Route 49 is a

state route 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

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 ...

. Known as Podunk Pike, the highway runs from

U.S. Route 20 U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. S ...

(US 20) in

Sturbridge Sturbridge is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is home to Old Sturbridge Village living history museum and other sites of historical interest such as Tantiusques. The population was 9,867 at the 2020 census, with more ...

north to Route 9 in Spencer. Route 49 provides a connection between US 20 and Route 9 in southwestern Worcester County.

Route description

MA Route 49 northbound entering East Brookfield from Sturbridge MA

Route 49 begins at US 20 (Charlton Road) in the town of Sturbridge. The route heads north as a partially

controlled-access 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 i ...

two-lane highway with a speed limit of , which it maintains for its whole length except at its ends. Route 49 crosses over

Interstate 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, and ...

(Massachusetts Turnpike) with no interchange as it clips the northwest corner of the town of Charlton. The highway parallels Podunk Road for most of its course as it passes to the east of Wells State Park and enters the town of East Brookfield. Route 49 enters the town of Spencer, crosses over

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

Boston Subdivision The Boston Subdivision is a railroad line in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The line runs from Back Bay Station in Boston west to Wilbraham, just east of Springfield. along a former New York Central Railroad line. The line connects with the Nor ...

rail line, and crosses over the Sevenmile River before it reaches its northern terminus at Route 9 (Main Street).

Major Intersections

References

{{Reflist 049 Transportation in Worcester County, Massachusetts