Massachusetts Route 131

Route 131
Route information
Length:	13.55 mi[1] (21.81 km) Connecticut: 3.78 mi[1] Massachusetts: 9.77 mi[2]
Existed:	1923 (extended into Connecticut 1932) – present
Major junctions
West end:	US 20 in Sturbridge, MA
East end:	Route 12 in Thompson, CT
Highway system
Massachusetts State Highway Routes Routes in Connecticut Special Service Roads • State Roads
← Route 130 MA Route 132 → ← Route 130 CT Route 132 →

Route 131 is a state highway in the U.S. states of Massachusetts and Connecticut. It serves the southwestern portion of the Worcester metropolitan area. It begins at Route 12 in the North Grosvenor Dale section of the town of Thompson in Connecticut and ends at U.S. Route 20 in the center of Sturbridge in Massachusetts.

Route description

Route 131 begins at U.S. Route 20 in Sturbridge, just west of where that route meets I-84, and just south of I-84's junction with the Mass Pike. After crossing under I-84, Route 131 meets the former northern end of Route 15, which was a continuation of Connecticut Route 15. Route 131 continues southeastward into Southbridge, where it crosses the Quinebaug River. In downtown Southbridge, Route 131 meets the northern end of Route 198 before becoming concurrent with Route 169 for half a mile, south of the Southbridge Industrial Park and the old American Optical Company plant.

After leaving its concurrency with Route 169, Route 131 makes a quick right and left turn as it crosses the Quinebaug once more, befoer heading into the town of Dudley. The route heads southeastward through the West Dudley section of town, crossing the Quinebaug once more before crossing the Connecticut state line in to the Quinebaug section of Thompson. Once in Quinebaug, Route 131 intersects Route 197 before continuing towards North Grosvenordale, passing Walker Road, which continues into Massachusetts as Massachusetts Route 31. Route 131 continues southeastward until finally ending at Route 12 next to the French River.

==History==

Eastbound in Southbridge

In October 1803, the Thompson Turnpike company was chartered to improve and maintain the highway between the Rhode Island state line in West Glocester to the Massachusetts line in Quinebaug. The toll road was established as part of a direct route from Providence to Springfield. At the Rhode Island line, the road continued east as the West Glocester Turnpike (modern Route 44). At the Massachusetts line, the road did not continue as a turnpike and the route to Springfield was over public roads. The Thompson Turnpike used Elmwood Hill Road, Quaddick Road, Thompson Hill Road, Buckley Hill Road, and Quinebaug Road. It went through the village of Quaddick, Thompson center, North Grosvenor Dale, and Quinebaug.

In 1923, the southern New England states began numbering their main highways, most of which had, by the time, been under state control. Massachusetts had numbered the continuation of the Thompson Turnpike as Highway 131 but the designation did not continue into Connecticut at that time. In Connecticut, the middle portion of the former Thompson Turnpike, between Thompson center and North Grosvenor Dale, had become part of Highway 185. The southern and northern sections remained unnumbered. In the 1932 state highway renumbering, the southern portion and part of the middle portion (Thompson Hill Road) became a section of Route 200. The northern portion was designated as SR 874, an unsigned state road. At the same time, a Route 131 was also created in Roxbury. This Route 131 was then renumbered in 1935 to Route 199 and the number 131 was then assigned to SR 874 (Quinebaug Road) to match the existing route number in Massachusetts.^[3]

Junction list

(Note: Numbers in parentheses indicate total route length.)

County	Location	Mile	Roads intersected	Notes
Worcester	Sturbridge	0.00	US 20 to I-84 / I-90	Western end of Route 131.
		0.5	Old Route 15 South	Northern end of former Massachusetts Route 15.
	Southbridge	4.0	Route 198	Northern end of Route 198.
		4.5	Route 169 north	Western end of concurrency with Route 169.
		5.0	Route 169 south	Eastern end of concurrency with Route 169.
	Dudley	9.77	Connecticut Route 131	Eastern end of Massachusetts Route 131.
becomes
Windham	Thompson	0.00 (9.77)	Massachusetts Route 131	Western end of Connecticut Route 131.
		0.2 (10.0)	Route 197
		0.6 (10.4)	To Route 31	To Massachusetts Route 31 via Walker Road.
		3.78 (10.55)	Route 12	Eastern end of Connecticut Route 131.

References

Connecticut portal

1. ^ ^{a b} Connecticut State Highway Log
2. ^ Executive Office of Transportation, Office of Transportation Planning - 2007 Road Inventory
3. ^ Connecticut Routes, Route 131

External links

• Kelley, Neil. Massachusetts Route Log, MA 131.