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60-538: Northwest Expressway may refer to: Northwest Expressway (Boston) , a section of US 3 Northwest Expressway (Oklahoma City) , a section of SH-3 Northwest Expressway (Baltimore) , Maryland, also known as I-795 Northwest Expressway (Eugene, Oregon) Kennedy Expressway in Chicago, formerly known as the Northwest Expressway [REDACTED] Topics referred to by

120-671: A business route through Laconia, New Hampshire . Four other special routes may have existed in the past: an alternate and business route between Tyngsborough, Massachusetts , and Concord, New Hampshire , and bypass routes around Concord and Nashua, New Hampshire . U.S. Route 3 Business ( US 3 Bus. ) is a 4.144-mile-long (6.669 km) signed business route running north–south through downtown Laconia, New Hampshire . It runs from US 3 and NH 11 in Belmont north to US 3 in Laconia, along NH 107 and NH 11A . It

180-651: A wrong-way concurrency before exiting at exit 50A onto its own freeway, the Northwest Expressway. Originally built in the 1950s, before the cancelation of the Inner Belt , the US ;3 freeway was to have extended into metro Boston before being truncated to I-95. Consequently, a partially completed cloverleaf interchange connects US 3 to I-95. Exit numbers on the US 3 freeway start at milemarker 72 since Route 3 and US 3 are counted as one highway by MassDOT. The freeway closely parallels Route 3A,

240-483: A breakdown lane on both the left and right sides of the road, and many interchanges were modernized in what was comically known as "The Big Wide", in reference to Massachusetts' other "Big" construction project (the Big Dig ). The roadbed and bridges were built to support a fourth lane in each travel direction for future expansion. The $ 365-million (equivalent to $ 547 million in 2023 ), 21-mile (34 km) widening project

300-588: A community of towns and cities flanking the Merrimack River along the New Hampshire border , a portion of which is defined by a line approximately 3 miles (5 km) north and west of the Merrimack. The cities (marked with italics ) and towns in this area are: The population of the region in 2010 was 631,477, slightly more than that of Boston , and about one tenth of the state's. The Merrimack Valley contains

360-551: A division of BAE Systems Inc. and is one of the regions largest employers. Technology companies also have a large presence in the region, including mobile phone company Verizon , which is the largest private employer in Manchester. The financial industry is also a major employer, with Lincoln Financial in Concord and Fidelity Investments in Merrimack among the largest private employers. The area between Manchester, Nashua, and Salem

420-676: A group of investors from Boston founded the city of Lowell, to take advantage of the 32-foot (9.8 m) drop of the Merrimack over the Pawtucket Falls . Lowell, the first large-scale planned textile center in America, remained the nation's largest into the 1850s. Textile production spread up and down the Merrimack Valley in both states for the next century, but eventually was eclipsed after the Second World War . Manchester's Amoskeag Mills

480-680: A landmark event in the history of labor relations in the United States. After World War II, the textile industry collapsed rapidly. After a few decades of stagnation, the " Massachusetts Miracle " came to the valley, bringing the headquarters of Wang Laboratories to Tewksbury, then Lowell. Apollo Computer located in Chelmsford and Nashua Corporation in Nashua moved beyond printing to computer products. The defense industry, for example, Raytheon in various sites and Sanders Associates in Nashua, became

540-410: A major local employer. Increased development pressure from Greater Boston and the proliferation of the automobile pushed development outside of Massachusetts Route 128 to Interstate 495 and up Routes 3 and 93 into southern New Hampshire, greatly increasing the populations of these communities over the postwar years. On September 13, 2018, several gas lines suffered leakage due to high pressure in

600-500: A mixture of 19th-century industrial cities and mill complexes built to take advantage of the river's waterpower, modern suburbs (many built over towns dating from the 17th century), and some relatively rural areas. The western part, including Greater Lowell and Haverhill–Lawrence–Methuen, is generally more urban than the eastern part. The entire Merrimack Valley region in Massachusetts is part of Greater Boston . Broader definitions for

