U.S. Route 3

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
U.S. Route 3 in Massachusetts
)
"US 3" redirects here. For the band, see Us3.

U.S. Route 3 marker

U.S. Route 3

Map
US 3 highlighted in red and US 3 Bus. highlighted in blue
Route information
Length277.90 mi[citation needed] (447.24 km)
Existed1926[citation needed]–present
Major junctions
South end Route 2A / Route 3 in Cambridge, MA
Major intersections
North end
Chartierville, Quebec
Location
CountryUnited States
StatesMassachusetts, New Hampshire
CountiesMA: Middlesex
NH: Hillsborough, Merrimack, Belknap, Grafton, Coös
Highway system
←
Route 6A

U.S. Route 3 (US 3) is a

Third Connecticut Lake, where it connects to Quebec Route 257
.

Massachusetts Route 3 connects to the southern terminus of US 3 in Cambridge and continues south to Cape Cod. Though it shares a number, it has never been part of US 3. Both routes, which connect end-to-end, are treated as a single 91.3-mile (146.9 km) state highway by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). From Cambridge to Burlington, US 3 is routed on surface streets through the dense suburbs in the Greater Boston area. After a brief concurrency with Interstate 95 (I-95) and Route 128, the route follows its own freeway northwest, bypassing Lowell and entering New Hampshire at Nashua, becoming the Everett Turnpike.

In New Hampshire, current and former parts of US 3 are known as the

White Mountains, the route serves as one of the only north–south roads connecting the communities of the Great North Woods Region
and has New Hampshire's only border crossing between the US and Canada.

Route description

Lengths
  mi[1]
km
MA 35.70 57.45
NH 241.953 389.386
Total 277.653 446.839

Massachusetts

Cambridge to Burlington

US 3 begins in the south along Memorial Drive in

freeway to the west (Concord Turnpike), while US 3 and Route 16 stay on the Alewife Brook Parkway. Shortly thereafter, US 3 splits from the parkway (which continues as Route 16) and joins Route 2A (Massachusetts Avenue) westbound, crossing into Arlington. In the center of town, US 3 and Route 2A split from Massachusetts Avenue and overlap briefly with Route 60 before continuing along Mystic Street. Route 2A splits from US 3 just to the north. US 3 continues through parts of Winchester and Woburn without any major intersections before entering Burlington and interchanging with I-95 and Route 128 (Yankee Division Highway) at exit 51A. US 3 joins the freeway to connect with the Northwest Expressway, while its historic surface alignment continues as Route 3A
.

Burlington to Tyngsborough (Northwest Expressway)

KML file (edit • help)
Template:Attached KML/Northwest Expressway (Massachusetts)
KML is not from Wikidata
Signage on US Route 3, approaching the intersection with Interstate 495 and Massachusetts Route 110 in Chelmsford

US 3 runs along 1.6 miles (2.6 km) of I-95 (Route 128) in a

wrong-way concurrency
before exiting at exit 50A onto its own freeway, the Northwest Expressway.

Originally built in the 1950s, before the cancelation of the

Inner Belt, the US 3 freeway was to have extended into metro Boston before being truncated to I-95. Consequently, a partially completed cloverleaf interchange
connects US 3 to I-95. Exit numbers on the US 3 freeway start at milemarker 72 since Route 3 and US 3 are counted as one highway by MassDOT.

The freeway closely parallels Route 3A, the historic alignment of US 3, along its entire 19-mile (31 km) length from Burlington to the New Hampshire state border. It passes through Billerica and into Chelmsford, where it connects with I-495 and the Lowell Connector, a freeway spur into downtown Lowell. Continuing north, the freeway briefly enters Lowell, then passes through North Chelmsford and Tyngsborough before crossing the state line into Nashua, New Hampshire. The freeway continues north as the Everett Turnpike.

The Burlington to Tyngsborough area maintains a

501(c)(6) nonprofit representative entity known as the Middlesex 3 Coalition[2] and its affiliate agency the Middlesex 3 TMA,[3]
which provides collaborative support to businesses and individuals within the jurisdiction to build consensus on transportation and developmental needs.

