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139-619: Interstate 93 ( I-93 ) is an Interstate Highway in the New England states of Massachusetts , New Hampshire , and Vermont in the United States. Spanning approximately 190 miles (310 km) along a north–south axis, it is one of three primary Interstate Highways located entirely within New England; the other two are I-89 and I-91 . The largest cities along the route are Boston , and Manchester, New Hampshire ; it also travels through

278-522: A concurrency or overlap. For example, I‑75 and I‑85 share the same roadway in Atlanta ; this 7.4-mile (11.9 km) section, called the Downtown Connector , is labeled both I‑75 and I‑85. Concurrencies between Interstate and US Highway numbers are also allowed in accordance with AASHTO policy, as long as the length of the concurrency is reasonable. In rare instances, two highway designations sharing

417-659: A high-occupancy vehicle lane (HOV) zipper lane is added to the peak direction of travel, making five lanes flow in the peak direction and three in the other. After the interchange with the Massachusetts Turnpike , just before the route enters the Tip O'Neill Tunnel in Downtown Boston , it is reduced to six lanes. The Southeast Expressway segment of Route 3 is approximately 10 miles long. While in Downtown Boston, Route 3

556-515: A zipper lane , in which a movable barrier carves out a reversible high-occupancy vehicle lane (HOV lane) on the non-peak side of the highway during rush hour . Most of the right of way for the Granite Railway in Milton and Quincy was incorporated into the expressway. On August 21, 1969, a train of three runaway locomotives burst out of what is now Cabot Yard , across Frontage Road, and blocked

695-637: A 28-year-old brevet lieutenant colonel, accompanied the trip "through darkest America with truck and tank," as he later described it. Some roads in the West were a "succession of dust, ruts, pits, and holes." As the landmark 1916 law expired, new legislation was passed—the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921 (Phipps Act). This new road construction initiative once again provided for federal matching funds for road construction and improvement, $ 75 million allocated annually. Moreover, this new legislation for

834-476: A change in the numbering system as a result of a new policy adopted in 1973. Previously, letter-suffixed numbers were used for long spurs off primary routes; for example, western I‑84 was I‑80N, as it went north from I‑80 . The new policy stated, "No new divided numbers (such as I-35W and I-35E , etc.) shall be adopted." The new policy also recommended that existing divided numbers be eliminated as quickly as possible; however, an I-35W and I-35E still exist in

973-672: A concurrency through Franconia Notch State Park . I-93's southern terminus is at exit 26 (formerly exit 12) of I-95 in Canton , cosigned with US 1 north. At this junction, I-95 north heads to the northwest (cosigned with US 1 south, as well as Route 128 , which begins at the interchange), to serve as the beltway around Boston, while I-95 south runs by itself southwest through Boston's southwestern suburbs toward Rhode Island . The southernmost three miles (4.8 km) of I-93 run east through Boston's southern suburbs, passing through Canton and Randolph . In Randolph, I-93 meets

1112-578: A former Y interchange where the canceled Southwest Corridor / I-95 was to meet with I-93 and run concurrent northward into downtown. The southern terminus is at the Y interchange (the " Braintree Split ") at exit 7 in Braintree (the former southern terminus of Route 128 ). A section of the expressway, beginning south of the Savin Hill overpass and ending just before the Braintree Split, utilizes

1251-645: A lawsuit designed to force the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) to update the plans to include other transportation options. Under orders from the US District Court, NHDOT and the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) were required to provide an updated environmental review. The Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) filed a lawsuit in February 2006, hoping to force any expansion plans in

1390-580: A national road grid with the passage of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921 . In 1926, the United States Numbered Highway System was established, creating the first national road numbering system for cross-country travel. The roads were state-funded and maintained, and there were few national standards for road design. United States Numbered Highways ranged from two-lane country roads to multi-lane freeways. After Dwight D. Eisenhower became president in 1953, his administration developed

1529-729: A new alignment, known as the "Northern Expressway" in Massachusetts and crossing into New Hampshire in Salem . The New Hampshire section south of Hooksett would be named the Alan B. Shepard Highway, named for the first American in space , a Derry native. The first part of I-93 completed in New Hampshire opened in Salem from the Massachusetts border to exit 2 ( NH 38 / NH 97 ) in August 1961. The route

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1668-457: A new connector road to NH 28 , effectively bypassing downtown Derry and relieving traffic along NH 102 at exit 4. Construction began in 2023. Construction of I-93 in Vermont was completed in 1982. It was planned to be built longer if I-91 did not change its designation eastward in the northeastern part of the state. It was the last Interstate to be built in the state. Since 1996,

1807-494: A new designation for New England Highway 6 in 1927 when the U.S. Highway system was created and New England highway Route 3 was chosen to be US 6. The former NE 6 then took the route 3 number with U.S. Route 3 designated north of its intersection with U.S. Route 1 and Massachusetts Route 3 to the south. The route was basically a connected system of two-lane roadways up until the 1950s with the exception of Route 3's original path through Boston which paired it with US 1 on Park Drive,

1946-567: A new interchange in Wilmington. I-93 will be widened from three to four lanes in each direction from exit 35 (formerly 41) to I-495, a distance of approximately 5 miles (8 km), as the first phase in widening I-93 from exit 35 (formerly 41) to the New Hampshire state line. Early estimates of the entire project place the cost at $ 567 million. Initial plans to widen I-93 to a uniform four travel lanes in both directions from Salem to Manchester beginning in 2008 were put on hold due to

2085-576: A numbering scheme in which primary Interstates are assigned one- or two-digit numbers, and shorter routes which branch off of longer ones are assigned three-digit numbers where the last two digits match the parent route. The Interstate Highway System is partially financed through the Highway Trust Fund , which itself is funded by a combination of a federal fuel tax and transfers from the Treasury's general fund. Though federal legislation initially banned

2224-481: A proposal for an interstate highway system, eventually resulting in the enactment of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 . Unlike the earlier United States Numbered Highway System, the interstates were designed to be all freeways, with nationally unified standards for construction and signage. While some older freeways were adopted into the system, most of the routes were completely new. In dense urban areas,

2363-540: A report called Toll Roads and Free Roads , "the first formal description of what became the Interstate Highway System" and, in 1944, the similarly themed Interregional Highways . The Interstate Highway System gained a champion in President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was influenced by his experiences as a young Army officer crossing the country in the 1919 Motor Transport Corps convoy that drove in part on

