| I-95 | |||
| Get started | Attleboro | ||
| End | Salisbury Plains | ||
| Length | 92 mi | ||
| Length | 148 km | ||
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Interstate 95 or I -95 is an Interstate Highway in the US state of Massachusetts. The highway forms a north-south route from the Rhode Island border to the New Hampshire border, passing west of Boston. I-95 runs mostly through urban areas and is a very busy highway. I-95 is 148 kilometers long in Massachusetts.
- EHUACOM: Provides city overview of capital of Massachusetts, including general information about the state Massachusetts.
Travel directions
I-95 on the south side of Boston.
The highway begins in the eastern suburbs of Providence, where Interstate 95 in Rhode Island crosses the border into Massachusetts. The road has 2×3 lanes here. Shortly afterwards you pass Attleboro, where Interstate 295 rejoins, this is the bypass of Providence. Large parts of the state of Massachusetts have become urbanized, with towns and residential areas every once in a while. At Mansfield one crosses Interstate 495 via a cloverleaf. Interstate 495 forms an extremely long bypass of Boston, and the route is 210 kilometers long, running well away from the metropolitan area. Not much further you pass Norwood, the first larger suburb of Boston. After this, I-95 turns northwest, which is where Interstate 93 begins, running east, right through downtown Boston.
The many residential areas are located in dense forests. One passes through suburbs such as Dedham, Needham, Wellesley and Newton. In some places the central reservation is hundreds of meters wide. South of Waltham, it crosses Interstate 90, the Massachusetts Turnpike, which runs to Boston to the east, and Worcester, Springfield, and Albany to the west. The interchange is complicated in connection with the toll stations. North of this interchange, the road widens to 2×4 lanes. Although the route runs through urban areas, the landscape can still be called beautiful due to the many forests. At Lexington, one crosses State Route 2, a highway through a number of eastern suburbs. On the north side one crosses the US 3, a highway that runs to Lowell, and Nashua in New Hampshire. After this the road runs through a large industrial area. A few kilometers further on, Interstate 93 crosses again, which runs from Boston towards Methuen and Manchester in New Hampshire.
After this junction, the buildings are a bit stronger, and you pass suburbs such as Woburn, Stoneham, Reading and Wakefield. At Peabody, I-95 turns north. Straight ahead is State Route 128, which leads to the distant suburbs of Beverly and Gloucester. At Danvers one leaves the continuously built-up area. However, the highway remains wide, 2×4 lanes, all the way to the border with New Hampshire. At Salisbury, Interstate 495 merges, and a little further, at Salisbury Plains, one crosses the state line and Interstate 95 continues in New Hampshire to Portsmouth.
- existingcountries: state overview of Massachusetts, including geography, history and major cities.
History
In the original plan of Interstate 95, the highway would cut right through Boston. After local protests, this was canceled and the highway was built around the city. Only a small section was built, this is the current US 1 between Boston and Saugus. The earlier plans are still visible in the configuration of the nodes.
The highway has been opened in several phases. Initially built on the Boston bypass, the first section of which opened in 1951 on the west and north sides of the city. In 1954 a section opened through northeastern Massachusetts to the border with New Hampshire. The southern portion of the Boston bypass was opened in 1955 and 1958. This made I-95 around Boston ready for the Interstate Highway program of 1956.
The highway around Boston became congested immediately after opening and between 1958 and 1964 the entire highway around the city was already widened to 2×3 to 2×4 lanes. The northern half between Wellesley and Reading was then widened to 2×4 lanes and the southern part between I-93 and Wellesley to 2×3 lanes. In 1991 rush hour lanes were set up on the southern part.
The route from the Rhode Island border to Boston was built under the Interstate Highway program and opened to traffic in stages between 1963 and 1965. North of Boston has long been a missing link. A fairly large stretch of this opened in 1975, but it wasn’t until 1988 before the last link was opened, and I-95 through Massachusetts was ready.
The Whittier Bridge over the Merrimack River at Newburyport.
Between 2014 and 2017, the bridge over the Merrimack River at Newburyport was replaced by a new 2×3 lane arch bridge. The first new span opened in 2015, the second on December 5, 2017. After that, the old bridge from 1951 was demolished.
Work began in 2003 on a long-term project to widen a 10-mile stretch of I-95 along the southwest side of Boston from 2×3 to 2×4 lanes, between I-93 in the south and I-90 in the west of the Boston suburbs. . The widening was completed in October 2018.
Opening history
| From | Unpleasant | Length | Opening |
| Exit 20 | Exit 44 | 36 km | 1951 |
| Exit 50 | Exit 60 | 34 km | 1954 |
| Exit 14 | Exit 20 | 24 km | 1955 |
| exit 12 | Exit 14 | 3 km | 1958 |
| exit 0 | Exit 7 | 18 km | 1963 |
| Exit 7 | Exit 9 | 12 km | 1964 |
| Exit 9 | exit 12 | 13 km | 15-12-1965 |
| exit 46 | Exit 50 | 7 km | 1975 |
| exit 45 | exit 46 | 3 km | 1988 |
Road numbering
The portion of I-95 along the west and north sides of Boston is also part of State Route 128. In the media, this part of I-95 is more often referred to as Route 128 than as I-95. Route 128 is one of Massachusetts’ most famous state routes, and forms the cultural divide between the older part of Boston and the outer suburbs. Route 128 is considered the United States’ first grade-separated beltway.
Lane Configuration
| From | Unpleasant | Lanes |
| Rhode Island state line | 2×3 | |
| Exit 16 Westwood | 2×4 | |
| Exit 16 Westwood | Exit 20 Newton Highlands | 2×3 |
| Exit 20 Newton Highlands | 2×4 | |
| Route 128 | 2×3 | |
| Route 128 | Exit 57 Newburyport | 2×4 |
| Exit 57 Newburyport | 2×3 | |
| New Hampshire state line | 2×4 |
Traffic intensities
80,000 vehicles drive daily on the Rhode Island border, rising to 96,000 vehicles after I-295 merges. After I-495, 95,000 vehicles and 100,000 vehicles drive south of I-93. West of I-93, 127,000 vehicles drove. 104,000 vehicles run up to I-90, then rises to 189,000 vehicles at Waltham. North of State Route 2, 161,000 vehicles and 184,000 vehicles run between US 3 and I-93. East of I-93, 118,000 vehicles and 79,000 vehicles drive after SR-128 has turned off. There are 64,000 vehicles and 88,000 vehicles on the New Hampshire border at Newburyport.
