![Looking south on US Route 1, Topsfield MA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Looking_south_on_US_Route_1%2C_Topsfield_MA.jpg)
In the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
, U.S. Route 1 (US 1) is a major north–south
route
Route or routes may refer to:
* Route (gridiron football), a path run by a wide receiver
* route (command), a program used to configure the routing table
* Route, County Antrim, an area in Northern Ireland
* ''The Route'', a 2013 Ugandan film
* Ro ...
through
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
,
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
,
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
, and
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
Counties. The portion of US 1 south of Boston is also known as the Boston-Providence Turnpike,
Washington Street, or the Norfolk and Bristol Turnpike, and portions north of Boston are known as the Northeast Expressway and the Newburyport Turnpike.
Route description
From the south, US 1 enters Massachusetts from
Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
, immediately entering the city of
Attleboro
Attleboro is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It was once known as "The Jewelry Capital of the World" for its many jewelry manufacturers. According to the 2020 census, Attleboro had a population of 46,461.
Attleboro is ...
. It closely parallels
Interstate 95
Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...
as it goes through the towns of
North Attleborough
North Attleborough, alternatively spelled North Attleboro, is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 30,834 at the 2020 United States Census.
The villages of Attleboro Falls and North Attleborough Center are ...
,
Plainville,
Wrentham,
Foxborough
Foxborough is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, about southwest of Boston, northeast of Providence, Rhode Island and about northwest of Cape Cod. Foxborough is part of the Greater Boston area. The population was 18,618 a ...
(where
Gillette Stadium
Gillette Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is southwest of downtown Boston. It serves as the home stadium and administrative offices for both the New England Patriots of the National Footb ...
is),
Walpole,
Sharon
Sharon ( he, שָׁרוֹן ''Šārôn'' "plain") is a given name as well as an Israeli surname.
In English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name. However, historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In I ...
,
Norwood (where a segment is known as the Norwood Automile due to the many car dealerships that line the road), and
Westwood. US 1 then has 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 I-95 up to the interchange that is the southern terminus of
Interstate 93
Interstate 93 (I-93) is an Interstate Highway in the New England states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont in the United States. Spanning approximately along a north–south axis, it is one of three primary Interstate Highways ...
. US 1 then travels concurrently with Interstate 93 from
Canton
Canton may refer to:
Administrative division terminology
* Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland
* Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French
Arts and ent ...
through downtown
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. The two highways separate just after passing through the
Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Tunnel
The Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill Jr. Tunnel (colloquially O'Neill Tunnel) is a highway tunnel built as part of the Big Dig in Boston, Massachusetts. It carries the Central Artery underneath downtown Boston, and is numbered as Interstate 93 (I-93), U ...
and crossing the
Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge
The Leonard P. Zakim () Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge (also known as “The Zakim”) is a cable-stayed bridge completed in 2003 across the Charles River in Boston, Massachusetts. It is a replacement for the Charlestown High Bridge, an older trus ...
. US 1 continues north, crossing the
Tobin Bridge
The Maurice J. Tobin Memorial Bridge (formerly the Mystic River Bridge) is a cantilever truss bridge that spans more than two miles (3 km) from Boston to Chelsea over the Mystic River in Massachusetts. The bridge is the largest in New Eng ...
and traveling through
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
,
Revere
Revere may refer to:
Brands and companies
*Revere Ware, a U.S. cookware brand owned by World Kitchen
* Revere Camera Company, American designer of cameras and tape recorders
*Revere Copper Company
* ReVere, a car company recognised by the Classic ...
and
Malden, then as a four to six lane route through
Saugus,
Lynnfield and
Peabody. The route through Saugus was once known for its abundance of
kitsch
Kitsch ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as naïve imitation, overly-eccentric, gratuitous, or of banal taste.
The avant-garde opposed kitsch as melodramatic and superficial affiliation with ...
y roadside commercial architecture, including the neon cactus of the
Hilltop Steak House
The Hilltop Steak House was an American restaurant located on Route 1 in Saugus, Massachusetts. Founded in 1961 by Frank Giuffrida, it was one of the busiest restaurants in the United States during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. The Hilltop closed ...
and the
tiki
In Māori mythology, Tiki is the first man created by either Tūmatauenga or Tāne. He found the first woman, Marikoriko, in a pond; she seduced him and he became the father of Hine-kau-ataata. By extension, a tiki is a large or small wooden ...
-styled
Kowloon Restaurant
Kowloon Restaurant is a pan-Asian restaurant in Saugus, Massachusetts. The restaurant serves a range of Cantonese, Szechuan, Japanese, Polynesian, and Thai dishes in several themed dining rooms and lounges. Kowloon was called one of the best Ch ...
. From Peabody, US 1 again closely parallels I-95 going through the towns of
Danvers,
Topsfield,
Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...
,
Rowley Rowley may refer to:
Places Canada
* Rowley, Alberta
* Rowley Island, Nunavut
United Kingdom
* Rowley, County Durham, a hamlet
* Rowley, East Riding of Yorkshire, England
* Rowley, Shropshire, a location in Shropshire, England
* Rowley Regis, ...
