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[1]

This is a general thread for all of Massachusetts.



Here are some things I want to know:

1. Almost EVERY weekday from about 3 to 7 PM, I-95/MA128 north from exits 33 to 37 will be backed up. Is there anything anyone can do to prevent the traffic from happening?

2. Mile markers are sometimes off by a bit, but the bridges are ALWAYS accurate. Why is this?

3. What has been happening with the Mass Pike tolls from exits 1-6?

4. Will the 128/127 and 1A/16/60 rotaries be made safer?

5. Why are there so many Dunkin Donuts?

6. Why are New Hampshire routes signed in Massachusetts shown with a Massachusetts shield? (NH 121A and NH 107)

7. Why so many MA shield signs for US routes?

8. Why can't MA 3 just be US 3?

9. What was MA 9 under the New England Route system?

10. Can anyone make the Lowell Connector much safer?

[NE2]

Is there anything anyone can do to prevent the traffic from happening?

No. Traffic just happens by itself. It has no correlation to the actions of anyone.

What was MA 9 under the New England Route system?

Goat. http://broermapsonline.org/online/NorthAmerica/UnitedStates/NewEngland/

[dgolub]

5. Why are there so many Dunkin Donuts?

There are a lot in Connecticut, too.  I've sometimes wondered how many Dunkin Donuts franchises you'd pass if you drove US 1 from New York City to Boston.  I wouldn't be surprised if it's somewhere on the order of 50.

[ARMOURERERIC]

FWIW, it has just been announced that San Diego is getting their first Duncan Doughuts

[connroadgeek]

Dunkin' Donuts is based in MA so they are everywhere in the New England states though they have been expanding their market.

[NE2]

FWIW, it has just been announced that San Diego is getting their first Duncan Doughuts

Is that a cheap knockoff?

[1]

FWIW, it has just been announced that San Diego is getting their first Duncan Doughuts

Is that a cheap knockoff?

Duncan Doughuts is and is not a counterfeit Dunkin Donuts.

[SidS1045]

1. Almost EVERY weekday from about 3 to 7 PM, I-95/MA128 north from exits 33 to 37 will be backed up. Is there anything anyone can do to prevent the traffic from happening?

Rebuild the I-95/I-93 interchange in Woburn/Reading.  As long as it remains a cloverleaf, and I-95 north loses a lane between exits 37 and 38, the traffic will back up there.

3. What has been happening with the Mass Pike tolls from exits 1-6?

Reinstated as of October 15th.  http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/main/tabid/1075/ctl/detail/mid/2937/itemid/359/Western-Turnpike-Toll-Collection-Resumes-October-15--2013-Between-Interchanges-1-and-6.aspx

[deathtopumpkins]

7. Why so many MA shield signs for US routes?

Because MassDOT treats all routes equally - be they state, US, or Interstate. It's all just Route 128, Route 1, Route 95. Thus shield mix-ups are fairly common.

8. Why can't MA 3 just be US 3?

It has been determined for some reason that part of the route in Cambridge and Boston does not meet US highway standards. I doubt MassDOT would care about redesignating it as a US route anyway, since for decades it's always just been Route 3. Especially given the number of shield errors I don't think anyone actually knows or cares the difference.

[NE2]

It has been determined for some reason that part of the route in Cambridge and Boston does not meet US highway standards.

I doubt this is the reason, since the standards don't change when you cross Mass Ave. It's simply not US 3 because it was never made part of US 3.

[dgolub]

It has been determined for some reason that part of the route in Cambridge and Boston does not meet US highway standards.

I doubt this is the reason, since the standards don't change when you cross Mass Ave. It's simply not US 3 because it was never made part of US 3.

US highway standards?  What standards?  US routes get routed along pairs of one-lane one-way streets.  It's not like interstates where they can't have traffic lights, low bridges, narrow lanes, etc.

[NE2]

New U.S. Routes (and extensions) must meet AASHTO Green Book standards.

[dgolub]

New U.S. Routes (and extensions) must meet AASHTO Green Book standards.

And what about MA 3 wouldn't meet the standards?

[NE2]

Presumably the part on Mem Drive-Longfellow Bridge-Embankment Road. Not that US 3 on Mem Drive is built to any higher standards, but ASSHTO is anal.

[MVHighways]

6. Why are New Hampshire routes signed in Massachusetts shown with a Massachusetts shield? (NH 121A and NH 107)

I'm sure Massachusetts hates New Hampshire, especially the latter's lack of a sales tax, so much they just sign it this way. (I'm just kidding, I'm sure they're just lazy.)

10. Can anyone make the Lowell Connector much safer?

I wish. I live in neighboring Dracut, and get a bit scared when I'm on the Connector in its busier times. My mother commutes on it every workday; I'll ask her if she has seen any unusual things.

[vdeane]

It has been determined for some reason that part of the route in Cambridge and Boston does not meet US highway standards.

I doubt this is the reason, since the standards don't change when you cross Mass Ave. It's simply not US 3 because it was never made part of US 3.