2502-409: A single digit prefixed to the two-digit number of its parent Interstate Highway. Spur routes deviate from their parent and do not return; these are given an odd first digit. Circumferential and radial loop routes return to the parent, and are given an even first digit. Unlike primary Interstates, three-digit Interstates are signed as either east–west or north–south, depending on the general orientation of

2641-769: A speed limit of 45 mph (70 km/h) because it is a parkway that consists of only one lane per side of the highway. On the other hand, Interstates 15, 80, 84, and 215 in Utah have speed limits as high as 70 mph (115 km/h) within the Wasatch Front , Cedar City , and St. George areas, and I-25 in New Mexico within the Santa Fe and Las Vegas areas along with I-20 in Texas along Odessa and Midland and I-29 in North Dakota along

2780-456: A speed limit of 80 mph (130 km/h). Other Interstates in Idaho, Montana, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming also have the same high speed limits. In some areas, speed limits on Interstates can be significantly lower in areas where they traverse significantly hazardous areas. The maximum speed limit on I-90 is 50 mph (80 km/h) in downtown Cleveland because of two sharp curves with

2919-520: A stub at exit 7. By 1963, the route had been completed from the end of the Everett Turnpike section, through Concord and north to Tilton (exit 20), and to NH 104 in New Hampton by 1964 (exit 23) and to Plymouth by 1965 (exit 26), and from there gradually northward until it reached the southern end of Franconia Notch . By 1977, I-93 was completed between exit 7 and

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3058-467: A suggested limit of 35 mph (55 km/h) in a heavily congested area; I-70 through Wheeling, West Virginia , has a maximum speed limit of 45 mph (70 km/h) through the Wheeling Tunnel and most of downtown Wheeling; and I-68 has a maximum speed limit of 40 mph (65 km/h) through Cumberland, Maryland , because of multiple hazards including sharp curves and narrow lanes through

3197-534: Is also commonly believed the Interstate Highway System was built for the sole purpose of evacuating cities in the event of nuclear warfare . While military motivations were present, the primary motivations were civilian. The numbering scheme for the Interstate Highway System was developed in 1957 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). The association's present numbering policy dates back to August 10, 1973. Within

3336-522: Is an exception to this convention). Vermont added "milepoint exit" numbers to existing signs in 2020, essentially marking each interchange with two exit numbers (except the I-91 interchange, which was previously unnumbered). Interstate Highway [REDACTED] The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways , commonly known as the Interstate Highway System , or

3475-594: Is authorized in the breakdown lane of the peak direction. This portion of the route stretches for approximately 43 miles. Route 3 runs concurrently with Interstate 93 and U.S. Route 1 from Exit 7 in Braintree to Exit 18 in Boston. Along this portion of the route, it is known as the Southeast Expressway and is composed of eight lanes. Outside of rush hour, four lanes travel in each direction. However during rush hour,

3614-410: Is available on the northbound side of the freeway, directly before exit 1. I-93 is four lanes wide in each direction for its first 18.5 miles (29.8 km), until the split with I-293 and New Hampshire Route 101 (NH 101), where I-93 drops to three lanes before adding a fourth and fifth lane back to the freeway after the interchange. The construction to widen I-93 to four lanes each way between

3753-483: Is concurrent with I-93 and US-1. Route 3 exits I-93 at Exit 18, and runs concurrently with Storrow Drive for a short way to the Longfellow Bridge, where it crosses over to Cambridge and joins Memorial Drive . On Memorial Drive, at an interchange with Route 2A , the designation of the highway changes to U.S. Route 3 , which continues through Boston's northern suburbs and toward New Hampshire . Route 3 began as

3892-526: Is made up of the O'Neill Tunnel and Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge , which spans the Charles River. The underground construction of the tunnel system was completed as of October 2006; however, repairs continue to many parts of the tunnel due to water leakage because of improper construction of the slurry walls supporting the O'Neill Tunnel. The former route of the above-ground Artery, so named "the other Green Monster " by Mayor Thomas Menino ,

4031-505: Is the highest-numbered exit along the entire route. I-93 once had only 22 exits prior to the rerouting of I-95 onto Route 128 . Nearly the entire length of I-93 in Massachusetts carries four lanes in each direction. Average daily traffic volumes on I-93 in the state range from 100,000 vehicles at the New Hampshire border and 150,000 vehicles at the southern end at I-95 to over 200,000 vehicles through Braintree and Quincy. I-93 travels just over 131 miles (211 km) in

4170-525: Is to have the highway route extend from Tamaulipas , Mexico to Ontario , Canada. The planned I-11 will then bridge the Interstate gap between Phoenix, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada , and thus form part of the CANAMEX Corridor (along with I-19 , and portions of I-10 and I-15 ) between Sonora , Mexico and Alberta , Canada. Political opposition from residents canceled many freeway projects around

4309-714: The Central Artery and the O'Neill Tunnel in Downtown Boston , after which point Route 3 exits the concurrency and continues on surface streets. It crosses the Longfellow Bridge on the Boston–;Cambridge city line, and transitions into US 3 shortly after an intersection with Route 2A in Cambridge. Massachusetts Route 3 can be said to have three segments: the Pilgrims Highway, the concurrency with Interstate 93, and

Interstate 93 - Misplaced Pages Continue

4448-462: The Central Artery , US 1 , and the planned route of the Inner Belt Expressway (proposed I-695) between 1965 and 1973. Because it was already under construction, the highway was granted an exception to the moratorium on highway expansion inside Route 128 that was announced in 1970. I-93 was originally planned with a southern terminus in Cambridge (just north of Boston), where it

4587-507: The Central Artery , and passes beneath Downtown Boston. A major intersection with the Massachusetts Turnpike /I-90 (exit 16, formerly 20) takes place just south of Downtown Boston. After the massive interchange, motorists use the O'Neill Tunnel to travel underneath the city and then use the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge to cross the Charles River . Two exits are located in

4726-474: The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex in Texas, and an I-35W and I-35E that run through Minneapolis and Saint Paul , Minnesota, still exist. Additionally, due to Congressional requirements, three sections of I-69 in southern Texas will be divided into I-69W , I-69E , and I-69C (for Central). AASHTO policy allows dual numbering to provide continuity between major control points. This is referred to as

4865-789: The Eisenhower Interstate System , is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States . The system extends throughout the contiguous United States and has routes in Hawaii , Alaska , and Puerto Rico . In the 20th century, the United States Congress began funding roadways through the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 , and started an effort to construct

