Interstate 495 (Massachusetts)

Interstate 495
Route information
Length:	120.74 mi[1] (194.31 km)
Existed:	1957 – present
Major junctions
South end:	I-195 / Route 25 in Wareham
	US 44 in Middleborough Route 24 in Bridgewater I-95 in Foxborough US 1 in Plainville I-90 (Mass Pike) in Hopkinton US 20 in Marlborough I-290 in Hudson Route 2 in Littleton US 3 in Chelmsford I-93 in Andover
North end:	I-95 in Salisbury
Location
Counties:	Plymouth, Bristol, Norfolk, Worcester, Middlesex, Essex
Highway system
Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System Main • Auxiliary • Business Massachusetts State Highway Routes ← I-395 I-695 →

Interstate 495 (abbreviated I-495) is the designation of an Interstate Highway half-beltway in Massachusetts. It was the longest auxiliary Interstate Highway of its kind—measuring 120.74 miles (194.40 kilometers)—until 1996, when the PA Route 9 section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike was redesignated as Interstate 476, making it about 11 miles (18 km) longer than I-495.^[2][3][4] I-495 has its northern terminus at Interstate 95 in Salisbury. The highway, forming an arc approximately 30 miles (48 km) from Boston, intersects eight major radial expressways along its route: Interstate 93, U.S. Route 3, Route 2, Interstate 290, Interstate 90 (The Massachusetts Turnpike), Route 24 and Interstate 95 (twice). It has its southern terminus in Wareham, where Interstate 195 and Route 25 meet. Originally, the stretch from Route 24 to Interstate 195 was signed as Route 25; that status now only begins south of I-195.

I-495 is often regarded as the outermost boundary of the Greater Boston region: its northern segment parallels the border with New Hampshire, at one point coming as close as 400 feet; its southern end is just north of Cape Cod; west of I-495 is the Worcester area and Central Massachusetts. In a more restricted sense, The Yankee Division Highway (Route 128 and the first 6.5 miles (10.5 km) of Interstate 93), which is parallel to I-495 but closer to the city, is sometimes regarded as the outer boundary of Boston's immediate suburbs.

The stretch of 495 north and east of Route 2 until its terminus at Interstate 95 in Salisbury is also the main limited access highway connecting the communities of the more urbanized Merrimack Valley region, separate from its purpose as a beltway for Boston.

Route description

Interstate 495 begins as the direct continuation of Route 25 at the intersection with Interstate 195 in West Wareham. The junction includes the unusual transition of shrinking from the six-lane Route 25 to the four-lane interstate, due to the third lane of Route 25 joining to and from I-195. The road heads roughly northwest, passing through the towns of Rochester and Middleborough (where the road meets U.S. Route 44) as a four lane highway before entering Bristol County at Raynham. There, it becomes a six-lane highway just southeast of the Route 24 interchange (which is actually in neighboring Bridgewater).

The road continues northwest through Taunton and Norton before entering Mansfield, where there is a short exit lane concurrency with Route 140. Interstate 495 makes its southern junction with its parent route, Interstate 95 on the border between Mansfield in Bristol County and Foxborough in Norfolk County. The road continues through Plainville (where there is a junction with U.S. Route 1, a popular exit for those heading to Gillette Stadium) and Wrentham (where the Wrentham Village Premium Outlets lie beside the highway at Route 1A) before beginning to turn to a more northerly direction through Franklin and Bellingham.

Interstate 495 then begins to weave between far eastern Worcester County and western Middlesex County, passing through Milford in Worcester County, to Hopkinton in Middlesex County (where the junction with the Massachusetts Turnpike, or Interstate 90, is located). It then passes back into Worcester County a second time, going through Westborough (where the road meets Route 9) and Southborough. It then returns to Middlesex County briefly in the towns of Marlborough (where the road meets U.S. Route 20 and Interstate 290) and Hudson before making its final pass through Worcester County in the towns of Berlin, Bolton (where the road finally begins to turn northeasterly) and Harvard.

