U.S. Route 1 in Massachusetts

U.S. Route 1
Route information
Maintained by MassDOT
Length:	86.253 mi[1] (138.811 km)
Existed:	1926 – present
Major junctions
South end:	US 1 in Pawtucket, RI
	I‑295 in North Attleborough I‑495 in Plainville I‑95 / Route 128 in Dedham I‑93 / Route 3 in Braintree I‑90 / I‑93 in Boston I‑95 / Route 128 in Peabody
North end:	US 1 in Seabrook, NH
Location
Counties:	Bristol, Norfolk, Suffolk, Middlesex, Essex
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Replaced Massachusetts State Highway System Interstate US State ← I‑895 Route 1A → ← Route 1A Route 2 →

Southbound in Topsfield

In the U.S. state of Massachusetts, U.S. Route 1 is a major north–south highway through Boston. The portion of US 1 south of Boston is also known as the Boston-Providence Turnpike, Washington Street, or the Norfolk and Bristol 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 (where Gillette Stadium is), 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 I-95 up to the junction with Interstate 93 then travels along with Interstate 93 from Canton through downtown Boston. The two highways separate 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 the Northeast Expressway, then as a four to six lane RIRO expressway (surface road without at-grade intersections or traffic lights) through Malden, Saugus and Lynnfield. From Lynnfield, US 1 again closely parallels I-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.

Northeast Expressway

Causeway (center) for the unbuilt section of the Northeast Expressway across Saugus Marsh

The Northeast Expressway was planned to extend north from Saugus, through Lynn, Lynnfield and Peabody. The highway would bisect the Saugus Marsh and the Lynn Woods Reservation. The highway would then connect with the present junction of I-95 and Route 128 in Peabody. The Northeast Expressway was planned to carry the I-95 designation from Charlestown to Peabody. The first section of the expressway built was the Tobin Bridge over the Mystic River, which opened in 1948. In various stages, the Chelsea and Revere portions opened from 1956 to 1958. The highway carried the I-95 designation from 1955 (in its planning stages) to 1973. It was among the canceled highways affected by Gov. Francis Sargent's February 1970 moratorium on expressway construction within Route 128. US 1 replaced I-95 on the Northeast Expressway, in the 1970s after I-95 joined Route 128 from Westwood to Peabody around Boston.^[2]

Relocation in Boston

In the late 1980s, at the request of the Metropolitan District Commission (now the DCR) in an attempt to reduce the incidence of overheight vehicles finding their way onto Storrow Drive ^[3] 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.

Saugus–Revere widening

1955 Yellow Book plan for the Boston area showing the Northeast Expressway path and paths of other proposed interstate highways within Route 128.

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. ^[4] 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. ^[5]

