Massachusetts Route 24

Route 24
AMVETS Memorial Highway Fall River Expressway
Route information
Length:	40.91 mi[1] (65.84 km)
Existed:	1951 – present
Major junctions
South end:	Route 24 in Tiverton, RI
	I‑195 / Route 79 in Fall River Route 140 in Taunton I‑495 in Bridgewater
North end:	I‑93 / US 1 in Randolph
Location
Counties:	Bristol, Plymouth, Norfolk
Highway system
Massachusetts State Highway System Interstate US State ← Route 23 Route 25 →

View of Route 24 from Stafford Road overpass, Fall River, Massachusetts

Route 24 is a freeway south of I-93 in southeastern Massachusetts, linking Fall River with the Boston metropolitan area. It begins in the south in Fall River at the border with Tiverton, Rhode Island where it connects with Rhode Island Route 24, and runs north to an interchange with Interstate 93/U.S. Route 1 in Randolph. Route 24 is also known as the Fall River Expressway, and officially as the Amvets Highway. Route 24 has a total of 21 interchanges (including the split at its northern terminus with Interstate 93.)

Route 24 connects many of the major cities of Southeastern Massachusetts with Boston: Brockton, Taunton, Fall River, and New Bedford (via the junction with Route 140).

Route description

The highway continues at the Rhode Island border at Rhode Island Route 24 and meets Interstate 195 in Fall River. It briefly runs concurrently with I-195 east (for less than a mile), then exits the interstate and travels north, merging with Route 79 at Exit 7 in northern Fall River. Routes 24 and 79 run concurrently northward until Exit 9 (Assonet). At this point, Route 79 exits the freeway and heads northeast. Route 24 continues north, intersecting the northern end of the Taunton-New Bedford Expressway (Route 140) in Taunton, and Interstate 495 in Raynham. The highway continues north through the city of Brockton and into Randolph, where Route 24 ends at a split junction with Interstate 93. This section of I-93 from Braintree to its junction with I-95 is frequently referred to by its former designation of Route 128. This designation was removed from I-93 in 1989, when the roadway obtained the additional designation of U.S. Route 1, although this is not shown on exit signs from Route 24. The route is officially 40.9 miles in length, however, mileposts continue up to 41.2 on the Exit 21B ramp to I-93 south.

The speed limit on Route 24 is 55 mph (89 km/h) from the Rhode Island border to the exit from Interstate 195. North of I-195, the speed limit is 65 mph (105 km/h).

Service plazas are located on either side of Route 24 in Bridgewater.

History

Route 24, along with Route 138, are both built parallel to an old Indian trail that went along the same north/south route from south of the Boston area into Boston. Route 124 on Cape Cod was originally designated Route 24 before 1951, and its number was changed to 124 upon the completion of the initial stretch of the Route 24 freeway.

The original portion of Route 24 opened in 1951, and brought commuters from Exit 10 in Assonet to Raynham. Route 24 is currently 40 miles (65 km) in length and has 21 interchanges from Fall River to Randolph.

Possible upgrades to Interstate standards

There have been calls over the years for Route 24 to be upgraded to an interstate highway. In April 2007 the Old Colony Regional Planning Council included this proposal in its 25-year regional transportation plan draft. The Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD) endorsed a similar proposal the month before. In 1997, a study was initiated by the Massachusetts Highway Department (MHD) and the SRPEDD on what improvements were necessary in order to convert the route to an Interstate highway. The project would require major upgrades to 11 interchanges and minor work on 6 others. The proposal was tabled due to high costs projected for reconstruction of part of the highway south of Interstate 495. The current proposal seeks to have the route improved to interstate standards by 2020; the cost for the Stoughton to Bridgewater portion alone is estimated at $224 million.

According to MassHighway, it will be an extension of I-93. The portion south of I-195 will remain MA-24 and then RI-24. There is no word on the designation of I-93/US-1 between exits 1 and 4.^[2]

The state is expected to begin work in 2015. The US 44 bridge will be replaced, and two other bridges will be widened.

This is an early estimate of the project of the highway widening and Interstate upgrade project. They are not final.

- Phase I: Randolph I-93 Interchange Reconstruction ($30 million)

- Phase II: Randolph to Stoughton ($56 million)

- Phase III: Canton to Bridgewater ($224 million)

- Phase IV: Bridgewater to I-495 ($175 million)

- Phase V: I-495 to US 44 ($35 million)

- Phase VI: US 44 to Fall River ($357 million)

Total cost is expected to be $877 million, which makes the entire project more expensive than the still-ongoing Route 128 Add-a-lane project, or the US 3 Add-a-lane project northwest of Boston to the New Hampshire state line, itself completed in 2005.