New Hampshire

US 3 passes through most of the state's major cities and towns and is the only highway to extend from the Massachusetts state border in the south to the Canadian border in the north. Running for 242 miles (389 km) in New Hampshire, US 3 is by far the longest signed highway in the state. For much of its routing, US 3 closely parallels I-93, serving as a local route to the freeway.

Everett Turnpike (Nashua)

US 3 crosses the state border into Nashua and immediately becomes concurrent with the Everett Turnpike, running on the freeway for 6.7 miles (10.8 km) along the western side of the city.

Daniel Webster Highway, local roads, and NH 28 concurrency (Nashua – Suncook)

US 3 leaves the Everett Turnpike at exit 7E, crosses

New Hampshire Route 101A (NH 101A) and turns northeast for approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) along a segment known as the Henri Burque Highway, before turning north onto Concord Street, which soon becomes known as the Daniel Webster Highway. (Some locals erroneously refer to the Everett Turnpike from exit 7 through the I-293
interchange as US 3 and refer to the actual US 3 only as the Daniel Webster Highway or "Old Route 3".)

US 3 continues north through the town of

I-93
. The two routes continue as Hooksett Road, then the Daniel Webster Highway.

In Concord

In

US 202 and NH 9), then follows North State Street to Fisherville Road to Village Street in Penacook before crossing the Contoocook River into Boscawen
.

Further north (Boscawen – Lincoln)

US 3 travels north through Boscawen, briefly overlapping with

NH 25B and NH 113. Through Holderness, US 3 and NH 25 gradually turn west, then southwest, passing the southern end of NH 175 and then reaching the northern end of NH 132 in Ashland
.

US 3 in Lincoln, New Hampshire

From Ashland to

Kancamagus Highway
).

Interstate 93 concurrency through the Franconia Notch State Park (Lincoln – Franconia)

Continuing north, US 3 joins with I-93 as it passes through

Interstate Highway
with only one lane in each direction.

Northernmost end (Franconia – Pittsburg)

US 3 separates from I-93 at exit 35, shortly north of the northern park boundary in

US 302. This portion of the road is noted for fairly frequent moose
sightings, especially during sunrise and sunset when moose are particularly active.

Heading north from Twin Mountain, US 3 passes through the village of

Chartierville, Quebec, and becomes Quebec Route 257
.

In total, US 3 runs along the Connecticut River and its source lakes for approximately 70 miles (110 km). Sections of US 3 in Colebrook are named after Scott E. Phillips and Leslie G. Lord, members of the New Hampshire State Police killed in the line of duty on August 19, 1997.[4]

History

New England route

Main article: Massachusetts Route 3 § History

Before the establishment of the U.S. Numbered Highway System, the section of US 3 and

New England Route 6
. It was replaced in its entirety with the establishment of US 3 and Route 3 in 1926.

Massachusetts

US 3 in Massachusetts closely follows the route of the early 19th-century Middlesex Canal and Middlesex Turnpike.

The modern Northwest Expressway was begun near Route 110 in Lowell before World War II. In the 1950s, it was extended south to Route 128 (later overlapped by I-95), and, by the 1960s, it was completed north from Chelmsford to New Hampshire. By 2005, the chronically congested four-lane road, largely with antiquated ramps around Lowell, was widened to six lanes (as it had been in Nashua, New Hampshire, a few years prior) with a breakdown lane on both the left and right sides of the road, and many interchanges were modernized in what was comically known as "The Big Wide", in reference to Massachusetts' other "Big" construction project (the Big Dig). The roadbed and bridges were built to support a fourth lane in each travel direction for future expansion. The $365-million (equivalent to $547 million in 2023[5]), 21-mile (34 km) widening project was completed in 2005 from Burlington to the New Hampshire border.

