New England Interstate Route 32

New England Route 32
Route information
Length:	129.64 mi (208.64 km) Connecticut: 54.88[1] mi (87.36 km) Massachusetts: 60.66[2] mi (97.66 km) New Hampshire: 14.11 mi[3] (196.74 km)
Existed:	1922 – present
Major junctions
South end:	I-95/US 1 in New London, CT
	I-395 in Norwich, CT US 6 in Willimantic, CT I-84 in Willington, CT I-90 in Palmer, MA US 202/Route 2 in Athol, MA
North end:	NH 12 in Keene, NH
Highway system
New England road marking system ← Route 30A Route 32A →

Route 32 is a multi-state north–south state highway in the New England region of the United States, running from New London, Connecticut through Massachusetts to Keene, New Hampshire. Its number dates from 1922, when it was a New England Interstate Route, also known as the Lake Sunapee Route. (The original route used to end near Lake Sunapee). The New Hampshire segment of the old New England route was completely deleted and the number was reassigned to a much shorter, completely unrelated route.

Route description

Connecticut

Main article: Connecticut Route 32

Connecticut Route 32 begins in New London and runs north to Norwich along the west bank of the Thames River. North of Norwich, it heads northwest going through Willimantic and Stafford before entering Massachusetts.

Massachusetts

Northbound entering Athol

Massachusetts Route 32 begins at the Connecticut state line in Monson. It crosses the Fays Bridge over the Quaboag River into Palmer, where it has junctions with both U.S. Route 20 and the Massachusetts Turnpike. From Palmer, it continues north through Ware, before crossing for short lengths through West Brookfield and back into a small segment of Ware, then through a very short segment of New Braintree before continuing through Hardwick in the village of Gilbertville, Barre, and Petersham before crossing U.S. Route 202 and Route 2 in Athol. In Athol it passes the former northern terminus of Route 21 during a concurrency with Route 2A. After splitting from route 2A, the route then goes through the western part of Royalston and continues into New Hampshire.

County	Location	Milepost	Roads intersected	Notes
Hampden	Monson	0.0	CT Route 32	Southern terminus of Massachusetts Route 32.
	Palmer	8.8	U.S. Route 20 East	Begin concurrency with Route 20.
		9.8	U.S. Route 20 West	End concurrency with Route 20.
		10.5	I-90/Mass Pike	Ramp access to I-90 Exit 8.
Hampshire	Ware	18.9	Route 9 West	Begin concurrency with Route 9.
Worcester	West Brookfield	20.5	Route 9 East	End concurrency with Route 9 at the West Brookfield town line.
	Hardwick	23.9	Route 32A	Southern terminus of Route 32A.
	Barre	31.5	Route 67	Northern terminus of Route 67.
		34.0	Route 122 South	Begin concurrency with Route 122
		35.2	Route 62	Western terminus of Route 62.
	Petersham	42.5	Route 122 North	End concurrency with Route 122
		42.7	Route 32A	Northern terminus of Route 32A
		44.0	Route 101	Southern end of Route 101
	Athol	48.9	Route 2 / US 202	Access to Route 2 Exit 17.
		49.8	Route 2A East	Begin concurrency with Route 2A
		50.5	Route 21	Former northern terminus of Route 21.
		51.2	Route 2A West	End concurrency with Route 2A
	Royalston	58.7	Route 68	Northern terminus of Route 68.
		60.66	NH Route 32	Northern end of Massachusetts Route 32. Southern end of NH Route 32.

New Hampshire

New Hampshire Route 32 (NH-32) runs from Richmond on the Massachusetts border to Keene. The northern terminus of NH-32 is at New Hampshire Route 12, near its junction with NH-101 in the village of Joslin, just south of central Keene. NH-32 is locally named Old Homestead Highway. In Keene, NH-32 provides access to the local Dillant-Hopkins Airport.

County	Town	Milepost	Junction	Notes
Cheshire	Richmond	0.0	MA Route 32	Northern terminus of MA Route 32. Southern terminus of NH Route 32.
		2.4	NH 119
	Keene	14.1	NH 12	Northern terminus of New Hampshire Route 32.

History

New England Route 32 has had many major realignments particularly in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. In New Hampshire, the current route has actually no relation to the original New England route.

In 1932, Route 32 swapped places with Route 12 south of Norwich, Connecticut. The original route began in Groton instead of its current southern terminus in New London. In northern Connecticut, the alignment was also shifted west by several miles, entering Massachusetts at Monson instead of at Wales. The old alignment is now Route 19.

From Connecticut, the original New England route entered Wales, Massachusetts on what is now Route 19. It followed Route 19 into Brimfield, then west along current U.S. Route 20 until Palmer. The portion between Palmer and Athol more or less still follows the original route with only minor alignment changes. North of Athol, the old route went along current US 202 up to the New Hampshire state line.

In New Hampshire, the old New England Route was completely deleted sometime in the 1930s. The current alignment in New Hampshire was established later as a continuation of modern Route 32 from the Massachusetts line and is unrelated to the original route. The original route continued from the state line to Henniker along US 202, then along NH 114 to Bradford, and finally along NH 103 to its original Newport terminus west of Lake Sunapee at New England Route 10.

Massachusetts Route 32A

Route 32A
Location:	Hardwick-Petersham
Length:	12.79 mi[citation needed] (20.58 km)

Route 32A is a short north–south state highway in central Massachusetts.

Route 32A is an alternate route to Route 32 from the village of Gilbertville in Hardwick to Petersham center. The road passes close to the eastern shore of the Quabbin Reservoir, with several entrances (gates 39-42) accessing the reservation lands along the route.^[4] It runs parallel several miles east of the former northern half of Route 21, which ran through the current Quabbin Reservoir lands prior to the reservoir's filling.

Major intersections

County	Location	Mile	Roads intersected	Notes
Worcester	Hardwick	0.00	Route 32	Southern terminus of Route 32A.
	Petersham	12.3	Route 122
		12.79	Route 32	Northern terminus of Route 32A. To Route 101, via Route 32 North.

New England Interstate Route 32A

New England Route 32A
Location:	Henniker-Bradford, New Hampshire
Length:	27 mi (43 km)

New England Interstate Route 32A was an alternate route of the 1920s New England Route 32 in New Hampshire, between the towns of Henniker and Bradford. The main route went directly between the two towns along the Henniker-Bradford Road. Route 32A used a more circuitous route, first heading east from Henniker to Hopkinton then north through Warner, then west to meet up with the main route again in Bradford. Route 32A was about 27 miles (43 km) long. The current designations of old Route 32A are:

• US 202 from Henniker to Hopkinton
• NH 103 from Hopkinton to Bradford.

New Hampshire decommissioned its New England Route 32 (and 32A) in the early 1930s.

References

1. ^ Connecticut State Numbered Routes and Roads as of December 31, 2004 (PDF)
2. ^ Executive Office of Transportation, Office of Transportation Planning - 2005 Road Inventory
3. ^ New Hampshire DOT Route Logs
4. ^ Tougias, Michael. Quabbin: A History and Explorer's Guide. Yarmouth Port, MA: On Cape Publications, 2002, p. 127.

See also

• Route 32A (Massachusetts) - An alternate route between Hardwick, Massachusetts and Petersham, Massachusetts
• Route 32A (New England) - A defunct, alternate route of the old alignment in New Hampshire through Hopkinton

Browse numbered routes
← Route 31	CT	Route 33 →
← Route 31	MA	Route 32A →
← NH 31	NH	NH 33 →