After weaving through the edge of Worcester County, the road finally re-enters Middlesex County, passing through Boxborough, Littleton (where there is an intersection with Route 2), Westford and Chelmsford. At the Chelmsford-Lowell line lies the intersection with U.S. Route 3 and the Lowell Connector (formerly Business Spur 495). The road continues through Lowell and Tewksbury before entering Essex County at Andover.

In Andover, the road has a junction with Interstate 93. It then enters the city of Lawrence, where the road turns due north, crossing the Shawsheen River into North Andover before crossing the Merrimack River at the O'Reilly Bridge back into Lawrence. It then heads into Methuen, where the road turns back to a northeasterly route after the junction with the Loop Connector (Rte. 213). The road heads into Haverhill, crossing the Merrimack twice more at a bend in the Bradford section of town. It passes north of downtown Haverhill, coming within 150 yards of the New Hampshire state line, the closest the road comes to leaving the state. Interstate 495 then passes through the towns of Merrimac and Amesbury before finally terminating as it merges with Interstate 95 in Salisbury, approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of where that interstate enters New Hampshire.

Throughout its path, the road passes closely to several existing state highways. From Wareham through to the Middleborough Rotary, it parallels Route 28. For much of the stretch between Norton and Milford, the road is within a few miles of Route 140, with two junctions of that highway in Mansfield and Franklin. From Milford to Bolton, the road passes just west of Route 85. Much of the northern third of the route also roughly parallels Massachusetts Route 110.^[5]

Possible Improvements

Some improvements expected to come to I-495 in the next few years include a project that will install fiber optic cable, traffic cameras & VMS Signs on I-495 from I-90 (Hopkinton) to I-93 (Andover). The new ITS system will help commuters and the state better understand the traffic congestion on I-495.

