Skip to main content

Some Massachusetts Highway Photos

I took a trip north from North Carolina to Massachusetts for the Fourth. The route up, if you're curious was my 'land route' vs. a 'coastal route'. It is basically taking NC/VA 86 to US 29 north through central Virginia to US 17, then getting over to US 15 in MD and into PA. The rest of PA via I-83, I-81 and I-84. Then continuing on I-84 through NY and into CT then I-691, CT 66, CT 16, CT 2, I-395, and the CT turnpike stub to get to RI where it was US 6 East, I-295 North to MA getting on I-95 north to I-93/US 1 north.

Since there wasn't anything too new or interesting going up I saved my photos for new signs that had been put up along MA/Pilgrims Highway between Exits 11 and 20 since my last visit. The original signs from Exit 12 to 15 were ground mounted. The new ones are also except at the interchanges themselves where they've been replaced by cantilevered signs such as:the one above for Exit 12 MA 139. Some control cities on some of the signs has changed, such as the following for Exit 14, MA 228:
The original destinations listed were Rockland and Nantasket. Hingham was on a secondary destination sign, which now lists Nantasket. The other noted change is for the following exit 15, which originally northbound only listed S. Hingham, S. Weymouth. It is now:
They also changed the wording for Exit 19 which simply said 'Quincy, T station. Many motorists thought the sign implied one destination, the Quincy Center MBTA station, which it did not. It was replaced with the following with the addition of Burgin Parkway which goes to Quincy Center and the T station (Quincy Adams) separated by a line:
The most interesting signage is the replacements for the I-93 interchange, Exit 20. Individual signage for I-93 North and South has been replaced (or will be replaced, the 1 mile sign seen on Steve Anderson's BostonRoads site was still up as of July 20) by diagrammatic signage:
The other most noticeable change is the inclusion of only the interstate routes, not the other highway designations (US 1, MA 3) from the signs. This is due to past MassHighway signage practices. For a greater explanation of this and to see additional Exit 20 signage and also larger versions of the photos here and additional ones, please go to my Massachusetts Highway Photos Page.

Some other Mass. highway notes, no photos unfortunately:
With the replacement of the Sagamore rotary with an interchange, MA 3 northbound is Exit 1A off of US 6 and US 6 East exits itself as Exit 1B. The MA 6A exit both ways is Exit 1C.
MassHighway had a project that was repaving the SE Expressway from Savin Hill to the Braintree Split. At its conclusion a sign replacement project will start along the same section and continue along I-93 to Randolph this fall ( have a photo of a sign to be replaced on my photo page).
There is a cutout US 1 shield at the I-93 end of the South Boston Haul Road pointing to the ramp to I-93 south, the MA 3 sign is missing.
The I-93/US 1 North Mass. Green signs at Columbia Road have disappeared, they still exist at the southbound ramp.
They have added an overhead South I-93/US1/MA 3 small overhead sign south of the Mass. Ave exit, and have an additional overhead sign assembly with space for one about 1/4 mile south of that.
The Big Dig tunnel ramp to I-93 South from Leverett circle was the only ramp that included additional signs for US 1 and MA 3 posted on the BGS support poles.

The route back was basically the reverse as the way up, except I continued on I-81 South through Virginia to I-64 then I-64 East back to US 29. I also took US 29 further south to Greensboro so I could check on I-74 progress for my previous post.

If there are other questions about what I may have seen on my trip, let me know.

Comments

Steve A said…
A few weeks ago I finally got to try the Burgin Pkwy. exit, after it was re-signed from the freeways. Well, guess what - the old signs are still up on the exit. As a sign guy, I thought it was worth it.

Popular posts from this blog

I-40 rockslide uncovers old debates on highway

The Asheville Citizen-Times continues to do a great job covering all the angles of the Interstate 40 Haywood County rock slide. An article in Sunday's edition provides a strong historical perspective on how the Pigeon River routing of Interstate 40 came about. And perhaps most strikingly, in an article that ran just prior to the highway's opening in the fall of 1968, how engineers from both Tennessee and North Carolina warned "...that slides would probably be a major problem along the route for many years." On February 12, 1969, not long after the Interstate opened, the first rock slide that would close I-40 occurred. Like many other Interstates within North Carolina, Interstate 40 through the mountains has a history prior to formation of the Interstate Highway System and was also a heated political battle between local communities. The discussion for a road that would eventually become Interstate 40 dates back to the 1940's as the idea for interregional high

Former California State Route 41 past Bates Station

When California State Route 41 was commissioned during August 1934 it was aligned along the then existing Fresno-Yosemite Road north of the San Joaquin River.  Within the Sierra Nevada foothills of Madera County, the original highway alignment ran past Bates Station via what is now Madera County Road 209, part of eastern Road 406 and Road 207.   Bates Station was a stage station plotted during the early 1880s at what was the intersection of the Coarsegold Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road.   The modern alignment bypassing Bates Station to the east would be reopened to traffic during late 1939.   Part 1; the history of California State Route 41 past Bates Station Bates Station was featured as one of the many 1875-1899 Madera County era towns in the May 21, 1968, Madera Tribune .  Post Office Service at Bates Station is noted to have been established on November 23, 1883 and ran continuously until October 31, 1903.  The postal name was sourced from Bates Station owner/operator George Ba

Mines Road

Mines Road is an approximately twenty-eight-mile highway located in the rural parts of the Diablo Range east of the San Francisco Bay Area.  Mines Road begins in San Antonio Valley in Santa Clara County and terminates at Tesla Road near Livermore of Alameda County.  The highway essentially is a modern overlay of the 1840s Mexican haul trail up Arroyo Mocho known as La Vereda del Monte.  The modern corridor of Mines Road took shape in the early twentieth century following development of San Antonio Valley amid a magnesite mining boom.  Part 1; the history of Mines Road Modern Mines Road partially overlays the historic corridor used by La Vereda del Monte (Mountain Trail).  La Vereda del Monte was part of a remote overland route through the Diablo Range primarily used to drive cattle from Alta California to Sonora.  The trail was most heavily used during the latter days of Alta California during the 1840s. La Vereda del Monte originated at Point of Timber between modern day Byron and Bre