Route 66 is a
state highway
A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...
in the U.S. state of
. The highway runs from
Route 112 in
Huntington east to
Route 9 in
Northampton
Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
. Route 66 connects the western
Hampshire County towns of Huntington,
Westhampton, and Northampton and passes through
Smith College
Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...
at its eastern end.
Route description
Route 66 begins at Route 112 (Worthington Road) next to the Eastern Branch of the
Westfield River
The Westfield River is a major tributary of the Connecticut River located in the Berkshires and Pioneer Valley regions of western Massachusetts. With four major tributary branches that converge west of the city of Westfield, it flows (measured ...
in the village of Knightville in the town of Huntington. The two-lane highway heads east as Pond Brook Road, which follows the namesake stream to the village of Norwich then ascends Norwich Hill. Route 66 continues through Westhampton along Main Road, which crosses the upper reaches of the
Manhan River
The Manhan River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 river in western Massachusetts. It is a tributary of the Connecticut River.
The river begins near the ...
and descends to that river's North Branch at the village of Loudville at the Northampton city line. The highway continues into the city as Westhampton Road, but that name changes to Rocky Hill Road at Florence Road then Chapel Street and Prince Street before its final name of West Street. Route 66's West Street section passes by the site of the former
Northampton State Hospital
Northampton State Hospital was a historic psychiatric hospital at 1 Prince Street on top of Hospital Hill outside of Northampton, Massachusetts. The hospital building was constructed in 1856. It operated until 1993, and the building was added to th ...
, crosses the
Mill River, and passes through the campus of Smith College. At the east end of campus, the highway reaches its eastern terminus at Route 9—which heads west as Elm Street and east as Main Street—just west of Route 9's intersection with
Route 10 (New Street) on the west side of downtown Northampton.
Major Intersections
References
External links
{{Attached KML, display=inline,title
Mass. Rt. 66 endpoint photos
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