Massachusetts Route 2

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Route 2
Length: 142.29[1] mi (228.99 km)
Formed: 1927
West end: NY Route 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/Route 16 in Cambridge
US-20 in Boston
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, and ending at Boston Common in Boston.

Contents

[edit] Route description

Route 2 proceeds east from the New York state line on a winding, scenic path in Williamstown. It serves the Williams College area and North Adams. East of North Adams, Route 2 ascends via a hairpin turn into the Berkshire Mountains along the old Mohawk Trail.

It then goes from Berkshire County into Franklin County, Massachusetts, running into Interstate 91 at an interchange in Greenfield and briefly runs concurrent with the interstate highway. At this point the old Route 2 becomes Route 2A and goes through downtown Greenfield. Route 2, however, exits off I-91, becoming a freeway briefly before becoming a two-lane freeway. Outside of Greenfield, Route 2A temporarily ends and merges with Route 2. Route 2 then becomes a regular two-lane surface road in Gill and through Erving though it has some grade-separated interchanges in Millers Falls at its intersection with Route 63. There is another gap in the two-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 two-lane freeway. In Orange, Route 2 runs 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 to Interstate standards in most points. It continues through Gardner and Leominster, where Interstate 190 begins, heading south to Worcester. In Leominster, Route 2 has several at-grade intersections with Oak Hill Road, Palmer Road, Mt. Elam Road, and Abbott Avenue.

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 and the beginning of Route 119 (which is overlapped with 2A at that point). After the rotary the road loses its dividing wall as it passes past the State Police (who have an emergency-only traffic light) and over the Assabet River. Route 2A used to then break away from Route 2 at the next traffic light to go left into Concord but is now overlaid with Route 2. At Crosby's Corner, the sixth intersection after the rotary, Route 2A goes straight while Route 2 veers right (but still heads east). The highway loses its dividing wall until the Bedford St intersection in Lincoln where it becomes divided again. MassHighway currently expects to rebuild the Crosby Corner intersection and create a dividing wall from there to Bedford St in 2009-2011.

At this point Route 2 enters Lexington and still is a divided 4-lane road with surface intersections. 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 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. Route 3 south and Route 16 west in Cambridge and continues as a four-lane surface road to the Boston Public Garden. Route 2 follows Alewife Brook Parkway, Fresh Pond Parkway, Gerry's Landing Road, and Memorial Drive (all parkways maintained by the Department of Conservation and Recreation) through Cambridge. It crosses into Boston on the Boston University Bridge. After crossing Commonwealth Avenue (US Route 20), it follows Montfort Street and Beacon Street into Kenmore Square which is the eastern terminus of US Route 20. From Kenmore Square, Route 2 follows Commonwealth Avenue to Arlington Street. It circles the Public Garden in Boston, using Arlington Street to Boylston Street to Charles Street. Route 2 officially ends at Route 28 at the intersection of Charles Street and Beacon Street at the Boston Common.

[edit] Exit list

Exit numbering starts in Orange (the Super-2 freeway), with the first exit numbered 14. Exit numbering continues sequentially (with the exception of 29, which is an at-grade intersection not up to freeway standards), until Acton, at Exit 42 (43 westbound) where the freeway section temporarily ends. The freeway restarts at I-95, with numbering starting at 52 and continuing to 60. Exit 60 on Route 2 (Lake St.), along with Exit 60 on I-95 (Route 286), are the highest numbered exits in the state of Massachusetts.

