U.S. Route 1 in Massachusetts

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 1 in Massachusetts. For the entire route, see U.S. Route 1.

U.S. Route 1 marker

U.S. Route 1
Route information
Maintained by MassDOT
Length: 85.60 mi[1] (137.76 km)
Existed: 1926 – present
Major junctions
South end: US 1 in Pawtucket, RI
 
North end: US 1 in Seabrook, NH
Location
Counties: Bristol, Norfolk, Suffolk, Middlesex, Essex
Highway system
← I‑495Route 1A →
← Route 1ARoute 2 →
Southbound in Topsfield

In the U.S. state of Massachusetts, U.S. Route 1 is a major north–south state highway through Boston. The portion of US 1 south of Boston is also known as the Boston-Providence Turnpike, and portions north of the city are known as the Northeast Expressway and the Newburyport Turnpike.

Route description

US 1 enters the state from Rhode Island at Attleboro. It closely parallels Interstate 95 as it goes through the towns of North Attleborough, Plainville, Wrentham, Foxborough, Walpole, Sharon, Norwood (where a segment is known as the Norwood Automile due to the many car dealerships that line the road), and Westwood. US 1 then has a wrong-way concurrency with Interstate 95 up to the junction with Interstate 93 then travels along Interstate 93 from Canton through downtown Boston, separating from the Interstate just after passing through the Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Tunnel and crossing the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge. The route crosses the Tobin Bridge traveling over Chelsea and Revere as a freeway known as Boston's Northeast Expressway, then as a four to six lane RIRO expressway (surface road without at-grade intersections or traffic lights) through Malden, Melrose, Saugus and Lynnfield. From Lynnfield, US 1 again closely parallels Interstate 95 going through the towns of Peabody, Danvers, Topsfield, Ipswich, Rowley, Newbury, Newburyport, and Salisbury, before it enters the state of New Hampshire.

Route 1A runs alongside Route 1 in four parts of the state.

History

Route 1 in Massachusetts was constructed in sections throughout the 1930s, partly by widening existing roads and also by constructing new right of ways to bypass more congested areas. Originally most of the highway was two or three lanes in each direction, with numerous widening and improvements made over the years.

Turnpike era

Most of US 1 consists of two former turnpike roads — the Norfolk and Bristol Turnpike and the Newburyport Turnpike. The older roads that these turnpikes were meant to bypass are now mostly Route 1A.

Massachusetts Route C1

In the early 1930s, Route C1 was designated as an alternate route of US 1 through downtown Boston. The "C" indicated a city route. The C designation was apparently distinct to the Boston area. Route C1 ran along Brookline Avenue, Beacon Street, Embankment Road (modern Route 28), Charles Street, Lowell Street, Merrimac Street, and Cross Street to the west end of the Sumner Tunnel. In East Boston, it went via Porter Street to Chelsea Street then shifted to the William McClellan Highway (modern Route 1A). As Storrow Drive and the Central Artery opened in the 1950s, Route C1 was rerouted to follow portions of these highways. The Route C1 designation was removed in 1971, with US 1 taking over most of the alignment south of the Charles River, and Route 1A taking over most of the alignment north of the river. US 1 was later moved onto the Southeast Expressway leaving most of the former alignment of C1 south of the river as having no number.

Relocation in Boston

US 1 replaced the cancelled I-95 on the Northeast Expressway, north of downtown Boston, in the 1970s.[2] In the late 1980s, in anticipation of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, US 1 was moved onto I-93 south of and through Boston, leaving the old route - VFW Parkway, Jamaicaway, Riverway, and Storrow Drive through Dedham, Brookline, West Roxbury and several other Boston neighborhoods - without a number. There are still some street signs incorrectly indicating the former alignment as US 1, and many local residents still refer to parts of VFW Parkway and Jamaicaway as "Route 1", as if it still runs along its old trajectory.

