The AARoads Blog

Began the trip by plotting out a circuitous route to Lake Champlain, Vermont via the New Hampshire seacoast and Hampton Beach. Started out on Interstate 93 southbound to its end and encircling Boston via Interstate 95 north. Traffic on Interstate 95 and the Boston area was relentless, even on a Sunday night at 10:30 am. The number of cars and trucks barrelling down the road on the area freeways makes highway photography a chore…

MassHighway uses large diagrammatical signs regularly along its freeways for interchange elements such as loop ramps and in this instance, a collector/distributor roadway. This particular sign resides along Interstate 95 northbound ahead of the trumpet interchange with U.S. 3 (Exits 32A/B). The c/d roadway serves not only interests to the U.S. 3 freeway north, but also to the nearby folded-diamond interchange with Middlesex Turnpike. Note that U.S. 3 south joins Interstate 95 north to make the jump from its freeway onto its original alignment on Cambridge Street (Exit 33).

Interstate 93 north carried us back to the Loop Connector (Massachusetts 213) east to Interstate 495 north. Interstate 495′s northernmost extent includes just four lanes and the lightest amount of traffic that we saw. Though that is an understatement, it was a welcome concept given the overall Massachusetts’ and Southern New England traffic woes.

I neglected to go to the east end of New Hampshire 101 and Atlantic Coast in 2005, so we decided to make that a stop this year. New Hampshire 101 appears as a freeway with an interchange with U.S. 1 on some maps. This is gravely incorrect, as the highway narrows to two lanes across tidal marshes west of Hampton Beach before partitioning into a one-way one-lane street couplet in the town itself. State maintenance ends near the couplet partition no less.

U.S. 1 (Ocean Boulevard) northbound at the westbound beginning of New Hampshire 101 (Church Street) in Hampton Beach. Church Street carries one lane of N.H. 101 west to the confluence with Highland Avenue (N.H. 101 east). From there New Hampshire 101 crosses marshland to a signalized intersection with Landing Road. After that at-grade intersection, the New Hampshire 101 freeway begins as a super-two expressway.

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Started the day off with a bang, a huge crash of thunder at around 6:30 am at the onset of a thunderstorm in Quincy, MA. A few hours later storm clouds gave way to brilliant skies, setting the tone for the day. We were due in Vermont this night, but opted to stay with our friend in Quincy another night and explore more of the area roads instead. Beginning on Interstate 93 south, we again headed to its terminus with Interstate 95, viewing work associated with the aforementioned project between the two highways. Surprisingly the tight single lane loop ramp that Interstate 95 northbound utilizes between itself and the Massachusetts 128 circumferential highway is not being addressed. The northbound mainline of one of America’s busiest freeways remains relegated to just one lane here. At the same time, abandoned ramps and bridges associated with unconstructed Interstate 95 northeast through Canton remain and presently are the site of construction staging areas for the current project.

Further south, cloverleaf ramps between Interstates 95 and 495 are being slightly altered to improve their curvature. It is amazing to us as to how many full cloverleaf interchanges remain in service between two Interstates, let alone freeways of any kind. It reminds me of the interchanges I experienced in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area..

Interstate 495, for as long as the highway is, carries six lanes throughout most of its length. It is a testament to the far reaching suburbs of Boston and the increasing weekend beach and mountain-bound traffic to have that much capacity on a freeway so far from the city center. Unfortunately the only modern interchange along the route that comes to mind is the Exit 23C directional to Simarano Drive at Marlborough, officially known as Joseph A. Ferrecchia Connector Road.

Finding a state-named Interstate shield in either Massachusetts or New Hampshire is next to impossible, but thanks to our friend Jake, we were able to locate this 18″ wooden trailblazer for Interstate 495 in Upton.

