Massachusetts

[The Ghostbuster]

I'm sure the land where the freeway used to exist will be redeveloped at some point.

[bob7374]

Google Maps has updated its Street View coverage of MA 3 South to May 2026. It captured the new 1 mile advance on MA 3 North for the I-93 exit. Same as the old sign, except for restored yellow Left Exit tab:


No other signs for the exit have been changed. After a hiatus of about of month, sign replacement has resumed in the Braintree area northbound, two of the 3 exits for Burgin Parway have been updated, here's at the ramp:

[shadyjay]

Finally got a shot of the 1 mile overhead for WB MassPike Exit 106 over the weekend:

90WB-Exit106-1mi by Jay Hogan, on Flickr

As I stated previously, the signs are in reverse order for now, as the new I-495 South exit comes 1st, then the old exit which leads to just I-495 North.  But when the new I-495 North ramp opens, it will come first, hence why they're in this order.

[roadman65]

In between the two truss spans of the Tobin Bridge I see the roadway on both levels widens to seven lanes due to the former toll plaza being there.

I also read that particular section is not only the anchor point for both truss bridges, but was also informed that it was designed to be a shock absorber in case another Baltimore Harbor incident happened there.  If a ship hit one of the spans, the domino effect would cease at the toll plaza area.  Plus the widened roadway has truss piers instead of the usual concrete ones.

Is that true?  Was the fan out middle designed as both anchor and shock absorber for the 1950 structure?

[kramie13]

I drove along I-495 the other day from its southern terminus up to MA 123 in Norton.  New exit signs have been installed from I-195 up to MA 24 for all exits going north, along with new exit gore signs.  All "Old Exit XX" numbers have been removed on this stretch of I-495.  I didn't get to check for new signage in the southbound direction.

My only gripe is that the 1 mile and 1/2 mile exit signs are overhead.  Being a rather scenic stretch of highway with only 2 lanes in each direction, I'd rather these signs be ground-mounted.  Overhead signage is okay if you have at least 3 lanes, but for 2 lanes it ruins the view and should only be used for "at exit" signage.

Oddly, Mass DOT did ground-mount the 1 and 1/2 mile exit signs along MA 3.

[vdeane]

I drove along I-495 the other day from its southern terminus up to MA 123 in Norton.  New exit signs have been installed from I-195 up to MA 24 for all exits going north, along with new exit gore signs.  All "Old Exit XX" numbers have been removed on this stretch of I-495.  I didn't get to check for new signage in the southbound direction.

My only gripe is that the 1 mile and 1/2 mile exit signs are overhead.  Being a rather scenic stretch of highway with only 2 lanes in each direction, I'd rather these signs be ground-mounted.  Overhead signage is okay if you have at least 3 lanes, but for 2 lanes it ruins the view and should only be used for "at exit" signage.

Oddly, Mass DOT did ground-mount the 1 and 1/2 mile exit signs along MA 3.

Are the MA 3 signs new?  As I understand it, all overhead for guide signs is the MassDOT standard, with ground-mounted exit guides going away as signs are replaced.  The exception is US 6, because the residents of Cape Cod complained so much that they very near sunk the project in the process.

[bob7374]

I drove along I-495 the other day from its southern terminus up to MA 123 in Norton.  New exit signs have been installed from I-195 up to MA 24 for all exits going north, along with new exit gore signs.  All "Old Exit XX" numbers have been removed on this stretch of I-495.  I didn't get to check for new signage in the southbound direction.

My only gripe is that the 1 mile and 1/2 mile exit signs are overhead.  Being a rather scenic stretch of highway with only 2 lanes in each direction, I'd rather these signs be ground-mounted.  Overhead signage is okay if you have at least 3 lanes, but for 2 lanes it ruins the view and should only be used for "at exit" signage.

Oddly, Mass DOT did ground-mount the 1 and 1/2 mile exit signs along MA 3.

Are the MA 3 signs new?  As I understand it, all overhead for guide signs is the MassDOT standard, with ground-mounted exit guides going away as signs are replaced.  The exception is US 6, because the residents of Cape Cod complained so much that they very near sunk the project in the process.

