Interstate 495 (Massachusetts)

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Interstate 495 Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System
Length:	120.74 mi[1] (194.31 km)
Formed:	1957
South end:	I-195/Route 25 in Wareham, MA
Major junctions:	US 44 in Middleborough, MA Route 24 in Bridgewater, MA I-95 in Foxborough, MA US 1 in Plainville, MA I-90 in Hopkinton, MA US 20 in Marlborough, MA I-290 in Marlborough, MA Route 2 in Littleton, MA US 3 in Chelmsford, MA I-93 in Andover, MA
North end:	I-95 in Salisbury, MA
Massachusetts State Highway Routes < I-395 I-695 >

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

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

The stretch of 495 north and east of Route 2 until its terminus at Interstate 95 in Salisbury is also the main limited access highway connecting the communities of the more urbanized Merrimack Valley region, separate from its purpose as a beltway for Boston. This stretch of expressway closely follows Route 110.

[edit] Exit list

County	Location	Mile	Exit #	Destinations	Notes
Plymouth	Wareham	0.00	1	I-195 West – New Bedford, Providence, RI	Mainline continues as MA-25
		2.48	2	MA-58 – Carver, Plymouth	Signed on overhead signs erroneously as MA-58 North; MA-58 South not marked on signs at end of both off-ramps; this is not the southern terminus of MA-58.
	Middleborough	10.31	3	MA-28 – Rock Village, South Middleborough
		13.42	4	MA-105 – Middleborough Center, Lakeville
		14.33	5	MA-18 – NB: Bridgewater, Plymouth; SB: Lakeville, New Bedford	MA-18 North to US-44 East
		14.78	6	US-44 – NB: Taunton, Providence, RI; SB: Middleborough, Plymouth
	Bridgewater	19.35	7	MA-24 – Boston, Fall River	Split into 7A and 7B
Bristol	Raynham	21.71	8	MA-138 – Stoughton, Taunton
	Taunton	24.82	9	Bay Street – Taunton, Easton
	Norton	26.90	10	MA-123 – Norton, East Mansfield, Easton	To Route 140 South
	Mansfield	29.9	11	MA-140 South – Norton	Partial interchange: SB exit/NB entrance only.
		30.8	12	MA-140 North – Mansfield
Norfolk	Foxborough	32.89	13	I-95 – Boston, Providence, RI	Split into 13A and 13B
	Plainville	35.54	14	US-1 – Wrentham, North Attleborough	Split into 14A and 14B
	Wrentham	37.36	15	MA-1A – Wrentham, Plainville
	Franklin	41.17	16	King Street – Franklin, Woonsocket, RI
		43.19	17	MA-140 – Franklin, Bellingham
	Bellingham	45.79	18	MA-126 – Medway, Bellingham
Worcester	Milford	48.30	19	MA-109 – Milford, Medway
		50.47	20	MA-85 – Milford, Hopkinton, Uxbridge
Middlesex	Hopkinton	54.14	21	West Main Street – Hopkinton, Upton, Northbridge	Split into 21A and 21B
		57.87	22	I-90 (Mass Pike) – Boston, Albany, NY
Worcester	Westborough	59.39	23AB	MA-9 – Framingham, Worcester
Middlesex	Marlborough	62.09	23C	Simarano Drive – Marlborough, Southborough	Interchange constructed in 2000.
		63.11	24	US-20 – Marlborough, Northborough	Split into 24A and 24B
		64.87	25A	To MA-85 – Hudson	Connection via unnumbered connector road
		64.87	25B	I-290 – Worcester
Worcester	Berlin	67.26	26	MA-62 – Berlin, Hudson
	Bolton	69.93	27	MA-117 – Bolton, Stow
Middlesex	Boxborough	74.57	28	MA-111 – Boxborough, Harvard
	Littleton	77.55	29	MA-2 – Leominster, Boston	Split into 29A and 29B.
		79.09	30	MA-2A, MA-110 – Littleton, Ayer
		80.12	31	MA-119 – Groton, Acton
	Westford	83.20	32	Boston Road – Westford
	Chelmsford
		87.5	33	MA-4 – North Chelmsford	Partial interchange: NB exit/SB entrance only
		88.1	34	MA-110 – Chelmsford, Lowell	Route 110 west to Route 4
		89.1	35A and 35B	US-3 – Burlington, Nashua, NH	Split into 35A and 35B.
	Lowell	89.3	35C	Lowell Connector – Lowell	Former exit 36
		91.09	37	Woburn Street – South Lowell, North Billerica
	Tewksbury	92.18	38	MA-38 – Lowell, Tewksbury
		94.51	39	MA-133 – Dracut, Andover
Essex	Andover	96.92	40	I-93 – Boston, Concord, NH	Split into 40A and 40B.
		99.30	41	MA-28 – Lawrence, Andover	Split northbound into 41A and 41B.
	Lawrence	100.06	42	MA-114 – Middleton, South Lawrence
	North Andover	100.84	43	Massachusetts Avenue	Also signed northbound for Commonwealth Avenue.
		101.25	44	Merrimack Street
	Lawrence	101.83	45	Marston Street – Lawrence
	Methuen	103.00	46	MA-110 (Merrimac Street) – Pleasant Valley
		103.93	47	MA-213 (Loop Connector)
	Haverhill	105.66	48	To MA-125 – Ward Hill, Bradford	Via unnumbered connector road.
		106.52	49	MA-110/MA-113 (River Street)
		107.18	50	MA-97 – Haverhill, Salem, NH
		108.87	51	MA-125 – Haverhill, Plaistow, NH	Split into 51A and 51B.
		111.05	52	MA-110 – Haverhill, Merrimac
	Merrimac	114.77	53	Broad Street – Merrimac, Merrimacport
	Amesbury	117.72	54	MA-150 – Amesbury
		118.74	55	MA-110 East To I-95 South – Salisbury, Boston	Partial interchange: NB exit/SB entrance only. Entrance from 110 WB only.
	Salisbury	120.74			Northbound I-495 merges onto northbound I-95. Access to southbound I-495 from southbound I-95 only. [5]

[edit] Quotations

"I think a Bostonian would rather go north or south than east to west. There is a sense that anything west of Route 495 needs a passport and currency control." --John Mullin, director of the University of Massachusetts' Center for Economic Development in 1998 ^[6]

"...And anything west of 495 is Terra Incogneta. We've been wanting to put up a sign for years that warns you that if you go any farther, you'll fall off the end of the earth." --The Boston Handbook by John Powers.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Interstate 495 at Steve Anderson's Boston Roads site

v • d • e Auxiliary routes of Interstate 95 Florida: 195 • 295 • 395 • 595 • 795 (future) — North Carolina: 295 (future) • 795 — Virginia: 195 • 295 • 395 • 495 • 595 (former) • 895 (proposed) — District of Columbia: 295 • 395 • 495 • 695 (unsigned) — Maryland: 195 • 295 • 395 • 495 • 595 (unsigned) • 695 • 795 • 895 — Delaware: 295 • 495 • 895 (former) — Pennsylvania: 195 (future) • 695 (unbuilt) • 895 (unbuilt) — New Jersey: 195 • 295 • 495 (former) • 695 (unbuilt) • 895 (unbuilt) — New York: 295 • 495 • 695 • 895 — Connecticut - Rhode Island - Massachusetts: 195 • 295 • 395 • 495 • 695 (unbuilt) • 895 (unbuilt) — Maine: 195 • 295 • 395 • 495