5004-691: The Everett Turnpike from Hooksett to Concord, and as the Styles Bridges Highway, after the US politician , from Concord to the Vermont line. This section of roadway was constructed between 1961 and 1977. Between the northern end of I-293 in Hooksett and the beginning of I-89 in Bow , I-93 also carries the northern end of the Everett Turnpike. There is one toll booth along this section, at exit 11 in Hooksett;

5143-538: The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 into law. Under the act, the federal government would pay for 90 percent of the cost of construction of Interstate Highways. Each Interstate Highway was required to be a freeway with at least four lanes and no at-grade crossings. The publication in 1955 of the General Location of National System of Interstate Highways , informally known as the Yellow Book , mapped out what became

5282-646: The Federal Highway Administration to add tolls to I-93 at the Massachusetts–New Hampshire border. The new toll facility was to be located in Salem, approximately 0.5 miles (0.8 km) north of the state line, and would cost travelers $ 2.00 per vehicle. The proposal faced opposition from state legislators in both states, who claimed the tolls would cause severe congestion in the area and lead to an economic burden to local residents. Opponents included US senator Scott Brown . The proposal

5421-538: The Grand Forks area have higher speed limits of 75 mph (120 km/h). As one of the components of the National Highway System , Interstate Highways improve the mobility of military troops to and from airports, seaports, rail terminals, and other military bases. Interstate Highways also connect to other roads that are a part of the Strategic Highway Network , a system of roads identified as critical to

5560-546: The Great North Woods Region , while I-93 runs to the northwest. The final town along I-93 in New Hampshire is Littleton, served by four exits. Many motorist services are available at exit 42. After passing through town, it crosses the Connecticut River into Vermont . The last exit along I-93 is exit 44 for Monroe , through which a rest area and welcome center is accessible to travelers on both sides of

5699-590: The Lakes Region of New Hampshire and then makes its way north through the heart of the White Mountains Region . I-93 passes through Franconia Notch State Park as a two-lane freeway (one lane in each direction) with a 45-mile-per-hour (72 km/h) speed limit, designed to reduce I-93's impact on Franconia Notch. For the trip through Franconia Notch, I-93 and US 3 run concurrently. Beyond Franconia Notch State Park, US 3 heads northeastward through

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5838-578: The Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge . The portion of highway between the Braintree Split and the Central Artery is named the "Southeast Expressway", while the portion from Boston to the New Hampshire state line is named the "Northern Expressway". I-93 ends in Saint Johnsbury, Vermont , at I-91. For most of its length, I-93 indirectly parallels US 3 . In New Hampshire, the two highways have several interchanges with each other, as well as

5977-515: The Lincoln Highway , the first road across America. He recalled that, "The old convoy had started me thinking about good two-lane highways... the wisdom of broader ribbons across our land." Eisenhower also gained an appreciation of the Reichsautobahn system, the first "national" implementation of modern Germany's Autobahn network, as a necessary component of a national defense system while he

6116-762: The Massachusetts Highway Department (MassHighway) has studied rebuilding the interchange of I-93 and I-95 in Woburn along the border with Stoneham and Reading . The project was expected to start in early 2017 and cost $ 267 million but continued community opposition has postponed the project indefinitely. A project to upgrade the interchange of I-93 and I-95 in Canton is also proposed. An additional 2010 proposal to upgrade Route 24 , running southwards from I-93 exit 4 in Randolph to I-195 near Fall River , has also been put off due to studies showing

6255-597: The Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. A rest area and welcome center is located along the northbound side of the highway for travelers entering from New Hampshire. The final three miles (4.8 km) of the Interstate actually veer to the southwest while traveling northbound. Vehicles bound for Canada can use northbound I-91 to reach the Derby Line–Stanstead Border Crossing at that Interstate's end, and northwards into Canada as an autoroute freeway into

6394-444: The US Department of Defense . The system has also been used to facilitate evacuations in the face of hurricanes and other natural disasters. An option for maximizing traffic throughput on a highway is to reverse the flow of traffic on one side of a divider so that all lanes become outbound lanes. This procedure, known as contraflow lane reversal , has been employed several times for hurricane evacuations. After public outcry regarding

6533-464: The US Highways , which increase from east to west and north to south). This numbering system usually holds true even if the local direction of the route does not match the compass directions. Numbers divisible by five are intended to be major arteries among the primary routes, carrying traffic long distances. Primary north–south Interstates increase in number from I-5 between Canada and Mexico along

6672-541: The West Coast to I‑95 between Canada and Miami, Florida along the East Coast . Major west–east arterial Interstates increase in number from I-10 between Santa Monica, California , and Jacksonville, Florida , to I-90 between Seattle, Washington , and Boston, Massachusetts , with two exceptions. There are no I-50 and I-60, as routes with those numbers would likely pass through states that currently have US Highways with

6811-453: The mileage-based exit numbering system was implemented in 2021, several numbers were skipped in and near Boston. Several exits were removed from I-93 to address traffic problems in addition to converting the Central Artery from 6 to 8 to 10 lanes, by reducing the combined number of on- and offramps from 27 to 14. Exit 46 (formerly 48) in Methuen, just before the New Hampshire state line,

6950-557: The Canadian province of Quebec . The portion of I-93 in Vermont parallels both US 2 and Vermont Route 18 (VT 18). The Southeast Expressway was constructed between 1954 and 1959, at the same time the John F. Fitzgerald Expressway (Central Artery) was built. Its northern terminus is at exit 15 (southbound) or 15B (northbound) (former exit 18; Frontage Road) in South Boston ,

7089-402: The Congress Hotel in Chicago. In the plan, Mehren proposed a 50,000-mile (80,000 km) system, consisting of five east–west routes and 10 north–south routes. The system would include two percent of all roads and would pass through every state at a cost of $ 25,000 per mile ($ 16,000/km), providing commercial as well as military transport benefits. In 1919, the US Army sent an expedition across

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7228-421: The Everett Turnpike in Hooksett , completing the Alan B. Shepard Highway segment of I-93 and closing the gap that had stood for 15 years. The Everett Turnpike section had been built in 1957 and incorporated into I-93 in 1958. After the completion of the Alan B. Shepard Highway portion, the portion concurrent with NH 101 was widened to eight lanes, while the Everett Turnpike section from Hooksett to Concord

