Massachusetts

[RobbieL2415]

Cool photo from 1971 showing the eastbound carriageway of US 6 being built in Yarmouth.
https://media.gettyimages.com/id/650513178/photo/cape-cod-daily-life.webp?s=2048x2048&w=gi&k=20&c=qUwVn0AhmBWquJRpVuFZJYw1Vp-Ubqw5dccYrtFJ9zs=

I remember driving on that EB side soon after I got my license, while there was still a bunch of construction going on.

Says something about the state of the culture, when nothing more has been done to that road for half a century, even as we're subjected to a 13-mile super-2 with plenty of room next to it to turn it into a freeway.

Even the full freeway is insufferable in the summer. Sometimes bypassing sections of it on surface streets can be faster

The ROW for the EB side is still there, FWIW.

Much will depend on whatever the new design for the Cape Cod Bridges will be, whenever it will be. As for the US-6 super 2, I can remember when there was no separation between the east and west lanes. Supposedly environmental and land use concerns have prevented the widening of the super 2, but I imagine any improvements to the bridges may actually improve the chances for widening.

My concern is safety. Ambulances routinely have to resort to driving on the soft shoulder on the super 2 stretch when it's backed up. If, God forbid, there is a civil emergency on the Cape, how would MassDOT expect everyone to evacuate in a timely fashion? There's no major airport on the Outer Cape, no rail service either.

At the very least, the super 2 stretch should have full shoulders.

Of course this is Cape Cod we're talking about here. It is the same place that dragged their feet on exit renumbering. It won't ever happen because residents of the Cape are ultra NIMBYs that believe that the slightest change will take away from the character of the Cape. The LOCALS call the thing "Suicide Alley"  due to the lack of safety, yet they shoot down any attempt to fix them. People don't come to the Cape to see the freeway.

No, they come to get stuck on it any wonder why the road is so underpowered.

It's really more of a parkway than a freeway, with it's short merge areas, narrow lanes, blind curves and lack of shoulders.
Actually, I'm not sure why safety improvements haven't been proposed for the full "freeway section".

[SectorZ]

I know people who commute to Boston daily from at least Gardner (and a very few idiots that do so from near Amherst).  As they put it, you're facing the Sun both ways, so get a good pair of sunglasses.

I guess this sign exists thanks to those commuters? https://goo.gl/maps/UF1FfyrwHfFqMefh8

[Rothman]

I know people who commute to Boston daily from at least Gardner (and a very few idiots that do so from near Amherst).  As they put it, you're facing the Sun both ways, so get a good pair of sunglasses.

I guess this sign exists thanks to those commuters? https://goo.gl/maps/UF1FfyrwHfFqMefh8

The mileage sign or the bridge out sign?  Um...I guess?

[Ted$8roadFan]

Cool photo from 1971 showing the eastbound carriageway of US 6 being built in Yarmouth.
https://media.gettyimages.com/id/650513178/photo/cape-cod-daily-life.webp?s=2048x2048&w=gi&k=20&c=qUwVn0AhmBWquJRpVuFZJYw1Vp-Ubqw5dccYrtFJ9zs=

I remember driving on that EB side soon after I got my license, while there was still a bunch of construction going on.

Says something about the state of the culture, when nothing more has been done to that road for half a century, even as we're subjected to a 13-mile super-2 with plenty of room next to it to turn it into a freeway.

Even the full freeway is insufferable in the summer. Sometimes bypassing sections of it on surface streets can be faster

The ROW for the EB side is still there, FWIW.

Much will depend on whatever the new design for the Cape Cod Bridges will be, whenever it will be. As for the US-6 super 2, I can remember when there was no separation between the east and west lanes. Supposedly environmental and land use concerns have prevented the widening of the super 2, but I imagine any improvements to the bridges may actually improve the chances for widening.

My concern is safety. Ambulances routinely have to resort to driving on the soft shoulder on the super 2 stretch when it's backed up. If, God forbid, there is a civil emergency on the Cape, how would MassDOT expect everyone to evacuate in a timely fashion? There's no major airport on the Outer Cape, no rail service either.

At the very least, the super 2 stretch should have full shoulders.

Of course this is Cape Cod we're talking about here. It is the same place that dragged their feet on exit renumbering. It won't ever happen because residents of the Cape are ultra NIMBYs that believe that the slightest change will take away from the character of the Cape. The LOCALS call the thing "Suicide Alley"  due to the lack of safety, yet they shoot down any attempt to fix them. People don't come to the Cape to see the freeway.

