Route 97 is a south–north highway in
Essex County in northeastern
, United States. It connects the cities of
Beverly and
Haverhill before continuing into
Salem, New Hampshire
Salem is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 30,089 at the 2020 census. Being located on Interstate 93 as the first town in New Hampshire, which lacks any state sales tax, Salem has grown into a commer ...
as
New Hampshire Route 97
Route 97 is a south–north highway in Essex County in northeastern Massachusetts, United States. It connects the cities of Beverly and Haverhill before continuing into Salem, New Hampshire as New Hampshire Route 97.
Route description
Rou ...
.
Route description
Route 97 begins at
Route 1A in Beverly, north of the downtown area. Almost immediately, it crosses under
Route 128
The following highways are numbered 128:
Canada
* New Brunswick Route 128
* Ontario Highway 128 (former)
* Prince Edward Island Route 128
Costa Rica
* National Route 128
India
* National Highway 128 (India)
Japan
* Japan National Route 128 ...
without intersection; the nearest exit is Exit 45 (formerly 20) to Route 1A. Route 97 passes the
Beverly Municipal Airport
Beverly Regional Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located in Beverly, Danvers and Wenham, Massachusetts, in Essex County, three nautical miles (6 km) northwest of Beverly's central business district.
The National Pla ...
before crossing into
Wenham. Route 97 passes through the western end of town, passing the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary before meeting the northern end of
Route 35 in
Topsfield, just over the town lines of Wenham and
Danvers.
Once in Topsfield, Route 97 crosses the
Ipswich River
Ipswich River is a small river in northeastern Massachusetts, United States. It held significant importance in early colonial migrations inland from the ocean port of Ipswich. The river provided safe harborage at offshore Plum Island Sound to ea ...
just east of the Topsfield Fairgrounds. It crosses
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 i ...
(the Newburyport Turnpike) before heading into the center of town. From there, it continues northward, entering the town of
Boxford. Route 97 passes through the village of East Boxford, where it 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 ...
at Exit 76 (formerly 53). It then heads northward into
Georgetown. In Georgetown, Route 97 has a brief concurrency of a tenth of a mile with
Route 133 before turning northwestward along West Main Street, passing between Rock Pond and Pentucket Pond into
Groveland.
In Groveland, Route 97 meets
Route 113 at the banks of the
Merrimack River
The Merrimack River (or Merrimac River, an occasional earlier spelling) is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Mas ...
, where both cross along the Bates Bridge into the city of Haverhill. The two routes pass Merrimack Valley Hospital, Riverside Park and Trinity Stadium (known locally for being the site of an exhibition game featuring
Babe Ruth
George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
) before continuing along the banks of the Merrimack. At Ginty Boulevard, Route 97 leaves Route 113, continuing to Main Street, where Route 97 turns northward, running as a
wrong-way concurrency
A concurrency in a road network is an instance of one physical roadway bearing two or more different route numbers. When two roadways share the same right-of-way, it is sometimes called a common section or commons. Other terminology for a concurre ...
with
Route 125 for one block before turning westward onto Winter Street. Route 97 intersects
Route 110
Route 110 or Highway 110 can refer to multiple roads:
Australia
* Nepean Highway
* Bellarine Highway
Bangladesh
*
Brazil
* BR-110
Canada
* Manitoba Highway 110
* New Brunswick Route 110
* Prince Edward Island Route 110
China
* China Nati ...
before continuing westward out of the downtown area. The route intersects
I-495 Interstate 495 (I-495) is the designation for several Interstate Highways in the United States, all of which are related to Interstate 95, listed from south to north:
* The Capital Beltway, a beltway around Washington, D.C., running through Virgin ...
at Exit 108 (formerly 50) as it continues into the Ayers Village section of the city. It then enters the far northeast corner of the city of
Methuen, where after only three-quarters of a mile the route enters Salem, New Hampshire and continues as New Hampshire Route 97. The stretch of Route 97 in Methuen is not directly connected to any other road within the city.
In 2010, a project began to replace the Bates Bridge, 60 feet downstream, with a modern bridge. The project is expected to take two to three years and cost approximately $45 million.
New $45M Groveland bridge will ease travel - Newburyport Daily News, January 9, 2010
/ref>
Major intersections
New Hampshire
Route 97 (abbreviated NH 97) also has a brief east–west 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 Salem, Rockingham County, New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
. The western terminus of the route is in the center of Salem at New Hampshire Route 28
New Hampshire Route 28 is an north–south state highway in eastern New Hampshire. It connects the town of Ossipee in east-central New Hampshire with Salem on the Massachusetts border, while passing through Manchester, the largest city in the sta ...
(Broadway). The eastern terminus is at the state line, where the road continues east as Massachusetts Route 97 and continues on to Haverhill. NH 97 is named Main Street along its entire length.
References
External links
{{Commons category, Massachusetts Route 97
Massachusetts State Route 97
on Flickr
Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and professional ...
New Hampshire State Route 97
on Flickr
097
Methuen, Massachusetts
Transportation in Essex County, Massachusetts