660-879: A northeasterly direction toward Hooksett, interchanging with I-93 . The two routes continue as Hooksett Road, then the Daniel Webster Highway. In Suncook , NH 28 leaves to the northeast, and US 3 proceeds northwest toward Concord on Pembroke Street, becoming Manchester Street when it enters the Concord city limits. After crossing the Merrimack River and interchanging with I-93, US 3 intersects NH 3A (South Main Street), which terminates at its parent route. US 3 traverses downtown Concord as North and South Main streets (briefly overlapping with US 202 and NH 9 ), then follows North State Street to Fisherville Road to Village Street in Penacook before crossing

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720-567: A project to start in 2016, but that project was postponed. In November 2019, the MassDOT announced it would be proceeding with the project in 2020. According to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) route log, the southern terminus of US 3 is at the junction of Route 2A and Route 3 in Cambridge , which is where Route 2A crosses

780-660: Is a freeway . The segment in New Hampshire is a free portion of the Everett Turnpike, while the portion in Massachusetts is known as the Northwest Expressway . From where it leaves the Everett Turnpike in Nashua northward, US 3 is generally a two-to-four lane at-grade road, though there are two super-two freeway portions in northern New Hampshire, one on the Laconia Bypass, and one where US 3 and I-93 use

840-457: Is a former alignment of US 3, used before the Laconia–Gilford bypass was built. Merrimack Valley Major cities in the Merrimack Valley include Concord , Manchester , and Nashua in New Hampshire, and Lowell , Lawrence , and Haverhill in Massachusetts. The Valley was a major center of the textile industry in the 19th century. The Merrimack Valley area in Massachusetts is

900-527: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Northwest Expressway (Boston) U.S. Route 3 ( US 3 ) is a United States Numbered Highway running 277.90 miles (447.24 km) from Cambridge, Massachusetts , through New Hampshire , to the Canada–United States border near Third Connecticut Lake , where it connects to Quebec Route 257 . Massachusetts Route 3 connects to

960-632: Is one of the largest private employers in the region, as is Philips , whose medical division is based in Andover. The defense industry also has had a major presence in the Merrimack Valley, Massachusetts-based Raytheon has several large plants and offices in the Merrimack Valley, and BAE Systems Inc. also employs many people. Due to its proximity to Boston, the region also serves as a bedroom community for employers in Boston. Many major highways (including I-93 , I-95 , and US 3 ) and several heavily used lines of

1020-594: The Charles River , at an interchange with Massachusetts Avenue ( Route 2A ). The road continues as southbound Route 3 toward Downtown Boston , while northbound US 3 heads west, then north along the river toward Harvard University , joining with Route 2 along the way. It runs along the north bank of the Charles River , opposite Soldiers Field Road in Allston along this stretch. Passing south of Harvard Square , US 3 and Route 2 transition onto

1080-600: The Contoocook River into Boscawen . US 3 travels north through Boscawen, briefly overlapping with US 4 . The highway parallels the Merrimack River north into Franklin , where the highway meets NH 11 . US 3 joins NH 11 and turns east; NH 3A also resumes at this intersection, continuing north. US 3 and NH 11 briefly form a three-route concurrency with NH 127 in Franklin, then pass through Tilton , crossing NH 132 and passing

1140-477: The Daniel Webster Highway to Meredith at the northern end of Meredith Bay on Lake Winnipesaukee . In Meredith, US 3 intersects the northern terminus of NH 106, then joins NH 25 and continues north past Squam Lake into Holderness , passing the western terminuses of NH 25B and NH 113 . Through Holderness, US 3 and NH 25 gradually turn west, then southwest, passing

