Leaving Torrington, US 202 passes through New Hartford before entering

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

. Just after crossing the Farmington River in western Canton, US 202 starts a duplex with

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, ...

through Canton and the southwest corner of

Simsbury Simsbury is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 24,517 at the 2020 census. The town was incorporated as Connecticut's 21st town in May 1670. History Early history At the beginning of the 17th century, the ...

into Avon. In the center of Avon, as US 44 leaves the duplex to the east, US 202 is joined from the east by Route 10, as both turn northward. US 202 (duplexed with Route 10) then reenters Simsbury, and then enters Granby. After a brief triplex with Route 189 in the center of town, the US 202/Route 10 duplex crosses the

state line into the town of Southwick. At this point, US 202 officially changes from a signed east-west to a signed north-south route, although signage north of Avon shows both 202 and 10 (the latter correctly so) as signed north-south.

History

US 202 was designated in 1935. It originally went along its modern alignment, continuing east on Lake Avenue and West Street to downtown Danbury, then went south along modern CT 53 and CT 302 into Newtown (this section was signed as CT 34 from 1932 to 1934.) 202 then overlapped with US 6 into Farmington, with CT 10 joining them to the Massachusetts state line. Modern US 202 in Litchfield County was originally part of CT 25 (New Milford to Torrington) and CT 4 (Torrington to Canton.) The portion between Danbury and New Milford was then just US 7. In 1963, CT 4 was shifted southward with CT 25 extended along modern US 202 to Canton. In 1974, US 202 was moved to its modern alignment. CT 25 was truncated to US 7 in Brookfield and the former alignment between Danbury and Newtown became CT 302 and a northern extension of CT 53.

Junction list

Special designations

In 2010, the Connecticut Department of Transportation designated the segment of US 202 between the junction with Route 45 and Rabbit Hill Road in New Preston a state scenic road.

References

{{state detail page browse, type=US, route=202, statebefore=New York, state=Connecticut, stateafter=Massachusetts 02-2 Connecticut Transportation in Fairfield County, Connecticut Transportation in Litchfield County, Connecticut Transportation in Hartford County, Connecticut