Massachusetts

[southshore720]

Does anyone know of plans to rehabilitate or replace the Mass. 129 overpass over I-93 in Wilmington? It looks awful and there are already a few band-aids on it.

https://hwy.massdot.state.ma.us/ProjectInfo/Main.asp?ACTION=ViewProject&PROJECT_NO=608703

Work begins summer 2025. I don't know if you've been on the bridge, but part of the westbound side is closed off, with all traffic squeezing over to the eastbound and a bit of the westbound side. It's as rough looking on top of it.

I guess it's good news that it's planned, but man is it scary it's going to be in this state another year and a half. I have been on top. It's kind of jarring how much the whole thing has been allowed to deteriorate.

It took 5 years for them to replace Dedham St. bridge over I-95 in Canton, so good luck to Wilmington and the Red Sox on this one!

[bob7374]

Good news. A MassDOT former Twitter post tonight indicates lanes will be closed overnight starting this week on US 3 between Burlington and Tyngsboro for sign replacement work.

The bad news is that the text says the work should last through the summer. Not a record breaking pace, to say the least.

[kramie13]

Good news. A MassDOT former Twitter post tonight indicates lanes will be closed overnight starting this week on US 3 between Burlington and Tyngsboro for sign replacement work.

The bad news is that the text says the work should last through the summer. Not a record breaking pace, to say the least.

Perhaps US 3 can get its mile posts recalibrated too?  For example, the MA 129 overpass over US 3 is at mile 80.7, but the exit number is 79.  Also going north on US 3, you have a "mile 87" marker just before the exit for MA 40, which is signed exit 86.

[pderocco]

Good news. A MassDOT former Twitter post tonight indicates lanes will be closed overnight starting this week on US 3 between Burlington and Tyngsboro for sign replacement work.

The bad news is that the text says the work should last through the summer. Not a record breaking pace, to say the least.

Perhaps US 3 can get its mile posts recalibrated too?  For example, the MA 129 overpass over US 3 is at mile 80.7, but the exit number is 79.  Also going north on US 3, you have a "mile 87" marker just before the exit for MA 40, which is signed exit 86.

If they left the mileposts alone, but renumbered the exits in kilometers, no one would notice the discrepancies.

[SectorZ]

Good news. A MassDOT former Twitter post tonight indicates lanes will be closed overnight starting this week on US 3 between Burlington and Tyngsboro for sign replacement work.

The bad news is that the text says the work should last through the summer. Not a record breaking pace, to say the least.

Perhaps US 3 can get its mile posts recalibrated too?  For example, the MA 129 overpass over US 3 is at mile 80.7, but the exit number is 79.  Also going north on US 3, you have a "mile 87" marker just before the exit for MA 40, which is signed exit 86.

Yeah those are miserably off from reality.

I've driven past the sign pile on the northbound side between MA 40 and Westford Rd and noticed a few "exit 1" tabs in there. I guess this means that Spit Brook Rd in NH will finally have an advance sign in MA, since the only sign for it now is the one at the exit that is partly shrouded by brush.

[fwydriver405]

Good news. A MassDOT former Twitter post tonight indicates lanes will be closed overnight starting this week on US 3 between Burlington and Tyngsboro for sign replacement work.

The bad news is that the text says the work should last through the summer. Not a record breaking pace, to say the least.

On the way back from UMass Lowell last night, I noticed that new APL signs for the I-95 / MA 128 interchange were installed on US 3 south. Only the 2 and 1 mile signs were up and the rest downstream was waiting for the foundations and signs to be installed.

Also semi-unrelated to this, but the LEFT exit tabs on the Lowell Connector also have returned as well, not sure if the other LEFT exit tabs were reinstated in the places they were taken off from in mid 2023.

[SectorZ]

The state is also replacing the sign for US 3 S/B-I-95 N/B exit 72A that is just a curve and not an actual exit.

[fwydriver405]

The state is also replacing the sign for US 3 S/B-I-95 N/B exit 72A that is just a curve and not an actual exit.

So this sign is going to be replaced similar to the signs at the eastern terminus of I-295 north at I-95 north, as well as I-95 north after Exit 26?