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Bristol	Attleboro	0.000	0.000		US 1 south – Pawtucket	Southern terminus of US 1 in Massachusetts; Rhode Island state line
		0.291	0.468		I‑95 north – Foxboro, Boston	I-95 exit 1; ramps from northbound US 1 to northbound I-95 and from southbound I-95 to southbound US 1
		1.845	2.969		Route 123 (Highland Avenue) – Brockton, Valley Falls, RI
		2.036	3.277		Route 1A south – Providence, RI	No direct access from northbound Route 1A to southbound US 1
	North Attleborough	3.974	6.396		I‑295 to I‑95 – Attleboro, Boston, Warwick, RI	I-295 exit 1
		5.238	8.430		Route 120 west (Hoppin Hill Avenue) – Cumberland, RI
		7.318	11.777		Route 1A north (Park Street) – Plainville, Wrentham
Norfolk	Plainville	8.370	13.470		Route 106 (Bacon Street) – Mansfield, Easton
		9.992	16.081		Route 152 south (Taunton Street) – Attleboro, Seekonk, Wrentham
		10.600	17.059		I‑495 (Blue Star Memorial Highway) – Cape Cod, Marlborough	I-495 exit 14
	Foxborough	13.506	21.736		To Route 140 – Wrentham	Right-in/right-out intersection with Main Street northbound and with East Street southbound
	Sharon	18.597	29.929		I‑95 – Attleboro, Boston, Providence, RI	I-95 exit 9
	Walpole	19.264	31.002		Route 27 (High Plain Street) – Medfield, Sharon
	Norwood	23.058	37.108		Neponset Street / Nahatan Street – Canton	Pendergast Circle; roundabout interchange
	Dedham	26.319	42.356	15	I‑95 / Route 128 north (Yankee Division Highway) / Route 1A south (Boston–Providence Highway) – Peabody, Portsmouth, NH	Split into exits 15A (Route 1A north) and 15B (US 1 south); south end of concurrency with I-95 / Route 128; northbound US 1 joins southbound I-95 / Route 128; southbound US 1 leaves northbound I-95 / Route 128; Boston–Providence Highway continues north as southbound Route 1A
	Westwood	26.922	43.327	14	East Street / Canton Street
	Dedham	28.131	45.272	13	University Avenue – MBTA / Amtrak Station
	Canton	28.693	46.177	12	I‑95 south – Providence, RI	I-93 exit 1; north end of concurrency with I-95 / Route 128; south end of concurrency with I-93
		30.053	48.366	2	Route 138 (Washington Street) – Stoughton, Milton	Split into exits 2A (south) and 2B (north)
	Milton	31.262	50.311	3	Ponkapoag Trail – Houghton's Pond
	Randolph	32.046	51.573	4	Route 24 south (Fall River Expressway) – Fall River
		32.882	52.918	5	Route 28 (Main Street) – Randolph, Milton	Split into exits 5A (south) and 5B (north)
	Braintree	35.087	56.467	6	Route 37 (Granite Street) – West Quincy, Braintree, Holbrook
		35.382	56.942	7	Route 3 south (Pilgrims Highway) – Cape Cod	Braintree Split; Route 3 exit 20; south end of concurrency with Route 3
	Quincy	36.764	59.166	8	Furnace Brook Parkway – Quincy
		37.815	60.857	9	Adams Street / Bryant Street – North Quincy, West Quincy, Milton	Ramps with Granite Avenue northbound and Bryant Avenue southbound
	Milton	38.639	62.183	10	Squantum Street – Milton	Southbound exit only
		39.500	63.569	11	To Route 203 / Granite Avenue – Ashmont, East Milton	Split into exits 11A (south) and 11B (north) southbound; no access from northbound I-93 to southbound Granite Avenue or from southbound Granite Avenue to northbound I-93
Suffolk	Boston	40.367	64.964	12	Route 3A south (Gallivan Boulevard) – Quincy, Neponset	No northbound exit
		41.316	66.492	13	Freeport Street – Dorchester	Northbound exit only
		41.501	66.789	14	Morrissey Boulevard north – Savin Hill	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
		43.021	69.236	15	Columbia Road – Dorchester, South Boston
		43.749	70.407	16	Southampton Street – Andrew Square	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
		44.163	71.073	18	Massachusetts Avenue / Frontage Road – Roxbury
		45.109	72.596	20	I‑90 / Mass Pike / Albany Street – Logan Airport, Worcester, South Station	South Bay interchange; split into exits 20A (South Station) and 20B (I-90) southbound
		45.993	74.019	23	Government Center	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
		46.121	74.225	23	Purchase Street	Southbound exit and entrance