The final section of the expressway was planned for inner suburban towns northwest of

Boston, Massachusetts. The expressway was to supply a new route for US 3, between Route 128 and the canceled I-695 (Inner Belt). This was one of the expressway projects canceled in Governor Francis Sargent's 1970 moratorium on expressway construction within Route 128. The latter section of the expressway was a key component of the "Master Plan Highway Plan for Metropolitan Boston". The highway would have traveled through Lexington, Arlington, Medford, Somerville, and Cambridge, before linking with the Inner Belt Expressway.[citation needed
]

The original plan called for US 3 and Route 2 to link up at the Lexington–Arlington border and continue southeasterly, crossing Route 16/Mystic Valley Parkway at the Arlington–Somerville border and proceeding into Cambridge toward Union Square, Somerville. A 1962 plan called for Route 2 and US 3 to converge at Alewife Brook Parkway with a longer stretch of new highway for US 3 paralleling Lowell Street in Lexington and Summer Street in Arlington.[citation needed]

Exit numbers along the Northwest Expressway section in Massachusetts were to be changed to mileage based numbers under a project to start in 2016,[6] but that project was postponed.[7] In November 2019, the MassDOT announced it would be proceeding with the project in late mid-2020.[8]

Terminuses

According to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) route log, the southern terminus of US 3 is at the junction of Route 2A and Route 3 in Cambridge, which is where Route 2A crosses the Charles along the Harvard Bridge (also known as the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge).[9] This is a change from AASHTO's 1989 Route Log which placed the terminus at US 20 in Boston, where Route 2 currently meets US 20 after crossing the Charles River at the Boston University Bridge.[10] This was where US 3 met US 1 until that highway was rerouted in 1971.

The original northern terminus of US 3 (in 1926) was at Colebrook, New Hampshire, but the highway was extended to West Stewartstown in 1928 and to Pittsburg in 1937. Colebrook was the northern terminus again from 1939 to 1940. Since 1940, the highway has run through Pittsburg to the Pittsburg–Chartierville Border Crossing.

Major intersections

Although MassDOT inventories Route 3 and US 3 as one continuous route, this table includes the mileage only for US 3 starting from its southern terminus in Cambridge.

StateCountyLocation[1][11]mi[12][1][11]kmOld exitNew exit[13]DestinationsNotes
Boston
Diamond interchange; southern terminus of US 3; northern terminus of Route 3; no direct access from US 3 to westbound Route 2A
1.0471.685
Cambridgeport, Brookline
Roundabout interchange; south end of concurrency with Route 2
3.9756.397
 Route 16 west (Huron Avenue) – Watertown, West Newton		South end of concurrency with Route 16
5.4448.761
 Route 2 west (Concord Turnpike) – Concord		North end of concurrency with Route 2
5.8209.366
Massachusetts Avenue) / Alewife Brook Parkway north – Medford, Harvard Square, Cambridge
North end of concurrency with Route 16; south end of concurrency with Route 2A
Arlington7.19811.584
 Route 60 west (Pleasant Street) – Belmont		South end of concurrency with Route 60
7.28311.721
 Route 60 east (Chestnut Street) – Medford, Malden		North end of concurrency with Route 60
7.45712.001
 Route 2A west (Summer Street) / Mystic Valley Parkway east – Lexington, Concord		North end of concurrency with Route 2A
I-95 north / Route 128 north / Route 3A north (Cambridge Street) – Burlington, Portsmouth, NH
Interchange; south end of wrong-way concurrency with I-95/Route 128; I-95 exit 51A
14.86623.92525A72A
C/D lanes
; signed as exit 50A northbound
25B72B
I-95 south / Route 128 south – Waltham, Providence, RI
Exit 50A[14] on I-95
Bedford17.64628.3982673 Route 62 – Burlington, Bedford
Billerica21.16734.0652776Concord Road – Billerica, Bedford
22.59136.3572878Treble Cove Road – North Billerica, Carlisle
Chelmsford24.69139.7362979 Route 129 – Billerica, Chelmsford
25.55441.12530B80

