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Route 286 is a short, east-west state highway in Salisbury, Massachusetts and Seabrook, New Hampshire.
Route description
The eastern terminus of Route 286 is at the junction with New Hampshire Route 1A (Ocean Boulevard), which runs north–south along the Atlantic shore, approximately 160 feet (55 m) north of the Massachusetts/New Hampshire state line. The road continues into Massachusetts on Collins Street in Salisbury, and then connects with U.S. Route 1 and Interstate 95. Some maps incorrectly[3] show the New Hampshire section of Route 286 briefly crossing into Massachusetts, just west of its terminus at NH Route 1A.
The total length of Route 286 is approximately 3.7 miles (6.0 km), of which approximately 2.3 miles (3.8 km) is in New Hampshire. The total length of Route 286 in Massachusetts is approximately 1.4 miles (2.25 km).
Junction list
| County |
Location |
Milepost |
Roads Intersected |
Notes |
| Essex |
Salisbury |
0.00 |
 Interstate 95 |
Western terminus of MA Route 286, road continues west as Main St.
I-95 Exit 60. |
| 1.0 |
 U.S. Route 1 |
|
| 1.40 |
 NH Route 286 |
Eastern terminus of MA Route 286. |
| Massachusetts/New Hampshire border |
| Rockingham |
Seabrook |
0.00
(1.40) |
 MA Route 286 |
Western terminus of NH Route 286. |
2.30
(3.70) |
 NH Route 1A |
Eastern terminus of NH Route 286.
To  MA Route 1A |
History
Route 286 was previously designated as Route 86.
Between 1971 and 1984, Massachusetts had an Interstate 86, which ran from Sturbridge, Massachusetts, to Hartford, Connecticut. The construction of I-86 prompted Massachusetts Route 86 to be renumbered to "286" because, according to MassHighway protocol, a state highway and an interstate highway may not share the same number. (The only exception to this rule is Massachusetts Route 295 and I-295, which are on opposite ends of the state.) When Massachusetts renumbered Route 86 to 286, New Hampshire matched the change on its section.
In 1984, plans to connect I-84 along the present day I-384/US 6 corridor from Hartford to Providence was scuttled for environmental reasons. As a result, I-84 was rerouted onto the completed I-86 freeway. The existing section of the old I-84 became I-384.
The Massachusetts State Route has kept the 286 number, and by extension the New Hampshire road has as well.
Today I-86 is the former Southern Tier Expressway/NY-17 in New York State as that road is upgraded to Interstate Highway standards.
See also
References
- ^ Executive Office of Transportation, Office of Transportation Planning - 2005 Road Inventory
- ^ New Hampshire DOT Route Logs
- ^ Correct depiction shown on U.S. Geological Survey 7.5-minute Newburyport quadrangle (Topozone.com)
- "Massachusetts Atlas and Gazetteer." Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. First Edition, 1998.
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