Interstate 95 in Massachusetts

Interstate 95
Route information
Length: 92 mi (148 km)
Existed: 1957 – present
Major junctions
South end: I-95 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island
 

I-295 in Attleboro
I-495 in Mansfield
I-93 / Route 128 in Canton
I-90 (Mass Pike) in Weston
Route 2 in Lexington
US 3 in Burlington
I-93 in Reading
US 1 in Peabody
Route 128 in Peabody

I-495 in Salisbury
North end: I-95 in Seabrook, New Hampshire
Highway system

Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Main • Auxiliary • Business

Massachusetts State Highway Routes

← I-93 Route 96 →

Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main highway on the East Coast of the United States,[1] paralleling the Atlantic Ocean from Florida to Maine. The Massachusetts portion of the highway enters from the state of Rhode Island in Attleboro and travels in a northeasterly direction to the junction with Route 128 in Canton. As the original plans for I-95 (which would have taken it through downtown Boston) were canceled, the highway follows the Route 128 loop around the Greater Boston area to Peabody. From there, I-95 splits from Route 128 and turns north towards the Merrimack River. I-95 enters New Hampshire from Salisbury.

Contents

Route description

Attleboro to Canton

I-95 crosses the state border from Pawtucket, Rhode Island into Attleboro as a six-lane highway, with the first northbound exits, 2A and 2B, providing access to Route 1A and nearby U.S. Route 1 near the border. (There is an Exit 1, but it is a southbound-only exit connecting to US-1 south into Rhode Island.) Exits 3-5 also serve the Attleboro area, with Exit 4 at the northern terminus of Interstate 295.

Exits 6A and 6B in Mansfield provide access to Interstate 495, the "outer circumferential" beltway around metro Boston. I-495 provides northbound connections to Worcester, the Massachusetts Turnpike, and the western part of the state, and southbound connections to Cape Cod. Mansfield is home to the Comcast Center, a Live Nation-owned amphitheatre which hosts numerous concert events, and the TPC Boston, a PGA player's club that hosts the Deutsche Bank Championship yearly. The two venues are located near I-95's interchanges with Route 140.

I-95 continues northward into Foxborough, home of Gillette Stadium, located on US-1 and accessible from Exit 9. The interstate continues through Sharon, Walpole, and Norwood, before entering Canton, where it meets Interstate 93 at its southern terminus (Exit 12).

Canton to Peabody (Route 128)

Upon interchanging with I-93, I-95 loops around to the west, taking over the roadbed from I-93 and joining US-1 southbound in a wrong-way concurrency. Route 128 begins here as well. The highway enters Westwood next, with US-1 leaving the freeway near the Dedham town line (at Exit 15B) to parallel I-95 back to the south. I-95 and Route 128 begin to make their way around metro Boston, passing through Dedham, Needham, and Wellesley, where the freeway interchanges with Route 9 at Exit 20, and the freeway widens to eight lanes. About three miles north, I-95/Route 128 enter Weston and interchange with the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90, at Exit 25) in a large interchange which provides connections to nearby Route 30. Exits 23, 24, and 25 are one combined exit northbound.

I-95 and Route 128 are due west of the city at this point and begin to turn to the northeast, serving the city of Waltham and the town of Lexington along the way. The freeway interchanges with Route 2 (Concord Turnpike) at Exit 29. Upon entering the town of Burlington, I-95 and Route 128 interchange with U.S. Route 3, the Northwestern Expressway, at Exit 32A. US-3 provides a direct freeway connection with the Lowell and Nashua, NH metro areas. Access to the Middlesex Turnpike and Burlington retail district is facilitated at this interchange as well. US-3 south briefly joins the freeway in another wrong-way multiplex in order to connect with its old alignment, leaving at Exit 33A. I-95 and Route 128 continue northeast through the city of Woburn and into Reading.

In Reading, I-95 and Route 128 once again interchange with I-93. After crossing, I-93, the now six-lane highway continues to the northeast, serving the towns of Wakefield and Lynnfield before crossing into Peabody, where Route 128 leaves I-95 at Exit 45 as its own freeway towards Gloucester. At this interchange, six lanes of through traffic are designated for Route 128 while four lanes split off as I-95.

Peabody to Salisbury

After leaving Route 128, I-95 expands to eight lanes and heads north through the less densely populated northeastern portion of the state. The freeway serves the communities of Danvers, Boxford, Georgetown, Rowley, Newbury, West Newbury, Newburyport, Amesbury, and Salisbury. Traffic density is generally low on this 25 miles (40 km) stretch of freeway. After Exit 57, the highway narrows to six lanes until the I-495 interchange expands it back to eight lanes.

I-495 has its northern terminus at I-95 Exit 59 just south of the New Hampshire state line, a Y-interchange that merges I-495 onto I-95. Southbound access is possible via Exit 58 for Route 110 westbound, which leads to I-495's Exit 55 (I-495's last exit before I-95). The northernmost exit in Massachusetts is Exit 60, providing access to Main Street towards Amesbury and Route 286 towards Salisbury Beach and Hampton Beach (the southbound ramp starts in New Hampshire). After crossing underneath the connecting roads, I-95 crosses the state line into Seabrook, New Hampshire.

