Massachusetts Route 128

Route 128
Yankee Division Highway
Route information
Maintained by MassDOT
Length	57.5829 mi (92.6707 km)
Existed	1927–present
Major junctions
South end	I-93 / I-95 / US 1 in Canton
Major intersections	I-90 / Mass Pike in Weston US 20 in Waltham Route 2 in Lexington US 3 in Burlington I-93 in Reading US 1 in Lynnfield I-95 in Peabody
North end	Route 127A in Gloucester
Location
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
Counties	Nortfolk Middlesex Essex
Highway system
Massachusetts State Highway System Interstate US State
← Route 127A → Route 128A

Route 128 (designated as the Yankee Division Highway) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). Spanning 57 miles (92 km), it is one of two beltways (the other being Interstate 495) around Boston, and is known as the "inner" beltway, especially around areas where it is 15 miles (25 km) or less outside of Boston. As designated in 1927, The original Route 128, called the "Circumferential Highway," followed existing roadways from Gloucester to Hull through Boston's suburbs. The first (northernmost) segment of the present controlled-access highway, which is still just four lanes wide, opened in 1951. Construction progressed southward. The final (southernmost) segment, originally built as the present eight-lane highway that spliced into the John Fitzgerald Expressway (then Route 3 for its entire length, and popularly also known as the Southeast Expressway) at a wye junction now known as the Braintree Split in Braintree. This segment, which opened in 1960, replaced a two-lane undivided road to complete the first circumferential highway around any major city.

Upon completion of the final segment of the Yankee Division Highway, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation assigned the concurrent designation of Route 128 to the segment of the John Fitzgerald Expressway (Route 3) from Exit 14 to the Braintree Split (Exit 19), linking to the segment of the original Route 128 from the intersection with Route 53 at Queen Anne's Corner at the Hingham-Norwell line to the southern terminus in Hull. That action removed the designation as Route 128 from Blue Hill River Road in Randolph and Braintree, which is now closed to traffic, and West Street, Franklin Street, segments of Washington Street and Plain Street, and Grove Street in Braintree, a segment of Columbian Street, Park Avenue, and a segment of Ralph Talbot Street in Weymouth, and Derby Street and a segment of Whiting Street (Route 53) in Hingham, all of which remain in service for local traffic. However, fate was not so kind to the rest of the original route. Although some segments of remain in service as local parallel streets, other segments became part of the present right of way, but with connections severed at both ends, and some segments were severed where they cross the present right of way and closed to traffic. Thus, it is no longer feasible to drive the original route between Braintree and Gloucester.

In 1965, the Massachusetts Highway Department truncated Route 128 at the Braintree Split and redesignated the non-freeway section of Route 128 from Route 3 through Hingham and Hull as Route 228, with its direction reversed to reflect the actual geographical direction of that segment of the route. This action ended the concurrent route designation on the John Fitzgerald Expressway.

In 1997, in the wake of a political decision not to complete I-95 through Boston as originally planned, the United States Department of Transportation and the Massachusetts Highway Department redesignated the segment of the Yankee Division Highway between the junction with the completed segment of I-95 from Peabody to the New Hampshire border and the junction with the completed segment of I-95 from Canton to the Rhode Island border as I-95 to complete that highway. Concurrently, these agencies extended I-93 from its original terminus in Boston southward on the John Fitzgerald Expressway to the Braintree Split, then westward on the southern segment of the Yankee Division Highway to the junction with the completed southern segment of I-95 from Canton. At that time, the Massachusetts Highway Department officially truncated Route 128 at its intersection with I-95 in Peabody, began removal of Route 128 signage, and assigned I-93 and I-95 exit numbers to the interchanges on both affected segments of the Yankee Division Highway. The Massachusetts Highway Department subsequently restored the designation of Route 128 and reinstalled signage on the segment of the Yankee Division Highway designated as I-95, partly in response to public protest and partly due to the fact that an Amtrak and MBTA commuter rail station adjacent to the highway at the University Avenue interchange bears the name Route 128 (RTE on the railroad timetables and in the Amtrak reservation system). The station is located at the first interchange north of what's now the junction of I-93 and I-95 in Canton.

