RI line in Seekonk to Wareham.
Expressway, full length
195 was completed to exit 3 by 1961. By 1966, it had reached exit 4, and was under construction to New Bedford. It was complete to New Bedford by 1969. By 1975, the entire route was completed.
Kurumi’s I-195 entry
Auburn to Hudson via Worcester
Expressway full length
I-290 first appears on a 1961 map, roughly along the same route as now to Shrewsbury. It then was to turn more southerly, crossing US 20 and MA 135 south of Northboro Center, crossing MA 30 and MA 9 slightly east of their intersection in Westboro, then meeting I-495 between the Mass Pike and Rt 9 interchanges. By 1966, the proposed route had been shifted to match more closely what it is now. The highway was completed between 1969 and 1971.
The interchange with I-495 makes it clear that the road was originally intended to continue east. The highway does connect to MA 85 in Hudson via an unnumbered route commonly referred to as the Rt 85 Connector.
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Kurumi’s I-290 entry
retired
Boston to Cambridge
Never built due to community opposition. Was to be Boston’s Inner Belt.
It first appears on a 1966 map, unnumbered, looping south from the Mass Pike at about Beacon St, crossing MA 9 near Harvard Medical School, then turning east to parallel Dudley St. The 695 number first appeared in 1971. By 1975, it was gone – all that remained were the long ramps from I-93 for Melnea Cass Blvd. (The 1975 AAA New England indicates this was posted as 695; I strongly doubt it).
Kurumi’s I-695 entry
Worcester to Leominster
Expressway full length
The first section of 190 to open was the short part from I-290 to Exit 1, which was posted as MA 122A as early as 1966. By 1975, the state maps show a proposal for I-190. The 1979-80 map shows it under construction. The road opened in April, 1983. [1]
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Kurumi’s I-190 entry
[1] Kurumi, see link above.
RI line in Attleboro to NH line in Salisbury via Waltham.
Expressway full length. Brief wrong-way multiplex with US 1 / MA 1A north of Canton. Multiplexed with MA 128 from Canton to Peabody. [1]
First appears in 1958 on the highway up to the New Hampshire border. Between 1959 and 1961, was listed as under construction from the RI line to North Attleboro, proposed to 128 and proposed north of Boston to near Danvers. By 1966, the section south of Boston was completed.
Inside 128, though, it is unclear what was and wasn’t 95. It definitely was on north of the Harbor tunnels and up the Northeast Expressway. The highway was proposed to head more or less directly into the heart of Boston from the Canton interchange with 128, roughly paralleling Hyde Park Ave to Washington St and then up Washington to the infamous Inner Belt. North of town, 95 was proposed to run through southern Saugus, through Lynn Woods and into Peabody. It would have crossed 128 west of the current interchange and paralleled US 1 to the east. It appears construction actually began on the section north of Revere to Ballard St in Saugus.
In 1972, the southern highway proposal (the Southwest Expressway) was abandoned [2] and I-95 was routed onto MA 128 & MA 3 from Canton to Boston. This was a short-lived proposal; by 1975 I-95 was cosigned with 128 from Canton to Peabody. 95 was built to the east of US 1 through Peabody to Danvers. The final piece of the puzzle, the interchange in Peabody between 128 and 95 north, was opened between 1986 and 1995.
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[1] Yes, I know that 128 technically exists only from Peabody to Gloucester. But the signs show it multiplexed with 95 and everyone calls it 128 anyways. Want to know the gory details? Go to the MA 128 page.
[2] Planning the City Upon a Hill by Lawrence W. Kennedy.
Canton to NH line in Methuen via Boston
Expressway full length. Multiplexed with US 1 / MA 1A, then picks up MA 3, and finally MA 3A to Boston.
I-93 first appears as proposed or under construction north of Boston in 1958. By 1961, the highway was built from Medford to Lawrence. By 1966, it was complete to the NH border.
In the Boston area, the southern end of 93 was Mystic Ave in Somerville. Between 1972 and 1974, the highway was extended south to meet the Central Artery and I-95. In 1975, I-95 was rerouted onto MA 128 and I-93 took over from where they intersected to Quincy. By 1977, it had been extended westward from Quincy to Canton.
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CT line in Longmeadow to VT line in Bernardston
Expressway full length.
Briefly cosigned with US 5 in Springfield.
Cosigned with MA 2 in Greenfield.
The first hint of this highway in a proposed highway south of Springfield in 1959. By 1961, the highway was built from the CT line to Springfield, and under construction the the South Deerfield Bypass. North of the South Deerfield Bypass to south of Bernardston was also shown as under construction; north to the VT line was completed. The whole was listed as a proposed Interstate. By 1966, construction had progressed into Springfield from the south, as well as sections from North Hatfield to the South Deerfield bypass and from Greenfield to Bernardston. By late 1966, the highway north of I-90 was scheduled to open, leaving only the Springfield to I-90 segment to build. By 1971, all of this but the section between West St and Memorial Ave was built; the last segment was completed the following year.
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NY line at Stockbridge to East Boston via Springfield and Framingham.
Expressway full length; toll highway.
The Mass Turnpike first opened on May 15 ,1957 from the New York state line to MA 128. [1] Construction began January 4, 1955, with the 123 mile mainline road being split into 133 separate contracts [2]. The toll from West Stockbridge to Weston was $2.45 and the speed limit was 60 MPH.
The road was designated I-90 in 1959. In 1964, the Boston Extension was opened between 128 and the Allston-Brighton tolls. It was extended to the Central Artery Expressway on Feb 18, 1965. The toll increased to $3.00 for and end-to-end trip due to the extra length. The Boston Extension cost nearly as much as the entire rest of the road ($240 million for the extension, compared to $257 million for the main section). [2]
In 1969, exit 11A was created for I-495 and the speed limit was increased to 65 MPH. By 1969, tolls had edged up slightly, to $3.30 for the full length. The increases over the original toll were 5 cents for each segment between Lee (Exit 2) and Weston (exit 14), except for Palmer to Sturbridge which remained at 30 cents.
In 1974, the federal government passed the National Maximum Speed Limit law which basically set a cap on speed limits at 55 MPH. By 1979, tolls had gone up again. A trip from end to end would now cost $4.30. Tolls increased from 5 to 20 cents per segment.
Tolls were eliminated for passenger cars west of exit 6 in July, 1996. [3]
Exit 10A opened in 1998, allowing direct access to MA 146.
The Ted Williams Tunnel was connected to the rest of I-90 via the O’Neill Tunnel in January, 2003.
[1] Much of the specific date information (as opposed to the “between 1961 and 1966 type of stuff”) comes from the Mass Turnpike’s official website.
[2] “Riding The Pike” Worcester Telegram & Gazette, May 15, 2007
[3] “Issue: 2002-Turnpike/Toll Increases” article on 02133.org.
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Dan Vincent’s I-90 page