1200-534: The Daniel Webster Highway . (Some locals erroneously refer to the Everett Turnpike from exit 7 through the I-293 interchange as US 3 and refer to the actual US 3 only as the Daniel Webster Highway or "Old Route 3".) US 3 continues north through the town of Merrimack and into Bedford , where it becomes South River Road. The highway parallels I-293 until it turns east in Manchester and then crosses

1260-523: The Everett Turnpike , running on the freeway for 6.7 miles (10.8 km) along the western side of the city. US 3 leaves the Everett Turnpike at exit 7E, crosses New Hampshire Route 101A (NH 101A) and turns northeast for approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) along a segment known as the Henri Burque Highway, before turning north onto Concord Street, which soon becomes known as

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1320-676: The Franconia Notch Parkway. The route serves as a major local arterial, connecting many of the cities of the densely populated Merrimack Valley . North of the White Mountains , the route serves as one of the only north–south roads connecting the communities of the Great North Woods Region and has New Hampshire's only border crossing between the US and Canada. US 3 begins in the south along Memorial Drive in Cambridge , along

1380-772: The Fresh Pond Parkway and join Route ;16 . Near Alewife station , Route 2 splits off as a freeway to the west (Concord Turnpike), while US 3 and Route 16 stay on the Alewife Brook Parkway . Shortly thereafter, US 3 splits from the parkway (which continues as Route 16) and joins Route 2A (Massachusetts Avenue) westbound, crossing into Arlington . In the center of town, US 3 and Route 2A split from Massachusetts Avenue and overlap briefly with Route 60 before continuing along Mystic Street. Route 2A splits from US 3 just to

1440-469: The Greater Boston area. After a brief concurrency with Interstate 95 (I-95) and Route 128 , the route follows its own freeway northwest, bypassing Lowell and entering New Hampshire at Nashua , becoming the Everett Turnpike . In New Hampshire, current and former parts of US 3 are known as the Daniel Webster Highway . From Burlington, Massachusetts, to Nashua, New Hampshire, US 3

1500-505: The MBTA Commuter Rail system provide easy access to the city from the Merrimack Valley. Attractions include: Institutions of higher education include: While the textile industry that served as the underpinning of the Merrimack Valley has disappeared, the region has since transferred to other economic activities. Sanders Associates , a major defense contractor based in Nashua has, through several mergers and acquisitions, become

1560-476: The Merrimack River on Queen City Avenue, just after its intersection with I-293/ NH 3A and NH 114A . US 3 and NH 3A are signed in a wrong-way concurrency for approximately 0.6 miles (0.97 km) before US 3 turns north onto Elm Street toward downtown Manchester. After approximately 2.2 miles (3.5 km), US 3 turns east onto Webster Street, then joins NH 28 to proceed in

1620-702: The Pittsburg–Chartierville Border Crossing , where the road crosses into Chartierville, Quebec , and becomes Quebec Route 257 . In total, US 3 runs along the Connecticut River and its source lakes for approximately 70 miles (110 km). Sections of US 3 in Colebrook are named after Scott E. Phillips and Leslie G. Lord, members of the New Hampshire State Police killed in the line of duty on August 19, 1997 . Before

1680-520: The state line into Nashua, New Hampshire . The freeway continues north as the Everett Turnpike . The Burlington to Tyngsborough area maintains a 501(c)(6) nonprofit representative entity known as the Middlesex 3 Coalition and its affiliate agency the Middlesex 3 TMA, which provides collaborative support to businesses and individuals within the jurisdiction to build consensus on transportation and developmental needs. US 3 passes through most of

1740-594: The Arlington–Somerville border and proceeding into Cambridge toward Union Square, Somerville. A 1962 plan called for Route 2 and US 3 to converge at Alewife Brook Parkway with a longer stretch of new highway for US 3 paralleling Lowell Street in Lexington and Summer Street in Arlington. Exit numbers along the Northwest Expressway section in Massachusetts were to be changed to mileage based numbers under

