I-495 in MA (Missing Exit 36?)

[PHLBOS]

Not sure if this ever was brought up in the past, but while driving to/from the Portsmouth, NH meet this past weekend; I noticed that there is no EXIT 36 along I-495 (just northeast of Lowell) in either direction.

I know that 35A-B-C is for US 3/Lowell Connector and 37 is for Woburn St.

I'm assuming that Exit 36 was reserved for a highway connection that was never built (MA 213 western Extension perhaps?).  Is that a correct assumption?

Any thoughts or feedback?

Note: Steve Anderson's BostonRoads' website covering the historic review of I-495 incorrectly lists Exits 35ABC as Exit 36ABC.

[NE2]

Per USGS, the Lowell Connector used to be exit 36: http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=42.60750,-71.32238&z=15&t=T
It was probably changed to 35C when the C/D roads were put in.

[PHLBOS]

Per USGS, the Lowell Connector used to be exit 36: http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=42.60750,-71.32238&z=15&t=T
It was probably changed to 35C when the C/D roads were put in.

When were the C/D roads put in?  I could have sworn that those were there as far back as the 1980s.

It seems kind of weird that MassDPW/Highway would change the exit number for that alteration.

Granted, in a few years; the 35ABC will likely change to 89ABC per mile-marker-based exit numbering.

[NE2]

My bad - the C/D roads are clearly present on a 1963 aerial, with I-495 still under construction to the east. Who knows why it was renumbered - maybe "exits 35B-36" was somehow more confusing than "exits 35B-C" for the exit off the eastbound C/D road?

[PHLBOS]

The only I-495 exit renumbering I recall was when all the exit numbers increased by 12 taking into consideration its then-newly-minted southern extension east of Mansfield (I-95) circa 1981 or 1982.

As an example, the MA 114 interchange (which only had one exit ramp serving both directions at the time) in N. Andover was originally Exit 30 but was renumbered to Exit 42.  The interchange was modified to include separate direction ramps sometime in the mid-1980s (the current Exit 42A-B).  The future mile-marker-based exit number for that interchange will probably be Exit 100A-B. 

The US 3/Lowell Connector interchanges will likely be renumbered as Exit 89A-B-C.

[KEVIN_224]

While panning that aerial towards the east...I noticed that the I-495 junction with I-95 was showing in 1971, but not in 1966. Interesting...

[PHLBOS]

While panning that aerial towards the east...I noticed that the I-495 junction with I-95 was showing in 1971, but not in 1966. Interesting...

IIRC, that particular stretch of I-495 wasn't completed until 1967.

[roadman]

Yes, Virginia, there was once an Exit 36 both NB and SB on I-495 in Chelmsford.

Prior to the 1995 I-495 Bolton to Andover sign update project, US 3 and the Lowell Connector were signed as separate exits (US 3 was 35 A-B, the Lowell Connector was 36).  Both exits had separate overhead BGSes mounted side by side on the same structures, even though they were served from the same ramp and C/D road.

With this exit configuration, on the northbound side of I-495, the advance and exit direction signs for Lowell Connector wound up over the middle lane.  Likewise, on the southbound side of I-495, the advance and exit direction signs for US 3 wound up over the middle lane.

At the time, the exit ramps onto the C/D roads were only single lane.  During the design of the 1995 sign update project, concerns were raised that the separate "Exit 36" signing might cause people to suddenly change lanes at the last minute.  As the original legends "Lowell Connector - Lowell" were redundant, MassHighway came up with the "Exits 35 A-B-C" legend that is currently in place.  Also, if you look closely at the current BGSes, you'll see that "Lowell Connector" is 13.33/10 - this enabled the legend to be fit within the 36" height of the US 3 shields.

And now you know the rest of the story.

[machias]

Yes, Virginia, there was once an Exit 36 both NB and SB on I-495 in Chelmsford.

Prior to the 1995 I-495 Bolton to Andover sign update project, US 3 and the Lowell Connector were signed as separate exits (US 3 was 35 A-B, the Lowell Connector was 36).  Both exits had separate overhead BGSes mounted side by side on the same structures, even though they were served from the same ramp and C/D road.

With this exit configuration, on the northbound side of I-495, the advance and exit direction signs for Lowell Connector wound up over the middle lane.  Likewise, on the southbound side of I-495, the advance and exit direction signs for US 3 wound up over the middle lane.

At the time, the exit ramps onto the C/D roads were only single lane.  During the design of the 1995 sign update project, concerns were raised that the separate "Exit 36" signing might cause people to suddenly change lanes at the last minute.  As the original legends "Lowell Connector - Lowell" were redundant, MassHighway came up with the "Exits 35 A-B-C" legend that is currently in place.  Also, if you look closely at the current BGSes, you'll see that "Lowell Connector" is 13.33/10 - this enabled the legend to be fit within the 36" height of the US 3 shields.

And now you know the rest of the story.

What roadman said.

When I lived in Boxborough in '88 I would drive through there frequently and clearly remember exit 36 and the separated sign panels as described.

[D-Dey65]

NE2, exactly what years does this AcmeMapper cover? I just used it to find sites on Long Island, and now I realized they might be useful for issues that a lot of administrators and high-profile WikiProject Roads editors refuse to believe.

[NE2]

NE2, exactly what years does this AcmeMapper cover? I just used it to find sites on Long Island, and now I realized they might be useful for issues that a lot of administrators and high-profile WikiProject Roads editors refuse to believe.

Take off the tinfoil hat.
http://nationalmap.gov/historical/

[D-Dey65]

"Tinfoil hat" nothing! The maps I've seen don't show a date, and in some cases, they show road and configurations that didn't exist at the same time, like the NYS 112/347 Traffic Circle in Port Jefferson Station, and the northern terminus of Suffolk County Road 83 in Mount Sinai. The traffic circle was long gone by the time Patchogue-Mount Sinai road reached NY 25A.



Be that as it may, I did find a few things I was looking for.

[PurdueBill]

Are the old signs the ones just after :29 in this old WNAC video?  Can't quite read the tabs but it looks like the Lowell Connector was its own part of the sign with its own tab indeed.

[machias]

Are the old signs the ones just after :29 in this old WNAC video?  Can't quite read the tabs but it looks like the Lowell Connector was its own part of the sign with its own tab indeed.

Those signs are the ones that I remember seeing in '88.

[PHLBOS]

Are the old signs the ones just after :29 in this old WNAC video?  Can't quite read the tabs but it looks like the Lowell Connector was its own part of the sign with its own tab indeed.

Those signs are the ones that I remember seeing in '88.

Those BGS' were likely erected sometime during the mid-70s.

[roadman]

Are the old signs the ones just after :29 in this old WNAC video?  Can't quite read the tabs but it looks like the Lowell Connector was its own part of the sign with its own tab indeed.

Those signs are the ones that I remember seeing in '88.

Yes, these are indeed the signs I was referring to in my earlier post.  The Lowell Connector and US 3 signs were actually separate panels, it just looks like one "combined" panel because of the very close spacing between signs.

[hotdogPi]

Maybe they should leave it 35 A-B-C, but they should make Route 3A exit 36. Currently, there is no exit with Route 3A.

Note: If any of you think this is real, it's not. It's just my idea.

[MVHighways]

Maybe they should leave it 35 A-B-C, but they should make Route 3A exit 36. Currently, there is no exit with Route 3A.

Note: If any of you think this is real, it's not. It's just my idea.

Agree. Definitely not real though...I live only a few miles from there.