No, they come to get stuck on it any wonder why the road is so underpowered.

It's really more of a parkway than a freeway, with it's short merge areas, narrow lanes, blind curves and lack of shoulders.
Actually, I'm not sure why safety improvements haven't been proposed for the full "freeway section".

The resistance to changing the exit numbers tells us everything we need to know about Cape Cod attitudes towards highway changes and improvements. I would bet the only reason the Bourne and Sagamore Bridges will be replaced (whenever that happens) beyond their age  is because folks there realize it's a drag on the economy. I would guess most Cape Cod residents (year-round) actually like the Parkway style of US-6 west of Dennis and tolerate the Super-2 from Dennis to Orleans because any improvements would (in their eyes) encourage more driving and more development pressure.

[RobbieL2415]

Cool photo from 1971 showing the eastbound carriageway of US 6 being built in Yarmouth.
https://media.gettyimages.com/id/650513178/photo/cape-cod-daily-life.webp?s=2048x2048&w=gi&k=20&c=qUwVn0AhmBWquJRpVuFZJYw1Vp-Ubqw5dccYrtFJ9zs=

I remember driving on that EB side soon after I got my license, while there was still a bunch of construction going on.

Says something about the state of the culture, when nothing more has been done to that road for half a century, even as we're subjected to a 13-mile super-2 with plenty of room next to it to turn it into a freeway.

Even the full freeway is insufferable in the summer. Sometimes bypassing sections of it on surface streets can be faster

The ROW for the EB side is still there, FWIW.

Much will depend on whatever the new design for the Cape Cod Bridges will be, whenever it will be. As for the US-6 super 2, I can remember when there was no separation between the east and west lanes. Supposedly environmental and land use concerns have prevented the widening of the super 2, but I imagine any improvements to the bridges may actually improve the chances for widening.

My concern is safety. Ambulances routinely have to resort to driving on the soft shoulder on the super 2 stretch when it's backed up. If, God forbid, there is a civil emergency on the Cape, how would MassDOT expect everyone to evacuate in a timely fashion? There's no major airport on the Outer Cape, no rail service either.

At the very least, the super 2 stretch should have full shoulders.

Of course this is Cape Cod we're talking about here. It is the same place that dragged their feet on exit renumbering. It won't ever happen because residents of the Cape are ultra NIMBYs that believe that the slightest change will take away from the character of the Cape. The LOCALS call the thing "Suicide Alley"  due to the lack of safety, yet they shoot down any attempt to fix them. People don't come to the Cape to see the freeway.

No, they come to get stuck on it any wonder why the road is so underpowered.

It's really more of a parkway than a freeway, with it's short merge areas, narrow lanes, blind curves and lack of shoulders.
Actually, I'm not sure why safety improvements haven't been proposed for the full "freeway section".

The resistance to changing the exit numbers tells us everything we need to know about Cape Cod attitudes towards highway changes and improvements. I would bet the only reason the Bourne and Sagamore Bridges will be replaced (whenever that happens) beyond their age  is because folks there realize it's a drag on the economy. I would guess most Cape Cod residents (year-round) actually like the Parkway style of US-6 west of Dennis and tolerate the Super-2 from Dennis to Orleans because any improvements would (in their eyes) encourage more driving and more development pressure.

Yes, let's keep two 90-year old bridges meant to carry cars MUCH smaller than ones made today, with a steep grade and high curbs and no center barrier.

[Ted$8roadFan]

Cool photo from 1971 showing the eastbound carriageway of US 6 being built in Yarmouth.
https://media.gettyimages.com/id/650513178/photo/cape-cod-daily-life.webp?s=2048x2048&w=gi&k=20&c=qUwVn0AhmBWquJRpVuFZJYw1Vp-Ubqw5dccYrtFJ9zs=

I remember driving on that EB side soon after I got my license, while there was still a bunch of construction going on.

Says something about the state of the culture, when nothing more has been done to that road for half a century, even as we're subjected to a 13-mile super-2 with plenty of room next to it to turn it into a freeway.

Even the full freeway is insufferable in the summer. Sometimes bypassing sections of it on surface streets can be faster

The ROW for the EB side is still there, FWIW.

Much will depend on whatever the new design for the Cape Cod Bridges will be, whenever it will be. As for the US-6 super 2, I can remember when there was no separation between the east and west lanes. Supposedly environmental and land use concerns have prevented the widening of the super 2, but I imagine any improvements to the bridges may actually improve the chances for widening.