1800-684: The Charles along the Harvard Bridge (also known as the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge). This is a change from AASHTO's 1989 Route Log which placed the terminus at US 20 in Boston, where Route 2 currently meets US 20 after crossing the Charles River at the Boston University Bridge . This was where US 3 met US 1 until that highway was rerouted in 1971. The original northern terminus of US 3 (in 1926)

1860-733: The Franconia Notch Parkway and is a rare section of Interstate Highway with only one lane in each direction. US 3 separates from I-93 at exit 35, shortly north of the northern park boundary in Franconia . From there, NH 141 branches northwest and US 3 heads north and east toward Twin Mountain and a junction with US 302 . This portion of the road is noted for fairly frequent moose sightings, especially during sunrise and sunset when moose are particularly active. Heading north from Twin Mountain, US 3 passes through

Northwest Expressway - Misplaced Pages Continue

1920-568: The Merrimack Valley Region is an area of the south-central part of the state, about 35 miles (56 km) wide, centered on the Merrimack River, and running from Canterbury south to the Massachusetts border. Henniker marks the western extent, and Nottingham the eastern. It includes parts of Hillsborough , Rockingham and Merrimack counties, namely the following towns and cities (in italics ): The state capital, Concord , and

1980-527: The Merrimack Valley were various tribes of the Pennacook Indians. The river provided an easy means of transportation, an exceptional source of salmon as well as other fish, and the land along the river banks was suitable for hunting and sometimes farming. The earliest European records of the river date to a French expedition under Pierre du Guast, Sieur de Monts, in 1605. By 1629, the British were moving into

2040-520: The White Mountains to Charlestown, Massachusetts , and improving connections between Boston and the Merrimack Valley. Prior to this time, other small canals had been built around falls and rapids to make the Merrimack navigable, such as the Pawtucket Canal at East Chelmsford, which became Lowell. While the Merrimack had been used for small manufacturing concerns for decades, in the early 1820s,

2100-517: The area, and a land grant delineated by the river was made to a Jonathan Wheelwright in 1629. The city of Newburyport , first settled in 1635, at the river's mouth, became an important shipbuilding center during the colonial era, using lumber floated downriver from the White Mountains . Its prominence was diminished when the Middlesex Canal was completed in the first quarter of the 19th century, allowing lumber to be shipped directly downriver from

2160-499: The definition. Most large employers are in the sectors of health care and higher education . Institutes of higher learning include Hockey East rivals UMass Lowell and Merrimack College . The region was once a technology hub , reaching its peak during the 1970s and 1980s with corporations such as Wang Laboratories in Lowell among the largest technology employers, though it has since gone defunct. Software company Kronos Incorporated

2220-542: The establishment of the U.S. Numbered Highway System, the section of US 3 and Route 3 from Orleans, Massachusetts , to Colebrook, New Hampshire , was part of the New England road marking system as New England Route 6 . It was replaced in its entirety with the establishment of US 3 and Route 3 in 1926. US 3 in Massachusetts closely follows the route of the early 19th-century Middlesex Canal and Middlesex Turnpike . The modern Northwest Expressway

2280-546: The expressway was a key component of the "Master Plan Highway Plan for Metropolitan Boston". The highway would have traveled through Lexington, Arlington, Medford, Somerville, and Cambridge, before linking with the Inner Belt Expressway. The original plan called for US 3 and Route 2 to link up at the Lexington–Arlington border and continue southeasterly, crossing Route 16/Mystic Valley Parkway at

2340-468: The historic alignment of US 3, along its entire 19-mile (31 km) length from Burlington to the New Hampshire state border. It passes through Billerica and into Chelmsford , where it connects with I-495 and the Lowell Connector , a freeway spur into downtown Lowell . Continuing north, the freeway briefly enters Lowell, then passes through North Chelmsford and Tyngsborough before crossing