Despite no longer officially carrying the designation, the section of the Yankee Division Highway between Braintree and Canton is popularly called Route 128 within Massachusetts. However, signage for Route 128 has gradually disappeared from the segment designated as I-95 as the Massachusetts Department of Transportation has replaced signage along that segment of the road and on the intersecting roads.

At its current terminus, Route 128 begins running concurrently with I-95 (same direction) and US 1 (opposite direction). While its concurrency with US 1 ends in Dedham, its concurrency with I-95 continues as it intersects with expressways including I-90 (the Massachusetts Turnpike) in Weston; US 20 in Waltham; Route 2 in Lexington; US 3 in Burlington (with which it runs concurrently within the town); and I-93 and US 1 again in Reading and Lynnfield, respectively. 128 and I-95 split in Peabody; as I-95 continues north towards New Hampshire, 128 travels east towards its northern terminus at an interchange with Route 127A in Gloucester.

In local culture, 128 is recognized as an approximate dividing line between the more urban municipalities of Greater Boston and the more suburban communities. It delimits the areas accessible by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) public transit system, and is used to reference the high-technology industry that developed from the 1960s to the 1980s in the suburban areas along the highway.

Route description

Since 1997, MA Route 128's southern end has been in Canton, where Interstate 95 exits south-westwards on its own roadbed, and Interstate 93 north begins. U.S. Route 1 north continues straight.

128 begins in Norfolk County in the south, at the interchange with I-93, I-95, and US 1 in Canton. Until the 1990s, its southern terminus was located at the junction of I-93, US 1, and Route 3 (the Braintree Split) in Braintree. At this present-day terminus, 128 becomes concurrent with I-95, and follows the sequential exit numbering scheme used by I-95 as it enters Massachusetts from Pawtucket, Rhode Island. It also begins a wrong-way concurrency with US 1; as 128 and I-95 are signed traveling north, US 1 is signed traveling south, and vice versa. US 1 splits onto its own roadbed at exit 15 in Dedham.

About two-thirds of Route 128 runs in tandem with I-95 from Canton north to Peabody, and after I-95 continues north from Peabody toward New Hampshire, north-east as its own signed highway from Peabody to Gloucester. The I-95 and I-93 signage were added in the mid-1970s when plans to construct I-95 through Boston, directly connecting the two I-95/Route 128 interchanges, were cancelled leaving an unsigned gap (filled in using Route 128). An unused cloverleaf in Canton, now removed, was one of the leftover structures from this plan as well as the existing Northeast Expressway (now part of US 1.)

The north end of Route 128 is at Route 127A in Gloucester. The sign pointing Route 127A south straight is incorrect; it is actually to the right, where the sign points "ALT 127".

The area along the western part of Route 128 is home to a number of high-technology firms and corporations. This part of Route 128 was dubbed "America's Technology Highway", and signs marking it that way were put in place beginning in October 1982. Two years later, those blue signs were changed to read "America's Technology Region" after complaints from veterans groups that noted the highway already had a name: the Yankee Division Highway, a name bestowed in 1941 in honor of the U.S. Army unit first formed in Boston in 1917.

Like the I-95 signage mapping onto 128, the mapping of US 3 onto this stretch of 128 is due to US 3 as a separate limited access highway terminating in Burlington on 128 instead of further south at Route 2 in Lexington as originally envisioned. This abrupt termination requires the US 3 signage to continue along 128 for somewhat over a mile until it can interchange the old US 3 surface arterial. Moreover, when I-93 and Route 128 ran concurrently south of Boston, before the route was truncated to the I-95 interchange in Canton, they were signed in opposite directions, so it was possible to travel north on I-93 and south on Route 128 at the same time.

The northernmost several exits along Route 128, past exit 12, are not grade-separated interchanges. Exit 10 is signed as the signalized intersection with Route 127, and there are two rotaries between that and exit 12 (the Crafts Road interchange). This segment originally had several additional grade intersections controlled by traffic signals that were replaced with grade separation and interchange ramps in the 1960's.

Following the completion of the Peabody I-95/Route 128 interchange (Exit 45/29) in 1988; the exit system was changed from concurrency along 128 to a system using the I-95 exits. The exits, which had gone from Gloucester to Braintree, were renumbered along I-95, from the Rhode Island state line to the border with New Hampshire. Exit 37 had been the interchange with I-93, which also had its exit numbered 37 at that interchange. Coincidentally, with the renumbering, exit 37 remained exit 37.