My concern is safety. Ambulances routinely have to resort to driving on the soft shoulder on the super 2 stretch when it's backed up. If, God forbid, there is a civil emergency on the Cape, how would MassDOT expect everyone to evacuate in a timely fashion? There's no major airport on the Outer Cape, no rail service either.

At the very least, the super 2 stretch should have full shoulders.

Of course this is Cape Cod we're talking about here. It is the same place that dragged their feet on exit renumbering. It won't ever happen because residents of the Cape are ultra NIMBYs that believe that the slightest change will take away from the character of the Cape. The LOCALS call the thing "Suicide Alley"  due to the lack of safety, yet they shoot down any attempt to fix them. People don't come to the Cape to see the freeway.

No, they come to get stuck on it any wonder why the road is so underpowered.

It's really more of a parkway than a freeway, with it's short merge areas, narrow lanes, blind curves and lack of shoulders.
Actually, I'm not sure why safety improvements haven't been proposed for the full "freeway section".

The resistance to changing the exit numbers tells us everything we need to know about Cape Cod attitudes towards highway changes and improvements. I would bet the only reason the Bourne and Sagamore Bridges will be replaced (whenever that happens) beyond their age  is because folks there realize it's a drag on the economy. I would guess most Cape Cod residents (year-round) actually like the Parkway style of US-6 west of Dennis and tolerate the Super-2 from Dennis to Orleans because any improvements would (in their eyes) encourage more driving and more development pressure.

Yes, let's keep two 90-year old bridges meant to carry cars MUCH smaller than ones made today, with a steep grade and high curbs and no center barrier.

Agreed, but the Cape is the Cape.

[roadman65]

Did the new exit renumbering change the awkward Exits 1A-2A and Exits 1B-2B on I-291 in Springfield?

[The Ghostbuster]

No. Interstate 291 and Interstate 391 did not have their exits renumbered. Nor did MA 213 or the Lowell Connector. I would have renumbered them, as well as number the remaining unnumbered exits. Then again, I'm not in charge, and I haven't been to Massachusetts since 1994 (attending my stepbrother's wedding, three years before my stepfather married my mother).

[bob7374]

MassDOT has gave the Notice to Proceed yesterday (3/24) on the MA 25 sign replacement contract. No completion date provided, but should it take longer than a year? The I-84 project was started in the spring of 2022 and according to MassDOT is 75% finished. The winning bid for the I-295 sign replacement contract is to be announced this Tuesday (3/28).

I've updated my sign replacement project list page with the new information:
https://malmeroads.net/mass21c/signprojectlist.html

[roadman]

No. Interstate 291 and Interstate 391 did not have their exits renumbered. Nor did MA 213 or the Lowell Connector. I would have renumbered them, as well as number the remaining unnumbered exits. Then again, I'm not in charge, and I haven't been to Massachusetts since 1994 (attending my stepbrother's wedding, three years before my stepfather married my mother).

The new mileage-based numbers on I-291 and Route 213 would have shifted the sequence of numbers by one digit.  MassDOT decided such a change  was not significant enough from either a navigation or emergency response perspective to do so.  Converting the numbers on I-391 and the Lowell Connector would have resulted in bowls of alphabet soup.  With a few exceptions, MassDOT design parameters for the project restricted suffixed exit numbers to dual ramp interchanges serving opposite directions of the same route or street, or for multiple exits served by a single collector distributor road off the highway mainline.

[southshore720]

No. Interstate 291 and Interstate 391 did not have their exits renumbered. Nor did MA 213 or the Lowell Connector. I would have renumbered them, as well as number the remaining unnumbered exits. Then again, I'm not in charge, and I haven't been to Massachusetts since 1994 (attending my stepbrother's wedding, three years before my stepfather married my mother).

The new mileage-based numbers on I-291 and Route 213 would have shifted the sequence of numbers by one digit.  MassDOT decided such a change  was not significant enough from either a navigation or emergency response perspective to do so.  Converting the numbers on I-391 and the Lowell Connector would have resulted in bowls of alphabet soup.  With a few exceptions, MassDOT design parameters for the project restricted suffixed exit numbers to dual ramp interchanges serving opposite directions of the same route or street, or for multiple exits served by a single collector distributor road off the highway mainline.

And RIDOT went in the other direction, fully embracing alphabet soup.  Split ramp options and multiple exits within the mile all received the alpha treatment.

[kramie13]

Do C/D roads actually cause traffic jams?

