Mass. Route 146

[Ben114]

Ah, Route 146, one of the weirdest highways in Mass.

1. It's a highway then a road with homes and businesses and then highway again.

2. Exit numbers on gore signs end at 8

3. The construction at exit 8 means that passing over the bridge gets fairly dangerous, especially with trucks.

4. Labels on bridges end at exit 9 (and this one is wrong).

5. Boston Rd in Sutton light backs up real bad.

fixes to this can be found at Fictional Highways, but here just post experiences if you've been here

[Alps]

I was there before it was a freeway to 290. So take

6. Before mid-2000s, drops from four freeway lanes to a two-lane city street on the outskirts of Worcester before connecting to full freeway I-290

[AMLNet49]

7. Even given all of the above it's still a way more coherent road than its brother RI 146. At least until the resigning/addition of exit numbers

[NE2]

Bridges over unbuilt lanes that were built farther away for a wider median.

[Ben114]

7. Even given all of the above it's still a way more coherent road than its brother RI 146. At least until the resigning/addition of exit numbers

RI 146 is a mess currently since it really needs a signage upgrade along the entire length of the highway. Sometime in the last few years, I believe they added mile markers going up from Providence.

[SectorZ]

8. It has an exit directing you to Manchaug, which for some reason sounds gross to me.

[Ben114]

8. It has an exit directing you to Manchaug, which for some reason sounds gross to me.

Exit 5, Main Street in Northbridge, does have that Manchaug auxiliary sign.

Manchaug, I've actually been there several times, is named after the lake (trust me it isn't gross).

[RobbieL2415]

MASSDOT really just wants to say it has three beltways around Boston.

[Ben114]

MASSDOT really just wants to say it has three beltways around Boston.

I wouldn't call 146 to 290 a beltway considering it's not worth it because of the Worcester traffic.

[AMLNet49]

MASSDOT really just wants to say it has three beltways around Boston.

I wouldn't call 146 to 290 a beltway considering it's not worth it because of the Worcester traffic.

No but it is the third and outer belt (despite not functioning as such) of the Providence-Worcester-Boston Metro area. Any further west and you get into the Hartford-Springfield metro area. 395 is like no mans land in the middle

[Ben114]

I guess you could call 146-290-190 a third far out beltway.

[SectorZ]

I guess you could call 146-290-190 a third far out beltway.

You can add 195 to that, too. If something went from Leominster to Manchester NH you'd have that and 101 to Hampton.

[Ben114]

I guess you could call 146-290-190 a third far out beltway.

You can add 195 to that, too. If something went from Leominster to Manchester NH you'd have that and 101 to Hampton.

Google maps says that the Wareham-Providence-Worcester-Lemoinster route is 108 miles and just over a 2 hour drive, so it'll fit the length of a beltway for sure with 95 (full MA length) being about 90 miles and 495 being roughly 120 miles.

For an extra 10 miles, just add MA 25.

If regular roads were an option, hop onto MA 13 and take that to NH 101.

[jp the roadgeek]

7. Even given all of the above it's still a way more coherent road than its brother RI 146. At least until the resigning/addition of exit numbers

RI 146 is a mess currently since it really needs a signage upgrade along the entire length of the highway. Sometime in the last few years, I believe they added mile markers going up from Providence.

RI 146 has to be the only highway that has different mileposts in each direction.  SB uses mileposts from the MA border, while NB uses mileposts from I-95.  The exit #'s listed above from Wikipedia are based on NB mileposts for both directions.

8. It has an exit directing you to Manchaug, which for some reason sounds gross to me.

Exit 5, Main Street in Northbridge, does have that Manchaug auxiliary sign.

Manchaug, I've actually been there several times, is named after the lake (trust me it isn't gross).

Everybody Manchaug tonight!!  And then of course, not too far from there, you have Lake Char­gogg­a­gogg­man­chaugg­a­gogg­chau­bun­a­gung­a­maugg.

[Alps]

7. Even given all of the above it's still a way more coherent road than its brother RI 146. At least until the resigning/addition of exit numbers

RI 146 is a mess currently since it really needs a signage upgrade along the entire length of the highway. Sometime in the last few years, I believe they added mile markers going up from Providence.

RI 146 has to be the only highway that has different mileposts in each direction.  SB uses mileposts from the MA border, while NB uses mileposts from I-95.  The exit #'s listed above from Wikipedia are based on NB mileposts for both directions.

I have never heard of that. This deserves its own thread in General Highway Talk.

[Ben114]

I have never heard of that. This deserves its own thread in General Highway Talk.

Created (title: RI 146 mile markers).

[JWF1959]

Unless it's changed in the past year or so, the exit from 146-S to the Mass Pike entrance has to be one of the most poorly designed off ramps of all time.  You have to immediately cut over to the left lane to get on the Pike while avoiding traffic also trying to get on the Pike from 146-N

[Ben114]

Unless it's changed in the past year or so, the exit from 146-S to the Mass Pike entrance has to be one of the most poorly designed off ramps of all time.  You have to immediately cut over to the left lane to get on the Pike while avoiding traffic also trying to get on the Pike from 146-N

What they should do is just have that ramp for 20 and since they did the toll removal, have another ramp that leads into the former toll plaza.

[froggie]

^ That wouldn't work due to wetlands and then you'd also have to relocate the ramp from 20/Pike to southbound 146.

Further complicating factors for any widespread interchange changes are accesses to the tandem trailer lot, the park-and-ride lot, and the State Police station.

[Ben114]

After looking at Google Earth, they should have just kept the ramps going to 20 when the Pike exit was built and give NB direct-ish access to the Pike.

[RobbieL2415]

Unless it's changed in the past year or so, the exit from 146-S to the Mass Pike entrance has to be one of the most poorly designed off ramps of all time.  You have to immediately cut over to the left lane to get on the Pike while avoiding traffic also trying to get on the Pike from 146-N

Which is funny because it didn't exist prior to 2001.

[southshore720]

RI 146 has to be the only highway that has different mileposts in each direction.

I believe this has been fixed.  At last check, in the North Smithfield stretch, the mile markers were descending.

[Magical Trevor]

This thread (and the fact I've driven through the above-mentioned wacky interchange a few times) got me spending way too much time building the following reconfiguration with a new flyover-style ramp (or pair of spans with an earthen abutment between them) exclusively for connection between 146 and 90 East - I needed practice playing with GIMP for the first time anyway. What do you guys think?



Also, regarding the comment about "unbuilt lanes"; after reading the route's Wikipedia article (how is there no BostonRoads entry on this one?), I'm led to believe those spans and extra lane(s) are the remains of the undivided alignment that was in place before the early 1980s.

[froggie]

^ I don't think that's the right approach, either:

- You've added two intersections (both requiring turns) to the trip to get to both US 20 and westbound I-90.
- Your mock-up also makes it impossible to get to 146 from either westbound I-90 or US 20.
- You have an AWFULLY TIGHT curve at the south end of your new flyover to get to eastbound I-90.  My estimate based on how you drew it is a 15 mph design speed.  Might also be too tight for the tandem-trailers.

[Alps]

More realistic will be a couple of finger ramps, like 90W-146N would be useful.