The Boston area MPO studied the Route 128/I-95 Corridor from approximately 2005–2010. The study focused on the heavily congested section from I-90 (Newton) to US 3 (Burlington), and was completed in November 2010. As of 2010, the highway carried over 200,000 vehicles per day. Some possible improvements to Route 128 include HOV Lanes, reconstruction of shoulders, ramp metering, bus on shoulder, and fiber optic traffic system improvements. More studies will need to be completed before projects will begin.

History

Surface roads and south Circumferential Highway

Route 128 was assigned by 1927 along local roads, running from Route 138 in Milton around the west side of Boston to Route 107 (Essex Street or Bridge Street) in Salem. Its route was as follows:

Town/City	Streets
Milton	Milton Street
Boston	Neponset Valley Parkway, Milton Street
Dedham	Milton Street, High Street, Common Street, West Street
Needham	Dedham Avenue, Highland Avenue
Newton	Needham Street, Winchester Street, Centre Street, Walnut Street, Crafts Street, Waltham Street
Waltham	High Street, Newton Street, Main Street (U.S. Route 20), Lexington Street
Lexington	Waltham Street, Massachusetts Avenue (Route 2A, now Route 4/Route 225), Woburn Street
Woburn	Lexington Street, Pleasant Street, Montvale Avenue
Stoneham	Montvale Avenue, Main Street (Route 28), Elm Street
Wakefield	Albion Street, North Avenue, Water Street, Vernon Street, New Salem Street, Salem Street
Lynnfield	Salem Street
Peabody	Lynnfield Street, Washington Street, Main Street
Salem	Boston Street

By 1928, it had been extended east to Quincy from its south end along the following streets, ending at the intersection of Route 3 and Route 3A (now Route 3A and Route 53):

Town	Streets
Quincy	Washington Street, Hancock Street, Adams Street
Milton	Adams Street, Centre Street, Canton Avenue, Dollar Lane

The first section of the new Circumferential Highway, in no way the freeway that it is now, was the piece from Route 9 in Wellesley around the south side of Boston to Route 3 (now Route 53) in Hingham. Parts of this were built as new roads, but most of it was along existing roads that were improved to handle the traffic. In 1931, the Massachusetts Department of Public Works acquired a right-of-way from Route 138 in Canton through Westwood, Dedham and Needham to Route 9 in Wellesley. This was mostly 80 feet (24 m) wide, only shrinking to 70 feet (21 m) in Needham, in the area of Great Plain Avenue and the Needham Line. Much of this was along new alignment, but about half — mostly in Needham — was along existing roads:

• Royall Street from west of Route 138 to east of Green Street (Canton)
• Green Lodge Street from Royall Street (now cut by Route 128) to Route 128 Station (Canton and Westwood)
• Greendale Avenue from Lyons Street and Common Street just south of the Charles River to Hunting Avenue (Dedham and Needham)
• Fremont Street north from Highland Avenue (Needham)
• Reservoir Street from Central Avenue to Route 9 (Needham and Wellesley)

From Route 138 in Canton east through the Blue Hills Reservation in Canton, Milton, Quincy and Braintree, Norfolk County acquired a right-of-way in 1927 and built the Blue Hill River Road. This tied into West Street in northwest Braintree, which itself had been taken over by the county in 1923.

West Street led to Route 37, which ran southeast to Braintree center. This part of Route 37 had been taken over by the state in 1919 (to Braintree center) and 1917 (in Braintree center).

The rest of the new highway, from Route 37 east to Route 3 (now Route 53), through Braintree, Weymouth and Hingham, was taken over by the state in 1929. This was all along existing roads, except possibly the part of Park Avenue west of Route 18 in Weymouth.