7367-430: The Granite State, about two-thirds of the highway's total distance. Serving as the main Interstate route in New Hampshire, it connects the state capital, Concord , and its largest city, Manchester . Beyond Concord are the towns of Tilton , Plymouth , and Littleton . I-93 is designated as the Alan B. Shepard Highway, from the Massachusetts line to Hooksett (just north of Manchester at the northern terminus of I-293), as

7506-407: The Interstate Highway System. Assisting in the planning was Charles Erwin Wilson , who was still head of General Motors when President Eisenhower selected him as Secretary of Defense in January 1953. Some sections of highways that became part of the Interstate Highway System actually began construction earlier. Three states have claimed the title of first Interstate Highway. Missouri claims that

7645-424: The Interstate Highway program. The Interstates of Alaska and Puerto Rico are numbered sequentially in order of funding without regard to the rules on odd and even numbers. They also carry the prefixes A and PR , respectively. However, these highways are signed according to their local designations, not their Interstate Highway numbers. Furthermore, these routes were neither planned according to nor constructed to

7784-425: The Interstate, using rapid bridge replacement methods. The $ 98.1-million (equivalent to $ 134 million in 2023) project replaced bridges originally built in 1957 with a set of prefabricated modular concrete bridges in a series of weekend roadway closures. Traffic was diverted into a series of crossover lanes during construction. The main part of the project took place each weekend from June through August 2011, with

7923-416: The Massachusetts line and moving northward to Manchester. The project was designed with an intermodal transit bent; new or improved park and ride facilities were deployed at exits 1, 3, and 5, and a widened median strip was designed to accommodate a planned commuter rail service between Boston and Manchester. As a way to help defray the costs of the expansion, in early 2010, NHDOT made a formal request to

8062-453: The Massachusetts–New Hampshire border and its junction with I-293 and NH 101 was fully complete as of April 2021. I-93 and NH 101 run concurrently for about one mile (1.6 km) before NH 101 exits to the east as its own freeway, serving Portsmouth and the Seacoast Region. I-93 maintains three lanes of traffic in each direction until the junction with I-89, then is a four-lane freeway through most of its journey northward, with

8201-416: The New Hampshire state capital of Concord . I-93 begins at an interchange with I-95 , US Route 1 (US 1) and Route 128 in Canton, Massachusetts . It travels concurrently with US 1 beginning in Canton, and, with Route 3 beginning at the Braintree Split on the Braintree – Quincy city line, through the Central Artery in Downtown Boston before each route splits off beyond

8340-441: The Pilgrims Highway entirely) and the surface portion became Massachusetts Route 228 . Route 3 was then taken off its remaining pathway along surface streets in Boston and extended up the Southeast Expressway and Central Artery in 1971 to the Storrow Drive exit. The routing of Route 3 has changed little since that time. A re-signing project from 2006 to 2009 changed exit 20 to exit 20A for I-93 south and exit 20B for I-93 north. In

8479-442: The Riverway and the Jamaicaway and then along its own path in Mattapan and Dorchester along the Arborway, Morton Street and Gallivan Boulevard. Before the road was rerouted, the road continued over the Cape Cod Canal via the Sagamore Bridge to the Bourne Rotary, to the south of the Bourne Bridge . This arrangement changed after 1951. The Plimoth Patuxet Highway , a two-lane divided freeway that connects Route 3 with Route 3A,

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8618-455: The Southeast Expressway opening in 1959. (Portions of this road run alongside the Old Colony Railroad's mainline, now used by the MBTA Old Colony Lines Commuter Rail, and the MBTA Red Line's Braintree Branch rapid transit.) Finally the last sections between Hingham and Duxbury were completed by 1963 when the Route 3 designation was moved onto the completed freeway. The former Route 3 highways became Route 3A in Quincy and from Kingston south,

8757-406: The US 44 road concurrency between exits 15 and 16 near Plymouth) with new bridges and new on- and off-ramps, and will include upgraded interchanges with new acceleration and deceleration lanes. The project is expected to cost $ 256 million. Route 3 was one of the freeways whose exits were once numbered with the "25 is 128" system, in which the Braintree Split was numbered "Exit 25" (due to it being

8896-506: The US to determine the difficulties that military vehicles would have on a cross-country trip. Leaving from the Ellipse near the White House on July 7, the Motor Transport Corps convoy needed 62 days to drive 3,200 miles (5,100 km) on the Lincoln Highway to the Presidio of San Francisco along the Golden Gate . The convoy suffered many setbacks and problems on the route, such as poor-quality bridges, broken crankshafts, and engines clogged with desert sand. Dwight Eisenhower , then

9035-631: The United States, including: In addition to cancellations, removals of freeways are planned: The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has defined a set of standards that all new Interstates must meet unless a waiver from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is obtained. One almost absolute standard is the controlled access nature of the roads. With few exceptions , traffic lights (and cross traffic in general) are limited to toll booths and ramp meters (metered flow control for lane merging during rush hour ). Being freeways , Interstate Highways usually have

9174-413: The act was signed, and paving started September 26, 1956. The state marked its portion of I-70 as the first project in the United States completed under the provisions of the new Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. The Pennsylvania Turnpike could also be considered one of the first Interstate Highways, and is nicknamed "Grandfather of the Interstate System". On October 1, 1940, 162 miles (261 km) of

9313-627: The adjacent town of Derry were in final planning stages as of June 2020. Construction of exit 4A, to be located approximately a mile (1.6 km) north of exit 4 in Londonderry, began in 2022 and is scheduled to be completed in fall 2024. The interchange is part of a larger series of road improvements expected to be completed in 2026. Massachusetts converted from sequential to distance-based exit numbering on I-93 in mid-2021. New Hampshire continues to use sequential exit numbering on all of its freeways except at interstate-to-interstate interchanges, which are usually unnumbered (exit 15E to I-393

9452-424: The area to include the restoration of commuter rail service between Manchester and Boston. Despite the suit, the exit 1 interchange construction was allowed to undergo upgrading and expansion; other associated projects related to the widening, chiefly around exits 3 and 5, were also eventually allowed to proceed. The whole set of projects were eventually allowed to move forward following an agreement between

9591-399: The cancellation of the Somerset Freeway . This situation was remedied when the construction of the Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 95 Interchange Project started in 2010 and partially opened on September 22, 2018, which was already enough to fill the gap. However, I-70 remains discontinuous in Pennsylvania , because of the lack of a direct interchange with the Pennsylvania Turnpike at