Major intersections

CountyLocationmikmDestinationsNotes
BristolAttleboro0.00.0 US 1 south – PawtucketContinuation into Rhode Island
0.30.5 I‑95 north – Burlington, WestonNorthbound exit and southbound entrance, exit 1 on I-95
1.82.9 Route 123 – Brockton, Valley Falls, RI
2.03.2 Route 1A south – Attleboro, Providence, RINorth end of Route 1A (Bristol County section)
North Attleborough4.06.4 I‑295 to I‑95 – Boston, Woonsocket, RIExits 1A-B on I-295
5.28.4 Route 120 west – Cumberland, RIEastern end of Route 120
7.411.9 Route 1A north – Plainville, WrenthamSouth end of Route 1A (Norfolk County section)
NorfolkPlainville8.413.5 Route 106 – Plainville, Easton
10.016.1 Route 152 south – Attleboro, SeekonkNorthern end of Route 152
10.617.1 I‑495 – Cape Cod, MarlboroughExits 14A-B on I-495
Foxborough13.621.9 To Route 140 – Foxborough, WrenthamConnection via local roads
Sharon19.230.9 I‑95 – Attleboro, Walthamexit 9 on I-95
20.633.2 To Route 115 (Suffolk Avenue) – SherbornSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
Walpole21.234.1 Route 27 – Walpole, Medfield, SharonSouth end of freeway
Westwood25.941.7 Providence Highway north to Route 1A south
Dedham25.941.7 I‑95 north / Route 128 north – Peabody, Portsmouth, NHSouth end of overlap with I-95 / Route 128, exit 15 on I-95 / Route 128
South end of limited-access highway
See Route 128 exits 15-12 and I-93 exits 1-26
SuffolkBoston46.574.8 I‑93 north – Somerville, Concord, NHNorth end of overlap with I-93, exit 27 on I-93
47.175.8 To Route 38 – Winchester, ActonVia Route 99
Mystic RiverMaurice J. Tobin Memorial Bridge
SuffolkChelsea48.477.9Beacon Street / Everett AvenueNorthbound exit to Beacon, southbound entrance from Everett
49.0–
49.3		78.9–
79.3		Fourth Street / Fifth StreetNorthbound exit to Fourth and southbound entrance from Fifth
49.780.0Sixth StreetNorthbound entrance only
49.980.3Carter Street – Chelsea, East BostonSouthbound exit and entrance;
50.180.6 Route 38 north (Broadway) – LowellSouthern terminus of Route 38; No Southbound entrance
50.381.0Webster Avenue – Chelsea, EverettNorthbound exit and Southbound entrance
50.581.3 Route 16 east to Route 1A – Revere Beach, LynnNorthbound exit and entrance
Revere50.881.8 Route 16 west – Everett, SomervilleSouthbound exit and entrance
51.883.4Sargent Street – West RevereNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
52.4–
52.8		84.3–
85.0		 Route 60 – Malden, RevereCopeland Circle
53.185.5Lynn Street east – Saugus
MiddlesexMalden53.385.8Lynn Street west – Malden
EssexSaugus54.587.7 Route 99 south – Malden, EverettNo northbound exit, northern end of Route 99
54.888.2Essex Street – Melrose, Saugus
55.389.0Main Street – Saugus, Wakefield
56.590.9Lynn Fells Parkway west – Melrose, StonehamEast end of the Lynn Fells Parkway
57.893.0 Route 129 west / Walnut Street – Wakefield, Reading, LynnSouth end of overlap with Route 129
Lynnfield58.894.6 Route 129 east – Lynn, SwampscottNorth end of overlap with Route 129
Peabody59.5–
60.1		95.8–
96.7		 I‑95 / Route 128 – Waltham, GloucesterExit 44 on I-95 / Route 128
61.098.2 I‑95 north – New Hampshire, MaineNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
61.699.1Lowell Street – Peabody
Danvers62.5100.6 Route 114 – Peabody, Middleton
63.2101.7Centre Street – Danvers
64.2103.3 Route 62 – Danvers, Middleton
65.0104.6 I‑95 – Boston, Portsmouth, NHExit 50 on I-95; North end of freeway
Topsfield68.1109.6 Route 97 – Topsfield Center, Haverhill, Beverly
Rowley73.1117.6 Route 133 – Rowley, Ipswich, Georgetown
Newburyport80.9130.2Summer Street / Winter Street – Downtown NewburyportNorthbound exit (Summer) and southbound entrance (Winter)
81.1130.5 Route 1A south (Merrimac Street)North end of with Route 1A (Essex and Suffolk County sections), southbound exit and northbound entrance, north end of limited-access highway
Salisbury83.0133.6 Route 110 west – Amesbury, HaverhillEastern end of Route 110
83.1133.7 Route 1A north – Salisbury BeachSouth end of Route 1A (Essex and Rockingham County sections)
85.3137.3 Route 286 – Amesbury, Seabrook, NH To I‑95 via Route 286 west To NH 1A via Route 286 east
86.2138.7 US 1 north – HamptonContinuation into New Hampshire
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Widening project

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation was proposing a $137 million project to widen the existing 2.4-mile four-lane highway section to six lanes, from north of Route 99 in Saugus to south of Route 60 in Revere. The project consisted of adding a twelve-foot travel lane and ten-foot shoulder in each direction. Work also include reconstruction of the Copeland Circle interchange by eliminating the existing rotary, and demolition of the existing 1957 bridges from the never-built highway extension. The Lynn Street/Salem Street interchange in Malden, and the Route 99 interchange in Saugus, were slated to be reconstructed. Major rock blasting will be required for the project due to a massive ledge next to the highway. Seven bridges will be replaced and three others upgraded to handle the new lanes.

In 2012, $10 million was added to the state budget with the intent to be used for design costs and pulling permits for Route 1. [3] The project was expected to begin in 2012, but no further movement by the state has been implemented. Since then, town officials have made the push to ask the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to revisit the project and begin development. [4]

References

Route map: Bing

  1. ↑ itd. "Executive Office of Transportation - Office of Transportation Planning Roads". Administration and Finance. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  2. ↑ "Northeast Expressway (US 1)". Bostonroads.com. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  3. ↑ "Revere, Malden, Saugus call for relief to Route 1 gridlock". Boston Globe. 2014-01-09. Retrieved 2015-01-05.
  4. ↑ "Joint Letter 12-10-13 Route 1 - Improvement MPO". Gary Christenson, Daniel Rizzo, Scott Crabtree. 2013-12-10. Retrieved 2015-01-05.
U.S. Route 1
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Rhode Island		 Massachusetts Next state:
New Hampshire