Interstate 95 in Massachusetts

Interstate 95
Route information
Maintained by MassDOT
Length:	92 mi (148 km)
Existed:	1957 – present
Major junctions
South end:	I‑95 in Pawtucket, RI
	I‑295 in Attleboro I‑495 in Mansfield I‑93 / Route 128 in Canton I‑90 in Weston US 20 in Waltham Route 2 in Lexington US 3 in Burlington I‑93 in Reading Route 128 in Peabody I‑495 in Salisbury
North end:	I‑95 in Seabrook, NH
Location
Counties:	Bristol, Norfolk, Middlesex, Essex
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Massachusetts State Highway System Interstate US State ← I‑93 I‑95E →

Interstate 95 (I-95) is a major highway on the East Coast of the United States,^[1] paralleling the Atlantic Ocean from Florida to Maine. The Massachusetts portion of the highway enters from the state of Rhode Island in Attleboro and travels in a northeasterly direction to the junction with Route 128 in Canton. As the original plans for I-95 (which would have taken it through central neighborhoods of Boston and the northern suburbs of Saugus and Lynn) were canceled, the highway follows the Route 128 loop around the Greater Boston area to Peabody. From there, I-95 splits from Route 128 and turns north towards the Merrimack River. I-95 enters New Hampshire from Salisbury.

Route description

Attleboro to Canton

I-95 crosses the state border from Pawtucket, Rhode Island into Attleboro as a six-lane highway, with the first northbound exits, 2A and 2B, providing access to Route 1A and nearby U.S. Route 1 near the border. (There is an Exit 1, but it is a southbound-only exit connecting to US-1 south into Rhode Island.) Exits 3–5 also serve the Attleboro area, with Exit 4 at the northern terminus of Interstate 295.

Exits 6A and 6B in Mansfield provide access to Interstate 495, the "outer circumferential" beltway around metro Boston. I-495 provides northbound connections to Worcester, the Massachusetts Turnpike, and the western part of the state, and southbound connections to Cape Cod. Mansfield is home to the Comcast Center, a Live Nation-owned amphitheatre that hosts numerous concert events, and the TPC Boston, a PGA player's club that hosts the Deutsche Bank Championship yearly. The two venues are located near I-95's interchanges with Route 140.

I-95 continues northward into Foxborough, home of Gillette Stadium, located on US-1 and accessible from Exit 9. The interstate continues through Sharon, it then enters the metro Boston area and the towns of Walpole, and Norwood, before entering Canton, where it meets Interstate 93 at its southern terminus (Exit 12).

Canton to Peabody (Route 128)

Upon interchanging with I-93, I-95 loops around to the west, taking over the roadbed from I-93 and joining US-1 southbound in a wrong-way concurrency. Route 128 begins here as well. The highway enters Westwood next, with US-1 leaving the freeway near the Dedham town line (at Exit 15B) to parallel I-95 back to the south. I-95 and Route 128 makes its way around metro Boston, passing through Dedham, Needham, and Wellesley, where the freeway has an interchange with Route 9 at Exit 20, and the freeway widens to eight lanes. Then the highway passes through Newton, then enters Weston and has a large interchange with the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90, at Exit 25) that provides connections to nearby Route 30. There is a fourth lane after the interchange with Rt 9.Exits 23, 24, and 25 are one combined exit northbound.

I-95 and Route 128 are due west of Boston at this point and begin to turn to the northeast, serving the city of Waltham and the town of Lexington along the way. The freeway has an interchange with Route 2 (Concord Turnpike) at Exit 29. Upon entering the town of Burlington, I-95 and Route 128 have an interchange with U.S. Route 3, the Northwestern Expressway, at Exit 32A. US-3 provides a direct freeway connection with the Lowell and Nashua, New Hampshire metro areas. Access to the Middlesex Turnpike and Burlington retail district is facilitated at this interchange as well. US-3 south briefly joins the freeway in another wrong-way multiplex in order to connect with its old alignment, leaving at Exit 33A. I-95 and Route 128 continue northeast through the city of Woburn and into Reading.