By 1933, the whole Circumferential Highway had been completed, and, except for the piece from Route 9 in Wellesley south to Highland Avenue in Needham, was designated as Route 128. Former Route 128 along Highland Avenue into Needham center was left unnumbered (as was the Circumferential Highway north of Highland Avenue), but the rest of former Route 128, from Needham center east to Quincy, became part of Route 135. Thus the full route of the Circumferential Highway, as it existed by 1933, is now the following roads:

Town	Streets
Hingham	Derby Street, Old Derby Street
Weymouth	Ralph Talbot Street, Park Avenue, Columbian Street
Braintree	Columbian Street, Grove Street, Washington Street (Route 37), Franklin Street (Route 37), West Street, closed road in the Blue Hills Reservation (see Quincy)
Quincy	closed road in the Blue Hills Reservation (Route 128's roadbed uses its right-of-way), then known as Blue Hill River Road
Milton	Blue Hill River Road, Hillside Street
Canton	Blue Hill River Road, Royall Street, Green Lodge Street (cut by the Route 128/Interstate 95 interchange)
Westwood	Blue Hill Drive (cut by Route 128 Station, and later upgraded on the spot as northbound Route 128)
Dedham and Westwood	upgraded on the spot as northbound Route 128 (under U.S. Route 1) and then mostly in the median
Needham	Greendale Avenue, Hunting Road, southbound Route 128 under Highland Avenue, Reservoir Street
Wellesley	inside the present Route 9 interchange

Cars stuck in snow on Route 128 near Needham, MA during the Blizzard of '78.

At the same time as Route 128 was extended along the new Circumferential Highway, it was extended further into Hull. This alignment, not part of the Circumferential Highway, ran southeast on Route 3 (now Route 53) (Whiting Street) to the border of Hingham and Norwell, where it turned north on present Route 228 (Main Street) through Hingham and into Hull. The exact route through Hingham was Main Street, Short Street, Leavitt Street, East Street, and Hull Street. The end of the numbered route was at the south end of Nantasket Beach, where Nantasket Avenue curves northwest to follow the shore of Massachusetts Bay.

"America's Technology Highway"

In 1955, Business Week ran an article titled "New England Highway Upsets Old Way of Life" and referred to Route 128 as "the Magic Semicircle". By 1958, it needed to be widened from four to six lanes, and business growth continued, often driven by technology out of Harvard University and MIT. In 1957, there were 99 companies employing 17,000 workers along 128; in 1965, 574; in 1973, 1,212. In the 1980s, the area was often compared to California's Silicon valley, and the positive effects of this growth on the Massachusetts economy were dubbed the "Massachusetts Miracle".

Major companies with significant locations in the broader Route 128 area prior to 2000 included:

• Apollo Computer
• Digital Equipment Corporation
• Prime Computer
• Wang Laboratories
• Analog Devices
• BBN Technologies
• Computervision
• GTE
• Honeywell Information Systems
• MITRE
• Polaroid
• Thermo Electron and Fisher Scientific, later merged as Thermo Fisher Scientific
• EMC Corporation
• Autodesk
• Raytheon
• Cullinet
• Lycos
• PTC, Inc.

Future and improvements

Add-A-Lane project

The $315 million MassDOT Highway Division project has started widening on the project to upgrade the existing 14.3-mile (23.0 km) six-lane section of highway to eight lanes from north of Route 9 in Wellesley to Route 24 in Randolph. The project consists of adding a lane on the inside of each carriageway, complete with a 10-foot inside shoulder. The existing 1950s bridges, 22 in total, will be replaced as well. The project will be constructed in five phases over a twelve-year period. Construction of phase 1 began in 2004. The first phase of the project consisted of replacing the existing three-lane Route 128 bridges over University Avenue/MBTA/Amtrak and the Neponset River with new four-lane bridges in Canton. The project also included construction of a new two-lane ramp from Route 128 to I-95. The $33 million project was awarded to SPS New England of Salisbury.

During the initial construction of Route 128, a provision had already been made for a fourth lane within the widely spaced median along the 1.5-mile (2.5 km) length of Route 128 running from just north of the U.S. Route 1 interchange in Dedham, Massachusetts, north-westwards to the Route 109 interchange, and this will finally be used for the Add-A-Lane project.

Construction on phase 1 was officially completed in October 2009. Construction of phase 2 of the project began in summer 2006. This phase of the project consisted of the replacement of the Route 1 and Route 1A bridges over Route 128 in Dedham along with the road widening between Exits 13 and 15 (US 1). Construction of four sound barriers between the US 1 and I-95 interchanges were also included. This phase was completed in the Spring of 2011.

