Route 109 is a
state highway in eastern
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
. It runs from
Route 16 in
Milford east to the
VFW Parkway in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. Most of Route 109 runs along a portion of the Hartford and Dedham Turnpike.
Route description
Route 109 begins at Route 16 in Milford, just east of
Route 85's southern terminus. The route proceeds to the east, meeting
Interstate 495 (I-495) at exit 19 before crossing into
Norfolk County and the town of
Medway. Route 109 passes through northern Medway, crossing
Route 126 along the way before turning onto Main Street. The highway continues into
Millis, where it crosses
Route 115 in the center of town. The road then crosses the
Charles River
The Charles River ( Massachusett: ''Quinobequin)'' (sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles) is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along a highly meandering route, that doubles b ...
as it enters
Medfield, passing through the center of town where it intersects
Route 27.
East of Medfield, Route 109 travels along the
Dover–
Walpole town line before entering
Westwood. The highway passes through the town, easing towards the urban landscape of metro Boston. North of the center of town, Route 109 intersects
I-95
Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...
/
Route 128 at exit 31 (old exit 16) as it enters
Dedham. Route 109 passes through northwest Dedham, crossing the Charles twice more before crossing into the Boston neighborhood of
West Roxbury, where it immediately meets the
VFW Parkway and ends.
The VFW Parkway, which has its southern terminus at the intersection with Route 109, formerly carried
U.S. Route 1
U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making ...
(US 1) into the city, before US 1 was rerouted along I-95 and
I-93
Interstate 93 (I-93) is an Interstate Highway in the New England states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont in the United States. Spanning approximately along a north–south axis, it is one of three primary Interstate Highways ...
through
Braintree and downtown Boston, due to the cancellation of I-95 in Boston during the 1970s. As such, Route 109 no longer ends at a numbered highway, although the
Boston-Providence Turnpike runs south from this intersection to join the current US 1 at its interchange with I-95/Route 128. South of the interchange, US 1 runs along the Turnpike.
History
The Hartford and Dedham Turnpike was chartered on March 9, 1804, to close a gap in the turnpikes that were being built to replace the
Middle Post Road
The Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York City and Boston, Massachusetts that evolved into one of the first major highways in the United States.
The three major alignments were the Lower Post Road (now U.S. Ro ...
between Dedham and Hartford. It ran from
Dedham southwest to
West Medway, where it continued as the earlier Ninth Massachusetts Turnpike and
Boston Turnpike to
Hartford, Connecticut. North of Dedham, the
Norfolk and Bristol Turnpike Washington Street is a street originating in downtown Boston, Massachusetts that extends southwestward to the Massachusetts–Rhode Island state line. The majority of its length outside of the city was built as the Norfolk and Bristol Turnpike in th ...
continued to Boston. The turnpike, built in 1807, was never a success. In 1821 it was closed to all but local travel due to its condition; it became a free road in 1830, with the rest of the route to Hartford becoming free in 1838.
The path of the road is now mostly covered by Route 109. The turnpike entered Dedham center using High Street, and in
Westwood,
Dover and
Medfield the old turnpike exists as Hartford Street, while Route 109 uses the older alignment with better
grades. Near the west end, Route 109 turns west towards
Milford, and the turnpike continues southwest on Main Street to end at its merge with
Route 126 and the Middle Post Road.
The original Route 109 went from
US 7 in
Pittsfield
Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield ...
to
US 20 in
West Brookfield along what is now
Route 9. This western section of Route 109 was decommissioned in 1933, during the flooding of the
Quabbin Reservoir
The Quabbin Reservoir is the largest inland body of water in Massachusetts, and was built between 1930 and 1939. Along with the Wachusett Reservoir, it is the primary water supply for Boston, to the east, and 40 other cities and towns in Greate ...
, as it had run through the center of
Enfield, Massachusetts
Enfield was a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts. The town was lost as a result of the creation of the Quabbin Reservoir.
History
Incorporated in 1816 from portions of Greenwich and Belchertown. It was named in honor of one of its early s ...
, a town itself disincorporated in late April 1938 due to the flooding of the Quabbin Reservoir.
Major intersections
References
Neilbert.com Massachusetts Route Log
External links
*Francis D. Donovan
1995
{{Dedham
109
Pre-freeway turnpikes in the United States
Transportation in Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Transportation in Suffolk County, Massachusetts
Transportation in Worcester County, Massachusetts
Historic trails and roads in Dedham, Massachusetts