In Reading, I-95 and Route 128 once again have an interchange with I-93. After crossing, I-93, the now six-lane highway continues to the northeast, serving the towns of Wakefield and Lynnfield before crossing into Peabody, where Route 128 leaves I-95 at Exit 45 as its own freeway towards Gloucester. At this interchange, six lanes of through traffic are designated for Route 128 while four lanes split off as I-95.

Peabody to Salisbury

After leaving Route 128, I-95 expands to eight lanes and heads north through the less densely populated northeastern portion of the state. The freeway serves the communities of Danvers, Boxford, Georgetown, Rowley, Newbury, West Newbury, Newburyport, Amesbury, and Salisbury. Traffic density is generally low on this 25-mile (40 km) stretch of freeway. After Exit 57, the highway narrows to six lanes until the I-495 interchange expands it back to eight lanes.

I-495 has its northern terminus at I-95 Exit 59 just south of the New Hampshire state line, a Y-interchange that merges I-495 onto I-95. Southbound access is possible via Exit 58 for Route 110 westbound, which leads to I-495's Exit 55 (I-495's last exit before I-95). The northernmost exit in Massachusetts is Exit 60, providing access to Main Street towards Amesbury and Route 286 towards Salisbury Beach and Hampton Beach (the southbound ramp starts in New Hampshire). After crossing underneath the connecting roads, I-95 crosses the state line into Seabrook, New Hampshire.

History

The original plans called for I-95 to run through downtown Boston. The highway would have progressed from Route 128 and Readville, followed the Southwest Corridor, joined the Inner Belt in Roxbury, heading east, and joining the Southeast Expressway at South Bay, then north to the Central Artery at the South Station interchange with the Massachusetts Turnpike/Interstate 90, and connecting with the Northeast Expressway at the Charlestown banks of the Charles River.

However, due to pressure from local residents, all proposed Interstate Highways within Route 128 were canceled in 1972 by Governor Francis Sargent with the exception of Interstate 93 to Boston. The only sections of I-95 completed within the Route 128 beltway by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation were the segment known as the Northeast Expressway north from Charlestown to Saugus, which is now part of U.S. Route 1, and the Central Artery, which cut the North End neighborhood from downtown Boston proper until the Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Tunnel essentially submerged the old Central Artery's traffic load below ground level in 2003. The Southwest Expressway and the Inner Belt highways were among the Sargent-canceled highways.

Original 1955 Yellow Book plan showing the southwestern routing of I-95 to the Inner Belt. The modern I-95 follows the outer belt shown on this map (now considered the "inner" Route 128 compared to the "outer" I-495 which is not shown, and which started construction 2 years after the study).

Between 1972 and 1974, plans were to extend I-95 along a northerly extension of the Northeast Expressway to Route 128 in northwestern Danvers. During this time, I-95 was officially routed along Route 128 from Canton to Braintree and north along the Southeast Expressway (also designated Route 3), from Braintree to Boston, then following the Central Artery, and continuing along the Northeast Expressway in Boston, Chelsea and Revere.

When the Northeast Expressway extension (between Saugus and Danvers) was canceled in 1974, I-95's route shifted to its current routing along the perimeter highway, Route 128, and I-93 was extended to meet I-95 in Canton. Plans for the abandoned roadways can still be seen going from the end of the Northeast Expressway to the Saugus River in Saugus. Along the unbuilt alignment from Saugus to Route 128, one can see unused bridges, ghost ramps, and graded—but unpaved—roadbed that was originally intended to carry I-95.