US highway standards?  What standards?  US routes get routed along pairs of one-lane one-way streets.  It's not like interstates where they can't have traffic lights, low bridges, narrow lanes, etc.

US 11 in Watertown, NY is even on a residential street with no pavement markings and all-way stops!

[deathtopumpkins]

That's just the excuse I've heard several times in several places, including on this forum.

[NE2]

Nothing beats US 83 Business in San Ygnacio, TX. This is a two-way street: https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=27.044851,-99.443886&spn=0.015499,0.028346&t=m&z=16&layer=c&cbll=27.044667,-99.443818&panoid=jJ7AUrVZ7azRAFWN0Pu-aw&cbp=12,311.63,,0,13.11
Doesn't seem to have any businesses, though there are some historic buildings. It looks to be completely unsigned from US 83.

[vdeane]

Maybe some day that route can be business I-2.

[Alps]

It has been determined for some reason that part of the route in Cambridge and Boston does not meet US highway standards.

I doubt this is the reason, since the standards don't change when you cross Mass Ave. It's simply not US 3 because it was never made part of US 3.

Given that this situation has been there since the 1920s, standards don't enter into the equation.

[PHLBOS]

When I was up in the Boston area this past weekend, I saw something I'd never thought I'd see; a Dunkin Donuts that was closed for good... the one along MA 1A in Revere just north of Bell Circle (MA 16/60 jct.).

The reason for US 3 changing over to MA 3 at its current location in Cambridge is due to; once upon a time, US 1 ran through that area pre-1971.  Although it is allowed, MassDPW at the time didn't want any part of US 3 situated east of US 1.  Why the US 3 designation wasn't extended to Boston when US 1 replaced MA C1 along Storrow Drive is anyone's guess.

[dgolub]

The reason for US 3 changing over to MA 3 at its current location in Cambridge is due to; once upon a time, US 1 ran through that area pre-1971.  Although it is allowed, MassDPW at the time didn't want any part of US 3 situated east of US 1.  Why the US 3 designation wasn't extended to Boston when US 1 replaced MA C1 along Storrow Drive is anyone's guess.

Inertia, I suppose.

[spooky]

5. Why are there so many Dunkin Donuts?

There are a lot in Connecticut, too.  I've sometimes wondered how many Dunkin Donuts franchises you'd pass if you drove US 1 from New York City to Boston.  I wouldn't be surprised if it's somewhere on the order of 50.

I figure it's somewhere on the order of 50 just from Providence to Boston.

When I was up in the Boston area this past weekend, I saw something I'd never thought I'd see; a Dunkin Donuts that was closed for good... the one along MA 1A in Revere just north of Bell Circle (MA 16/60 jct.).

There is one of those on VFW Parkway in West Roxbury, about 1/4 mile south of another DD. When I lived in West Roxbury and used Providence Highway/US 1 to get to work, there were 7 DD along my 8 mile commute.

[roadman]

When I was up in the Boston area this past weekend, I saw something I'd never thought I'd see; a Dunkin Donuts that was closed for good... the one along MA 1A in Revere just north of Bell Circle (MA 16/60 jct.).

The reason for US 3 changing over to MA 3 at its current location in Cambridge is due to; once upon a time, US 1 ran through that area pre-1971.  Although it is allowed, MassDPW at the time didn't want any part of US 3 situated east of US 1.  Why the US 3 designation wasn't extended to Boston when US 1 replaced MA C1 along Storrow Drive is anyone's guess.

Under their current policies, it is highly unlikely that AASHTO would approve the re-designation of MA 3 as part of US 3.  IMHO, the more logical approach would be to discontinue US 3 entirely, then re-designate US 3 between Cambridge and Tyngsborough as part of MA 3, and re-designate US 3 from Nashua north as NH 3.  This is also consistent with curretn AASHTO policy, which encourages adjacent states to create same-numbered state routes in lieu of using US designations.

[bob7374]

When I was up in the Boston area this past weekend, I saw something I'd never thought I'd see; a Dunkin Donuts that was closed for good... the one along MA 1A in Revere just north of Bell Circle (MA 16/60 jct.).

The reason for US 3 changing over to MA 3 at its current location in Cambridge is due to; once upon a time, US 1 ran through that area pre-1971.  Although it is allowed, MassDPW at the time didn't want any part of US 3 situated east of US 1.  Why the US 3 designation wasn't extended to Boston when US 1 replaced MA C1 along Storrow Drive is anyone's guess.

Under their current policies, it is highly unlikely that AASHTO would approve the re-designation of MA 3 as part of US 3.  IMHO, the more logical approach would be to discontinue US 3 entirely, then re-designate US 3 between Cambridge and Tyngsborough as part of MA 3, and re-designate US 3 from Nashua north as NH 3.  This is also consistent with curretn AASHTO policy, which encourages adjacent states to create same-numbered state routes in lieu of using US designations.

Or alternatively, discontinue MA 3 and, as many have suggested, designate current MA 3 from Braintree to Bourne as an interstate, I-93 or an I-93 spur. I know, that is probably just as likely as extending US 3 to the Cape, but if MassDOT can look into redesignating MA 24 as an interstate, why not MA 3?