Massachusetts Route 2

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Route 2

Length:

142.29^[1] mi (228.99 km)

West end:

NY 2 in Petersburgh, NY

Major
junctions:

I-91 in Greenfield

US 202 in Athol

I-190 in Leominster

I-495 in Littleton

I-95/Route 128 in Lexington

US 3 in Cambridge

East end:

Route 28 in Boston

Massachusetts State Highway Routes
< Route 1A		Route 2A >
< Route 6B	N.E.		Route 8 >

Route 2 is a major east-west state highway in Massachusetts. Along with Route 9 and Route 20 to the South, these highways are the main alternatives to the Massachusetts Turnpike/I-90 toll highway.

Route 2 runs the entire length of Massachusetts, beginning at the New York border, where it connects with New York State Route 2. It proceeds east on a winding, scenic path along the old Mohawk Trail through the Berkshire mountains to Williamstown and North Adams.

The Route goes through Berkshire County into Franklin County, Massachusetts. It runs into Interstate 91 at an interchange in Greenfield and briefly runs concurrent to the interstate highway. At this point the old Route 2 becomes Route 2A and goes through downtown Greenfield. Route 2 however then exits off I-91, becoming a freeway briefly before becoming a 2 lane limited access road. It's a freeway in that exits are interchanges and the road at this point does not have direct access to smaller roads and streets. Outside of Greenfield Route 2A temporarily ends and merges with Route 2. Route 2 then becomes a regular 2 lane road in Gill and through Erving though it has some limited access interchanges in Millers Falls at its intersection with Route 63. There is another gap in the 2 lane freeway in the Erving area).

Once the road enters the Town of Orange Route 2A resumes and breaks off Route 2. At this point Route 2 again becomes a 2 lane freeway. In Orange Route 2 begins to run concurrent with US 202. The road at this point enters Worcester County, Massachusetts. After its eastern interchange in Phillipston when US 202 breaks off to the north, Route 2 becomes a full four lane freeway, though not close to Interstate standards in most points. It continues through Gardner and Leominster, where Interstate 190 begins, heading south to Worcester.

Route 2 continues east to Middlesex County, Massachusetts. At this point it enters Boston's outer loop as it interchanges with Interstate 495. It continues as a freeway until it goes into Acton, where it runs into Piper Road and Taylor Road at a traffic light (Exit 44). At this point the freeway ends and Route 2 becomes a regular divided highway at most points and just a four lane highway at other points. At the Concord Rotary, a major traffic choke point, Route 2 intersects with Route 2A (which actually connects with Route 2 a few times before) and the beginning of Route 119 (which is coincident with 2A at that point). Route 2A then breaks away from Route 2 at the next traffic light. At the sixth intersection after the rotary, Route 2 veers right but still heads east, becoming a divided highway again.

At this point Route 2 enters Lexington and still is a divided 4-lane road with surface intersections (the latter being an expressway as defined by most USA highway departments). It then heads to Boston's inner belt, crossing Interstate 95/Route 128. From there, Route 2 is a six-lane and then eight-lane limited access highway (freeway) until Exit 60, where it narrows with little warning to six lanes and then to four lanes. This section of freeway actually meets the standards of an interstate highway. The final off-ramp leads directly to the large parking garage at the MBTA Alewife Station. At this point the road heads into Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The limited access freeway portion ends at a signalized intersection, where it merges with U.S. Highway 3 south and Route 16 west in Cambridge and continues as a four-lane surface road to the Boston Public Garden. Route 2 was originally planned to continue as Boston's northwest expressway (freeway) to a junction with Interstate 695, the Inner Beltway, but this, along with the Inner Beltway itself, was cancelled in 1970, accounting for the abrupt narrowing at Alewife.

Route 2 officially ends at Route 28 at the intersection of Charles Street and Beacon Street at the Boston Common.

List of towns passed through: Williamstown, North Adams, Florida, Savoy, Charlemont, Buckland, Shelburne, Greenfield, Gill, Erving, Orange, Athol, Phillipston, Templeton, Gardner, Westminster, Fitchburg, Leominster, Lancaster, Harvard, Littleton, Boxborough, Acton, Concord, Lincoln, Lexington, Belmont, Arlington, Cambridge, and Boston.