2400-608: The larger remaining orchards include Apple Hill, Cider Hill, Long Hill Orchard, Mann Orchards, and Smolak Farms. Apple picking is a popular pastime in the Merrimack Valley during the late summer and fall months. The Merrimack Valley's leading boarding schools, such as Brooks School in North Andover, Massachusetts; Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts; St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire; and The Governor's Academy in Newbury, Massachusetts, provide cultural institutions to

2460-656: The last half of her life. The first published poet of the New World , she died in North Andover in 1672. In Haverhill and Amesbury , the family of John Greenleaf Whittier settled. Mr. Whittier was so well thought of during his lifetime, his birthday was celebrated as a national holiday. Lawrence is the birthplace of actress Thelma Todd , composer/conductor Leonard Bernstein and actor/singer Robert Goulet . Robert Frost spent his teenage years there, as did his future wife, Elinor Miriam White. They were co-valedictorians (1892) at Lawrence High School. Actress Bette Davis and

Northwest Expressway - Misplaced Pages Continue

2520-441: The north. US 3 continues through parts of Winchester and Woburn without any major intersections before entering Burlington and interchanging with I-95 and Route 128 (Yankee Division Highway) at exit 51A. US 3 joins the freeway to connect with the Northwest Expressway, while its historic surface alignment continues as Route 3A . US 3 runs along 1.6 miles (2.6 km) of I-95 (Route 128) in

2580-559: The public, including the Addison Gallery of American Art and the Robert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology in Andover. The Merrimack Valley in Massachusetts is divided into three New England city and town areas (NECTAs) by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget : Lowell–Billerica–Chelmsford, MA–NH; Lawrence–Methuen Town–North Andover, MA–NH; and Haverhill–Newburyport–Amesbury Town, MA–NH. The M3 Coalition serves several towns that expand

2640-449: The region include other areas of Middlesex County , including the Route 2 corridor from Devens east to Lexington . Automobile travel through the Massachusetts section of the Merrimack Valley is served primarily by Interstate 495 . From Lowell and Lawrence, U.S. Route 3 and Interstate 93 , respectively, head north along the valley, joining in Manchester, New Hampshire. In New Hampshire,

2700-417: The same term This disambiguation page lists articles about roads and streets with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Northwest_Expressway&oldid=534253864 " Category : Road disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

2760-594: The southern end of NH 175 and then reaching the northern end of NH 132 in Ashland . From Ashland to North Woodstock , US 3 proceeds north, roughly paralleling I-93 in the Pemigewasset River valley. Along this stretch it passes through the towns of Plymouth (NH 25 splits from US 3 near I-93 in Plymouth, which also marks the true northern terminus of NH 3A), West Campton (where it meets

2820-494: The southern terminus of NH 145 . Still following the Connecticut River north, US 3 passes through portions of Stewartstown and Clarksville . In Stewartstown, the road turns more directly east (still following the Connecticut River, which is no longer a boundary), before resuming a northeasterly direction through Pittsburg . Its last major intersection is at the northern terminus of NH 145. US 3 continues north for another 22 miles (35 km), eventually reaching

2880-530: The southern terminus of US 3 in Cambridge and continues south to Cape Cod . Though it shares a number, it has never been part of US 3. Both routes, which connect end-to-end, are treated as a single 91.3-mile (146.9 km) state highway by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). From Cambridge to Burlington , US 3 is routed on surface streets through the dense suburbs in

2940-513: The state's major cities and towns and is the only highway to extend from the Massachusetts state border in the south to the Canadian border in the north. Running for 242 miles (389 km) in New Hampshire, US 3 is by far the longest signed highway in the state. For much of its routing, US 3 closely parallels I-93, serving as a local route to the freeway. US 3 crosses the state border into Nashua and immediately becomes concurrent with

3000-606: The state's two largest cities, Manchester and Nashua , are in the valley. Manchester has a large regional airport , with scheduled commercial services. To the east is the Seacoast Region , to the west is the Monadnock Region , and to the north is the Lakes Region . Interstate 93 bisects the region, which is also served by Interstate 293 , U.S. Route 3 , and many New Hampshire state highways. The original settlers of

