New England Interstate Route 10

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Route 10
Length: 237.22 mi (381.78 km)
Connecticut: 54.28[1] mi (87.36 km)
Massachusetts: 60.69[2] mi (97.68 km)
New Hampshire: 122.25 mi [3] (196.74 km)
Formed: 1922
South end: I-95 in New Haven, CT
Major
junctions:
I-84 in Southington, CT
I-90 in Westfield, MA
I-91 in Northampton, MA
Route 2 in Greenfield, MA
I-89 from Grantham, NH to Lebanon, NH
North end: US 302 in Haverhill, NH

Route 10 is a multi-state north-south state highway in the New England region of the United States, running from New Haven, Connecticut through Massachusetts to the village of Woodsville in Haverhill, New Hampshire. Its number dates from 1922, when it was a New England Interstate Route, also known as the Central New England Route.

Contents

[edit] Route description

[edit] Connecticut

Route 10 begins at I-95 as Ella T. Grasso Boulevard in the city of New Haven. It then passes by the Southern Connecticut State University before entering the town of Hamden along Dixwell Avenue. Route 10 continues north through the towns of Cheshire, Southington, Plainville, Farmington, Avon (where a lengthy concurrency with US 202 begins), and Simsbury. The towns of Simsbury, Avon, Farmington, Southington, and Cheshire are some of the wealthiest towns in Central Connecticut that Rt. 10 passes through.

Town Milepost Junction Notes
New Haven 0.1 I-95
1.3 US 1
1.9-2.2 Route 34
3.4 Route 63
Hamden 7.0 Route 15
10.1 Route 40
10.3 Route 22
Cheshire 15.8 Route 42
16.9-17.1 Route 68/Route 70
21.0 I-691
Southington 21.5 Route 322 Grade separated
24.2 Route 120
26.7 I-84
Plainville 28.1 Route 177
29.8 Route 372 To Route 72
Farmington 32.2 US 6 One-way eastbound connector
33.8 Route 4
Avon 39.4-40.2 US 44
US 202 (South)
Begin US 202 overlap
Simsbury 43.0 Route 185
44.8 Route 167
46.8 Route 315
Granby 50.8 Route 189 Begin 189 overlap
Old Route 10 continues south on Route 189
50.9 Route 20
Route 189
End 189 overlap

[edit] Massachusetts

An "Alabama 10" sign as mistakenly posted in Easthampton, Massachusetts
An "Alabama 10" sign as mistakenly posted in Easthampton, Massachusetts

Route 10 crosses the border from Granby, Connecticut into Sandisfield, Massachusetts, overlapped with US 202. It runs north through the Pioneer Valley towns of Southwick, Westfield, Southampton, Easthampton, Northampton, Hatfield, Whately, Deerfield, Greenfield, Bernardston, and Northfield. Route 10 has a long concurrency with U.S. Route 5 for about 25 miles from Northampton to Bernardston. It crosses the Connecticut River into Northfield before entering New Hampshire.

An odd sight greeted motorists in Easthampton in July, 2005: standard issue Alabama state highway signs with the number 10 in a map of that state, instead of the standard Massachusetts square. This odd "Alabama 10" signage came about when a contractor mistakenly applied the sample from a federal manual. [1], [2]

[edit] New Hampshire

New Hampshire Route 10 begins at the Massachusetts state line in Winchester, New Hampshire. The road continues into Keene (where it has a short concurrency with NH-9). From Keene, NH-10 travels north via Newport until Grantham. It then runs along I-89 from Grantham to Lebanon. After exiting I-89 and running briefly on US 4, NH-10 then travels along the east bank of the Connecticut River from Lebanon up to its northern terminus at US 302 in Woodsville.

In Hanover, NH Route 10 has what is essentially a short spur to Vermont, NH-10A.

Town Milepost Junction Notes
Winchester 4.4 NH 119
NH 78
Begin overlap NH 119
4.9 NH 119 End overlap NH 119
Keene 16.7 NH 12 South Begin overlap with NH 12
17.2 NH 9 West Begin overlap NH 9
  NH 12 North End overlap NH 12
21.2 NH 9 East End overlap NH 9
Marlow 32.6 NH 123 Begin overlap
33.6 NH 123 End overlap
38.0 NH 123A
Goshen 47.6 NH 31
Newport 52.9 NH 11/NH 103 West Begin overlap
53.1 NH 11/NH 103 East End overlap
Grantham 63.3 NH 114
Grantham/Enfield 64.0 I-89 South NH 10 joins I-89 at Exit 13
Lebanon 79.2 I-89 North
US 4 East
NH-10 leaves I-89 at Exit 19
Begin overlap US 4
81.3 US 4 West End overlap US 4
Hanover 85.6 NH 120
NH 10A
Orford 102.7 NH 25A Begin overlap
103.1 NH 25A End overlap
Piermont 108.9 NH 25 West
NH 25C
Begin overlap NH 25
Haverhill 114.2 NH 25 East End overlap NH 25
118.1 NH 116
121.3 NH 135
122.2 US 302 Northern terminus of NH 10

[edit] History

Map of Connecticut showing the original 1920s route in green and the modern route in blue
Map of Connecticut showing the original 1920s route in green and the modern route in blue

Route 10 originally followed a different route south of Granby, Connecticut, starting in the town of Saybrook[4] (now known as Deep River) instead of at its current New Haven terminus. It moved to its current alignment in 1932, when the New England Interstate System was discontinued, with the old route becoming the original Route 9. The original routing is now Routes 154, 99, and 189.

New England Route 10 also originally ended in Littleton, New Hampshire (at NE-18) but was subsequently truncated to end at its current northern terminus in Woodsville. The rest of the route has had only very minor changes and basically still follows its original alignment.

During the 1960's the CT DOT had thoughts of building an expressway along the Route 10 corridor, but the only part of this plan actually constructed was Route 40 in the Mount Carmel area of Hamden.

[edit] References

Browse numbered routes
< Route 9 CT Route 11 >
< Route 9 MA Route 11 >
< NH 9A NH NH 10A >
< Route 9 N.E. Route 11 >