9730-406: The choice of routing destroyed many well-established neighborhoods, often intentionally as part of a program of " urban renewal ". In the two decades following the 1956 Highway Act, the construction of the freeways displaced one million people, and as a result of the many freeway revolts during this era, several planned Interstates were abandoned or re-routed to avoid urban cores. Construction of

9869-417: The city. I-93 continues through the northern suburbs of Boston, coming to a second interchange with I-95 and Route 128, which run concurrently. Travelers going north can either change over to I-95 north to eventually reach Maine or remain on I-93 toward New Hampshire. Farther north, in Andover , I-93 meets I-495 , providing access to Worcester to the southwest and New Hampshire's Seacoast Region to

10008-650: The city. In some locations, low speed limits are the result of lawsuits and resident demands; after holding up the completion of I-35E in St. Paul, Minnesota , for nearly 30 years in the courts, residents along the stretch of the freeway from the southern city limit to downtown successfully lobbied for a 45 mph (70 km/h) speed limit in addition to a prohibition on any vehicle weighing more than 9,000 pounds (4,100 kg) gross vehicle weight . I-93 in Franconia Notch State Park in northern New Hampshire has

10147-401: The collection of tolls, some Interstate routes are toll roads , either because they were grandfathered into the system or because subsequent legislation has allowed for tolling of Interstates in some cases. As of 2022 , about one quarter of all vehicle miles driven in the country used the Interstate Highway System, which has a total length of 48,890 miles (78,680 km). In 2022 and 2023,

10286-497: The construction and improvement of highways. The nation's revenue needs associated with World War I prevented any significant implementation of this policy, which expired in 1921. In December 1918, E. J. Mehren, a civil engineer and the editor of Engineering News-Record , presented his "A Suggested National Highway Policy and Plan" during a gathering of the State Highway Officials and Highway Industries Association at

10425-407: The contiguous United States, primary Interstates—also called main line Interstates or two-digit Interstates—are assigned numbers less than 100. While numerous exceptions do exist, there is a general scheme for numbering Interstates. Primary Interstates are assigned one- or two-digit numbers, while shorter routes (such as spurs, loops, and short connecting roads) are assigned three-digit numbers where

10564-539: The cost of the project being very high. MassDOT and its predecessor MassHighway have planned on widening I-93 to a uniform four travel lanes in both directions from the lane drop near exit 35 (formerly 41) in Wilmington to the New Hampshire border since the beginning of the 2000s. The first section of widening will be done as part of the I-93 Tri-Town Interchange Project. The project will construct

10703-618: The discontinuity, but they have been blocked by local opposition, fearing a loss of business. The Interstate Highway System has been expanded numerous times. The expansions have both created new designations and extended existing designations. For example, I-49 , added to the system in the 1980s as a freeway in Louisiana , was designated as an expansion corridor, and FHWA approved the expanded route north from Lafayette, Louisiana , to Kansas City, Missouri . The freeway exists today as separate completed segments, with segments under construction or in

10842-448: The dissemination of public information. As a result, the 2005 evacuation of New Orleans, Louisiana, prior to Hurricane Katrina ran much more smoothly. According to urban legend , early regulations required that one out of every five miles of the Interstate Highway System must be built straight and flat, so as to be usable by aircraft during times of war. There is no evidence of this rule being included in any Interstate legislation. It

10981-492: The eastern end of the concurrency near Breezewood . Traveling in either direction, I-70 traffic must exit the freeway and use a short stretch of US 30 (which includes a number of roadside services) to rejoin I-70. The interchange was not originally built because of a legacy federal funding rule, since relaxed, which restricted the use of federal funds to improve roads financed with tolls. Solutions have been proposed to eliminate

11120-450: The economy. Not just as a public works measure, but for future growth. Clay's committee proposed a 10-year, $ 100 billion program ($ 1.13 trillion in 2023), which would build 40,000 miles (64,000 km) of divided highways linking all American cities with a population of greater than 50,000. Eisenhower initially preferred a system consisting of toll roads , but Clay convinced Eisenhower that toll roads were not feasible outside of

11259-511: The exception of the July 4 holiday weekend. One or two bridges were replaced each weekend during the construction time frame. The project was part of the commonwealth's Accelerated Bridge Program. Off exit 43 (formerly 46) in Methuen , the surface level traffic circle was rebuilt as part of an overall infrastructure improvement that also included constructing a new bridge carrying the Interstate over

11398-488: The existing, largely non-freeway, United States Numbered Highways system. By the late 1930s, planning had expanded to a system of new superhighways. In 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave Thomas MacDonald , chief at the Bureau of Public Roads, a hand-drawn map of the United States marked with eight superhighway corridors for study. In 1939, Bureau of Public Roads Division of Information chief Herbert S. Fairbank wrote

11537-472: The exit for Route 128), with numbers increasing away from Boston and decreasing toward Boston. Under the old system, the Sagamore Rotary was (on paper) "Exit 43." When the first 22 miles (35 km) of the highway were resurfaced in 1975-76, the new numbers were instituted in that section. The Braintree section wasn't resurfaced in 1978, leaving a two-year gap when half the highway was on the new system while

11676-425: The exit was split into 43A (formerly 46A) for Route 110 and Route 113 eastbound, and 43B (formerly 46B) for Route 110 and Route 113 westbound. I-93 then interchanges with the western end of Route 213 , a connector between I-93 and I-495. I-93 then crosses into New Hampshire after about one mile (1.6 km). In all, I-93 has 46 (formerly 48) numbered exits in Massachusetts, although, before

11815-519: The exits renumbered. The parkway opened in June 1988, replacing Route 3, and grade crossings were replaced by an overpass. Begun in 2006 and continuing until 2021, the portion between the state border and the I-293 southern terminus was widened to eight lanes; this necessitated the rebuilding and/or relocation of several interchanges. An additional exit has been proposed near milemarker 13 that would include

11954-426: The federal government, Interstate Highways are owned by the state in which they were built. With few exceptions , all Interstates must meet specific standards , such as having controlled access, physical barriers or median strips between lanes of oncoming traffic, breakdown lanes , avoiding at-grade intersections , no traffic lights , and complying with federal traffic sign specifications. Interstate Highways use

12093-507: The first three contracts under the new program were signed in Missouri on August 2, 1956. The first contract signed was for upgrading a section of US Route 66 to what is now designated Interstate 44 . On August 13, 1956, work began on US 40 (now I-70) in St. Charles County. Kansas claims that it was the first to start paving after the act was signed. Preliminary construction had taken place before

