Massachusetts Route 28
Route information | ||
---|---|---|
Maintained by MassDOT | ||
Length | 151.93 mi[1] (244.51 km) | |
Existed | 1922–present | |
Major junctions | ||
South end | US 6 / Route 6A in Eastham | |
Route 25 in Bourne US 6 in Bourne I-195 in Wareham I-495 in Middleborough US 44 in MiddleboroughI-495 in Andover Route 213 in Methuen | ||
North end | NH 28 in Salem, NH | |
Location | ||
Country | United States | |
State | Massachusetts | |
Counties | Barnstable, Plymouth, Norfolk, Suffolk, Middlesex, Essex | |
Highway system | ||
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Route 28 is a 151.93-mile-long (244.51 km) nominally south–north
Route 28 was originally formed as a
Route 28 is supplanted by
Route description
Route 28 is a mostly a two-lane undivided highway, with several divided, four-lane sections in populated areas as well as two short freeway sections. The south end of Route 28 is at the Orleans Rotary just north of the
History
Early turnpikes
Many of the roads leading from Boston to the surrounding towns were first laid out as privately owned and operated
In March 1804, another turnpike corporation, the Blue Hill Turnpike Corporation, was chartered with authority to lay out an improved road from the meeting house in the town of Randolph, through the Blue Hills Reservation, to a point in the town of Milton. A second act in June 1805 allowed for a slight alteration in the terminus in Milton. The road cost approximately $78,300 to build the eight miles from Randolph Center to Milton Lower Mills in 1805. The turnpike used what is now North Main Street in Randolph and Randolph Avenue in Milton. The road from Milton Lower Mills into Boston was continued by the
Two other sections of modern Route 28 were also parts of early turnpikes. The section between Middleborough and Bridgewater, where Route 28 overlaps with Route 18, was part of the
Route numbering and original alignment
In 1922, the
The triple-concurrency of Routes 1, 6, and 28 continued through the
The route in Cape Cod was also assigned in 1922 as a primary New England route. The road from Bourne to Orleans along the south shore of the Cape was the easternmost section of
At the end of 1926, the
Realignments
Driving the entire length from
was completed in the mid-1960s.In 1928, several projects to relieve congestion in the Boston area were completed. One of these was the opening of the Boston University Bridge (at the time known as Cottage Farm Bridge). The opening of this new bridge over the Charles River resulted in the relocation of the triple concurrency of US 1, US 3, and Route 28 onto it. The routes left the Riverway using Park Drive and Mountfort Street (both now designated as part of Route 2) to reach the bridge. In Cambridge and Somerville, a new boulevard known as the Northern Artery was built over part of Somerville Avenue and Medford Street, continuing north on a new roadway cutting across Somerville to Fellsway East, which was also paved over by the new Northern Artery. The Northern Artery provided a high speed connection between the Charles River and the Mystic River. US 1 and Route 28 were relocated off of local streets in Cambridge and Somerville onto the Northern Artery when it opened to traffic. From the Boston University Bridge, the two routes used Memorial Drive and Cambridge Parkway to reach the Northern Artery. The Northern Artery was later renamed as the Monsignor O'Brien Highway in Cambridge and the McGrath Highway in Somerville.
In the mid-1930s, the city of Boston marked several alternate routes of Routes 1, 9, 28, and 37 that ran through the downtown area. Route C28 left mainline Route 28 by continuing north into Dorchester along Blue Hill Avenue instead of turning west onto Morton Street with Route 3. Just beyond the Franklin Zoo, C28 turned west along Seaver Street, continuing through Roxbury along Columbus Avenue. C28 then followed Columbus Avenue up to Charles Street at the Boston Common, turning north along Charles Street to Cambridge Street, then crossing the Charles River using the Longfellow Bridge. C28 met back with mainline Route 28 at Memorial Drive in Cambridge. In 1971, the Boston 'C' routes were retired and mainline Route 28 was relocated onto the former C28 alignment through downtown Boston. Route 28 was also later shifted to use its modern alignment along Embankment Road and the Charles River Dam Bridge.