,
Newbury,
Newburyport
Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 census. A historic seaport with vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island. The mo ...
, and
Salisbury
Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath.
Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...
, before it enters the state of
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 ...
.
Route 1A runs alongside US 1 in four parts of the state.
History
US 1 in Massachusetts was constructed in sections throughout the 1930s, partly by widening existing roads and also by constructing new right of ways to bypass more congested areas. Originally most of the highway was two or three lanes in each direction, with numerous widening and improvements made over the years.
Turnpike era
Most of US 1 consists of two former
turnpike road
A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented ...
s — the
Norfolk and Bristol Turnpike Washington Street is a street originating in downtown Boston, Massachusetts that extends southwestward to the Massachusetts–Rhode Island state line. The majority of its length outside of the city was built as the Norfolk and Bristol Turnpike in th ...
and the Newburyport Turnpike. The older roads that these turnpikes were meant to bypass are now mostly
Route 1A.
The Newburyport Turnpike opened on February 11, 1805, and was constructed by a private company at a cost of $500,000. The turnpike was used by
stagecoach
A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
es and mail carriers for decades, but toll collection ceased in 1847 as parallel railroads attracted more use. Several sections were rebuilt to accommodate automobile traffic in the early 20th century, but it saw decreased use following the completion of I-95. The section in downtown Newsburyport was bypassed in 1934.
Massachusetts Route C1
In the early 1930s, Route C1 was designated as an alternate route of US 1 through downtown
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. The "C" indicated a city route. The C designation was apparently distinct to the Boston area. Route C1 ran along Brookline Avenue,
Beacon Street
Beacon Street is a major thoroughfare in Boston, Massachusetts and its western suburbs Brookline and Newton. It passes through many of Boston's central and western neighborhoods, including Beacon Hill, Back Bay, Fenway–Kenmore, the Boston Uni ...
, Embankment Road (modern
Route 28
Highway 28 may refer to:
Australia
* Cumberland Highway
* Mountain Highway (Victoria)
* - NT
Canada
* Alberta Highway 28
* British Columbia Highway 28
* Nova Scotia Trunk 28
* Ontario Highway 28
* Saskatchewan Highway 28
China Taiwan
* Provi ...
),
Charles Street, Lowell Street, Merrimac Street, and Cross Street to the west end of the
Sumner Tunnel
The Sumner Tunnel is a road tunnel in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It carries traffic under Boston Harbor in one direction, from Logan International Airport and Route 1A in East Boston. The tunnel originally deposited traffic at the w ...
. In East Boston, it went via Porter Street to Chelsea Street then shifted to the William McClellan Highway (modern
Route 1A). As
Storrow Drive
Storrow Drive, officially James Jackson Storrow Memorial Drive, is a major crosstown parkway in Boston, Massachusetts, running east–west along the southern bank of the Charles River. It is restricted to cars; trucks and buses are not perm ...
and the
Central Artery
The Central Artery (officially the John F. Fitzgerald Expressway) is a section of freeway in downtown Boston, Massachusetts; it is designated as Interstate 93, US 1 and Route 3.
The original Artery, constructed in the 1950s, was named after ...
opened in the 1950s, Route C1 was rerouted to follow portions of these highways. The Route C1 designation was removed in 1971, with US 1 taking over most of the alignment south of the
Charles River
The Charles River ( Massachusett: ''Quinobequin)'' (sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles) is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along a highly meandering route, that doubles b ...
, and Route 1A taking over most of the alignment north of the river. US 1 was later moved onto the
Southeast Expressway leaving most of the former alignment of C1 south of the river as having no number.
Massachusetts Route 17
![MA_Route_17](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/MA_Route_17.svg)
For a period of time during the 1950s, a segment of US 1 in Massachusetts and New Hampshire was routed onto what later became
Interstate 95
Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...
(I-95). Roadway that had been US 1 was designated as
Route 17 from
Danvers to
Salisbury
Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath.
Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...
, and
New Hampshire Route 17
In the U.S. state of New Hampshire, U.S. Route 1 (US 1) is a north–south state highway through Hampton and Portsmouth. It lies between Interstate 95 and New Hampshire Route 1A.
History
US 1 follows the historic Lafayette Road through ...
(NH 17) for a short distance in
Seabrook. Once the I-95 designation was adopted, Route 17 and NH 17 were restored to being US 1.
Northeast Expressway
![Northeast Expressway unbuilt causeway aerial](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Northeast_Expressway_unbuilt_causeway_aerial.JPG)
The Northeast Expressway was planned to extend north, as part of
Interstate 95
Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...
, from Saugus, through Lynn, Lynnfield and Peabody. The highway would bisect the Saugus Marsh and the
Lynn Woods Reservation
Lynn Woods Reservation (founded 1881) is a municipal forest park located in Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts. The City of Lynn's Department of Public Works, Park Commission and Lynn Water & Sewer Commission share jurisdiction and management ...