Overhead signage is the current MassDOT standard. The I-495 project is still ongoing, with much of the southbound signage still needing to be replaced between MA 24 and the MA 105 exit (based on what I have seen during a May roadtrip and from Street View coverage also from this past May). Meanwhile, the MA 3 sign replacement project has replaced most of the signage NB, with the exception of 2 signs in Braintree and  have now started work heading back south (my latest photos of the new signage taken this past week are at: https://malmeroads.net/mass21c/miscsigns.html )
Sign supports are not being replaced as part of this project, they were put in during the last project about 15 years ago. There are ground mounted advance signs along the 2 lane section of the highway between the MA 18 and MA 14 exits. The decision was made not to use overhead gantries here during the last sign replacement since there is a proposal to widen the road to 3 lanes in each direction along this stretch for which the signs would have to be moved (this proposal is almost 50 years old, I remember reading about it in the late 1970s, and is not currently funded). The signs are being replaced in-kind, except for the Derby Street exit where the control city of Hingham was removed. Thus MA 3 and US 6, as noted, are the only routes with ground mounted new signage.

[kramie13]

Overhead signage is the current MassDOT standard. The I-495 project is still ongoing, with much of the southbound signage still needing to be replaced between MA 24 and the MA 105 exit

I can confirm that new exit signs for MA 24, US 44, and MA 18 have been installed going south on I-495.  Not sure about the remainder of the route down to I-195.

The overhead signs are okay when the highway is 3 lanes in a given direction, but when it's only 2 lanes they feel very "giant" and overbearing.  The other New England states and even upstate NY use ground-mounted signage when it's a 2-lane route.  Not sure why Massachusetts needs to deviate from this.

[Ted$8roadFan]

For those new to the Commonwealth:

https://www.boston.com/community/wickedpedia/2026/07/28/ghost-ramp-on-i-93-in-somerville/?p1=hp_primary

[The Ghostbuster]

I think ghost ramps should be demolished after it becomes clear that the project the ramp was for won't be built.

[Rothman]

I think ghost ramps should be demolished after it becomes clear that the project the ramp was for won't be built.

As soon as you do, someone proposed the project again.

[dantheman]

Overhead signage is the current MassDOT standard. The I-495 project is still ongoing, with much of the southbound signage still needing to be replaced between MA 24 and the MA 105 exit

I can confirm that new exit signs for MA 24, US 44, and MA 18 have been installed going south on I-495.  Not sure about the remainder of the route down to I-195.

The overhead signs are okay when the highway is 3 lanes in a given direction, but when it's only 2 lanes they feel very "giant" and overbearing.  The other New England states and even upstate NY use ground-mounted signage when it's a 2-lane route.  Not sure why Massachusetts needs to deviate from this.

I had heard somewhere - not sure if it's true - that US 6 kept ground-mounted signage because higher wind loads on overhead signs would've driven up the cost. Cape Cod can get much windier than the rest of Mass, especially in the winter, and the tree cover tends to be much shorter so the signs would be much more exposed to the wind. I'm not sure if this is true, or if all overhead signs are designed for some absurdly high 1-in-100-year standard anyway. If this is true, I wouldn't be surprised if MA 3 had the same reason for keeping ground-mounted.

With that said, I agree that Mass is an outlier with overhead signage. A lot of other nearby states use ground-mounted even on three-lane sections (see I-87 north of Albany, I-95 south of Portland, etc...) Connecticut seems to be moving from ground-mounted to overhead on the section of I-84 east of Hartford now.

[Ted$8roadFan]

Don't know this for a fact, but I can imagine Cape Codders wouldn't want overhead signs for US-6 because it would disrupt the parkway feel of the highway (notwithstanding the epic traffic, but that's another post). Remember that they opposed exit renumbering for a long time.

[shadyjay]

I think ghost ramps should be demolished after it becomes clear that the project the ramp was for won't be built.

As soon as you do, someone proposed the project again.