 Lowell Connector north to I-495 north – Lawrence		Northbound exit and southbound entrance
25.554–
26.108		41.125–
42.017		3081A-B
Marlboro, Lawrence
Signed as exits 81A (north) and 81B (south); Lowell Connector not signed
26.57142.7623181C Route 110 – Chelmsford, Lowell
28.76246.2883284 Route 4 (North Road) – North Chelmsford, Chelmsford
Drum Hill Road — Lowell
30.81949.5983386 Route 40 – Westford, North Chelmsford
Tyngsborough33.02953.1553488Westford Road – Tyngsborough, Westford
34.64455.7543590 Route 113 – Dunstable, Tyngsborough
South Nashua NH
No southbound exit; northbound entrance extends into New Hampshire, where it merges with exit 1
South end of Everett Turnpike
South Nashua
1.5532.4992
 To NH 3A / Daniel Webster Highway – Hudson		Access via Circumferential Highway; signed as exit 1A from northbound collector-distributor lane
2.8194.5373
South Nashua
Southbound left exit and northbound entrance
3.0554.9174East Dunstable Road
9/11
4.7247.6035
NH 111A – Nashua, Hudson, Pepperell, MA
Signed as exits 5E (east) and 5W (west)
5.0598.1425ASimon StreetNorthbound exit only, formerly exit 5EA
6.28510.1156 NH 130 (Broad Street) – Nashua, Hollis, Brookline
6.78110.913
NH 101A – Nashua Downtown, Amherst, Milford
Exit 7 on Everett Turnpike; northern end of concurrency with the Everett Turnpike
Merrimack10.83217.432 Industrial Drive to Everett TurnpikeExit 10 on Everett Tpke.
12.10919.488
Boston, MA
Exit 11 on Everett Tpke.
15.74525.339 Bedford Road to Everett Turnpike southExit 12 on Everett Tpke.
Bedford17.874–
18.148		28.765–
29.206		Raymond Wieczorek Drive


 To NH 3A / Everett Turnpike – Manchester Airport, Litchfield, Concord, Nashua		Exit 13 on Everett Tpke.
20.90033.635
Manchester Airport
Southbound exit to and entrance from NH 101 east via Meetinghouse Road
21.33134.329Kilton Road to
NH 101 west / NH 114 – Bedford Ctr., Milford
wrong-way concurrency
with NH 3A
23.33337.551
 NH 3A south (South Elm Street)		Northern end of wrong-way concurrency with NH 3A
25.97441.801
 NH 28 south (Beech Street / Maple Street)		Southern end of concurrency with NH 28
I-93 to NH 101 – Salem, Boston, Concord, Plymouth
Exit 9 on I-93
28.58646.005
NH 28A south (Mammoth Road) – Londonderry
Northern terminus of NH 28A
29.08246.803
 NH 27 east – Candia, Raymond		Western terminus of NH 27
29.57847.601
NH 28 Bypass south – Derry
Northern terminus of NH 28 Bypass
Allenstown35.23756.708
 NH 28 north – Epsom, Alton		Northern end of concurrency with NH 28
Pembroke39.50663.579
 NH 106 north – Loudon, Laconia		Southern terminus of NH 106
Concord41.70467.116Korean Veterans Memorial Bridge over the Merrimack River
41.775–
41.933		67.230–
67.485
I-393 east – Manchester, Lebanon, Plymouth, Portsmouth
Exit 13 on I-93
42.17367.871
 NH 3A south (Main Street)		Southern end of silent concurrency with NH 3A
42.72968.766
US 202 west / NH 9
west (Pleasant Street)		Southern end of concurrency with US 202 / NH 9
43.02469.240
I-93
Northern end of concurrency with NH 9
43.41169.863
I-393
east		Northern end of concurrency with US 202
I-93 – Concord
Southern end of concurrency with US 4
52.16883.956
 US 4 west – Salisbury, Andover		Northern end of concurrency with US 4
Franklin60.64597.599
 NH 127 south – Salisbury		Southern end of concurrency with NH 127
61.30798.664