[SectorZ]

The state is also replacing the sign for US 3 S/B-I-95 N/B exit 72A that is just a curve and not an actual exit.

So this sign is going to be replaced similar to the signs at the eastern terminus of I-295 north at I-95 north, as well as I-95 north after Exit 26?

There is the little orange Liddell sign next to the current one so I presume so.

[PHLBOS]

The state is also replacing the sign for US 3 S/B-I-95 N/B exit 72A that is just a curve and not an actual exit.

For the Burlington US 3 interchange: since the cloverleaf ramp to I-95 (MA 128) northbound is also a through US 3 southbound movement; there should not be an exit tab on those particular signs.  The exit for I-95 (MA 128) southbound should be just Exit 72 (or 71 since US 3 MM 72.0 is located north of the interchange).

For the Canton interchange; there rightfully isn't an exit tab for that cloverleaf ramp because it's the through I-95 northbound movement.  FWIW, there are plans to reconfigure that interchange with a 2-lane flyover ramp replacing that single-lane cloverleaf ramp.

For the Attleboro interchange; since I-295 ends at I-95, having an exit tab for that cloverleaf ramp to I-95 northbound is justified.

Also semi-unrelated to this, but the LEFT exit tabs on the Lowell Connector also have returned as well, not sure if the other LEFT exit tabs were reinstated in the places they were taken off from in mid 2023.

When I was in eastern MA last November; I saw that the LEFT tabs returned on those MA 128 northbound (EXIT 64) signs for the I-95/MA 128 northbound split.  If one looks on the backs of those reinstalled LEFT exit tabs; one sees several additional mounting support brackets on them.

I'm sure the reinstalled ones for the Lowell Connector have such as well.

[bob7374]

The state is also replacing the sign for US 3 S/B-I-95 N/B exit 72A that is just a curve and not an actual exit.

For the Burlington US 3 interchange: since the cloverleaf ramp to I-95 (MA 128) northbound is also a through US 3 southbound movement; there should not be an exit tab on those particular signs.  The exit for I-95 (MA 128) southbound should be just Exit 72 (or 71 since US 3 MM 72.0 is located north of the interchange).

For the Canton interchange; there rightfully isn't an exit tab for that cloverleaf ramp because it's the through I-95 northbound movement.  FWIW, there are plans to reconfigure that interchange with a 2-lane flyover ramp replacing that single-lane cloverleaf ramp.

For the Attleboro interchange; since I-295 ends at I-95, having an exit tab for that cloverleaf ramp to I-95 northbound is justified.

Also semi-unrelated to this, but the LEFT exit tabs on the Lowell Connector also have returned as well, not sure if the other LEFT exit tabs were reinstated in the places they were taken off from in mid 2023.

When I was in eastern MA last November; I saw that the LEFT tabs returned on those MA 128 northbound (EXIT 64) signs for the I-95/MA 128 northbound split.  If one looks on the backs of those reinstalled LEFT exit tabs; one sees several additional mounting support brackets on them.

I'm sure the reinstalled ones for the Lowell Connector have such as well.

Last time I was on I-93 and I-95 in the Canton area two weeks ago the left tabs were still missing (except for the one on I-93 South that was never taken down).

As for whether both ramps on US 3 South deserve exit numbers, I agree that only the I-95/128 South exit needs one. MassDOT has been slightly inconsistent as to this practice, saying they use the A/B ramp suffixes to indicate that a particular route ends, hence the use if 1 A/B in Canton at the end of I-93 South, even though one of the 'exits' is not a ramp. But this policy seems to also include, in some cases, where a particular highway ends since they use A/B in Braintree where MA 3 meets I-93/US 1, it's the end of the Pilgrims Highway not MA 3. In this case I would have only given the I-93 South to I-95 exit a number [Perhaps this is because long range plans call for the ending of MA 3 there?].

Lastly, there may be a clue on the latest US 3 sign replacement project listing as to why the contract has taken so long. In it they state the contractor ["Road Safe formerly Liddell"] has started putting up signage. Perhaps MassDOT lost patience with Liddell Bros. and switched contractors to complete the project.