The McCarthy Overpass, which carries Route 28 as McGrath Highway through part of Somerville, was built in the early 1950s, before Interstate 93.[2] The parallel Northern Expressway segment connecting Medford (where I-93 ended in 1963) and the Central Artery was constructed between 1965 and 1973. The southbound off-ramp to Somerville Avenue, and a northbound "tunnel" under the overpass north of Somerville Avenue, were closed on April 11, 2016.[3]
In 1935, a new bridge over the Cape Cod Canal, the Bourne Bridge, was opened to traffic, replacing an earlier drawbridge at the same location. Between 1941 and 1943, the road south of the Bourne Bridge was widened to a four-lane, divided highway to the Pocasset Rotary and renamed General MacArthur Boulevard. The Route 28 expressway in Falmouth opened to traffic in 1961. Route 28 was relocated to the new expressway soon after, with the former surface alignment being renumbered to Route 28A.
Around 1940, several minor realignments had also taken place in Brockton, Bridgewater, and Middleborough. In Brockton, Route 28 followed Montello Street instead of Warren Avenue. South of Bridgewater, Route 28 was relocated onto an overlap with Route 18 until West Grove Street. Route 28 then followed West Grove Street and East Grove Street, bypassing Middleborough Center to the south. By 1951, a new bypass road in Buzzards Bay was completed and resulted in the relocation of Routes 6 and 28 to the new roadway.
Route 28 itself is no longer utilized as a long distance through route because of the opening of several parallel expressways along the Route 28 corridor since the 1950s. Interstate 93 serves the Route 28 corridor north of Boston, while the combination of Route 24, the southern end of Interstate 495, and Route 25 serves the corridor south of Boston to the Bourne Bridge. The construction of Route 25, in particular, resulted in a reconfiguration of the connection from the Bourne Corners traffic circle to the Route 25 expressway.
Major intersections
This section is missing mileposts for junctions. |
County | Location | mi | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Boston | Southern terminus; Orleans Rotary; access to Rock Harbor; south end of Route 6A concurrency | |||||
Orleans | 0.54 | 0.87 | Route 6A west / Canal Road – Brewster | North end of Route 6A concurrency; MassDot signs this as the southbound southern terminus | ||
3.44 | 5.54 | Route 39 south – Harwich, Hyannis | Northern terminus of Route 39 | |||
Chatham | 12.99 | 20.91 | Route 137 north – East Harwich, Brewster | Southern terminus of Route 137 | ||
Harwich | 17.15 | 27.60 | Route 39 north / Route 124 north – Harwich Center, Brewster, Orleans | Southern terminus of Routes 39 and 124 | ||
Dennis | 20.23 | 32.56 | Route 134 north – South Dennis, Dennis | Southern terminus of Route 134 | ||
Boston | Rotary; southern terminus of Route 132 | |||||
34.90 | 56.17 | Route 149 north – Marstons Mills, West Barnstable | Southern terminus of Route 149 | |||
37.19 | 59.85 | Route 130 north – Mashpee, Sandwich | Southern terminus of Route 130 | |||
Mashpee | 39.50 | 63.57 | Route 151 west / Great Neck Road – North Falmouth, Bourne | Rotary; eastern terminus of Route 151 | ||
Falmouth | 51.32 | 82.59 | Southern terminus of freeway section | |||
– | Route 28A north – Sippewissett | Southbound access only; southern terminus of Route 28A; proposed Exit 51a | ||||
52.02 | 83.72 | – | Brick Kiln Road – West Falmouth, East Falmouth | Interchange; No southbound entrance, proposed exit 52a | ||
53.62 | 86.29 | – | Thomas B. Landers Road – West Falmouth, Old Silver Beach | Interchange, proposed exit 54a | ||
55.71 | 89.66 | – | Route 151 – Mashpee, North Falmouth | Interchange, proposed exit 56a | ||
Bourne | 58.59 | 94.29 | – | Route 28A south / Conners Avenue – Joint Base Cape Cod | Rotary; northern terminus of Route 28A | |
Northern terminus of freeway section | ||||||
63.72 | 102.55 | To US 6 / Sandwich Road / Trowbridge Road – Hyannis, Bourne Village | Bourne Rotary | |||
63.06 | 101.49 | Bourne Bridge over the Cape Cod Canal | ||||
63.81 | 102.69 | Boston | Exit 10 on Route 25 | |||
64.59 | 103.95 | US 6 east to Route 3 north – Hyannis, Provincetown, Plymouth, Buzzards Bay | Rotary; southern terminus of concurrency with US 6 | |||
Plymouth | Wareham | 68.85 | 110.80 | Glen Charlie Road to Route 25 east – Cape Cod | ||
