Interstate 391 (I-391) is an

auxiliary Interstate Highway Auxiliary Interstate Highways (also called three-digit Interstate Highways) are a supplemental subset of the freeways within the Interstate Highway System of the United States. Auxiliary routes are generally classified as spur routes, which conn ...

located entirely within the

US state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. It runs from the I-91/I-391 interchange in Chicopee to the center of

Holyoke Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,238. Located north of Springfiel ...

, a distance of about . It runs near the Connecticut River throughout its journey in Chicopee, crosses into Holyoke, and abruptly ends at High Street south of

US Route 202 U.S. Route 202 (US 202) is a spur route of US 2. It follows a northeasterly and southwesterly direction stretching from Delaware to Maine, also traveling through the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massa ...

(US 202).

Route description

I-391 begins at an interchange with

I-91 Interstate 91 (I-91) is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It provides the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of the region. The Interstate generally follows the course of the Connect ...

(at exit 9) in southern Chicopee, just north of the Atwater Park and the Calvary Cemetery. Initially running parallel to the Connecticut River, it intersects with Route 116 in Chicopee center and crosses the

Chicopee River The Chicopee River is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Connecticut River in the Pioneer Valley, Massachusetts, known for fast-moving water ...

. I-391 then has another junction with Route 116 in the Sandy Hill section of town, and, in less than one mile (1.6 km), it crosses underneath the

Massachusetts Turnpike The Massachusetts Turnpike (colloquially "Mass Pike" or "the Pike") is a toll highway in the US state of Massachusetts that is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). The turnpike begins at the New York state li ...

without an interchange. I-391 continues north through the rest of northern Chicopee, intersecting Route 141 along the way and then passing just east of Rivers Park. I-391 then crosses the Connecticut River into the city of

, where it has two closely spaced exits for local streets in the town. I-391 officially comes to an end at High Street in Holyoke, with the road continuing as Resnic Boulevard, which connects to US 202 after .

History

Plans for the highway originated from the Master Highway Plan for the Springfield metropolitan area in 1953, which planned for a "major street improvement" to Route 116. By the 1960s, freeway access was needed between Chicopee and Holyoke to improve traffic flow which prompted a spur route of I-91 to be built. I-391's planned six lanes were built to handle up to 50,000 vehicles every day, and the total cost of the proposed highway was estimated at about $35 million (equivalent to $ in ). In 1965, an alignment of the highway had been set, along with two alternative alignments. Construction for I-391 began in 1967 with a short highway, which was completed in 1970. After years of no progress, construction started again in 1978. The highway was completed in 1982 after about 15 years of planning and construction. An interchange with the

(

I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, an ...

) was part of the original proposal, as it would have connected the turnpike to Chicopee and Holyoke, though it was never built. I-391 near MA-141

Exit list

All exit numbers in

were to eventually be renumbered to mileage-based numbers under a future project, but that project was postponed. On November 18, 2019, the

Massachusetts Department of Transportation The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) oversees roads, public transit, aeronautics, and transportation licensing and registration in the US state of Massachusetts. It was created on November 1, 2009, by the 186th Session of t ...

announced that I-391's exit numbers would not be changed because its exits were so tightly spaced.

References

External links

I-391 Historical Overview from bostonroads.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Interstate 91-3 91-3 91-3 3 Transportation in Hampden County, Massachusetts

Route description

History

Exit list

References

Further reading

External links