History

The original plans called for I-95 to run through downtown Boston. The highway would have progressed from Route 128 and Readville, followed the Southwest Corridor, joined the Inner Belt in Roxbury, heading east, and joining the Southeast Expressway at South Bay, then north to the Central Artery at the South Station interchange with the Massachusetts Turnpike/Interstate 90, and connecting with the Northeast Expressway at the Charlestown banks of the Charles River.

However, due to pressure from local residents, all proposed Interstate Highways within Route 128 were canceled in 1972 by Governor Francis Sargent with the exception of Interstate 93 to Boston. The only sections of I-95 completed within the Route 128 beltway by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation were the segment known as the Northeast Expressway north from Charlestown to Saugus, which is now part of U.S. 1, and the Central Artery, which cut the North End neighborhood from downtown Boston proper. The Southwest Expressway and the Inner Belt highways were among the Sargent-canceled highways.

Between 1972 and 1974, plans were to extend I-95 along a northerly extension of the Northeast Expressway to Route 128 in northwestern Danvers. During this time, I-95 was officially routed along Route 128 from Canton to Braintree and north along the Southeast Expressway (also designated Route 3), from Braintree to Boston, then following the Central Artery, and continuing along the Northeast Expressway in Boston, Chelsea and Revere.

When the Northeast Expressway extension (between Saugus and Danvers) was canceled in 1974, I-95's route shifted to its current routing along the perimeter highway, Route 128, and I-93 was extended to meet I-95 in Canton. Plans for the abandoned roadways can still be seen going from the end of the Northeast Expressway to the Saugus River in Saugus. Along the unbuilt alignment from Saugus to Route 128, one can see unused bridges, ghost ramps, and graded—but unpaved—roadbed that was originally intended to carry I-95.


