ROUTE 839 IN NEW FAIRFIELD OVERVIEW
As an eight hundred series state route,
the route number is unmarked. Conn DOT Route 839 extends from
the New York State Line easterly to Route 39 for a total length
of .83 miles.
At the state
line is a stone marker dated 1909 noting the boundary. From
1935 to 1963 the Route 39 designation veered southwest along
this roadway to terminate at the New York State Line (the
remainder of today's Route 39 from this point into Danbury
was known then as Route 37A).
A very interesting
geographic feature is the fact that the Danbury-New Fairfield
municipal boundary runs along the middle of this road along
its western half. At the New York State Line New York's Route
22 to the southwest is only about 3.6 miles distant, inducing
commuter use of this roadway.
At the east
end the intersection with Route 39 was known historically
as Taylor Corners. The Conn DOT estimated average daily traffic
volume in 2000 was 4,100 and the Conn DOT functional classification
is collector. The grade and alignment are built to a comparatively
high standard.
Route 839 is
utilized as a morning commuter exit from New Fairfield into
New York State, serving some of the significant percentage
of New Fairfield commuters (22% in 1990) with that daily orientation.
It leads southwesterly to the hamlet of Milltown in New York
State, from there to NY Route 22 and on to I-684.
A News Times article of 10/10/2000
quotes New York State police stating that "Many commuters
from Danbury and New Fairfield regularly use Milltown Road
or Doansburg Road to Route 22 before heading towards I-684
to avoid the morning and evening bottlenecks found along
I-84."
In July of 2003 New Fairfield town officials requested
the State Traffic Commission to post "NO THRU TRUCKS"
signs on this state roadway. The Town's complaint focused
upon trucks bypassing I-84 weigh stations by use of Milltown
Road, also the general danger of truck traffic in a residential
area.
Fortunately,
no traffic flow or safety issues on Connecticut's Danbury-New
Fairfield segment of Milltown Road have been identified by
TASR statistics. The only exception is at the intersection
with Route 39, which is discussed under the Route 39 section.
Some occasional heavy truck traffic on this road is suspected
of being present in order to avoid the Danbury weigh station
on I-84, taking this circuitous route to avoid detection.
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