Exit list

County	Location	Mile[6]	Exit #	Destinations	Notes
Plymouth	Wareham	0.00		Route 25 east – Cape Cod
		0.02	1	I-195 west – New Bedford, Providence, RI	Mainline continues as Route 25
		2.49	2	Route 58 – Carver, Plymouth	Signed on overhead signs as Route 58 North; Route 58 South not marked on signs at end of either off-ramp, but actually ends just .45 miles (0.72 km) south at Route 28
	Middleborough	7.60	3	MA-28 – Rock Village, South Middleborough
		12.07	4	MA-105 – Middleborough Center, Lakeville
		14.31	5	MA-18 – NB: Bridgewater, Plymouth; SB: Lakeville, New Bedford	Route 18 North to US 44 East
		14.73	6	US 44 – Taunton, Middleborough, Plymouth, Providence, RI
	Bridgewater	19.08	7	Route 24 – Boston, Fall River	Split into 7A and 7B
Bristol	Raynham	21.68	8	MA-138 – Stoughton, Taunton
	Taunton	24.51	9	Bay Street – Taunton, Easton
	Norton	26.91	10	MA-123 – Norton, East Mansfield, Easton	To Route 140 South; main northbound access route to the Comcast Center
	Mansfield	29.9	11	Route 140 south – Norton	Partial interchange: SB exit/NB entrance only; main southbound access route to the Comcast Center
		30.71	12	Route 140 north – Mansfield
Norfolk	Foxborough	32.89	13	I-95 – Boston, Providence, RI	Split into 13A and 13B
	Plainville	35.57	14	US 1 – Wrentham, North Attleborough	Split into 14A and 14B; main access route from I-495 to Gillette Stadium and Patriot Place
	Wrentham	37.56	15	MA-1A – Wrentham, Plainville
	Franklin	40.95	16	King Street – Franklin, Woonsocket, RI
		43.18	17	MA-140 – Franklin, Bellingham
	Bellingham	45.82	18	MA-126 – Medway, Bellingham
Worcester	Milford	48.32	19	MA-109 – Milford, Medway, Uxbridge
		50.25	20	MA-85 – Milford, Hopkinton, Uxbridge
Middlesex	Hopkinton	54.15	21	West Main Street – Hopkinton, Upton, Northbridge	Split into 21A and 21B
		57.89	22	I-90 (Mass Pike) – Boston, Albany, NY
Worcester	Westborough	59.41	23	MA-9 – Framingham, Worcester	Split into 23A and 23B
Middlesex	Marlborough	61.71	23C	Simarano Drive – Marlborough, Southborough	Interchange constructed in 2000.
		63.11	24	US 20 – Marlborough, Northborough	Split into 24A and 24B
		64.86	25A	To MA-85 – Hudson	Connection via unnumbered connector road
		64.86	25B	I-290 west – Worcester
Worcester	Berlin	67.24	26	MA-62 – Berlin, Hudson
	Bolton	69.93	27	MA-117 – Bolton, Stow
Middlesex	Boxborough	74.56	28	MA-111 – Boxborough, Harvard
	Littleton	77.56	29	MA-2 – Leominster, Boston	Split into 29A and 29B.
		79.09	30	MA-2A, MA-110 – Littleton, Ayer
		80.10	31	MA-119 – Groton, Acton
	Westford	83.17	32	Boston Road – Westford	To Route 225
	Chelmsford
		87.56	33	MA-4 – North Chelmsford	Partial interchange: NB exit/SB entrance only
		88.05	34	MA-110 – Chelmsford, Lowell	Route 110 west to Route 4
		89.04	35	US 3 – Burlington, Nashua, NH	Split into 35A and 35B
	Lowell	89.31	35C	Lowell Connector – Lowell	Former exit 36
		91.07	37	Woburn Street – South Lowell, North Billerica
	Tewksbury	92.16	38	MA-38 – Lowell, Tewksbury
		94.49	39	MA-133 – Dracut, Andover
Essex	Andover	96.91	40	I-93 – Boston, Concord, NH	Split into 40A and 40B
		99.31	41	MA-28 – Lawrence, Andover	Split northbound into 41A and 41B.
	Lawrence	100.03	42	MA-114 – Middleton, South Lawrence	Split into 42A and 42B.
	North Andover	100.83	43	Massachusetts Avenue	Also signed northbound for Commonwealth Avenue.
		101.27	44	Merrimack Street
	Lawrence	101.82	45	Marston Street – Lawrence
	Methuen	103.00	46	MA-110 (Merrimac Street) – Pleasant Valley
		103.93	47	MA-213 (Loop Connector)	Exit 5 from route 213
	Haverhill	105.66	48	To MA-125 – Ward Hill, Bradford	Via unnumbered connector road.
		106.50	49	Route 110 / Route 113 (River Street)
		107.18	50	MA-97 – Haverhill, Salem, NH
		108.85	51	Route 125 – Haverhill, Plaistow, NH	Split into 51A and 51B
		111.04	52	MA-110 – Haverhill, Merrimac
	Merrimac	114.75	53	Broad Street – Merrimac, Merrimacport
	Amesbury	117.71	54	Route 150 – Amesbury
		118.74	55	Route 110 to I-95 south – Salisbury, Boston	Partial interchange: NB exit/SB entrance only. Entrance from 110 WB only.
	Salisbury	120.74	(56)	I-95 north - Portsmouth, NH	Northbound I-495 merges onto northbound I-95. Access to southbound I-495 from southbound I-95 only.[7]

References

1. ^ Executive Office of Transportation - Office of Transportation Planning Roads GIS Data
2. ^ Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, November 1, 1996.
3. ^ Interstate 476, pahighways.com.
4. ^ Shortest and Longest 3-digit interstates, kurumi.com. Note the discrepancy between the mileage listed on kurumi.com and the actual mileage indicated by the exit list from Interstate 476. Google Maps lists the distance as 130 miles (210 km).
5. ^ BostonRoads.com, Outer Circumferential Highway: Historical Overview Retrieved Jan. 24, 2010^{[self-published source?]}
6. ^ Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation. 2007. "Interchange Exit Lists (I-495)". Downloaded from: http://www.eot.state.ma.us/default.asp?pgid=planning/disc/interchanges&sid=dtable August 7, 2011.
7. ^ Mass 25 & Interstate 495 – shadyjay.com

External links

• Interstate 495 at Steve Anderson's Boston Roads site