[SectorZ]

Lastly, there may be a clue on the latest US 3 sign replacement project listing as to why the contract has taken so long. In it they state the contractor ["Road Safe formerly Liddell"] has started putting up signage. Perhaps MassDOT lost patience with Liddell Bros. and switched contractors to complete the project.

https://www.roadsafetraffic.com/roadsafe-traffic-systems-inc-acquires-liddell-bros-inc-and-liddell-leasing-corp/

Answers that question I guess. I wasn't aware of it myself.

[bob7374]

Lastly, there may be a clue on the latest US 3 sign replacement project listing as to why the contract has taken so long. In it they state the contractor ["Road Safe formerly Liddell"] has started putting up signage. Perhaps MassDOT lost patience with Liddell Bros. and switched contractors to complete the project.

https://www.roadsafetraffic.com/roadsafe-traffic-systems-inc-acquires-liddell-bros-inc-and-liddell-leasing-corp/

Answers that question I guess. I wasn't aware of it myself.

Thanks. Since the 2 leading sign replacement contractors for MassDOT are now 1, is it safe to say that the costs of these projects are going to up, independent of any recent material cost inflation, and that there will be fewer of them or cheaper materials used?

[fwydriver405]

Managed to snap a photo of this new sign assembly at Exit 91 on a trip to Nashua today, which finally includes a ½ mile advance for NH's Exit 1: Spit Brook Rd. Concord Nashua NH is omitted on the left sign from the old one.

EDIT, Nashua, not Concord for the first control city

[SectorZ]

Managed to snap a photo of this new sign assembly at Exit 91 on a trip to Nashua today, which finally includes a ½ mile advance for NH's Exit 1: Spit Brook Rd. Concord NH is omitted on the left sign from the old one.

I thought I saw an exit 1 tab in the pile of signs off the side of the road south of there and was wondering if this was coming. For decades there has never been an advance sign for Spit Brook Rd, just the first sign at the exit.

Since ground signage at the ends of ramps are being replaced, I hope the new one at the end of this ramp doesn't erroneously state that MA 3A goes north from the ramp, when it's on the other side of the Merrimack River, since the current one does.

[roadman65]

What's up with the service area on a non tolled I-95 in Newton?

Seems odd for a free freeway to have one. Usually they're on toll facilities except for some select parkways in the NYC area having a small gas station here or there. Usually uncommon for non toll roads though.

[pderocco]

What's up with the service area on a non tolled I-95 in Newton?

Seems odd for a free freeway to have one. Usually they're on toll facilities except for some select parkways in the NYC area having a small gas station here or there. Usually uncommon for non toll roads though.

There's still one on NB I-95 in Lexington at the MA-2A exit, and one on each side of MA-24 just south of MA-104. Also, on US-6 on Cape Code at MA-132, which for years was the end of the freeway part of US-6.

Massachusetts used to have a lot of them. There was one on the SB Southeast Expwy (now I-93) just before the Mass Ave Connector, and it was a real challenge to exit from it and get all the way over to the ramp onto the Expwy, so I'm not surprised that one was closed. Further down, there was one shortly before the MA-3/MA-128 split, which you can still see as a vacant lot in the 1994 GE imagery.

When I was growing up, they all had Howard Johnson's Restaurants, which were actually pretty good, and were open all night. The gas stations were all Atlantic stations, and were about the only all-night gas stations anywhere, except a few in Boston.

[Ted$8roadFan]

What's up with the service area on a non tolled I-95 in Newton?

Seems odd for a free freeway to have one. Usually they're on toll facilities except for some select parkways in the NYC area having a small gas station here or there. Usually uncommon for non toll roads though.

There's still one on NB I-95 in Lexington at the MA-2A exit, and one on each side of MA-24 just south of MA-104. Also, on US-6 on Cape Code at MA-132, which for years was the end of the freeway part of US-6.



Massachusetts used to have a lot of them. There was one on the SB Southeast Expwy (now I-93) just before the Mass Ave Connector, and it was a real challenge to exit from it and get all the way over to the ramp onto the Expwy, so I'm not surprised that one was closed. Further down, there was one shortly before the MA-3/MA-128 split, which you can still see as a vacant lot in the 1994 GE imagery.