3060-554: The tubes of Columbia Gas of Massachusetts , causing several fires and explosions , and homes were evacuated. The Merrimack River Valley is considered the "Valley of the Poets" by some local artists and poets. Anne Bradstreet was a founding mother of three towns in the Massachusetts Bay Colony : Boston , Cambridge (then Newtowne), and the original Andover Parish, known now as North Andover , where she lived and wrote for

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3120-403: The village of Carroll , where NH 115 branches to the northeast and US 3 bears to the northwest and the town of Whitefield . In the center of Whitefield, NH 142 branches to the northwest and NH 116 crosses, running roughly southwest to northeast. US 3 continues north to Lancaster , where it joins US 2 in the town center, and where NH 135 branches off to

3180-488: The west. After US 2 leaves to the west, US 3 continues north, roughly paralleling the course of the Connecticut River (which also forms the border with Vermont ), through Northumberland and Groveton , where NH 110 ends. North of Groveton, US 3 continues to follow the river, through Stratford , North Stratford , and Columbia , until it reaches Colebrook , where it crosses NH 26 and meets

3240-542: The western end of NH 140 . Continuing northeast past Lake Winnisquam , US 3 and NH 11 reach Laconia and turn onto the Laconia– Gilford Bypass, intersecting with NH 106 , NH 107 , and NH 11A . At the northern end of the bypass, US 3 and NH 11 split after a 17.3-mile (27.8 km) overlap, with the U.S. Route continuing north on Lake Street to Weirs Beach and an intersection with NH 11B . US 3 continues north as

3300-464: The western end of NH 49 , the principal access road to Waterville Valley ), Thornton , and Woodstock . In North Woodstock , US 3 crosses NH 112 (known to the east as the Kancamagus Highway ). Continuing north, US 3 joins with I-93 as it passes through Franconia Notch State Park , one of the more scenic drives in the White Mountains . This stretch of freeway is known as

3360-405: The writer Jack Kerouac were born in Lowell. West Newbury is the birthplace of John Cena , a WWE professional wrestler, actor, former rapper, and television personality. The Merrimack Valley is one of the few places in the United States where the card game Forty-fives is popular. The Merrimack Valley was once home to numerous apple and fruit orchards, of which several still remain. Some of

3420-513: Was at Colebrook, New Hampshire , but the highway was extended to West Stewartstown in 1928 and to Pittsburg in 1937. Colebrook was the northern terminus again from 1939 to 1940. Since 1940, the highway has run through Pittsburg to the Pittsburg–Chartierville Border Crossing . Although MassDOT inventories Route 3 and US 3 as one continuous route, this table includes the mileage only for US 3 starting from its southern terminus in Cambridge. US 3 has one existing special route ,

3480-413: Was begun near Route 110 in Lowell before World War II . In the 1950s, it was extended south to Route 128 (later overlapped by I-95), and, by the 1960s, it was completed north from Chelmsford to New Hampshire. By 2005, the chronically congested four-lane road, largely with antiquated ramps around Lowell, was widened to six lanes (as it had been in Nashua, New Hampshire, a few years prior) with

3540-453: Was completed in 2005 from Burlington to the New Hampshire border. The final section of the expressway was planned for inner suburban towns northwest of Boston . The expressway was to supply a new route for US 3, between Route 128 and the canceled I-695 (Inner Belt). This was one of the expressway projects canceled in Governor Francis Sargent 's 1970 moratorium on expressway construction within Route 128. The latter section of

3600-402: Was once the largest cotton textile plant in the world. Other major textile companies based in the Merrimack Valley included the Merrimack Manufacturing Company in Lowell, the American Woolen Company in Lawrence (headquarters moved to Andover in 1919), Pemberton Mill in Lawrence, and the Nashua Manufacturing Company in its namesake city. Lawrence was the site of the Bread and Roses strike ,

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