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The Lowell Connector, officially the American Legion Connector Highway, is a short
In the mid-1960s, the Connector was designated as Interstate 495 Business Spur. However, there are no records indicating that this designation was ever approved by either the Bureau of Public Roads (now FHWA) or the American Association of State Highway Officials (now AASHTO). Further, the Business I-495 designation was never posted on any signs for the Lowell Connector exit on I-495, US 3, or on any signs on the Connector mainline itself (verified by a comprehensive review of MassDPW signing plans for I-495, US 3, and the Lowell Connector from the late 1950s to the present). However, such signs were included on official maps and were physically posted on local streets intersecting the Connector. A lone shield remained for Business Spur I-495 along Plain Street (exit 4) for the Lowell Connector, but was taken down by 2008.
In the 2000s, the Lowell Connector was ranked the most dangerous highway in Massachusetts, in terms of crashes per mile. The Connector has many serious design flaws, such as a lack of median guard rails, short and steep entrance and exit ramps, and inadequate spacing between exits which leads to weaving. An analysis by the ''Lowell Sun'' found that, on average between 2000 and 2005, there were 25 crashes per year, including nine that caused non-fatal injuries and one fatal crash on average. At the time, Lowell had one of the lowest incidences of seatbelt use in Massachusetts, which contributed to the high injury and death rates.
At its northern terminus, the Lowell Connector slopes downhill before abruptly terminating at Gorham Street (exit 5C). As a result, cars have overshot the end of the freeway and crashed into the brick wall of a residential property across the street; in 2005, the ''Lowell Sun'' reported that cars crashed into that house twice a year. After three people died on the highway in 2005, MassDOT added median guardrails and multiple flashing warning signs giving the exact distance to the end of the road. In addition, the terminus features two flashing (strobe) stoplights and a metal railing, protecting the property at the opposite end of the intersection.
freeway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
serving as a connector in the Massachusetts State Highway System
The Massachusetts State Highway System in the U.S. Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a system of state-numbered routes assigned and marked by the highway division of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). U.S. Highways and Inters ...
that links nearby U.S. Highway 3
U.S. Route 3 (US 3) is a United States highway running from Cambridge, Massachusetts, through New Hampshire, to the Canada–US border near Third Connecticut Lake, where it connects to Quebec Route 257.
Massachusetts Route 3 connects to ...
(US 3) and Interstate 495 (I-495) to downtown Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...
. The freeway has its southern terminus at US 3 and its northern terminus in downtown Lowell, where it feeds into city streets shortly after an interchange with Route 3A. This alignment, nearly parallel to Route 110
Route 110 or Highway 110 can refer to multiple roads:
Australia
* Nepean Highway
* Bellarine Highway
Bangladesh
*
Brazil
* BR-110
Canada
* Manitoba Highway 110
* New Brunswick Route 110
* Prince Edward Island Route 110
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* China Nati ...
, provides much of Lowell with a direct expressway route to the Boston area to the south, and convenient (but slightly roundabout) expressway access to Lowell's eastern and western suburbs by way of Route 3 and I-495.
History
Built in the early 1960s and opened on October 24, 1962, the Lowell Connector is located along the re-channelled River Meadow (or Hales) Brook. This alignment minimally affected existing neighborhoods, unlike many urban expressways in the region. Plans to extend the Connector through the city's Back Central neighborhood, up to and along theConcord River
The Concord River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed October 3, 2011 tributary of the Merrimack River in eastern Massachusetts in the United States. The river drains ...
, then onward to Lowell's main street, Merrimack Street, were drawn out, but abandoned after they were decided to be too disruptive to one of the oldest parts of the city. This left the highway terminating abruptly at a residential section of Gorham Street.
Another plan circa 1968 had the connector connecting to the planned route of Massachusetts Route 213
Route 213 is a state highway in Massachusetts. It connects Interstate 93 (I-93) with I-495 in Methuen, Massachusetts, just south of the New Hampshire border. It is a four-lane, controlled access highway along its entire length. The highway is a no ...
in Dracut.
The Connector was officially named for the American Legion
The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...
on May 20, 1963, a few months after opening; however, signs reflecting this were not posted until November 16, 2010.
Since 1976, the highway has shared its name with the student newspaper at UMass Lowell
The University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell and UML) is a public research university in Lowell, Massachusetts, with a satellite campus in Haverhill, Massachusetts. It is the northernmost member of the University of Massachusetts public ...
.
I-495 Business Spur
In the mid-1960s, the Connector was designated as Interstate 495 Business Spur. However, there are no records indicating that this designation was ever approved by either the Bureau of Public Roads (now FHWA) or the American Association of State Highway Officials (now AASHTO). Further, the Business I-495 designation was never posted on any signs for the Lowell Connector exit on I-495, US 3, or on any signs on the Connector mainline itself (verified by a comprehensive review of MassDPW signing plans for I-495, US 3, and the Lowell Connector from the late 1950s to the present). However, such signs were included on official maps and were physically posted on local streets intersecting the Connector. A lone shield remained for Business Spur I-495 along Plain Street (exit 4) for the Lowell Connector, but was taken down by 2008.
Crashes
In the 2000s, the Lowell Connector was ranked the most dangerous highway in Massachusetts, in terms of crashes per mile. The Connector has many serious design flaws, such as a lack of median guard rails, short and steep entrance and exit ramps, and inadequate spacing between exits which leads to weaving. An analysis by the ''Lowell Sun'' found that, on average between 2000 and 2005, there were 25 crashes per year, including nine that caused non-fatal injuries and one fatal crash on average. At the time, Lowell had one of the lowest incidences of seatbelt use in Massachusetts, which contributed to the high injury and death rates.
At its northern terminus, the Lowell Connector slopes downhill before abruptly terminating at Gorham Street (exit 5C). As a result, cars have overshot the end of the freeway and crashed into the brick wall of a residential property across the street; in 2005, the ''Lowell Sun'' reported that cars crashed into that house twice a year. After three people died on the highway in 2005, MassDOT added median guardrails and multiple flashing warning signs giving the exact distance to the end of the road. In addition, the terminus features two flashing (strobe) stoplights and a metal railing, protecting the property at the opposite end of the intersection.
Exit list
All interchanges were to be renumbered to milepost-based numbers under a project scheduled to start in 2016. However, this project was indefinitely postponed by MassDOT. On November 18, 2019, MassDOT announced that the Lowell Connector's exit numbers would not be changed because its exits were so tightly spaced.References
External links
{{Attached KML, display=inline,title Freeways in the United States Interstate 95 Roads in Massachusetts Transportation in Lowell, Massachusetts Transportation in Middlesex County, Massachusetts