Massachusetts Route 138

Route 138
Map of southeastern Massachusetts with Route 138 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MassDOT
Length:	43.58 mi[1] (70.14 km)
Major junctions
South end:	Route 138 in Tiverton, RI
	I‑195 in Fall River US 6 in Fall River/Somerset US 44 / Route 140 in Taunton I‑495 in Raynham I‑93 / US 1 in Canton
North end:	Route 28 in Milton
Location
Counties:	Bristol, Norfolk
Highway system
Massachusetts State Highway System Interstate US State ← Route 137 Route 139 →

Route 138 is a north–south state highway in Massachusetts. From the state line in Tiverton, Rhode Island to Milton, Route 138 runs as an extension of Rhode Island Route 138, which is itself an extension of Connecticut Route 138.

Route description

Running generally north, Route 138 crosses from Rhode Island into Fall River, where it meets the southern terminus of Route 79 at exit 5 of Interstate 195, then begins a concurrency with Route 79 and later, U.S. Route 6. Routes 138 and 6 then travel off of Route 79 and over the Brightman Street Bridge into Somerset, where the concurrency with U.S. Route 6 splits at an intersection with Route 103. Route 138 proceeds through Dighton and into Taunton, intersecting Route 140 and U.S. Route 44 at Taunton Green. In Raynham, the route has an interchange with Interstate 495 at exit 8 before continuing into Easton, where it intersects Route 106 before beginning a brief concurrency with Route 123 near Stonehill College. Route 138 meets the western terminus of Route 139 at the beginning of an extremely short concurrency with Route 27 in downtown Stoughton, before crossing into Canton and meeting Interstate 93/U.S. 1 at exit 2 (Exit 2A is for Route 138 south, while 2B is for Route 138 North). The route finally enters Milton, travels by Curry College and the Neponset Valley Parkway, and terminates at Route 28, directly before that route crosses the Neponset River and enters Boston.

History

During the Blizzard of 1978, Route 138's intersection with Interstate 93 (which at the time still had Route 128 concurrent with it) gained some notoriety as the location shot of photos taken featuring cars trapped in the snow along the underpassing freeway.^[2]

Parts of Route 138 follows the route of the "Old Bay Road," which was the earliest line of travel between Boston and Taunton.^[3]

Route 138 at the foot of Great Blue Hill

Major intersections

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Bristol	Fall River	0.00	0.00	Route 138 south	Continuation into Rhode Island
		2.2	3.5	Route 79 north	Southern terminus of Route 79 Souther terminus of concurrency with Route 79
				I‑195	Exit 5 on I-195
				US 6 east	Eastern terminus of concurrency with US 6
				Route 79 north	Northern terminus of concurrency with Route 79
	Somerset			US 6 west / Route 103 west	Western terminus of concurrency with US 6 Western terminus of Route 103
	Taunton			US 44 / Route 140
	Raynham			I‑495	Exit 8 on I-495
	Easton			Route 106	To Route 24 via Route 106 east
				Route 123 west	Western terminus of concurrency with Route 123
				Route 123 east	Eastern terminus of concurrency with Route 123
Norfolk	Stoughton			Route 27 south / Route 139 east	Southern terminus of concurrency with Route 27 Western terminus of Route 139
				Route 27 north	Northern terminus of concurrency with Route 27
	Canton			I‑93 / US 1	Exit 2 on I-93 To I‑95 / Route 128 via I-93/US 1 south
	Milton	43.58	70.14	Route 28	Northern terminus outside Mattapan Square
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

References

1. Executive Office of Transportation, Office of Transportation Planning - 2007 Road Inventory
2. http://www.mass.gov/
3. Frederic J. Wood, 1919, "The Turnpikes of New England", p. 118.

External links