Connecticut Route 187 - History

History

In the 1920s, modern Route 187 between North Bloomfield (at Route 189) and West Suffield (at Route 168) was part of old State Highway 328. The old route continued east to Suffield Center along modern Route 168. The southern end of modern Route 187 was also part of an alternate route of then New England Route 10 (now Route 189) to Bloomfield center known as State Highway 311. The old route served the Blue Hills community and used Park Avenue (modern Route 178) from Blue Hills Avenue to Bloomfield center.

Route 187 was established in the 1932 state highway renumbering from old Highway 328. The original route began at current Route 189 (then Route 9) in North Bloomfield and continued north to the Massachusetts state line, where the designation was continued by Massachusetts along roughly its modern alignment to US 20. In 1955, part of Route 9 was washed away in a flood, and when the roadway was reopened in 1961, Route 187 was shifted slightly to its current route (the original route went along Spoonville Road) and Route 9 was relocated to the current Route 189 south of the Farmington River (the original Route 9 went along the north bank of the river on Tunxis Avenue). The North Bloomfield freeway section of Routes 187 and 189 were opened at this time. In 1963, Route 187 was extended south to its current southern terminus along a section of old Route 184 (established in 1932 from old Highway 311) and SR 921 (northward continuation of Blue Hills Avenue). In the late 1980s, the southern intersection of Routes 187 and 189 was modified slightly with the construction of a new interchange, resulting in a slight re-routing.