Honestly, I don't think the inner belt will ever see the light of day in any reality.  You'd have a better chance of the Northeast Expressway being built.  As far as demolishing, looking at that aerial, the supports for the ghost ramp also hold up the northbound lanes, and that's all over the southbound lanes.  So what are you really gaining by demolishing the short stub?  Not much.  I'd wait for a more substantial project to "unstack" I-93 in this area... then the ramp can go. 

The ghost ramps at US 1/Northeast Expy & MA 60 in Revere will probably go once they decide how to improve that area (including the narrow section at Lynn St just beyond).  And the ones at the southern I-95/I-93 jct in Canton/Dedham will last until we have some sort of project to give I-95 NB to 128NB a high speed ramp. 

[pderocco]

The ghost ramps at US 1/Northeast Expy & MA 60 in Revere will probably go once they decide how to improve that area (including the narrow section at Lynn St just beyond).

I wonder if that'll ever be developed. The environmentalists will cling to that marsh to their last breath. The residue of the planned I-95 roadbed may still be visible fifty years from now.

[NE-3]

How dumb is MassDOT?

I was traveling the Mass Pike from Boston to 95/128 South today. Based on news accounts, I knew to stay right in the exit only lane where the mainline separates and goes onto the new bridge/roadway. The exist only lane was backed up as usual lately and I thought it was due to the reduced lane for 95N traffic in advance of where 95S bears right t the end of the exit. Well...that was only part of the issue. Just in advance of exist 123A (I-95), the exit only lane is opened back up to the I-90W travel lanes and cars that missed the new advanced exit were trying to squeeze into the exit only lane. Cars were stopped in the right travel lane trying to squeeze over causing the exit only lane to be further backed up and creating a safety issue. I can easily see an accident occurring at the exit and even someone getting killed. How dumb or rather stupid can MassDOT be?  Why is the exit lane opened up in the last 25-50 feet before the exit?  Why are there no advance signs directing traffic about exit 123 starting after exit 125 (W Newton/Wellesley)?  Seriously?

[sturmde]

The ghost ramps at US 1/Northeast Expy & MA 60 in Revere will probably go once they decide how to improve that area (including the narrow section at Lynn St just beyond).

I wonder if that'll ever be developed. The environmentalists will cling to that marsh to their last breath. The residue of the planned I-95 roadbed may still be visible fifty years from now.

I have hoped that one idea would be to trade back the unbuilt Northeast Expy extension across the Marsh that parallels Broadway/MA-107 in exchange for running a different extension east then south on an elevated 2X2, 4-lane segment EAST from the 1/60 rotary running directly behind the shopping plazas with no intersections or interchanges until turning south to re-meet Squire Rd/MA-60 right where the just rebuilt the hotel into a "avid" hotel.  That would eliminate for Airport-bound traffic from US 1 all the traffic lights by the shopping centers, and also eliminate traffic from the 60/107 rotary/insane asylum. 

Call it MA-90 and have it replace the rest of MA-60 over to 1A, and then mutliplex it with 1A until MA-90 becomes I-90.  Then there's a bit of a simplification of how to get to Logan: "take 90".

[pderocco]

The ghost ramps at US 1/Northeast Expy & MA 60 in Revere will probably go once they decide how to improve that area (including the narrow section at Lynn St just beyond).

I wonder if that'll ever be developed. The environmentalists will cling to that marsh to their last breath. The residue of the planned I-95 roadbed may still be visible fifty years from now.

I have hoped that one idea would be to trade back the unbuilt Northeast Expy extension across the Marsh that parallels Broadway/MA-107 in exchange for running a different extension east then south on an elevated 2X2, 4-lane segment EAST from the 1/60 rotary running directly behind the shopping plazas with no intersections or interchanges until turning south to re-meet Squire Rd/MA-60 right where the just rebuilt the hotel into a "avid" hotel.  That would eliminate for Airport-bound traffic from US 1 all the traffic lights by the shopping centers, and also eliminate traffic from the 60/107 rotary/insane asylum. 

Call it MA-90 and have it replace the rest of MA-60 over to 1A, and then mutliplex it with 1A until MA-90 becomes I-90.  Then there's a bit of a simplification of how to get to Logan: "take 90".

I get your point, but they might have to condemn that particular hotel to make the connection.