I regularly drive along I-495 for work.  During the 8 AM hour going north, I always hit a slowdown at the Rte. 3/Lowell Connector interchange.  And the slowdown occurs right at the spot where the C/D road is merging with the main traffic lanes.

And Rte. 3 south in the same area is even WORSE!  It's a literal parking lot where it intersects 495, way worse than 128 or 93!  What causes this?

[Ted$8roadFan]

Do C/D roads actually cause traffic jams?

I regularly drive along I-495 for work.  During the 8 AM hour going north, I always hit a slowdown at the Rte. 3/Lowell Connector interchange.  And the slowdown occurs right at the spot where the C/D road is merging with the main traffic lanes.

And Rte. 3 south in the same area is even WORSE!  It's a literal parking lot where it intersects 495, way worse than 128 or 93!  What causes this?

A few guesses: the growing volume of traffic; the cloverleaf interchange that is far too common in MA, esp. at high volume areas; multiple lanes of traffic coming together not only from MA-3 but the Lowell Connector; and the lack of an expanded accel/decel lanes from Exit 88 to Exit 91.

[Plutonic Panda]

Do C/D roads actually cause traffic jams?

I regularly drive along I-495 for work.  During the 8 AM hour going north, I always hit a slowdown at the Rte. 3/Lowell Connector interchange.  And the slowdown occurs right at the spot where the C/D road is merging with the main traffic lanes.

And Rte. 3 south in the same area is even WORSE!  It's a literal parking lot where it intersects 495, way worse than 128 or 93!  What causes this?

Perhaps they need to extend the merging lanes or the freeway simply needs to be widened. I can't imagine C/D lanes would cause traffic congestion. They are safer because they separate multiple conflict points creating by busy interchanges merging onto the mainlines and streamlines that.

[SectorZ]

Do C/D roads actually cause traffic jams?

I regularly drive along I-495 for work.  During the 8 AM hour going north, I always hit a slowdown at the Rte. 3/Lowell Connector interchange.  And the slowdown occurs right at the spot where the C/D road is merging with the main traffic lanes.

And Rte. 3 south in the same area is even WORSE!  It's a literal parking lot where it intersects 495, way worse than 128 or 93!  What causes this?

On 495 north, they need a longer merge lane to help. Maybe when they replace the dilapidated Carlisle St and 3A bridges over 495 just north of the merge, they will widen it and have the lane drop much closer to the Concord River.

It's backed up like that tremendously during rush hour my entire life. My exit to home is the Woburn St exit, but just as often I find myself going down 3 to 129 and going thru Billerica to get home.

[kernals12]

Massachusetts, and the Northeast in general with the possible exception of New Jersey, lacks a good network of 4 lane limited access highways.

[Rothman]

Massachusetts, and the Northeast in general with the possible exception of New Jersey, lacks a good network of 4 lane limited access highways.

So, you're coming back into form now.  Thanks for posting this vague, unsubstantiated opinion in the MA thread.

[fwydriver405]

Has anyone noticed this very strange lane drop coming from I-95 South Exit 66 (Old exit 46) going into Route 1? Coming from the north, I usually take Exit 63 (Old exit 44) to get on US 1 to bypass the jughandle lights. I took Exit 66 instead of 63 a few weeks ago and was kind of caught off-guard by the fact the right lane from I-95 SB Exit 66 ends as US 1 traffic is merging simultaneously (or with this new configuration, "adding" a lane). I describe it here from a cross-post from this thread below:

Sometime in 2022, the configuration was changed so that the right lane coming from I-95 SB Exit 66 ends as US Route 1 traffic is merging (Overview, Streetview). This new configutation gives US Route 1 traffic an added lane instead of having to merge with exiting I-95 traffic. What caught me offguard was, although there were signs saying the right lane ended, I did not expect the right lane to end right at the gore point of merging US 1 traffic. Curious to know why the lane ends here instead of further back up the ramp before US Route 1 SB re-adds a lane onto the mainline.

Do C/D roads actually cause traffic jams?

I regularly drive along I-495 for work.  During the 8 AM hour going north, I always hit a slowdown at the Rte. 3/Lowell Connector interchange.  And the slowdown occurs right at the spot where the C/D road is merging with the main traffic lanes.

And Rte. 3 south in the same area is even WORSE!  It's a literal parking lot where it intersects 495, way worse than 128 or 93!  What causes this?

I wonder if the Exit 108-107 (Old exit 50-49) onramps were seperated on I-495 South when the Merrimack River Bridge was replaced, because of merging conflict issues, short sightlines, and short merging lanes along with being a heavy merge from both exits joining I-495. Before the bridge replacement, both exit's onramp shared the same C/D road and merged shortly before the bridge began. The new configuration seperated both on-ramps and extended the merge lanes substantially.