Exit list

County	Location[3]	mi[3]	km	Exit[4]	Destinations[4]	Notes
Bristol	Fall River	0.000	0.000	–	Route 24 south – Tiverton RI, Newport RI[5]	Continuation from Rhode Island
		0.213	0.343	1	Route 81 – Adamsville RI, Fall River	Signed as Exits 1A (south) and 1B (north)
		1.711	2.754	2	Brayton Avenue / Eastern Avenue
		1.892	3.045	3	I‑195 west – Providence RI	Left exit; southern end of concurrency with I-195
		3.228	5.195	4	I‑195 east – New Bedford	Left exit southbound; northern end of concurrency with I-195
		5.434	8.745	5	US 6 (President Avenue / Eastern Avenue)
		7.726	12.434	6	Highland Avenue	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		7.943	12.783	7	Route 79 south – North Fall River, Somerset	Southbound exit and northbound entrance; southern end of concurrency with Route 79
		8.331	13.407	8A	Airport Road / North Main Street
	Freetown	9.6	15.4	8B	Innovation Way – Fall River, Freetown	Formerly Executive Park Drive; opened in January 2012
		11.265	18.129	9	Route 79 north – Freetown, Middleboro	Northern end of concurrency with Route 79
		12.594	20.268	10	North Main Street – Assonet, Dighton
	Berkley	15.729	25.313	11	Padelford Street – Berkley, Dighton
	Taunton	17.395	27.995	12	Route 140 – Lakeville, Taunton, New Bedford	Signed as Exits 12A (south) and 12B (north) northbound
	Raynham	19.871	31.979	13	US 44 – Middleboro, Taunton	Signed as Exits 13A (east) and 13B (west)
Plymouth	Bridgewater	22.864	36.796	14A	I‑495 south – Cape Cod	Exits 7A-B on I-495
		22.917	36.881	14B	I‑495 north – Worcester
		23.6	38.0	Service Area
		24.282	39.078	15	Route 104 – Bridgewater, Raynham
	West Bridgewater	27.849	44.819	16	Route 106 – West Bridgewater, Mansfield	Signed as Exits 16A (east) and 16B (west)
	Brockton	31.249	50.290	17	Route 123 – Brockton, Easton	Signed as Exits 17A (east) and 17B (west)
		33.477	53.876	18	Route 27 – Brockton, Stoughton	Signed as Exits 18A (south) and 18B (north)
Norfolk	Avon	35.668	57.402	19A	Harrison Boulevard
				19B	Central Street
	Stoughton	37.895	60.986	20	Route 139 – Randolph, Stoughton	Signed as Exits 20A (east) and 20B (west)
	Randolph	40.803	65.666	21A	I‑93 / US 1 north – Boston	Northern terminus; Exit 4 on I-93 / US 1.
				21B	I‑93 / US 1 south to I‑95
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

References

Route map: Bing

Road transportation infrastructure of Boston Interstate Highways I-90 (Mass Pike) History of the Mass Pike I-93 I-95 U.S. Routes US 1 US 3 US 20 State Routes Route 1A Route 2 Route 2A Route 3 Route 9 Route 27 Route 28 Route 30 Route 99 Route 128 Route 145 Route 203 Parkways Arborway Blue Hills Day Boulevard Fenway Jamaicaway Memorial Drive Morrissey Boulevard Morton Street Park Drive Riverway Stony Brook Soldiers Field Road Storrow Drive Truman VFW West Roxbury Major streets Beacon Street Bennington Street Boylston Street Columbus Avenue Commonwealth Avenue Dorchester Avenue Huntington Avenue Massachusetts Avenue Newbury Street State Street Tremont Street Washington Street Bridges Anderson Boston University Bowker Overpass Charlestown Eliot Harvard Leverett Circle Connector Longfellow North Beacon Street Tobin Zakim Bunker Hill Tunnels Callahan Dewey Square Fort Point Prudential Sumner Ted Williams Thomas P. O'Neill Jr Expressways East Boston John F. Fitzgerald (Central Artery) Northeast Northern Northwest Southeast Southwest (Southwest Corridor) Western Yankee Division Interchanges Braintree Split South Bay Interchange See also Big Dig Boston Post Road Emerald Necklace Inner Belt Expressway (unbuilt) South End Bypass (unbuilt) Charles River Crossings Streets in Boston Numbered Routes in MA