Route 88 is a north–south

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 town of Westport in southeastern

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 ...

. At just over 11 miles, it is the longest Massachusetts state route to be situated in only one town. It begins at John Reed Road and ends at an interchange with

I-195 Interstate 195 (I-195) is the designation for the following Interstate Highways in the United States, all of which are related to I-95: *Interstate 195 (District of Columbia), a future designation for the north–south portion of I-395 from the Sout ...

Route description

Route 88 begins at the northern end of the

Horseneck Beach State Reservation Horseneck Beach State Reservation is a public recreation area comprising more than on the Atlantic Ocean in the southern portion of the New England town, town of Westport, Massachusetts, Westport, Massachusetts. The state park, reservation is on ...

lands, on a peninsula dividing the East Branch of the

Westport River The Westport River lies between Narragansett Bay and Buzzards Bay in Westport, Massachusetts. Description The Westport River has two branches. The smaller West Branch is approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset ...

from

Buzzards Bay Buzzards Bay is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It is approximately 28 miles (45 kilometers) long by 8 miles (12 kilometers) wide. It is a popular destination for fishing, boating, and tourism. Since ...

. After just , it crosses the

Normand Edward Fontaine Bridge The Normand Edward Fontaine Bridge is a -long bascule bridge at in Westport, Massachusetts, USA. Two lanes of Route 88 pass over the bridge from Westport Point and Wood Point in the Westport Point section of town to the Horseneck Beach State ...

over that river into the Westport Point section of town. The road has five

at-grade intersection An intersection or an at-grade junction is a junction where two or more roads converge, diverge, meet or cross at the same height, as opposed to an interchange, which uses bridges or tunnels to separate different roads. Major intersections a ...

s with stoplights and two ramped overpass intersections. Route 88 ends just north of Route 6 and the abandoned Old Colony Rail line at an interchange with

, where westbound entrance and exit fly on separate overpasses over the interstate, and eastbound entrance and exit are direct ramps with no flyovers. Route 88 is a

two-lane expressway A two-lane expressway or two-lane freeway is an expressway or freeway with only one lane in each direction, and usually no median barrier. It may be built that way because of constraints, or may be intended for expansion once traffic volumes ris ...

or "Super-2." Route 88 (like other such roads) is peculiar in its design in that, while it has at-grade intersections with town roads and is not divided by barriers or grass median between the Fontaine Bridge and Old County Road (except at intersections), there is no development of any kind that abuts the route directly; the only property that comes close is an ice cream stand on the southeast corner of Route 88 and Hixbridge Road, but even this only has a driveway from Hixbridge Road.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{Commons category, Massachusetts Route 88
Steve Anderson's BostonRoads.com: Horseneck Beach Connector (MA 88)
088 Transportation in Bristol County, Massachusetts