Route 57 is a east–west
state route that runs from
Monterey
Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under both ...
to
Agawam. The eastern 5.0 miles
(8.1 km) in Agawam is a
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 ...
that runs from
Route 187
The following highways are numbered 187:
Japan
* Japan National Route 187
United States
* U.S. Route 187 (former)
* Alabama State Route 187
* Arizona State Route 187
* Arkansas Highway 187
* California State Route 187
* Colorado State Highwa ...
to the route's eastern terminus at
U.S. Route 5
U.S. Route 5 (US 5) is a north–south United States highway running through the New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Significant cities along the route include New Haven, Connecticut; Hartford, Connecticut; and Spring ...
.
Route description
The route begins in Monterey, at its intersection with routes
23 and
183.
The section from there to
New Marlborough (which is a
concurrency with Route 183) primarily takes a
southeast
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
ern path that passes several stretches of
farmland
Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...
.
In New Marlborough, Route 57 splits from Route 183 and follows a mainly easterly route with frequent curves, passing more farmland.
During this stretch, there is a brief concurrency with
Route 8 in
Sandisfield to cross the
Farmington River
The Farmington River is a river, U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 in length along its main stem, located in northwest Connecticut with major tributaries ex ...
's west branch.
In
Southwick, Route 57 starts to enter a more suburban area.
There are more concurrencies during this stretch, first with
U.S. Route 202
U.S. Route 202 (US 202) is a spur route of US 2. It follows a northeasterly and southwesterly direction stretching from Delaware to Maine, also traveling through the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massa ...
and
Massachusetts Route 10
Massachusetts Route 10 is a north–south state highway that runs from the Connecticut state line at Southwick to the New Hampshire state line at Northfield. Originally part of New England Route 10 from 1922 to 1927, it continues to the south a ...
in Southwick, and then with
Route 187
The following highways are numbered 187:
Japan
* Japan National Route 187
United States
* U.S. Route 187 (former)
* Alabama State Route 187
* Arizona State Route 187
* Arkansas Highway 187
* California State Route 187
* Colorado State Highwa ...
in
Agawam.
When Route 57 splits off from Route 187, it becomes a
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 ...
,
the
Henry E. Bodurtha Highway.
It has five exits before terminating in a
rotary that is served by an interchange from
U.S. Route 5
U.S. Route 5 (US 5) is a north–south United States highway running through the New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Significant cities along the route include New Haven, Connecticut; Hartford, Connecticut; and Spring ...
.
History
Route 57 (which was formed by 1930
) initially went from Southwick to
West Springfield.
It was extended to Sandisfield in the mid-1930s and Monterey in the late 1940s.
Construction on the freeway portion began in 1958,
with the first portion (to today's
Route 159,
then called Route 5A
) opening in 1961.
It was extended to past
Route 75 in 1966, with Route 57 being moved to the freeway around this time (the old alignment became
Route 147).
In 1991, work to extend the freeway to Route 187 began, with the new section opening in 1995.
A further extension to Southwick has been proposed, but it was put on hold by then-Governor
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...
in June 2005; nevertheless, Agawam's city council continues to urge the state to construct the extension.
The MA 57 freeway exits do not have numbers.
Major intersections
References
External links
{{Commons category, Massachusetts Route 57
MA Route 57 Historic Overview
057