. The highway would then connect with the present junction of I-95 and Route 128 in Peabody. The Northeast Expressway was planned to carry the I-95 designation from Charlestown to Peabody. The first section of the expressway built was the
Tobin Bridge
The Maurice J. Tobin Memorial Bridge (formerly the Mystic River Bridge) is a cantilever truss bridge that spans more than two miles (3 km) from Boston to Chelsea over the Mystic River in Massachusetts. The bridge is the largest in New Eng ...
over the
Mystic River
The Mystic River is a riverU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 in Massachusetts, in the United States. In Massachusett, means "large estuary," alluding to t ...
, which opened in 1950. In various stages, the Chelsea and Revere portions opened from 1956 to 1958. The highway carried the I-95 designation from 1955 (in its planning stages) to 1973. It was among the canceled highways affected by Gov.
Francis Sargent
Francis Williams Sargent (July 29, 1915 – October 22, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 64th governor of Massachusetts from 1969 to 1975. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 63rd Lieutenant Govern ...
's February 1970 moratorium on expressway construction within Route 128. US 1 replaced I-95 on the Northeast Expressway, in the 1970s after I-95 joined Route 128 from Westwood to Peabody around Boston.
Relocation in Boston
In the late 1980s, at the request of the Metropolitan District Commission (now the DCR) in an attempt to reduce the incidence of overheight vehicles finding their way onto Storrow Drive, US 1 was moved onto
I-93
Interstate 93 (I-93) is an Interstate Highway in the New England states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont in the United States. Spanning approximately along a north–south axis, it is one of three primary Interstate Highways ...
south of and through Boston, leaving the old route—
VFW Parkway
The Veterans of Foreign Wars Parkway (referred to locally as the VFW Parkway) is a historic parkway in Boston, Massachusetts. The southern terminus of the parkway is at Washington Street at the Dedham-West Roxbury border, from where it trave ...
,
Jamaicaway
Jamaicaway (also known as The Jamaicaway) is a four-lane, undivided parkway in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts near the border of Brookline.
History
Jamaicaway was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted as part of Emerald ...
,
Riverway
Riverway, also referred to as "the Riverway," is a parkway in Boston, Massachusetts. The parkway is a link in the Emerald Necklace system of parks and parkways designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in the 1890s. Starting at the Landmark Center end o ...
, and
Storrow Drive
Storrow Drive, officially James Jackson Storrow Memorial Drive, is a major crosstown parkway in Boston, Massachusetts, running east–west along the southern bank of the Charles River. It is restricted to cars; trucks and buses are not perm ...
through
Dedham,
Chestnut Hill,
West Roxbury
West Roxbury is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts bordered by Roslindale and Jamaica Plain to the northeast, the town of Brookline to the north, the cities and towns of Newton and Needham to the northwest and the town of Dedham to the ...
,
Jamaica Plain
Jamaica Plain is a neighborhood of in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Settled by Puritans seeking farmland to the south, it was originally part of the former Town of Roxbury, now also a part of the City of Boston. The commun ...
and central
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
—without a number. There are still some street signs incorrectly indicating the former alignment as US 1, and many local residents still refer to parts of VFW Parkway and Jamaicaway as "Route 1", as if it still runs along its old trajectory.
Saugus–Revere proposed widening
In the early 2010s, the
Massachusetts Department of Transportation
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) oversees roads, public transit, aeronautics, and transportation licensing and registration in the US state of Massachusetts. It was created on November 1, 2009, by the 186th Session of t ...
(MassDOT) proposed a $137 million project to widen the existing four-lane highway section to six lanes, from north of Route 99 in Saugus to south of Route 60 in Revere. The proposal consisted of adding a travel lane and shoulder in each direction. Work would also include reconstruction of the Copeland Circle interchange by eliminating the existing rotary, and demolition of the existing 1957 bridges from the never-built highway extension. The Lynn Street/Salem Street interchange in Malden, and the Route 99 interchange in Saugus, were slated to be reconstructed. Major rock blasting would be required for the project due to a massive ledge next to the highway, and seven bridges would be replaced and three others upgraded to handle the new lanes. In 2012, $10 million was added to the state budget with the intent to be used for design costs and pulling permits for Route 1. The project was expected to begin in 2012, but no further movement by the state has been implemented. Since then, town officials have made the push to ask MassDOT to revisit the project and begin development.
Major intersections
See also
*
New England road marking system
,
,
,
,
,
The New England road marking system was a regional system of marked numbered routes in the six-state region of New England in the United States. The routes were marked by a yellow rectangular sign with black numbers and border. M ...
*
List of U.S. Highways in Massachusetts
The U.S. Highways in Massachusetts comprise eight current U.S. Highways and one former route.
Mainline routes
Special routes
See also
*
*
References
{{reflist
U.S. Highways
The United States Numbered Highway System (often ...
References
External links
* U.S. Route 1 a
Alps' Roads
{{DEFAULTSORT:U.S. Route 1 In Massachusetts
01
1 Massachusetts
Transportation in Bristol County, Massachusetts
Transportation in Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Transportation in Suffolk County, Massachusetts
Transportation in Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Transportation in Essex County, Massachusetts
Foxborough, Massachusetts
North Attleborough, Massachusetts
Plainville, Massachusetts
Historic trails and roads in Dedham, Massachusetts