12232-594: The first time sought to target these funds to the construction of a national road grid of interconnected "primary highways", setting up cooperation among the various state highway planning boards. The Bureau of Public Roads asked the Army to provide a list of roads that it considered necessary for national defense. In 1922, General John J. Pershing , former head of the American Expeditionary Force in Europe during

12371-542: The highest speed limits in a given area. Speed limits are determined by individual states. From 1975 to 1986, the maximum speed limit on any highway in the United States was 55 miles per hour (90 km/h), in accordance with federal law. Typically, lower limits are established in Northeastern and coastal states, while higher speed limits are established in inland states west of the Mississippi River . For example,

12510-542: The highly populated coastal regions. In February 1955, Eisenhower forwarded Clay's proposal to Congress. The bill quickly won approval in the Senate, but House Democrats objected to the use of public bonds as the means to finance construction. Eisenhower and the House Democrats agreed to instead finance the system through the Highway Trust Fund , which itself would be funded by a gasoline tax. In June 1956, Eisenhower signed

12649-607: The highway now designated I‑70 and I‑76 opened between Irwin and Carlisle . The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania refers to the turnpike as the Granddaddy of the Pikes, a reference to turnpikes . Milestones in the construction of the Interstate Highway System include: The initial cost estimate for the system was $ 25 billion over 12 years; it ended up costing $ 114 billion (equivalent to $ 425 billion in 2006 or $ 618 billion in 2023 ) and took 35 years. The system

12788-547: The highway. In 2013, a bill was signed by governor Maggie Hassan to raise the speed limit on I-93 to 70 mph (110 km/h) from milemarker 45 to the Vermont border, with the exception of the Franconia Notch Parkway. The new limit took effect on January 1, 2014. I-93 runs for 11 miles (18 km) in Vermont , with one numbered exit in the state before ending at the interchange with I-91 in St. Johnsbury in

12927-454: The inefficiency of evacuating from southern Louisiana prior to Hurricane Georges ' landfall in September 1998, government officials looked towards contraflow to improve evacuation times. In Savannah, Georgia , and Charleston, South Carolina , in 1999, lanes of I-16 and I-26 were used in a contraflow configuration in anticipation of Hurricane Floyd with mixed results. In 2004, contraflow

13066-431: The last two digits match the parent route (thus, I-294 is a loop that connects at both ends to I-94 , while I-787 is a short spur route attached to I-87 ). In the numbering scheme for the primary routes, east–west highways are assigned even numbers and north–south highways are assigned odd numbers. Odd route numbers increase from west to east, and even-numbered routes increase from south to north (to avoid confusion with

13205-422: The local road, reconstructing on- and offramps to the highway, and realigning the Interstate itself. As originally envisioned by the federal government, I-93 would have followed the route of present US 3 / Northwest Expressway / Everett Turnpike from Boston to Concord . By 1956, the two states had drawn up new plans for I-93 to the east, bypassing the tolled Everett Turnpike from Manchester southward along

13344-450: The mainline. Some auxiliary highways do not follow these guidelines, however. The Interstate Highway System also extends to Alaska , Hawaii , and Puerto Rico , even though they have no direct land connections to any other states or territories. However, their residents still pay federal fuel and tire taxes. The Interstates in Hawaii, all located on the most populous island of Oahu , carry

13483-737: The maximum speed limit is 75 mph (120 km/h) in northern Maine, varies between 50 and 70 mph (80 and 115 km/h) from southern Maine to New Jersey, and is 50 mph (80 km/h) in New York City and the District of Columbia. Currently, rural speed limits elsewhere generally range from 65 to 80 miles per hour (105 to 130 km/h). Several portions of various highways such as I-10 and I-20 in rural western Texas, I-80 in Nevada between Fernley and Winnemucca (except around Lovelock) and portions of I-15 , I-70 , I-80 , and I-84 in Utah have

13622-499: The mid-1970s, I-93 had outgrown its capacity and had begun to deteriorate due to a lack of maintenance. State Transportation Secretary Frederick P. Salvucci , aware of the issues surrounding the elevated roadway, proposed a plan conceived in the early 1970s by the Boston Transportation Planning Review to replace the rusting elevated six-lane Central Artery with a new, more efficient underground roadway. This plan

13761-399: The new I-93 segment was not without serious issues: a lengthy federal environmental review pushed the start of construction back from approximately 1990, causing many inflationary increases, while funding for the project was the subject of several political battles between President Ronald Reagan and Representative Tip O'Neill . Major construction on the new roadway was done while maintaining

13900-507: The northbound side between 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm to align with commuting hours. However, on most busy days, this fails to prevent traffic delays. The Massachusetts State Police has expressed displeasure with this arrangement, citing that traffic in the breakdown lanes interferes with the ability of emergency vehicles to respond to accidents. In August 2010, in Medford , a 25-by-7-foot (7.6 m × 2.1 m) section of bridge deck on

14039-467: The northbound side of the highway. The Central Artery , officially the John F. Fitzgerald Expressway, was a section of highway in Downtown Boston constructed in the 1950s and was originally designed as a fully elevated highway . This new highway was greatly disliked by the citizens of the city because it cut the heart of the city in half; cast long, dreary shadows; and was an eyesore to the community. Because of

14178-494: The northbound side partially collapsed due to age-related structural fatigue. The collapse forced the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) to evaluate the remaining bridges along the corridor, eventually deciding to replace several bridges along the highway in a plan called 93 Fast 14. MassDOT set in motion a plan to replace the superstructure and concrete decks on 14 overpass bridges along that section of

14317-561: The northeast. Just south of the state line, I-93 crosses the Merrimack River into Methuen , where it intersects Route 110 and Route 113 at exit 43 (formerly 46) just north of the river crossing. Between 2014 and 2018, the Route ;110/Route 113 junction beneath I-93 was converted from a rotary to a partial cloverleaf , with the new traffic patterns opening in various stages during 2016 and 2017. On I-93 northbound,

14456-424: The northern end of Route 24 (Fall River Expressway/AMVETS Memorial Highway) at exit 4. I-93 continues east into Braintree , interchanging with Route 3 , the major freeway linking Boston to Cape Cod , at exit 7 (known locally as the " Braintree Split "). Route 3 north joins I-93 and US 1, and the highway turns north toward Boston. These first seven miles (11 km) of I-93 follow what