Construction on phase 3, begun in April 2009, widened I-93/US 1 to 4 lanes in each direction from Route 24 to the I-95 interchange. Phase 4 of the Project, which began in March 2011, is replacing seven bridges and widens Route 128 (I-95) to four lanes in each direction from Route 109 to south of Highland Avenue in Needham. The southeastern freeway (Pilgrims Highway) that extends from Braintree to Cape Cod, MA Route 3, is also in the process of undergoing a similar "add-a-lane" project for much of its own 42 mile length.

Sign upgrade projects on Route 128

Over the last fifteen or so years, the state has funded a number of highway sign resigning projects on Route 128 that are replacing the 25-year-old signs with new exit, regulatory and route signs. Starting in 1998 and continuing through 2002, signs were replaced through a $1.1 million project between Reading and Lynnfield. Progress continued in 2005 and 2006 during a $2.2 million project which replaced the signs on from Peabody to Gloucester, and continued with a $1.4 million project in 2008 and 2009 that replaced signs in Peabody and the remaining ones in Lynnfield. A $2.9 million federal stimulus project helped replace exit and highway signs in 2010 and 2011 along Route 128 (I-95) from US-3 in Lexington to I-93 in Reading.

A project begun in the Fall of 2012 and completed in the Fall of 2015, replaced exit & guide signs on Route 128 from Route 9 (Exit 20) in Wellesley to Routes 4/225 (Exit 31) in Lexington and, as part of the Add-A-Lane project discussed above, new signs were put up along section of the project completed in 2015 from Great Plain Avenue in Needham to Route 109 in Dedham. New signage was put up between I-95 and US 1 in 2010 and most of the signage between I-95 and Route 24 (on I-93/US 1) has been replaced by the end of 2011. Future projects will replace the signs between the Rhode Island Border and I-93 in Canton in 2018 and between I-93 in Reading and US 1 in Peabody in 2019. New mileage markers were placed every 2/10 of a mile along the highway in 2010 (except for the area covered by the widening project) for I-93 between Braintree and Canton and I-95 from Canton to Peabody. New markers put along Route 128 from Peabody to Gloucester reflect the state highway's total mileage from Canton, indicating MassDOT's change of heart in decommissioning the route where it shares the road with I-95. The previous mile markers (reflected in the exit list below) had mile 0 in Peabody.

Popular culture

Two songs by Massachusetts alternative rock artists, "Roadrunner" by The Modern Lovers and "Blue Thunder" by Galaxie 500, prominently feature Route 128 in their lyrics.

Exit list

Exit numbers along the I-95 portion of Route 128 are in accordance to the I-95 exit numbering scheme in Massachusetts . The stretch north of I-95, as well as the rest of the length before I-95 exit numbering was applied, has decreasing exit numbers traveling northbound, contrary to almost all highways in the US with numbered exits. Route 128 currently has 18 numbered interchanges, starting at 29 (southbound) and continuing downwards to 9 (former Exit 27, an at-grade intersection, was removed, and the last two exits are at-grade intersections). This may be changed over the next few years if all freeway interchanges in Massachusetts are converted to mileage-based numbers under a project that was scheduled to start in January 2016, in order to comply with Federal regulations mandating mileage-based exit numbers on interstate highways, but that, for now, has been indefinitely postponed. The new numbers would abide by standard numbering rules and increase from 37 in Peabody to 54 in Gloucester with the traffic circles and at-grade intersections no longer receiving numbers.