 NH 3A north / NH 11 west – Andover, Bristol		Northern end of concurrency with NH 3A; southern end of concurrency with NH 11
61.75599.385
 NH 127 north – New Hampton		Northern end of concurrency with NH 127
I-93 south – Northfield, Concord
Southern end of concurrency with NH 132
66.203–
66.586		106.543–
107.160
I-93 – Canterbury, Concord, Boston, New Hampton, Plymouth

 NH 140 east – Belmont, Gilmanton
Exit 20 on I-93; western terminus of NH 140
66.678107.308
 NH 132 north – Sanbornton		Northern end of concurrency with NH 132
NH 11A east – Laconia
downtown		Western terminus of NH 11A
Laconia74.355119.663
 NH 106 to NH 107 – Laconia, Belmont, Concord		Partial interchange; no southbound exit to NH 106 north; no northbound entrance from NH 106 south
74.999120.699 NH 107 – Laconia, GilmantonPartial interchange; southbound exit and northbound entrance
NH 11A – Gilford, Laconia
Interchange
78.649126.573
 NH 11 east – Alton		Northern end of concurrency with NH 11
Gilford–Laconia line79.442127.850
 NH 107 south (Union Ave.) – Laconia		Northern terminus of NH 107
NH 11B south – Gilford, Alton Bay
Northern terminus of NH 11B
Meredith86.334138.941
 NH 106 south – Laconia		Northern terminus of NH 106
86.847139.767
I-93 – New Hampton
Eastern terminus of NH 104
87.693141.128
 NH 25 east – Center Harbor, Ossipee, Conway		Southern end of concurrency with NH 25
NH 25B – Center Harbor
Western terminus of NH 25B
GraftonHolderness95.526153.734 NH 113 – SandwichSouthern terminus of NH 113
96.661155.561 NH 175 – CamptonSouthern terminus of NH 175
Ashland99.271159.761 NH 132 – New Hampton, TiltonNorthern terminus of NH 132
99.958–
100.339		160.867–
161.480
I-93 – Tilton, Concord, Plymouth, Campton
Exit 24 on I-93
I-93 – Holderness
Western terminus of NH 175A
106.202170.916
I-93 – Rumney, Bristol, Concord, Littleton
Interchange; northern end of concurrency with NH 25; northern terminus of NH 3A
I-93 – Campton, Littleton, Plymouth, Concord
Exit 27 on I-93 via Blair Road
112.375180.850
I-93 – Campton, Waterville Valley
Western terminus of NH 49
I-93 – Plymouth, Concord, Franconia, Littleton
Exit 29 on I-93
St. Johnsbury, VT, Plymouth, Concord
Exit 30 on I-93
125.420201.844 NH 175 – CamptonNorthern terminus of NH 175
126.031202.827
I-93 – Lincoln, Conway, Woodsville
I-93 – Concord, Littleton
Exit 33 on I-93
131.562211.729
I-93
south		Exit 34A on I-93; southern end of concurrency with I-93 and the Franconia Notch Parkway; southbound exit only
Franconia135.923218.74734BCannon Mountain Tramway – Old Man Historic SiteExit numbers follow I-93
136.623219.87334C NH 18 – Echo Lake Beach, Peabody Slopes, Cannon Mountain, South FranconiaSouthern terminus of NH 18
138.080222.218
I-93
north		Exit 35 on I-93; northern end of concurrency with I-93 and the Franconia Notch Parkway; northbound exit only
139.044223.770
I-93 north – Franconia
Eastern terminus of NH 141
US 302 – Bethlehem, Bretton Woods, Conway
In village of Twin Mountain
150.510242.222 NH 115 – Jefferson, Berlin, GorhamSouthern terminus of NH 115
Whitefield156.871252.459