Exit list

All interchanges will be renumbered to mileage-based numbers under a project scheduled to start in 2016.^[2]

County	Location[3]	mi[3]	km	Old exit	New exit[4][5][6]	Destinations[4][5][6]	Notes
Bristol	Attleboro	0.000	0.000		–	I‑95 south – Providence	Continuation from Rhode Island
		0.499	0.803		1	US 1 south (Broadway) – Pawtucket, RI	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		1.199	1.930		2A	Route 1A south (Newport Avenue) – Pawtucket, RI
		1.213	1.952		2B	Route 1A north to US 1 – South Attleboro
		4.197	6.754		3	Route 123 – South Attleboro, Attleboro, Norton	Signed as Exits 3A (east) and 3B (west) southbound
		5.860	9.431		4	I‑295 south – Woonsocket, RI, Warwick, RI	Northern terminus of I-295, exits 2A-B
	North Attleborough	6.918	11.133		5	To Route 152 – North Attleboro, Attleboro
	Mansfield	11.562	18.607		6A	I‑495 south – Cape Cod
		11.604	18.675		6B	I‑495 north – Worcester
Norfolk	Foxborough	12.944	20.831		7	Route 140 – Mansfield, Foxboro	Signed as Exits 7A (south) and 7B (north)
	Sharon	16.626	26.757		8	South Main Street – Sharon	Northbound signage
						Mechanic Street – Foxboro	Southbound signage
		19.215	30.924		9	US 1 to Route 27 – Walpole	Northbound signage
						US 1 – Foxboro, Wrentham	Southbound signage
	Walpole	21.096	33.951		10	Coney Street – Walpole, Sharon	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	Norwood	23.269	37.448		11	Neponset Street – Canton, Norwood	Signed as Exits 11A (east) and 11B (west)
	Canton	26.740	43.034	63	12	I‑93 north / US 1 north – Boston Route 128	Left exit southbound; southern terminus of I-93; Exit 1 on I-93; southern end of wrong-way concurrency with US 1 Southern terminus of Route 128
	Dedham	27.352	44.019	62	13	University Avenue – MBTA / Amtrak station
	Westwood	28.627	46.071	61	14	East Street / Canton Street
	Dedham	29.300	47.154	60	15A	To Route 1A – Dedham
		29.316	47.180		15B	US 1 south – Norwood	Northern end of wrong-way concurrency with US 1
		30.823	49.605	59	16	Route 109 – Dedham, Westwood	Signed as Exits 16A (east) and 16B (west)
		32.388	52.123	58	17	Route 135 – Needham, Natick	Norfolk County Correctional Center is in the median of Route 128, access from Route 135 Eastern terminus of Route 135
	Needham	32.873	52.904	57	18	Great Plain Avenue – West Roxbury
		35.730	57.502	56	19	Highland Avenue – Newton Highlands, Needham	Signed as Exits 19A (Newton Highlands) and 19B (Needham)
	Wellesley	36.798	59.221	55	20	Route 9 – Brookline, Boston, Framingham, Worcester	Signed as Exits 20A (east) and 20B (west)
Middlesex	Newton	38.175	61.437	54	21	Route 16 – Newton, Wellesley, Waban	Signed as Exits 21A (east) and 21B (west, with Exit 22) southbound
		38.519	61.990	53	22	Grove Street – MBTA Station
	Weston	38.977	62.727	52	23	Recreation Road	Northbound exit and entrance only
		39.240	63.151	51	24	Route 30 – Newton, Wayland	Interchange located after Exit 25 northbound
		39.406	63.418	50	25	I‑90 / Mass Pike – Boston, Albany, NY	Exits 14-15 on I-90
	Waltham	41.406	66.636	49	26	US 20 – Waltham, Weston
		43.270	69.636	48	27A	Third Avenue – Waltham	Northbound signage
		43.283	69.657			Totten Pond Road / Third Avenue / Wyman Street[7]	Southbound signage
		43.273	69.641		27B	Totten Pond Road / Winter Street / Wyman Street[8]	Northbound signage
		43.288	69.665			Winter Street	Southbound signage
		44.543	71.685	47	28	Trapelo Road – Belmont, Lincoln	Signed as Exits 28A (Belmont) and 28B (Lincoln) northbound