69.05 | 111.13 | US 6 west – Wareham, Marion | Northern terminus of concurrency with US 6 | |||
69.29 | 111.51 | Maple Springs Road to Boston | ||||
72.68 | 116.97 | Exit 39 on I-195 | ||||
Rochester | 75.33 | 121.23 | Route 58 north to I-495 – Carver, Plympton | Southern terminus of Route 58 | ||
Cape Cod | Exit 8 on I-495 | |||||
85.28 | 137.24 | Route 105 – Middleborough, Plymouth, Lakeville | ||||
87.74 | 141.20 | Marlboro, Lakeville | Rotary; southern terminus of concurrency with Route 18 | |||
Bridgewater | 93.78– 93.85 | 150.92– 151.04 | Route 104 west – Taunton | Southern terminus of concurrency with Route 104 | ||
93.88 | 151.09 | Route 18 north / Route 104 east – East Bridgewater, Quincy, Kingston | Northern terminius of concurrencies with Routes 18 and 104 | |||
Boston | ||||||
Brockton | 99.83 | 160.66 | Route 27 east / Route 123 east (Crescent Street) – Abington, Norwell | Southern terminus of concurrency with Route 27 | ||
100.02 | 160.97 | Route 123 west (Centre Street) | ||||
101.33 | 163.07 | Route 27 west (Pleasant Street) | Northern terminus of concurrency with Route 27 | |||
102.93 | 165.65 | Route 37 north – Holbrook, Braintree | Southern terminus of Route 37 | |||
Norfolk | Randolph | 106.99– 107.22 | 172.18– 172.55 | Route 139 – Holbrook, Stoughton | Brief concurrency with Route 139 | |
110.20 | 177.35 | Boston, Canton, Providence, RI | Exit 5 on I-93 / US 1 | |||
Milton | 115.10 | 185.24 | Route 138 south – Canton, Stoughton | Northern terminus of Route 138 | ||
Boston | 116.42 | 187.36 | Route 203 (Morton Street) – Quincy | in Mattapan | ||
121.66 | 195.79 | Clarendon Street | Southern terminus of directional split in Downtown Boston | |||
121.94 | 196.24 | I-90 – V.A. Hospital, Worcester | Eastern terminus of Route 9 at Route 28 south; No access from Route 28 north | |||
122.24– 122.65 | 196.73– 197.39 | Route 2 west (Commonwealth Avenue / Boylston Street) – Cambridge, Fitchburg | Eastern terminus of Route 2. | |||
122.67 | 197.42 | David G. Mugar Way | Northern terminus of directional split | |||
Storrow Drive west | Interchange | |||||
123.00 | 197.95 | Route 3 north – Government Center, Kendall Square, Cambridge | Interchange; Southern terminus of reverse concurrency with Route 3 | |||
123.38 | 198.56 | Interchange via the Leverett Connector | ||||
123.48 | 198.72 | Logan Airport, Quincy | Northern terminus of reverse concurrency with Route 3 | |||
Charles River | Charles River Dam Bridge | |||||
Middlesex | Somerville | Somerville Avenue | Interchange | |||
Washington Street | Interchange | |||||
126.03 | 202.83 | Boston, Woburn | Route 38 acts as the service road for I-93; Exit 21 on I-93 | |||
Fellsway ) | ||||||
Medford | 126.84 | 204.13 | Route 16 – Chelsea, Revere, Arlington, Waltham | Wellington Circle (though no longer a rotary) | ||
Fellsway West | ||||||
Medford | 128.35 | 206.56 | Route 60 – Malden, Revere, Medford, Waltham | |||
129.21 | 207.94 | Boston, Reading | Roosevelt Circle; Exit 24 on I-93 | |||
Boston | Exit 25 on I-93; Northern terminus of the Fellsway West | |||||
Providence, RI | Exit 56 on I-95 / Route 128 | |||||
136.02 | 218.90 | Route 129 (Salem Street) | ||||
North Reading | 139.67– 139.86 | 224.78– 225.08 | Route 62 – North Reading, Beverly, Wilmington, Bedford | Brief concurrency with Route 62 | ||
Interchange | ||||||
146.54 | 235.83 | Route 133 – North Andover, Haverhill, Lowell, Georgetown | ||||
147.05 | 236.65 | Marlboro | Exit 99 on I-495 (old exit 41) | |||
Lawrence | 148.43 | 238.87 | Route 114 east – North Andover, Middleton | Western terminus of Route 114 | ||
149.31 | 240.29 | Route 110 – Lowell, Haverhill, Amesbury | ||||
Methuen | 150.90 | 242.85 | Route 113 | |||
151.27 | 243.45 | Concord, NH, Haverhill | Exit 2 on Route 213 | |||
151.93 | 244.51 | NH 28 north – Salem | Continuation into New Hampshire | |||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
|
Route 28A
Location | Falmouth–Bourne |
---|---|
Length | 7.9 mi[4] (12.7 km) |
Existed | 1961– |
Route 28A is a 7.9-mile (12.7 km) alternate route running from Falmouth in the south to the village of Pocasset in the north. Route 28A parallels the freeway section of Route 28 in the Upper Cape, providing a scenic alternative for travelers and direct access to the localities bypassed by the freeway. Route 28A begins and ends at Route 28 with an intermediate junction with Route 151.
