U.S. Route 1 in Massachusetts

U.S. Route 1 in Massachusetts is a major north–south highway traversing the eastern part of the Commonwealth. It runs approximately 98 miles from the Rhode Island border in Attleboro to its northern terminus at Interstate 95 in Saugus, just south of the New Hampshire state line. The route serves as a vital commercial and commuter corridor, connecting numerous historic towns, dense suburbs, and major retail districts while running parallel to the I-95 corridor for much of its length. Its path through Greater Boston is particularly notable for its dense concentration of businesses and traffic.

Route description

From the Rhode Island state line, the highway enters Attleboro concurrent with RI-152 and passes near the Grace manufacturing facilities. It proceeds north through North Attleborough, where it is known as Washington Street, and into Plainville and Wrentham, skirting the Wrentham State School and the Wrentham Developmental Center. Through Foxborough, the route passes Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots, and the adjacent Patriot Place retail complex. It continues north through Walpole and Sharon before entering the dense suburbs of Greater Boston. In Dedham, it becomes a divided highway known as the Providence Highway, passing Legacy Place and the Dedham Mall. It then traverses West Roxbury, Roslindale, and Jamaica Plain, neighborhoods of Boston, where it is called the VFW Parkway and American Legion Highway. After crossing the Charles River into Cambridge, it follows Massachusetts Avenue past the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University. It then crosses the Mystic River into Suffolk County, becoming the McGrath Highway and passing by Lechmere station and TD Garden. North of downtown Boston, it becomes the Northeast Expressway through Chelsea, Revere, and Malden, before terminating at I-95 in Saugus.

History

The routing largely follows historic post roads, including the Boston Post Road and the Old Colony Railroad corridor. It was designated as part of the New England road marking system in the 1920s before being incorporated into the United States Numbered Highway System in 1926. Significant realignments occurred with mid-20th century urban renewal projects, particularly in Cambridge and Boston, where the construction of the Central Artery and the McGrath Highway altered its path. The northern section through Chelsea and Revere was upgraded to a limited-access expressway, known as the Northeast Expressway, in the 1950s. The route has been a focal point for commercial development since the rise of automobile travel, exemplified by the "Miracle Mile" in Dedham and the dense retail strips in Saugus.

Major intersections

Major junctions include the southern terminus at the Rhode Island state line with I-95 and RI-138 in Attleboro. It intersects I-495 in Plainville and has a complex interchange with I-95/Route 128 in Dedham. In Boston, key intersections occur with I-93 at the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge and with Route 28 along the American Legion Highway. The northern terminus is a direct interchange with I-95 (the New England Expressway) in Saugus, just south of the Saugus River.

Auxiliary routes

Several auxiliary routes of U.S. Route 1 exist within the state. The primary auxiliary is U.S. Route 1A, which provides an alternate, often more scenic, route closer to the coast through cities like Lynn, Salem, and Newburyport. Other former or special routes include U.S. Route 1 Alt., which once provided an alternate path through Worcester, and various business routes that served the downtown areas of towns like Attleboro and New Bedford before being decommissioned.

See also

* U.S. Route 1 * U.S. Route 1 in Rhode Island * U.S. Route 1 in New Hampshire * Interstate 95 in Massachusetts * Massachusetts Department of Transportation

Category:U.S. Route 1 Category:Transportation in Massachusetts