When I was growing up, they all had Howard Johnson's Restaurants, which were actually pretty good, and were open all night. The gas stations were all Atlantic stations, and were about the only all-night gas stations anywhere, except a few in Boston.

There are a couple of others that date back to the opening of MA-128 in the early 1950s and I guess have been grandfathered in to the current system. There is one on MA-128 north in Beverly after Exit 46 and one on I-95 southbound in Newton between Grove Street and MA-16, which is also a challenge to get in to and out of, but not as bad as the other ones that no longer exist.

[The Ghostbuster]

There are also service areas on MA 24 just north of the Interstate 495 interchange: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.9563776,-71.0272819,1471m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu. There is one at the MA 132 exit on US 6: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.6880477,-70.3380176,465m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu. And here are the three on Interstate 95/MA 128: https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3303673,-71.2533541,422m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu, https://www.google.com/maps/@42.4409459,-71.2562207,632m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu, https://www.google.com/maps/@42.5741948,-70.875476,273m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu. Those are all the ones I am aware of.

[MATraveler128]

Don't forget the one on MA 3 southbound in Plymouth at Exit 13.

[bmitchelf]

Managed to snap a photo of this new sign assembly at Exit 91 on a trip to Nashua today, which finally includes a ½ mile advance for NH's Exit 1: Spit Brook Rd. Concord NH is omitted on the left sign from the old one.

Nashua, not Concord, removed https://www.google.com/maps/@42.6946785,-71.4461739,3a,75y,8.58h,78.21t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1scF6RRYCjI0PJ0gUj49Qmfw!2e0!5s20230801T000000!7i16384!8i8192

[pderocco]

Don't forget the one on MA 3 southbound in Plymouth at Exit 13.

That's spooky. I don't remember that one at all, even though it's visible in the GE historic imagery from 1995, and there's an icon for it in the Mass Official maps going back to 1983. I used to commute through there in 1983, and after moving to Cape Cod in 1985, I used to do day trips to Boston via MA-3 almost once a week. When I look at it in GSV, it doesn't ring the faintest bell.

[fwydriver405]

I thought I saw an exit 1 tab in the pile of signs off the side of the road south of there and was wondering if this was coming. For decades there has never been an advance sign for Spit Brook Rd, just the first sign at the exit.

Since ground signage at the ends of ramps are being replaced, I hope the new one at the end of this ramp doesn't erroneously state that MA 3A goes north from the ramp, when it's on the other side of the Merrimack River, since the current one does.

I entered the freeway at MA 113 and exited at NH's Exit 2, so not sure if there were any 1 mile signs for NH's Exit 1 before MA 113, or if any new signage at Exit 91 fixes the erroneous MA 3A reference. I'll have to check next time I'm up in the area (as well as any other new signs on US 3 from 95/128 to NH/MA).

Nashua, not Concord, removed https://www.google.com/maps/@42.6946785,-71.4461739,3a,75y,8.58h,78.21t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1scF6RRYCjI0PJ0gUj49Qmfw!2e0!5s20230801T000000!7i16384!8i8192

Fixed in my initial post, thanks, must have been thinking of another sign upstream by mistake (presumably at NH's Exit 2 / 1A)...

[RobbieL2415]

Should the "service area" on US 6 even count?

Its access isn't controlled, it isn't signed as a service area, and it isn't owned by MassDOT.

EDIT: Barnstable, MA, GIS survey confirms it is actually state property.

[pderocco]

Should the "service area" on US 6 even count?

Its access isn't controlled, it isn't signed as a service area, and it isn't owned by MassDOT.

In the old days, it always felt like all the state-owned service areas, because it had the same tenants, Howard Johnson's and Atlantic Gasoline, but it could have been private even then. In the early 60s, it was at the end of the freeway section of 6, on a large rotary. When they extended the freeway in the late 60s, it ended up in the middle of a more conventional interchange, with one of the ramps running behind it, and so it remains today. But I suppose it's possible for land within an interchange to be privately owned.