Exit list

Town Mile[2] Exit number Destinations Notes
Continues into Rhode Island
Attleboro 0.47 1 US 1 south (Broadway) – Pawtucket Southbound exit and northbound entrance
1.21 2 Route 1A (Newport Avenue) to US 1 – South Attleboro, Pawtucket Signed as exits 2A (south) and 2B (north)
4.20 3 Route 123 – South Attleboro, Attleboro, Norton Signed as exits 3A (east) and 3B (west) southbound
5.86 4 I-295 south – Woonsocket, Warwick Southbound Only.
North Attleboro 6.92 5 To Route 152 – North Attleboro, Attleboro Road is Robert F. Toner Boulevard
Mansfield 11.59 6 I-495 – Worcester, Cape Cod Signed as exits 6A (south) and 6B (north)
Foxborough 12.95 7 Route 140 – Foxboro, Mansfield Signed as exits 7A (south) and 7B (north)
Sharon 16.63 8 South Main Street, Mechanic Street – Sharon, Foxboro Signed as South Main Street from Northbound, Mechanic Street and South Main Street both signed from Southbound.
19.22 9 US 1 to Route 27 – Walpole, Wrentham, Foxboro
Walpole 21.05 10 Coney Street – Sharon, Walpole Southbound exit and northbound entrance
Norwood 23.28 11 Neponset Street – Norwood, Canton Signed as exits 11A (east) and 11B (west)
Canton Dedham Street Southbound entrance only
26.34 12 I-93 north / US 1 north – Braintree, Boston South end of US 1/Route 128 overlap
Westwood 27.44 13 University Avenue – MBTA/Amtrak Station Exit Only on Northbound, Receives one lane on Southbound.
28.65 14 Canton Street, East Street Rotary interchange
29.32 15 US 1 south to Route 1A – Norwood, Dedham North end of US 1 overlap; signed as exits 15A (to Route 1A) and 15B (US 1 south)
Dedham 30.83 16 Route 109 – Westwood, Dedham Signed as exits 16A (east) and 16B (west)
32.31 17 Route 135 – Natick, Needham
Needham 32.77 18 Great Plain Avenue – West Roxbury
35.54 19 Highland Avenue – Needham, Newton Highlands Signed as exits 19A (east) and 19B (west)
Wellesley 36.61 20 Route 9 – Framingham, Worcester, Brookline, Boston Signed as exits 20A (east) and 20B (west)
Newton 37.98 21 Route 16 – Wellesley, Newton, West Newton, Waban Signed as exits 21A (east) and 21B (west) southbound
38.32 22 Grove Street – MBTA Station
Weston 38.78 23 Recreation Road Northbound exit and entrance
39.05 25 I-90 (Mass Pike) Northbound exits and entrances for Exits 23, 25, and 24, in that order, are serviced by a two-lane collector-distributor road
39.21 24 Route 30 – Wayland, Newton
Waltham 41.21 26 US 20 – Weston, Waltham Rotary interchange with four directional entrance ramps
43.08 27 Wyman Street, Winter Street, Totten Pond Road – Waltham Signed as exits 27A (east) and 27B (west); as of August 2009, due to road construction, exit 27A northbound is restricted to Third Avenue only[3]
44.34 28 Trapelo Road – Lincoln, Belmont Signed as exits 28A (east) and 28B (west) northbound
Lexington 45.23 29 Route 2 – Acton, Fitchburg, Arlington, Cambridge Signed as exits 29A (east) and 29B (west)
46.29 30 Route 2A – Concord, Hanscom Field, East Lexington Signed as exits 30A (east) and 30B (west)
48.50 31 Route 4 / Route 225 – Bedford, Lexington Signed as exits 31A (south/east) and 31B (north/west)
Burlington 49.86 32A US 3 north – Lowell South end of US 3 overlap
49.86 32B Middlesex Turnpike – Burlington, Arlington Exits and entrances for Exits 32A and 32B are serviced by collector-distributor roads
51.56 33 US 3 south / Route 3A north – Burlington, Winchester North end of US 3 overlap; signed as exits 33A (south) and 33B (north)
52.43 34 Winn Street – Burlington, Woburn
Woburn 53.53 35 Route 38 – Wilmington, Woburn Rotary interchange
54.92 36 Washington Street – Reading, Woburn
Reading 55.51 37 I-93 – Concord, NH, Boston Signed as exits 37A (south) and 37B (north)
56.36 38 Route 28 – Reading, Stoneham Signed as exits 38A (south) and 38B (north)
Wakefield 57.57 39 North Avenue – Reading, Wakefield
58.32 40 Route 129 – Wilmington, Wakefield Center Rotary interchange
Lynnfield 59.09 41 Main Street – Lynnfield Center, Wakefield
Wakefield 60.65 42 Salem Street – Wakefield
Lynnfield 61.30 43 Walnut Street – Lynnfield, Saugus
62.69 44 US 1 / Route 129 – Danvers, Boston Signed as exits 44A (south/west) and 44B (north/east) northbound
Peabody
64.42 45 Route 128 north – Gloucester North end of Route 128 overlap
66.13 46 US 1 south – Boston Southbound exit and northbound entrance
Danvers 67.11 47 Route 114 – Middleton, Peabody No southbound exit — access is via exit 50; signed as exits 47A (east) and 47B (west)
67.74 48 Centre Street – Danvers Southbound exit and entrance
68.76 49 Route 62 – Middleton, Danvers Southbound exit is via exit 50
69.65 50 US 1 – Topsfield
Boxford 72.06 51 Endicott Road – Middleton, Topsfield
73.76 52 Topsfield Road – Boxford, Topsfield
75.98 53 Route 97 – Georgetown, Topsfield Signed as exits 53A (south) and 53B (north)
Georgetown,
Rowley		 77.83 54 Route 133 – Georgetown, Rowley Signed as exits 54A (east) and 54B (west) northbound
Newbury 81.32 55 Central Street – Byfield, Newbury
West Newbury 83.14 56 Scotland Road – West Newbury, Newbury
Newburyport 85.82 57 Route 113 – West Newbury, Newburyport
Amesbury 87.91 58 Route 110 – Amesbury, Salisbury Signed as exits 58A (east) and 58B (west) northbound
Salisbury 88.76 59 I-495 south – Worcester Northbound exit is via exit 58B
90.03 60 Route 286 – Salisbury, Beaches
Continues into New Hampshire

Rest areas and service plazas

Rest Area locations on I-95:

Weigh stations

Weigh Stations are located on the north and southbound sides of the highway at the following locations:

Speed limits

Future improvements

Currently MassDOT is adding a fourth lane in each direction along the 128 section from the I-95 interchange in Canton to the Route 9 interchange in Newton, where the rush hour traffic has been for some time permitted to use the breakdown lanes on the highway shoulder. The section south of Route 109 is largely complete, while the section to the north is due to be completed by 2015. The state will begin a $285 million project in 2012 to replace the Whittier Bridge over the Merrimack River and widening the highway to eight Lanes (four in each direction) from the bridge to I-495.

References

  1. ^ David Montgomery and Josh White, The Washington Post, 128 Cars, Trucks Crash in Snow on I-95, February 23, 2001, p. A1
  2. ^ Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation. 2007. Interchange Exit Lists (I-95), Downloaded from: http://www.eot.state.ma.us/default.asp?pgid=planning/disc/interchanges&sid=dtable, 8/7/11
  3. ^ Richard Conn (August 13, 2009). "Winter Street bridge set to be torn down". Daily News Tribune. http://www.dailynewstribune.com/news/x1176237733/Winter-Street-bridge-set-to-be-torn-down. 

External links

Interstate 95
Previous state:
Rhode Island		 Massachusetts Next state:
New Hampshire
Interstate Highways
U.S. Routes
State Routes
Parkways
Major streets
Bridges
Tunnels
Expressways
See also
Interstate highways
Other freeways
Unbuilt freeways
See also