County	Location	mi	km	Old exit	New exit	Destinations	Notes
Norfolk	Braintree			69	–	I-93 north / US 1 north / Route 3 north – Boston	Former exit on Route 128, now on I-93 / US 1
				–	7	Route 3 south – Cape Cod	Former southern terminus of Route 128 Exit 20 on Route 3
				68	6	Route 37 – Braintree, Holbrook	Former exit on Route 128, now on I-93 / US 1
	Randolph			67	5	Route 28 – Randolph, Milton	Former exit on Route 128, now on I-93 / US 1 Split into exits 5A (south) and 5B (north)
				66	4	Route 24 south – Fall River	Former exit on Route 128, now on I-93 / US 1 Northern terminus of Route 24; Exit 21 on Route 24
	Milton			65	3	Ponkapoag Trail – Houghton's Pond	Former exit on Route 128, now on I-93 / US 1
	Canton			64	2	Route 138 – Canton, Milton	Former exit on Route 128, now on I-93 / US 1 Split into exits 2A (south) and 2B (north)
		0.0	0.0	–	12	I-93 north / US 1 north – Boston	Southern terminus of Route 128 and concurrency with US 1;
		0.0	0.0	–	1B	I-95 north / US 1 south – Dedham, Portsmouth, NH	Exit 1B on I-93  south / US 1 south
		0.0	0.0	63	1A	I-95 south – Providence, RI	Southern terminus of concurrency with I-95
	Dedham	0.6	0.97	62	13	University Avenue – MBTA / Amtrak station
	Westwood	1.9	3.1	61	14	East Street / Canton Street
	Dedham	2.6	4.2	60	15	US 1 south to Route 1A – Norwood, Dedham	Northern terminus of concurrency with US 1; Split into exits 15A (Route 1A) and 15B (south)
		4.1	6.6	59	16	Route 109 – Dedham, Westwood	Split into exits 16A (east) and 16B (west)
		5.6	9.0	58	17	Route 135 – Needham, Natick	Norfolk County Correctional Center is in the median of Route 128, access from Route 135 Eastern terminus of Route 135
	Needham	6.0	9.7	57	18	Great Plain Avenue – West Roxbury
		8.8	14.2	56	19	Kendrick Street / Highland Avenue – Newton Highlands, Needham	Split into exits 19A (Kendrick Street, Newton), 19B (Newton Highlands) and 19C (Needham)
	Wellesley	9.9	15.9	55	20	Route 9 – Brookline, Boston, Framingham, Worcester	Split into exits 20A (east) and 20B (west)
Middlesex	Newton	11.2	18.0	54	21	Route 16 – Newton, Wellesley	Split into exits 21A (west) and 21B (east, signed with exit 22) southbound
		11.6	18.7	53	22	Grove Street – MBTA Station
	Weston	12.0	19.3	52	23	Recreation Road	Northbound exit and entrance
		12.3	19.8	51	24	Route 30 – Newton, Weston	Interchange located after Exit 25 northbound
		12.5	20.1	50	25	I-90 / Mass Pike – Boston, Albany, NY	Exits 14-15 on I-90
	Waltham	14.5	23.3	49	26	US 20 – Waltham, Weston	To Route 117
		16.3	26.2	48	27	Third Avenue / Wyman Street / Totten Pond Road / Winter Street	Split into exits 27A (Third Avenue / Wyman Street) and 27B (Totten Pond Road / Winter Street)
		17.6	28.3	47	28	Trapelo Road – Belmont, Lincoln	Split into exits 28A (Belmont) and 28B (Lincoln) northbound
	Lexington	18.5	29.8	46	29	Route 2 – Cambridge, Boston, Acton, Fitchburg	Split into exits 29A (east) and 29B (west); Exits 52A-B on Route 2
		19.6	31.5	45	30	Route 2A – East Lexington, Concord	Split into exits 30A (east) and 30B (west); To Hanscom Field via Route 2A west
		21.8	35.1	44	31	Route 4 / Route 225 – Lexington, Bedford	Split into exits 31A (south / east) and 31B (north / west)
	Burlington	23.1	37.2	43	32A	US 3 north – Lowell, Nashua, NH	Southern terminus of concurrency with US 3; Exit 25A on US 3
		23.4	37.7	42	32B	Middlesex Turnpike – Burlington
		24.8	39.9	41	33	US 3 south / Route 3A north – Winchester, Burlington	Southern terminus of concurrency with US 3; Southern terminus of Route 3A Split into exits 33A (US 3) and 33B (Route 3A)
		25.7	41.4	40	34	Winn Street – Woburn, Burlington
	Woburn	26.8	43.1	39	35	Route 38 – Woburn, Wilmington
		28.4	45.7	38	36	Washington Street – Woburn, Reading