The highway was part of Route 28 until paralleling General MacArthur Boulevard expressway opened to traffic in 1961.
- Major intersections
The entire route is in Barnstable County.
Location | mi[4] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Right in/right out interchange with Route 28 south | |||||
2.8 | 4.5 | To Route 28 – Boston | Via Thomas B Landers Road | ||
4.9 | 7.9 | Route 151 east – Mashpee, Hyannis, North Falmouth | Western terminus of Route 151 | ||
Bourne | 7.9 | 12.7 | Route 28 / Connery Avenue – Falmouth, Woods Hole, Bourne, Wareham, Joint Base Cape Cod | Otis Rotary | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi |
Miscellanea
- Directional signs on Route 28 on Cape Cod are continuously marked as north–south, which is confusing for unfamiliar drivers. One travelling on Route 28 southbound is actually going northeast from Falmouth to Mashpee, east from Mashpee to Chatham, and north from Chatham to the Orleans-Eastham border. In fact, where Route 39 hits Route 28 in South Orleans, the directions on Route 28 are unsigned, since otherwise a driver heading north on 39 North and wishing to continue north into Orleans Center might inadvertently follow 28 North south to Chatham.
- Route 28 passes through less than 200 feet (61 m) of Brewster, but the signage on the road indicates a direct border between Harwich and Orleans.[5]
- Route 28 traverses through the town of and North Main Street.
- Route 28 running between forested, with no residential or commercial development. As is the case in Milton south of Reedsdale Road, the Quincy section of Route 28 is also officially known as Randolph Avenue.[9]
- In West Yarmouth near Seaview Ave, Route 28 is incorrectly signed as US route 28 instead of Massachusetts Route 28. It is also incorrectly signed as US 28 in Dennis just after the Bass River Bridge.
aProposed MassDOT milepost exit numbers that were to be added to interchanges along the MA 28 expressway as part of its project to convert all the state's exit numbers to those based on milepost numbers starting in 2016.[10] However, this project has now been indefinitely postponed by MassDOT.[11]
See also
- Route 28 (New England)
References
- Executive Office of Transportation, Office of Transportation Planning - 2005 Road Inventory Archived 2006-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Grounding McGrath: Determining the Future of the Route 28 Corridor - Final Report - December 2013
- ^ "Somerville: McGrath Highway Ramp, Access Updates" (Press release). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. March 29, 2016.
- ^ a b Google (May 24, 2019). "Route 28A" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
- ^ TopoZone – USGS Chatham (MA) Topo Map
- ^ "Yahoo Search - Web Search".
- ^ http://www.avonmass.org/
- ^ http://www.mappoint.msn.co.uk/(gjizobfu5rgyh1vssllwnrm1)/map.aspx?L=USA&C=42.12943%2c-71.03917&A=17.20000&P=%7C84164A66%7C&TI=Avon+Town+Hall+(city+hall)%2c+Massachusetts%2c+United+States
- ^ http://www.mappoint.msn.co.uk/(gjizobfu5rgyh1vssllwnrm1)/map.aspx?L=USA&C=42.20901%2c-71.06737&A=7.16667&P=%7C42.20901%2c-71.06737%7C1%7CRandolph+Ave%2c+Quincy%2c+MA+02169%7CL1%7C
- ^ Robert H. Malme (2017). "MA 28 Cape Cod Expressway Future Exit List". Retrieved February 16, 2017.
- ^ Robert H. Malme (2017). "Massachusetts Interstate Highways Exit Lists". Retrieved February 16, 2017.
Further reading
- Christine Mui (May 26, 2021), "Pressley, Somerville officials join residents to rally for improved McGrath Highway safety", Boston Globe