Town Mile # Destination(s) Notes
Freeway begins at I-91.
Greenfield I-91 north – Bernardston, Brattleboro, VT

I-91 south/Route 2 west – Springfield, North Adams

 Eastbound entrance, westbound exit.
US 5/Route 10 – Greenfield, Bernardston
Freeway ends at in Greenfield, at-grade intersection.
Freeway resumes at in Erving, at-grade intersection.
Orange 14 West River Street – Orange Center
15 Route 122 – Orange, Worcester
16 US 202 south – Belchertown
Daniel Shays Highway – Athol		 US 202 joins eastbound and leaves westbound.
Athol 17 Route 32 – Athol, Petersham
Phillipston 18 Route 2A – Athol, Phillipston
19 US 202 north/Route 2A – Phillipston, Winchendon US 202 leaves eastbound and joins westbound.
Templeton 20 Baldwinville Road – Templeton, Baldwinville
21 Route 2A/101 – Templeton, Ashburnham
Gardner 22 Route 68 – Gardner, Hubbardston
23 Gardner, South Gardner
Westminster 24 Route 140 north/West Main Street – Ashburnham, Winchendon Route 140 joins eastbound and leaves westbound.
25 Route 2A/Route 140 south – Fitchburg, Princeton Route 140 leaves eastbound and joins westbound.
26 Willard Road, Village Inn Road Eastbound exit only.
27 Narrows Road, Depot Road
Fitchburg 28 Route 31 – Fitchburg, Princeton
(29) Mount Elam Road At-grade intersection with barrier in the middle of the road. Highway not up to freeway standards (flashing light).
Leominster 30 Merriam Avenue/South Street – Leominster, Fitchburg
31 Route 12 – Leominster, Fitchburg
32 Route 13 – Leominster, Lunenburg
33 I-190 south – Leominster, Worcester
Lancaster 34 Mechanic Street/Harvard Street
35 Route 70 – Lancaster, Lunenburg
36 Shirley Road – Shirley
37B Jackson Road – Devens Reserve Forces Training Area No public access to Exit 37A (eastbound)
Harvard 38 Route 110/Route 111 – Harvard, Worcester, Ayer, Groton
Littleton 39 Taylor Street – Littleton, Boxboro
40 I-495 – Marlboro, Worcester, Lowell, Lawrence
Boxborough 41 Newtown Road/Central Street – West Acton, Littleton
Acton 42 Route 27 – Acton, Maynard
43 Route 111 north – West Acton Eastbound entrance, westbound exit.
Freeway ends at Piper Road/Taylor Road traffic light in Acton.
Freeway begins just east of Lincoln-Lexington line.
Lexington 52 I-95/Route 128 – Attleboro, Peabody
53 Spring Street – Lexington, Waltham No westbound off-ramp
54 Waltham Street – Lexington, Waltham Eastbound entrance, westbound exit.
55 Pleasant Street – Lexington, Waltham Eastbound exit, westbound entrance.
56 Route 4/Route 225 – Lexington, Bedford
Winter Street – Waverly
Arlington 57 Dow Avenue – Arlmont, Arlington, Belmont
Arlington/Belmont 58 Park Avenue – Belmont, Arlington Heights
59 Route 60 – Arlington Center, Belmont Center
Arlington 60 Lake Street – East Arlington, Belmont
Cambridge Alewife T Station Eastbound exit only.
Freeway ends at US 3/Route 16 in Cambridge, at-grade intersection.

[edit] Planned Improvements

At least two major improvements to Route 2 are planned for Concord MA over the next 5 of so years through the Boston regional Metropolitan Planning Organization.

  • Crosby's Corner: Current planning would eliminate the light, provide service roads and on and off ramps for the intersection.
  • Concord Rotary: Current planning would eliminate the rotary with traffic lights.

[edit] Towns along the route

[edit] History

In the early 1920s, Route 2 was known as New England Interstate Route 7 (NE-7), a major road connecting Boston with Troy, New York. NE-7 ran roughly where Route 2A (the original surface alignment of Route 2) does now except near the New York state line. NE-7 used current Route 43 (Massachusetts), New York State Route 43 and New York State Route 66 to reach Troy. Current Route 2 from Williamstown to Petersburgh was previously numbered as Route 96.

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.


[edit] References

  1. ^ Executive Office of Transportation, Office of Transportation Planning - 2005 Road Inventory

[edit] External links