14595-525: The notch prevented it being built. As a compromise the Franconia Notch Parkway, a super-two roadway with 45-mile-per-hour (72 km/h) speed limit, was completed in June 1988, replacing US 3. Originally, this road was not included in I-93, as it had its own exit numbers and was signed "TO I-93", though, later, the parkway was officially added to the Interstate System despite the substandard conditions and

14734-404: The number of fatalities on the Interstate Highway System amounted to more than 5,000 people annually, with nearly 5,600 fatalities in 2022. The United States government's efforts to construct a national network of highways began on an ad hoc basis with the passage of the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 , which provided $ 75 million over a five-year period for matching funds to the states for

14873-428: The official Interstate Highway standards . On one- or two-digit Interstates, the mile marker numbering almost always begins at the southern or western state line. If an Interstate originates within a state, the numbering begins from the location where the road begins in the south or west. As with all guidelines for Interstate routes, however, numerous exceptions exist. Massachusetts Route 3 Route 3 begins in

15012-428: The old roadway, a step that also greatly increased the cost of the project. The original Charles River crossing, named Scheme Z, was the object of great public outcry similar to that of the building of the original highway. The outcry eventually led to the replacement of Scheme Z with a newer, more sleek cable-stayed bridge and complementing exit for Cambridge , increasing the cost even more. In Downtown Boston, I-93

15151-577: The only exception being the Franconia Notch section. In the state capital of Concord, I-393 heads directly east (cosigned with eastbound US 4 and US 202 ), providing another route to the Seacoast Region. Westbound US 4 joins I-93 and runs concurrently with it, crossing the Merrimack River again, until exit 17 for Penacook , about five miles (8.0 km) farther north, before exiting westward. Continuing north, I-93 traverses

15290-561: The original Interstate Highway System was proclaimed complete in 1992, despite deviations from the original 1956 plan and several stretches that did not fully conform with federal standards . The construction of the Interstate Highway System cost approximately $ 114 billion (equivalent to $ 618 billion in 2023). The system has continued to expand and grow as additional federal funding has provided for new routes to be added, and many future Interstate Highways are currently either being planned or under construction. Though heavily funded by

15429-633: The planning phase between them. In 1966, the FHWA designated the entire Interstate Highway System as part of the larger Pan-American Highway System, and at least two proposed Interstate expansions were initiated to help trade with Canada and Mexico spurred by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Long-term plans for I-69 , which currently exists in several separate completed segments (the largest of which are in Indiana and Texas ),

15568-411: The prefix H . There are three one-digit routes in the state ( H-1 , H-2 , and H-3 ) and one auxiliary route ( H-201 ). These Interstates connect several military and naval bases together, as well as the important communities spread across Oahu, and especially within the urban core of Honolulu . Both Alaska and Puerto Rico also have public highways that receive 90 percent of their funding from

15707-504: The process, the ramp carrying Route 3 to I-93 north was no longer signed as part of Route 3. Separate signs indicating Route 3's routing along I-93 were to be installed on exit sign support poles in 2011. MassDOT is looking into the possibility, in a similar manner to what happened to a 14+ mile section of Route 128 in the 2010s, of widening Route 3 from I-93 to the Sagamore Bridge from four to six lanes (as has already been done within

15846-509: The public outcry, Governor John A. Volpe ordered the southern half of the highway redesigned so that it was underground; this section became known as the Dewey Square Tunnel . With the cancelation of the highway projects leading into the city in 1972 by Governor Francis Sargent , the Central Artery gained the designation of I-93 in 1974. It has also carried the local highway designations of US 1 (since 1989) and Route 3 . By

15985-630: The remainder became Route 53 . Route 3 was connected to the Southeast Expressway in Milton by using Granite Avenue as a link from Gallivan Boulevard. Until around 1965, the northern portion of the Pilgrims Highway, from current Exit 36 (Derby Street) in Hingham, was also signed as Route 128 , which continued past the exit on surface streets to Hull . However, by 1966 the 128 designation was removed past its intersection with Route 3 in Braintree (and thus from

16124-468: The route, without regard to the route number. For instance, I-190 in Massachusetts is labeled north–south, while I-195 in New Jersey is labeled east–west. Some looped Interstate routes use inner–outer directions instead of compass directions, when the use of compass directions would create ambiguity. Due to the large number of these routes, auxiliary route numbers may be repeated in different states along

16263-419: The same numbers, which is generally disallowed under highway administration guidelines. Several two-digit numbers are shared between unconnected road segments at opposite ends of the country for various reasons. Some such highways are incomplete Interstates (such as I-69 and I-74 ) and some just happen to share route designations (such as I-76 , I-84 , I‑86 , I-87 , and I-88 ). Some of these were due to

16402-503: The same roadway are signed as traveling in opposite directions; one such wrong-way concurrency is found between Wytheville and Fort Chiswell , Virginia, where I‑81 north and I‑77 south are equivalent (with that section of road traveling almost due east), as are I‑81 south and I‑77 north. Auxiliary Interstate Highways are circumferential, radial, or spur highways that principally serve urban areas . These types of Interstate Highways are given three-digit route numbers, which consist of

16541-495: The section north of I-93 in Boston. The Pilgrims Highway is the part of Route 3 that stretches from the intersection with US 6 in Bourne to the junction with Interstate 93 in Braintree. The route is entirely a freeway and ranges from four lanes further south to six further north. Between the towns of Pembroke and Hingham, the highway is typically composed of four lanes, but is expanded to five during rush hour. During this time, travel

16680-469: The south as a freeway along a brief overlap with U.S. Route 6 (US 6) in Bourne. The highway is known as the Pilgrims Highway from Bourne to the Braintree Split at the Braintree – Quincy city line, where Route 3 meets with Interstate 93 (I-93) and U.S. Route 1 (US 1) and the three routes travel concurrently toward Boston as the Southeast Expressway. I-93, US 1, and Route 3 travel through

16819-477: The southbound bridge, NHDOT added a third lane to ease congestion. The bridges were completed in 2014. More plans were announced in 2014 that the Hooksett rest areas would be rebuilt. The new rest areas feature a 14-pump Irving Oil gas station, a new New Hampshire liquor and wine outlet, and a few restaurants and shops. The project was completed in 2015. In Londonderry , a new interchange on I-93 connecting to