	Lexington	45.412	73.084	46	29A	Route 2 east – Arlington, Cambridge	Exits 52A-B on Route 2
		45.445	73.137		29B	Route 2 west – Acton, Fitchburg
		46.492	74.822	45	30	Route 2A – East Lexington, Hanscom Field, Concord	Signed as Exits 30A (east) and 30B (west)
		48.716	78.401	44	31	Route 4 / Route 225 – Lexington, Bedford	Signed as Exits 31A (south / east) and 31B (north / west)
	Burlington	50.079	80.594	43	32A	US 3 north – Lowell, Nashua, NH	Southern end of wrong-way concurrency with US 3; Exit 25A on US 3
		50.341	81.016	42	32B	Middlesex Turnpike – Burlington
		51.767	83.311	41	33A	US 3 south – Winchester	Northern end of wrong-way concurrency with US 3
		51.778	83.329		33B	Route 3A north – Burlington	Southern terminus of Route 3A
		52.639	84.714	40	34	Winn Street – Woburn, Burlington
	Woburn	53.735	86.478	39	35	Route 38 – Woburn, Wilmington
		55.128	88.720	38	36	Washington Street – Woburn, Reading
	Reading	55.704	89.647	–	37A	I‑93 south – Boston
		55.729	89.687		37B	I‑93 north – Concord, NH
		56.561	91.026	36	38	Route 28 – Stoneham, Reading	Signed as Exits 38A (south) and 38B (north)
	Wakefield	57.779	92.986	35	39	North Avenue – Reading, Wakefield
		58.532	94.198	34	40	Route 129 – Wakefield Center, Wilmington
Essex	Lynnfield	59.296	95.428	33	41	Main Street – Lynnfield Center, Wakefield
Middlesex	Wakefield	60.859	97.943	32	42	Salem Street – Wakefield
Essex	Lynnfield	61.510	98.991	31	43	Walnut Street – Saugus, Lynnfield
		62.899	101.226	30	44	US 1 / Route 129 – Boston, Danvers	Signed as Exits 44A (south / west) and 44B (north / east) northbound; no Route 129 signage southbound
	Peabody	64.625	104.004		45	Route 128 north – Gloucester	Left exit northbound; northern end of concurrency with Route 128; Exit 29 on Route 128
		66.098	106.374		46	US 1 south – Boston	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	Danvers	67.329	108.356		47	Route 114 – Peabody, Middleton	No southbound exit; signed as Exits 47A (east) and 47B (west)
		68.226	109.799		48	Centre Street – Danvers	Southbound exit and entrance only
		68.979	111.011		49	Route 62 – Danvers, Middleton	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		69.867	112.440		50	US 1 – Topsfield	Northbound signage
		69.851	112.414			US 1 to Route 62 / Route 114 – Topsfield, Danvers	Southbound signage
	Boxford	72.277	116.319		51	Endicott Road – Topsfield, Middleton
		73.979	119.058		52	Topsfield Road – Topsfield, Boxford
		76.201	122.634		53	Route 97 – Topsfield, Georgetown	Signed as Exits 53A (south) and 53B (north)
	Georgetown	78.051	125.611		54	Route 133 – Georgetown, Rowley	Signed as Exits 54A (east) and 54B (west) northbound
	Newbury	81.542	131.229		55	Central Street – Byfield, Newbury
	West Newbury	83.362	134.158		56	Scotland Road – Newbury, West Newbury
	Newburyport	86.044	138.474		57	Route 113 – West Newbury, Newburyport
	Newburyport–Amesbury line	87.189– 87.377	140.317– 140.620	Merrimack River
	Amesbury	88.124	141.822		58	Route 110 to I‑495 – Salisbury, Amesbury[9]	Signed as Exits 58A (east) and 58B (west) northbound
	Salisbury	89.367	143.822		59	I‑495 south – Worcester	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		90.239	145.226		60	Route 286 – Beaches, Salisbury	Signed as Route 286 east southbound
		90.82	146.16		–	I‑95 north – Portsmouth	Continuation into New Hampshire
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access       Tolled