	Reading	28.8	46.3	–	37	I-93 – Boston, Concord, NH	Split into exits 37A (south) and 37B (north)
		29.6	47.6	36	38	Route 28 – Stoneham, Reading	Split into exits 38A (south) and 38B (north)
	Wakefield	30.8	49.6	35	39	North Avenue – Reading, Wakefield
		31.6	50.9	34	40	Route 129 – Wakefield Center, Wilmington
Essex	Lynnfield	32.3	52.0	33	41	Main Street – Lynnfield Center, Wakefield
Middlesex	Wakefield	33.9	54.6	32	42	Salem Street – Wakefield
Essex	Lynnfield	34.5	55.5	31	43	Walnut Street –Saugus, Lynnfield
		35.9	57.8	30	44	US 1 / Route 129 – Boston, Danvers	Split into exits 44A (south / west) and 44B (north / east) northbound; No Route 129 signage southbound
	Peabody	37.5	60.4	–	45 and 29	I-95 north – Portsmouth, NH	Northern terminus of concurrency with I-95; Exit 45 on I-95
		38.4	61.8	–	28	Forest Street / Centennial Drive
		39.0	62.8	–	26	Lowell Street – Peabody Square, Salem
		39.7	63.9	–	25	Route 114 – Salem, Middleton, West PeabodyModule:Jct warning: "road" parameter is deprecated	Split into exits 25A (Route 114 east / local streets) and 25B (Route 114 west)
	Danvers	40.4	65.0	–	24	Endicott Street
		41.2	66.3	–	23	Route 35 – Salem, Danvers
		41.8	67.3	–	22	Route 62 – Beverly, Middleton
		42.5	68.4	–	21	Trask Lane – Folly Hill	Northbound exit and entrance
		42.5	68.4	–	21	Conant Street – Industrial Park	Southbound exit and entrance
	Beverly	43.5	70.0	–	20	Route 1A – Beverly, Hamilton	Split into exits 20B (south) and 20A (north)
		44.2	71.1	–	19	Sohier Road / Brimbal Avenue – Montserrat, North Beverly	No direct access from Route 128 south to Sohier Road
		45.3	72.9	–	18	Route 22 – Essex, Beverly
	Wenham	47.4	76.3	–	17	Grapevine Road – Beverly Farms, Wenham
	Manchester	48.9	78.7	–	16	Pine Street – Manchester, Magnolia
		50.4	81.1	–	15	School Street – Essex, Manchester
	Gloucester	53.5	86.1	–	14	Route 133 – West Gloucester, Essex
		54.2	87.2	–	13	Concord Street – Wingaersheek Beach
		54.8	88.2	–	12	Crafts Road – Rust Island
		56.0	90.1	–	11	Route 127 (Washington Street) – Annisquam	Grant Circle, northbound Washington St. marked 'TO Route 127'
		56.8	91.4	–	–	Dory Road / Gloucester School Road	Blackburn Circle
		57.6	92.7	–	10	Route 127 (Eastern Avenue) – Manchester, Rockport	At-grade intersection
		57.8	93.0	–	9	Route 127A – Rockport, Bass Rocks, Eastern Point	Northern terminus; At-grade intersection
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Closed/former       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access        Tolled

Bibliography

• Susan Rosegrant, David R. Lampe, Route 128: Lessons from Boston's High-Tech Community, Basic Books, 1992, ISBN 0-465-04639-8. The story of the Boston high-tech industry, starting from its 19th-century roots.
• Alan R. Earls, Route 128 and the Birth of the Age of High Tech, Arcadia Publishing, 2002,

ISBN 978-0738510767. After World War II, Route 128, dubbed by critics "the road to nowhere," became the locus of high-tech development.

• AnnaLee Saxenian, Régional Advantage: Culture and Competition in Silicon Valley and Route 128 Harvard University Press, 1994, ISBN 9780674753396

External links

Template:Attached KML/Massachusetts Route 128

KML is from Wikidata

• The Route 128 Business Council
• http://www.bostonroads.com/roads/MA-128/ - Historical overview
• http://www.route128history.org/ - Links about the region's tech history
• The Valley of My Dreams: Why Silicon Valley Left Boston's Route 128 In The Dust
• http://www.bambinomusical.com/128 - Includes a "virtual tour" of the highway's early days and construction, as well as movies of the 1951 opening ceremony.
• Route 128 Current and Speculative Future Exit Numbers List