[kramie13]

Do C/D roads actually cause traffic jams?

I regularly drive along I-495 for work.  During the 8 AM hour going north, I always hit a slowdown at the Rte. 3/Lowell Connector interchange.  And the slowdown occurs right at the spot where the C/D road is merging with the main traffic lanes.

And Rte. 3 south in the same area is even WORSE!  It's a literal parking lot where it intersects 495, way worse than 128 or 93!  What causes this?

Another day, another traffic jam at an interchange with a C/D road.  This time, I-495 at Rte. 2 (exit 78) in Littleton!  And guess what?  This C/D road is somewhat new!  Arrgh!

[ne11931]

It is new but in typical Massachusetts fashion the merging lanes are terribly short. I used to go 2W to 495N and the ramp has sharp curves and a steep grade up to the mainline with no room to accelerate.

[Ted$8roadFan]

We're not as bad as other states (such as Pennsylvania) but too many of our roads, even the improvements, are more of the "let's just get it done now and worry about the functioning later"  variety.

[bob7374]

According to the MassDOT ProjectInfo site, the Notice to Proceed was given to the I-295 Sign Replacement project on April 13. Is there any reason why this should take more than a year to complete? The site also states the I-84 project is complete, 2 years after it started. However, a glitch happened sometime in March whereby all projects listed as under construction at the time were changed to being 100% complete. The only under construction project listed now is for I-295 (the MA 25 project started last month is also listed 100% finished). The only way to find out progress on the other projects is to check any notes that may be added at the bottom of the page. These are listed in my Sign Project List page:
https://malmeroads.net/mass21c/signprojectlist.html

[mariethefoxy]

aren't the signs on 295 relatively new? same with 84. They dont have the small "built in" tabs like the older signs.

[shadyjay]

There's a good chance I-84 is complete... I drove I-84 East a couple weeks ago and it was done, and saw new signs in the rear-view.  So it may be done.

Link to my I-84 MA album:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/shadyjay/albums/72157672122426070

And a few highlights here:

84EB-Exit05-3 by Jay Hogan, on Flickr

84EB-Exit06-4 by Jay Hogan, on Flickr

The signs on I-84 were "relatively" not that old.  They may have been among the first to have non-integrated exit tabs.  Those on I-295, same deal, though the interstate shields are faded pretty bad on I-295 (for I-95). 

And to put things in perspective: 
Since c 1985, I-84 in Mass has had 3 generations of signs.  Parts of I-84 in East Hartford and Manchester are still on their first generation since that time.

[reidcc]

I've always been freaked out by super 2s. They always seem like they should be 4 lanes in like every case. Would rather have a 4 lane expressway with driveways than a super 2.

It's weird that I feel that the ones in Massachusetts are terrifying compared to the New Hampshire ones. For a while I lived close enough to the MA 2/US 202 bypass of Athol and Orange and the NH 101 Milford bypass, heavily using both, and I feel that the safety difference is night and day. The ones in Mass feel like cattle chutes. Oddly enough, cyclists and pedestrians are allowed on all the NH ones except for the tiny super-2 portion of the Spaulding Turnpike, in Mass they are treated just like other freeways in that regard.

Remember MA 2 before the reflective bollards were installed?  Pepperidge Farms remembers...

*Clutches steering wheel hoping the oncoming truck is not driven by Christopher Walken in Annie Hall*

I do. I think they were installed after I first drove on it myself (probably 1996) so my terror was only as a passenger. I don't think I was on it more than a few times until I moved to Fitchburg in 2005, then was on it a ton, and there was a lot of upgrades to it during the 9 years I was living there, including the small bypass around the paper mill in Erving.

The bollards are a joke anyways, mostly because 1) they won't do anything and 2) for some reason only the stretch concurrent with 202 was deemed important enough for them

I will say the most terrifying thing to cycle on was 2 from the Erving paper mill west for a few miles where it runs beside the Millers River, and there is like no other route that isn't a multi-mile detour with 800+ feet of additional climbing.

I've lived in Fitchburg for over 30yrs and remember many a bad crash on the super 2 section of Rt2. It took 4 young girls to get killed for the state to at least widen the "vision" corridor. But of course I can remember doing many stupid things out on that road in my late teens and early 20's as well. Now I'm out that way at least once a week as I have a son living in Orange, but mostly just keeping up with the speed limit.