One stop along the northward drive along Interstate 495 took us into the city of Lowell via the Lowell Connector. Once upon a time this freeway spur received the designation Business Spur Interstate 495 (one junction shield still remains). Nowadays it is simply signed as the “Lowell Connector” or “To Interstate 495 & U.S. 3″. A complex series of loop and directional ramps join both the Lowell Connector and the U.S. 3 freeway with Interstate 495 via Exits 35A-B-C. Spurring north from U.S. 3 just south of Interstate 495, the six-lane freeway even receives its own set of sequential exit numbers.

Nearing the northern end of the Lowell Connector at the partition between Exits 5B (Massachusetts 3A north) and 5C (Central Lowell via Gorham Street). “Road Ends” signs are a bit misleading in our opinion. Having seen them as far south as Rhode Island and as far north as Essex Junction, Vermont, they are somewhat standard in the New England states.

Continuing northeast on Interstate 495, the freeway next meets Interstate 93 near Lawrence. Lawrence, Lowell’s sister city if you will, has its own connector in the form of the Loop Connector. Like the Lowell Connector, the Loop Connector also has its own sets of exit numbers but receives the designation Massachusetts 213. Massachusetts 213 carries four overall lanes as it joins Interstate 495 to the east with Interstate 93 to the west.

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Spent Saturday redriving many of freeways of metro Boston, Rhode Island, and eastern Massachusetts.

Started things off by heading northward into the Big Dig and then northeast across the Tobin Bridge to the U.S. 1 Northeast Expressway. A repainting job is underway along the Tobin Bridge at mid-span. U.S. 1 was once touted as part of the through-city routing of Interstate 95 through Boston. A section of the highway is a full fledged freeway between Interstate 93 and Lynn Street at the Suffolk/Middlesex County line. From there northward, U.S. 1 exists as an expressway devoid of cross-traffic or intersections, but lined on either side with an array of businesses and shopping plazas. This unsual configuration lasts the entire northward drive from Boston to junction Interstate 95/Massachusetts 128 and Peabody. Intersections along the routing are replaced with interchanges. Right-hand turns are permitted but there are no traffic lights. A jersey or guard rail median segregates the north-south movements and prohibits left-hand turns.

U.S. 1 transitions into an expressway (Frank P. Bennett Memorial Highway) at Malden, north of the Lynn Street. Interchanges exist along the northward drive to Peabody including those at Essex Street, Main Street, and Lynns Fells Parkway at Saugus.

We doubled back southward along Interstate 95 & Massachusetts 128 around the city of Boston. A busy six-lane freeway, Massachusetts 128 predates the Interstate system in construction and was grand fathered in as Interstate 95 when it was determined that I-95 would not be built through the city. Signs refer to both highways as Interstate 95 and Massachusetts 128 throughout their shared alignment. Massachusetts 128 east of Interstate 93′s southern terminus however was eliminated in 1997.

U.S. 1 joins Interstate 95 in a wrong-way overlap between Exit 15 and junction Interstate 93. This cosigning creates a situation where Interstate 95 south & U.S. 1 north sharing the same carriageway. A similar configuration occurs with U.S. 3 and Interstate 95′s brief overlap between Exits 32 and 33. U.S. 1 follows Interstate 95 south and Interstate 93 north between Dedham and the Tobin Bridge.

Construction is present at the Interstate 95, Interstate 93, and U.S. 1 junction at Canton, Massachusetts.Work began April of 2004 and should be completed in Fall of 2007. The project includes the addition of one general purpose lane per direction within the median of both Interstates 93 and 95 leading east and west of the interchange. Widening also includes the building of full left-hand shoulders and auxiliary lanes.

Additionally the Interstate 95 southbound ramp leading away from Massachusetts 128 will be widened to two lanes. Interstate 95 & Massachusetts 128 bridges over the Neponset River, Amtrak, and University Avenue were already replaced during this project.