 NH 116 south / NH 142 south – Bethlehem, Littleton		Southern end of concurrency with NH 116 / NH 142
156.918252.535
 NH 142 north – Dalton		Northern end of concurrency with NH 142
156.959252.601
 NH 116 north – Jefferson, Gorham		Northern end of concurrency with NH 116
Lancaster165.330266.073
 US 2 east – Jefferson, Gorham, Berlin		Southern end of concurrency with US 2
165.372266.140 NH 135 – Dalton, Gilman VTNorthern terminus of NH 135
166.126267.354
 US 2 west – Vermont		Northern end of concurrency with US 2
Northumberland175.152281.880 NH 110 – Stark, BerlinWestern terminus of NH 110 in village of Groveton
North Stratford188.576303.484
 To VT 105 – Bloomfield VT
Colebrook201.458324.215
 NH 26 east – Dixville Notch		Southern end of concurrency with NH 26
201.565324.387
 NH 26 west (Bridge St.)		Northern end of concurrency with NH 26
201.647324.519
 NH 145 north – Clarksville		Southern terminus of NH 145
Pittsburg219.573353.368
 NH 145 south – Colebrook		Northern terminus of NH 145
241.953389.386 R-257Continuation into Quebec
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Special routes

US 3 has one existing special route, a business route through Laconia, New Hampshire. Four other special routes may have existed in the past: an alternate and business route between Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, and Concord, New Hampshire, and bypass routes around Concord and Nashua, New Hampshire.

Tyngsborough–Concord alternate route

Alternate plate.svg

U.S. Route 3 Alternate marker

U.S. Route 3 Alternate

LocationTyngsborough, Massachusetts–Concord, New Hampshire

Tyngsborough–Concord business route

Business plate.svg

U.S. Route 3 Business marker

U.S. Route 3 Business

LocationTyngsborough, Massachusetts–Concord, New Hampshire

Concord bypass route

By-pass plate.svg

U.S. Route 3 Bypass marker

U.S. Route 3 Bypass

LocationConcord, New Hampshire

Nashua bypass route

By-pass plate.svg

U.S. Route 3 Bypass marker

U.S. Route 3 Bypass

LocationNashua, New Hampshire

Laconia business loop

Business plate.svg

U.S. Route 3 Business marker

U.S. Route 3 Business

LocationBelmont–Laconia, New Hampshire
Length4.144 mi[1] (6.669 km)
US Route 3 sign with Business sign above and direction sign below
US 3 Bus. sign

U.S. Route 3 Business (US 3 Bus.) is a 4.144-mile-long (6.669 km)

NH 11A
. It is a former alignment of US 3, used before the Laconia–Gilford bypass was built.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Bureau of Planning & Community Assistance (February 20, 2015). "NH Public Roads". Concord, New Hampshire: New Hampshire Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  2. ^ "Middlesex 3". www.middlesex3.com. Middlesex 3 Coalition. January 1, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  3. ^ "Middlesex 3 (TMA)". middlesex3tma.com. Middlesex 3 Transportation Management Association (TMA). January 1, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  4. ^ "New Memorial Highway Signs, Colebrook, New Hampshire". NH.gov (Press release). New Hampshire Department of Safety. May 15, 2019. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  5. Gross Domestic Product deflator
    figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
  6. ^ COMMBUYS Solicitation:FAP# HSIP-002S(874) Exit Signage Conversion to Milepost-Based Numbering System along Various Interstates, Routes and the Lowell Connector, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  7. ^ Robert H. Malme (2017). "Massachusetts Interstate Highways Exit Lists". Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  8. ^ "Milepost-based Exit Renumbering" (PDF). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. December 5, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  9. ^ "Route Number Database". AASHTO. 2009. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  10. ^ "U.S. Numbered Highways, 1989 Edition" (PDF). AASHTO. 1989. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  11. ^ a b Bureau of Planning & Community Assistance (April 3, 2015). "Nodal Reference 2015, State of New Hampshire". New Hampshire Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 7, 2015.[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ Planning Division (2012). "Massachusetts Highway Route Log". Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on August 18, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
  13. ^ "US 3 Exit Renumbering" (PDF). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. December 5, 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 23, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  14. ^ "I-95 Renumbering" (PDF). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. December 5, 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 12, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2019.

External links

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Browse numbered routes
← Route 2AMA→ Route 3
← US 2NH→ NH 3A
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