		46.365	74.617	24	Route 1A north (Callahan Tunnel) – Logan Airport, Government Center	Southbound exit, northbound entrance; split into exits 24A (Government Center) and 24B (Logan Airport)
		46.848	75.395	26	Route 3 north (Storrow Drive) / Route 28 – Leverett Circle, Cambridge	North end of concurrency with Route 3
Charles River				Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge
Suffolk	Boston	47.284	76.096		I‑93 north – Somerville, Concord, NH	North end of concurrency with I-93; no access from southbound US 1 to northbound I-93 or from southbound I-93 to northbound US 1
		47.950	77.168		Route 99 (Rutherford Avenue) to I‑93 north – Somerville, Charlestown	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
Mystic River				Maurice J. Tobin Memorial Bridge (open road toll)
Suffolk	Chelsea	49.567	79.770		Beacon Street	Northbound exit to Beacon Street, southbound entrance from Everett Avenue
		50.038	80.528		Fourth Street	Northbound exit to Fourth Street, southbound entrance from Fifth Street
		50.323	80.987		Sixth Street	Northbound entrance only
		50.618	81.462		Carter Street – Chelsea, East Boston	Southbound exit and entrance
		51.378	82.685		Webster Avenue – Chelsea, Everett	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
		51.327	82.603		Route 16 (Revere Beach Parkway) to Route 1A – Revere Beach, Lynn, Everett, Medford	Ramps from northbound US 1 to eastbound Route 16 and from eastbound Route 16 to northbound US 1; ramps from southbound US 1 to westbound Route 16 and from westbound Route 16 to southbound US 1
	Revere	52.517	84.518		Sargent Street – West Revere	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
		53.348	85.855		Route 60 (Squire Road) – Malden, Revere	Copeland Circle; roundabout interchange
		53.854	86.670		Lynn Street – Saugus Malden	Partial cloverleaf interchange with right-in/right-out ramps to Salem Street
Middlesex	No major junctions
Essex	Saugus	55.217	88.863		Route 99 south (Broadway) – Malden, Everett	No northbound exit
		55.511	89.336		Essex Street – Saugus, Melrose	Cloverleaf interchange
		56.039	90.186		Main Street – Saugus, Wakefield	Cloverleaf interchange
		57.162	91.993		Lynn Fells Parkway west – Melrose, Stoneham	Trumpet interchange
		57.772	92.975		Route 129 west (Walnut Street) / Walnut Street east – Saugus, Reading, Lynn	Cloverleaf interchange; south end of concurrency with Route 129
	Lynnfield	59.728	96.123		Route 129 east (Salem Street) / Salem Street west – Lynn, Swampscott	Diamond interchange; north end of concurrency with Route 129
	Peabody	60.492	97.352		I‑95 / Route 128 (Yankee Division Highway) – Waltham, Gloucester	I-95 / Route 128 exit 44
		61.946	99.692		I‑95 north – New Hampshire, Maine	I-95 exit 46; northbound exit, southbound entrance
		62.327	100.306		Lowell Street – Peabody	Partial cloverleaf interchange
	Danvers	63.233	101.764		Route 114 (Andover Street) – Peabody, Middleton	Partial cloverleaf interchange
		63.848	102.753		Centre Street – Danvers	Partial cloverleaf interchange
		64.902	104.450		Route 62 (Maple Street) – Danvers, Middleton	Cloverleaf interchange
		65.598	105.570		I‑95 – Boston, Portsmouth, NH	I-95 exit 50
	Topsfield	68.782	110.694		Route 97 (High Street) – Topsfield Center, Haverhill, Beverly
	Rowley	73.819	118.800		Route 133 (Haverhill Street) – Rowley, Ipswich, Georgetown
	Newburyport	81.623	131.359		Route 1A south (Merrimac Street) / Merrimac Street west	Diamond interchange
	Salisbury	83.633	134.594		Route 110 west (School Street) / Pleasant Street east – Amesbury, Merrimac
		83.809	134.878		Route 1A north (Beach Road) – Salisbury Beach
		85.953	138.328		Route 286 (Forrest Street) – Amesbury, Seabrook, NH
		86.253	138.811		US 1 north – Hampton	Northern terminus of US 1 in Massachusetts; New Hampshire state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access       Tolled

See also

• New England road marking system
• List of U.S. Highways in Massachusetts

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to U.S. Route 1 in Massachusetts.

Route map: Google

• U.S. Route 1 at Alps' Roads

U.S. Route 1
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