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The beginning of a week plus trip that took us northward from Delaware/Philadelphia to Boston for several days and from there to Lake Champlain in Vermont for a 5-day vacation…

We started our journey just south of the Pennsylvania state line, beginning first with a visit to the Pennsylvania Welcome Center to obtain the latest copy of the Pennsylvania State Highway Map. Construction is present along all of Interstate 95 in Delaware County between the state line and junction Interstate 476. PennDOT is in the process of again resurfacing the highway with asphalt. At the time, the previous coat of asphalt was milled down to the original concrete roadway. This project would hamper us a over a week later with a 30-minute back-up at 11 pm on a Saturday night…

Continuing east into New Jersey, we entered the New Jersey Turnpike by way of New Jersey 168, the only connection between the toll road and parallel Interstate 295 close enough to act as the junction between the Turnpike and Interstate 76/New Jersey 42 (North South Freeway). New Jersey 168 offers two lanes laden with traffic lights on the short drive between the respective interchanges. There are no plans to provide a direct connection between the two pivotal roads in South Jersey…

Northward, Turnpike travelers heading southbound this day (Friday July 27) were greeted with what seemed to be a 15-20 mile back-up between the Pennsylvania Turnpike Extension and New Brunswick. It was unclear as to what caused the congestion, but the Turnpike does reduce from a four-carriageway configuration into a six-lane freeway on this stretch.

Garden State Parkway northbound at the Metrowest trumpet interchange (Exit 131B) near Iselin. The Parkway is untolled between the New Jersey Turnpike and a point just south of junction Interstate 78. Several button copy signs remain in use along this stretch of freeway.

Eastward, we opted for the Holland Tunnel into Lower Manhattan and Canal Street southeast to the Manhattan Bridge. The Manhattan Bridge is historical in nature as far as Interstates are concerned as it was one time planned to be a part of Interstate 478 between the unconstructed Lower Manhattan Expressway (Interstate 78) and Interstate 278 (Brooklyn-Queens Expressway). As it exists, the Manhattan Bridge carries seven lanes of traffic and four Metro tracks; vehicles partition between separate two lane upper carriageways on the outside of the suspension bridge span and a three-lane lower carriageway on the inside of the bridge. Since Interstate 78 was never built east of the Holland Tunnel, Interstate 478 was removed from the Manhattan Bridge and reapplied on the nearby Brooklyn Battery Tunnel in an unsigned fashion. The Manhattan Bridge along with the Brooklyn and Queensboro Bridges are the only three untolled spans across the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn/Queens.

Southbound on the upper carriageway or the Manhattan Bridge. Like other Manhattan area bridges, no shoulders or break-down lanes are provided. The span ends at Tillary Street in Brooklyn on the south side with connections provided to Interstate 278 (Brooklyn-Queens Expressway) via surface streets (Jay Street north / Sand Street east).

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So, this is the Big Dig:

We all know about the big dig, and if you don’t, you’re a terrible roadgeek. The main thrust of the project was to take the ugly central artery and replace it with a tunnel beneath downtown. Where the central artery was, was to become a pretty urban park. Let’s see what is going on up on the surface….

(PS its very hard to take pictures in a tunnel!)

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Lets take a look at Mass. Route 2 through north-central Massachusetts. Picture below is the French King bridge, which was originally constructed in 1932 to take Route 2 over the Connecticut River. The bridge takes its name from nearby French King Rock, which was in turn named by a French army officer during the French and Indian wars of the eighteenth century. The span opened September 10, 1932.

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Let’s take a quickie look at SR 146 from Providence, RI up to Worcester Mass. The pictures are from last weekend, when the New England spring was in full swing with budding dogwoods and hordes of people moving to Vermont.

Route 146 leaves Providence as a fairly major freeway. The six lanes give way to four just as the northern suburbs are at their peak. Route 146 has the distinction of being Rhode Island’s first divided highway, and was originally constructed way back in the 1940s. In RI, the ROW is fairly dense with the carriageways often separated by a simple guardrail.

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