Rest areas and service plazas

This is a list of rest areas on Interstate 95 in Massachusetts.

• Attleboro Parking Area — milepost (MP) 3 - Northbound only between exits 2 and 3 - Parking area only, no facilities.
• Mansfield Rest Area — MP 10 - Northbound only between exits 5 and 6 -portable restrooms, phones, picnic area.
• North Attleborough Parking Area — MP 10 - Southbound only between exits 6 and 5 - Parking area, phones.
• Westwood Rest area — MP 29 - Southbound only between exits 14 and 13 - Rest rooms, Phones, Picnic Area.
• Dedham Truck turnout — Southbound only between exits 17 and 16 - Parking only, no facilities. Note: Currently closed due to road construction.
• Dedham parking area — Southbound only between exits 18 and 17 - Parking area, phones.
• Newton Service Plaza — Southbound only near exit 21; 24-hour food and fuel with McDonald's, & Honey Dew Donuts.
• Lexington Service Plaza — Northbound only near exit 30 - 24-hour food and fuel with McDonald's, Honey Dew Donuts, & Original Pizza of Boston.
• Massachusetts Welcome Center — MP 90 - Southbound only at the New Hampshire state line (Exit 60)- Tourist info, restrooms, phones.

Weigh stations

Weigh Stations are located on the northbound (NB) and southbound (SB) sides of the highway at the following locations:

• NB and SB in Attleboro between exits 2 and 3.
• NB and SB in Rowley between exits 54 and 55.

Speed limits

Between the Rhode Island state line and I-93 in Canton, and again between the northern end of the beltway and the New Hampshire state line, the speed limit is 65 MPH. The sharp transition curve from I-95 north onto the Route 128 beltway in Canton is posted for 25 MPH. Along the beltway the speed limit is 55 MPH, and the speed limit on the transition ramps at Exit 45 at the I-95/Route 128 split in Peabody is 45 MPH.

Future improvements

MassDOT's Add-A-Lane project is currently adding a fourth lane in each direction along the beltway section from the I-93 interchange in Canton to the Route 9 interchange in Wellesley, where the rush-hour traffic has been for some time permitted to use the breakdown lanes on the highway shoulder. The section south of Route 109 is complete, while the section between Routes 109 & 9 is due to be completed by late 2015, and the last section, from Needham to Wellesley, where construction started in 2015, is due to be completed by 2019.^[10] Outside of the beltway, the state will begin a $285 million project in 2012 to replace the John Greenleaf Whittier Bridge over the Merrimack River which includes widening the highway to eight lanes (four in each direction) from the bridge to I-495.^[11] In addition, I-95 will be included in a contract advertised by MassDOT on September 12, 2015 to change all exit numbers on Massachusetts Interstate routes to those based on mileposts. This project should be completed some time in 2016 or 2017.^[2]

References

1. David Montgomery and Josh White, The Washington Post, 128 Cars, Trucks Crash in Snow on I-95, February 23, 2001, p. A1
2. Commonwealth of Massachusetts (2015). "COMMBUYS - Bid Solicitation FAP# HSIP-002S(874) Exit Signage Conversion to Milepost-Based Numbering System along Various Interstates, Routes and the Lowell Connector". Retrieved September 17, 2015.
3. MassDOT Planning Division. "Massachusetts Route Log Application". Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
4. Massachusetts Department of Transportation. "Exit Numbers and Names: Route I-95 (Attleboro-Canton)". Retrieved August 23, 2014.
5. Massachusetts Department of Transportation. "Exit Numbers and Names: Route I-95 (128) (Canton-Peabody)". Retrieved August 23, 2014.
6. Massachusetts Department of Transportation. "Exit Numbers and Names: Route I-95 (Peabody-Salisbury)". Retrieved August 23, 2014.
7. Google Maps (September 2013). "Street View". Google. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
8. Google Maps (October 2012). "Street View". Google. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
9. Google Maps (September 2012). "Street View". Google. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
10. Massachusetts Department of Transportation (2015). "Needham-Wellesley I-95 Add-A-Lane Project". Retrieved September 17, 2015.
11. Massachusetts Department of Transportation (2015). "Whittier Bridge/I-95 Improvements". Retrieved September 17, 2015.

External links

Media related to Interstate 95 in Massachusetts at Wikimedia Commons

• BostonRoads.com:
  • Interstate 95 North of Boston
  • Interstate 95 South of Boston
  • Unbuilt Southwest Expressway
• Mass. I-95 Current and Future Exit Numbers List

Route map: Bing / Google