16958-417: The southernmost 20 miles (32 km) of I-93 to four lanes in each direction, from the existing two lanes in each direction. In addition, all five interchanges along this length would be upgraded to accommodate larger amounts of traffic, including the replacement of many aging bridges. According to plans filed by the state with USDOT, the project was scheduled to run from 2009 through 2016, with work starting at

17097-546: The state and the CLF that removed the group's opposition to construction which does not pose a threat to the environment. As part of the 2009 stimulus package , New Hampshire was set to receive several million dollars in highway construction funds. One of the projects was the widening of a portion of I-93 between the Massachusetts border and Manchester. Bidding was set to begin in February 2009, with construction slated to begin in late 2009 or early 2010. The plans called for NHDOT to widen

17236-453: The toll for passenger cars is $ 1.00 ($ 0.50 at the ramp toll booth). This is the only toll collected along the entire length of the highway. I-93 in New Hampshire is also notable for having state liquor stores serve as rest areas, which are passed just after the toll plaza, traveling north. There are separate stores on both sides of the Interstate for travelers in each direction. I-93 enters New Hampshire at Salem . A rest area and welcome center

17375-543: The tunnel, where the speed limit is 45 mph (72 km/h). Route 3 leaves the Artery just before the Zakim bridge via exit 18 (formerly 26), and US 1 leaves the Artery just after the bridge, via exit 19 (formerly 27) (no southbound access). From Boston through the rest of Massachusetts, Concord, New Hampshire , appears as the control city on northbound overhead signs. The Artery ends as I-93 continues north out of

17514-490: The war, complied by submitting a detailed network of 20,000 miles (32,000 km) of interconnected primary highways—the so-called Pershing Map . A boom in road construction followed throughout the decade of the 1920s, with such projects as the New York parkway system constructed as part of a new national highway system. As automobile traffic increased, planners saw a need for such an interconnected national system to supplement

17653-541: Was employed ahead of Hurricane Charley in the Tampa, Florida area and on the Gulf Coast before the landfall of Hurricane Ivan ; however, evacuation times there were no better than previous evacuation operations. Engineers began to apply lessons learned from the analysis of prior contraflow operations, including limiting exits, removing troopers (to keep traffic flowing instead of having drivers stop for directions), and improving

17792-484: Was eventually dropped in favor of issuing new state bonds to pay for expansion. The new policy was laid out by Transportation Commissioner George Campbell after reviewing the proposal and receiving a promise from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation that it would not be enacting a similar toll on the Massachusetts side of the border. Plans were announced in 2012 that I-93 would receive new northbound and southbound bridges over I-89 in Bow . To reduce traffic on

17931-503: Was extended gradually northward over the next several years, reaching exit 3 ( NH 111 ) by the end of 1961, as well as a second segment from the I-293/NH ;101 west interchange to exit 7 (NH 101 east) at the same time. The two segments were connected in late 1962. This left a gap in I-93, as traffic was directed along NH 101 West and the Everett Turnpike, while the southern segment of I-93 continued on and ended in

18070-570: Was formerly part of Route 128 before it was truncated at the I-95/I-93 junction. Upon turning northward, the highway is known as the Southeast Expressway, passing through Quincy and Milton before crossing into the city of Boston over the Neponset River . After the Massachusetts Avenue connector exit, the highway officially becomes the John F. Fitzgerald Expressway , also known as

18209-480: Was later removed from this section of road in 1997) to terminate at I-95 in Canton. In an attempt to alleviate rush-hour traffic jams, travel in the breakdown lane of I-93 is permitted between exit 35 (formerly 41) and exit 46 (formerly 43), where the highway currently has three lanes in each direction. This extra travel is permitted on the southbound side on weekdays between 6:00 am and 10:00 am and on

18348-641: Was merged with a long-standing proposal to build a third harbor tunnel to alleviate congestion in the Sumner and Callahan tunnels to East Boston ; the new plan became known as the Central Artery/Tunnel Project or the Big Dig . These new roadways were built during a 12-year period from 1994 to early 2006. The massive project became the largest urban construction project ever undertaken in US history. Construction on

18487-402: Was once signed as Route 3 before the southernmost portion of the freeway to Cape Cod was finished. The first section of the Pilgrims Highway was built as a bypass of Plymouth in the early 1950s. The mid-1950s saw an extension of this bypass route south to the Sagamore Bridge and north to Kingston. The northern section of the highway was built next with a connection from Derby Street in Hingham to

18626-559: Was opened to general traffic. Hazardous cargos are prohibited from I-93 in Boston over safety issues in the tunnels; these cargos must exit at either the Leverett Circle connector when traveling southbound or at the Massachusetts Avenue exit when traveling northbound. The Northern Expressway was constructed from Medford to the New Hampshire border between 1956 and 1963. It was extended through Somerville and Charlestown to

18765-422: Was proclaimed complete in 1992, but two of the original Interstates— I-95 and I-70 —were not continuous: both of these discontinuities were due to local opposition, which blocked efforts to build the necessary connections to fully complete the system. I-95 was made a continuous freeway in 2018, and thus I-70 remains the only original Interstate with a discontinuity. I-95 was discontinuous in New Jersey because of

18904-749: Was replaced mostly by open space known formally as the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway . Additional improvements were done in the South Bay section of the highway: the I-90/I-93 interchange was completely redesigned, a new HOV lane extending from the zipper lane in Quincy was added and the South Boston Haul road that was constructed to bypass truck traffic around residential streets in the South End

19043-494: Was serving as Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe during World War II . In 1954, Eisenhower appointed General Lucius D. Clay to head a committee charged with proposing an interstate highway system plan. Summing up motivations for the construction of such a system, Clay stated, It was evident we needed better highways. We needed them for safety, to accommodate more automobiles. We needed them for defense purposes, if that should ever be necessary. And we needed them for

19182-580: Was to meet the Inner Belt (I-695). However, when that route was canceled and the I-95 section into Boston was canceled and rerouted onto Route 128 in the mid-1970s, I-93 was extended an additional 18 miles (29 km) southward down the Central Artery (which had been signed as a concurrency of I-95 and Route 3 before I-95 was rerouted) and the Southeast Expressway (what was then just Route 3) from Boston to Braintree and then west along Route 128 (which

19321-406: Was widened to six lanes in 1978. A small segment was also completed from the northern end of Franconia Notch to Littleton prior to 1984, with the final stretch from Littleton to the Vermont border completed by 1984. This left a gap through Franconia Notch, with traffic directed along US 3 between the two sections. For years, debates over how to minimize environmental impact on the road through

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