Interstate 495 (Massachusetts)

Interstate 495 (abbreviated I-495) is the designation of an Interstate Highway half-beltway in Massachusetts. It was the longest auxiliary Interstate Highway of its kind—measuring 120.74 miles (194.40 kilometers)—until 1996, when the PA Route 9 section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike was redesignated as Interstate 476, making it about 11 miles (18 km) longer than I-495.^[2][3][4] I-495 has its northern terminus at Interstate 95 in Salisbury. The highway, forming an arc approximately 30 miles (48 km) from Boston, intersects eight major radial expressways along its route: Interstate 93, U.S. Route 3, Route 2, Interstate 290, Interstate 90 (The Massachusetts Turnpike), Route 24 and Interstate 95 (twice). It has its southern terminus in Wareham, where Interstate 195 and Route 25 meet. Originally, the stretch from Route 24 to Interstate 195 was signed as Route 25; that status now only begins south of I-195.

I-495 is often regarded as the outermost boundary of the Greater Boston region: its northern segment parallels the border with New Hampshire, at one point coming as close as 400 feet; its southern end is just north of Cape Cod; west of I-495 is the Worcester area and Central Massachusetts. In a more restricted sense, The Yankee Division Highway (Route 128 and the first 6.5 miles (10.5 km) of Interstate 93), which is parallel to I-495 but closer to the city, is sometimes regarded as the outer boundary of Boston's immediate suburbs.

The stretch of 495 north and east of Route 2 until its terminus at Interstate 95 in Salisbury is also the main limited access highway connecting the communities of the more urbanized Merrimack Valley region, separate from its purpose as a beltway for Boston.

Route description

Interstate 495 begins as the direct continuation of Route 25 at the intersection with Interstate 195 in West Wareham. The junction includes the unusual transition of shrinking from the six-lane Route 25 to the four-lane interstate, due to the third lane of Route 25 joining to and from I-195. The road heads roughly northwest, passing through the towns of Rochester and Middleborough (where the road meets U.S. Route 44) as a four lane highway before entering Bristol County, crossing the Taunton River at Raynham. There, it becomes a six-lane highway just southeast of the Route 24 interchange (which is actually in neighboring Bridgewater).

The road continues northwest through Taunton and Norton before entering Mansfield, where there is a short exit lane concurrency with Route 140. Interstate 495 makes its southern junction with its parent route, Interstate 95 on the border between Mansfield in Bristol County and Foxborough in Norfolk County. The road continues through Plainville (where there is a junction with U.S. Route 1, a popular exit for those heading to Gillette Stadium) and Wrentham (where the Wrentham Village Premium Outlets lie beside the highway at Route 1A) before beginning to turn to a more northerly direction through Franklin and Bellingham.

Interstate 495 then begins to weave between far eastern Worcester County and western Middlesex County, passing through Milford in Worcester County, to Hopkinton in Middlesex County (where the junction with the Massachusetts Turnpike, or Interstate 90, is located). It then passes back into Worcester County a second time, going through Westborough (where the road meets Route 9) and Southborough. It then returns to Middlesex County briefly in the towns of Marlborough (where the road meets U.S. Route 20 and Interstate 290) and Hudson before making its final pass through Worcester County in the towns of Berlin, Bolton (where the road finally begins to turn northeasterly) and Harvard.

After weaving through the edge of Worcester County, the road finally re-enters Middlesex County, passing through Boxborough, Littleton (where there is an intersection with Route 2), Westford and Chelmsford. At the Chelmsford-Lowell line lies the intersection with U.S. Route 3 and the Lowell Connector (formerly Business Spur 495). The road continues through Lowell and Tewksbury before entering Essex County at Andover.

In Andover, the road has a junction with Interstate 93. It then enters the city of Lawrence, where the road turns due north, crossing the Shawsheen River into North Andover before crossing the Merrimack River at the O'Reilly Bridge back into Lawrence. It then heads into Methuen, where the road turns back to a northeasterly route after the junction with the Loop Connector (Rte. 213). The road heads into Haverhill, crossing the Merrimack twice more at a bend in the Bradford section of town. It passes north of downtown Haverhill, coming within 150 yards of the New Hampshire state line, the closest the road comes to leaving the state. Interstate 495 then passes through the towns of Merrimac and Amesbury before finally terminating as it merges with Interstate 95 in Salisbury, approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of where that interstate enters New Hampshire.

Throughout its path, the road passes closely to several existing state highways. From Wareham through to the Middleborough Rotary, it parallels Route 28. For much of the stretch between Norton and Milford, the road is within a few miles of Route 140, with two junctions of that highway in Mansfield and Franklin. From Milford to Bolton, the road passes just west of Route 85. Much of the northern third of the route also roughly parallels Massachusetts Route 110.^[5]

Possible Improvements

Some improvements expected to come to I-495 in the next few years include a project that will install fiber optic cable, traffic cameras & VMS Signs on I-495 from I-90 (Hopkinton) to I-93 (Andover). The new ITS system will help commuters and the state better understand the traffic congestion on I-495.

Exit list

References

External links

• Interstate 495 at Steve Anderson's Boston Roads site