Route 1A is a north–south state highway in Massachusetts, United States. It is an alternate route to U.S. 1 with three signed sections and two unsigned sections where the highway is concurrent with its parent. Due to the reconfiguration of tunnel interchanges brought on by the completion of the Big Dig, Route 1A is discontinuous in the downtown Boston area. Vehicles entering Downtown Boston via the Sumner Tunnel must take I-93 north to the exit for Government Center and make a U-turn to access the entrance ramp to I-93 south (which silently carries Route 1A south as well) and vice versa.[2]

Route 1A marker
Route 1A
Map
Route information
Maintained by MassDOT
Length95.120 mi[1] (153.081 km)
ExistedBy 1927–present
Major junctions
South end US 1A in Pawtucket, RI
Major intersections I-95 in Attleboro
I-495 in Wrentham
US 1 in Dedham
I-93 / US 1 / Route 3 in Boston

I-90 Toll / Mass Pike in Boston
Route 128 in Beverly
US 1 from Newburyport to Salisbury
North end NH 1A in Seabrook, NH
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMassachusetts
Highway system
US 1 Route C1

Route description

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Rhode Island border to Attleboro

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A short segment of Route 1A, 1.8 miles (2.9 km) in length, in Attleboro runs from U.S. Route 1A at the Rhode Island border through a junction with Interstate 95, before heading north and merging with Route 1. The entire length of this segment is known as Newport Avenue.

North Attleborough to Dedham

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This segment of Route 1A extends roughly north from North Attleborough to Dedham, passing through the towns of Plainville, Wrentham, Norfolk, Walpole, Norwood and Westwood on the way. Prior to its realignment along I-95 and I-93, Route 1 continued north along the Providence Highway towards Boston at the junction of Route 1A and that road.

Boston to Salisbury

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Veterans Memorial Bridge entering Beverly

This segment of Route 1A extends from Boston, Massachusetts to Salisbury, Massachusetts.

The highway starts from US 1 (which is on the Central Artery with I-93 and Route 3) at the former Government Center/Logan Airport interchange. It passes through the Callahan Tunnel (outbound/northbound) and Sumner Tunnel (inbound/southbound), becoming the East Boston Expressway past Logan Airport. The East Boston Expressway was the first freeway built in the city. Immediately beyond Logan Airport, Interstate 90 ends at Route 1A.

 
End of the road, Salisbury MA

The road continues as a divided highway through Revere. It is a limited access highway through Revere, passing Suffolk Downs and the Wonderland Greyhound Park (which is across the street from the outer terminus of the MBTA's Blue Line), before running through the isolated Point of Pines neighborhood and exiting Revere over the General Edwards Bridge into Lynn. For the first mile and a half in Lynn, it is concurrent with the Lynnway, and is a high-traffic retail area. After the Lynnway portion, the route becomes concurrent with Route 129 for a mile, before crossing into Swampscott as Paradise Road. At Vinnin Square, it passes into Salem as Loring Avenue, passing by Salem State University. The route turns left onto Lafayette Street and is concurrent with Route 114. At the intersection with Derby Street, notable for the large fire station, the route turns right. At the next stop sign, the route turns left onto Hawthorne Boulevard passing Salem Common and the Salem Witch Museum before turning left onto Winter Street. At the end of Winter Street, the route turns right onto Bridge Street crossing the Veterans Memorial Bridge into Beverly. It follows two of the main streets of downtown Beverly, before heading north, passing through Wenham and Hamilton (through this section the road is occasionally signed as a US Route) before becoming the main road through the town of Ipswich, crossing the historic Choate Bridge over the Ipswich River. While in Ipswich, much of the route runs concurrently with Route 133 until just over the town line into Rowley. It passes through the main village of Rowley, as well as the central villages of Newbury. In Newburyport, Massachusetts, it merges with Route 1, signed with its parent highway over the Merrimack River and into the town center of Salisbury. It then heads east from the Salisbury town center before turning north and ending in Salisbury Beach at the New Hampshire border. New Hampshire Route 1A continues north from this point.

History

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Initially, Route 1A ran along part of its present-day route between the New Hampshire state line and Revere. It then turned west along present-day Route 16 until it ended at US 1 (now Route 99) in Everett.[3] Then, in 1931, an interchange in Revere was built over Route 107 (Broadway).[4] In 1933, another, disconnected portion of Route 1A appeared between Attleboro and the Rhode Island state line.[5] In 1934, two changes were made to the route. In Revere, the route was realigned to turn west smoothly. Between Boston and North Attleborough, a huge portion of Route 11 and all of Route 150 were replaced by Route 1A.[6] The new portion soon got truncated to Dedham in 1936.[7] It then got truncated even further to end at US 1/Route 128.[8]

Later history

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After Route C1 was decommissioned in 1971 in favor of a new alignment of US 1, Route 1A was truncated to a roundabout interchange in Revere. As a result, Route 16 extended eastward along the then-former route.[9] After all unbuilt Boston freeways were cancelled by 1973, US 1 was rerouted onto the Northeast Expressway (formerly proposed I-95). As a result of that, Route 1A was extended south towards the Sumner/Callahan Tunnels and then north along Central Artery towards US 1 (Storrow Drive).[10] In 1989, US 1 was rerouted from Storrow Drive onto I-93's Southeast Expressway, causing "signed" Route 1A to get truncated.

Major intersections

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CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
BristolAttleboro0.0000.000 
 
US 1A south – Pawtucket
Continuation into Rhode Island
0.4120.663  I-95 – Foxboro, Boston, Providence, RIExits 2A-B on I-95
1.6372.634  Route 123 – Attleboro, Brockton, Valley Falls, RI
1.7282.781 
 
US 1 south
Southern terminus of unsigned concurrency with US 1
See US 1 mileposts 2.4–7.0
North Attleborough7.10911.441 
 
US 1 north – Boston
Northern terminus of unsigned concurrency with US 1
NorfolkPlainville7.98112.844 
 
 
 
Route 106 east to US 1 – Mansfield, West Bridgewater
Western end of Route 106
Wrentham10.63417.114  
 
I-495 to I-95 – Taunton, Cape Cod, Marlboro, Lowell
Exit 38 on I-495
11.37518.306 
 
Route 121 south – Woonsocket, RI
Northern end of Route 121
12.84020.664  Route 140 – Franklin, Foxboro, Taunton
Norfolk15.09124.287  Route 115 – Foxboro, Norfolk, Millis
Walpole19.7031.70  Route 27 – Walpole, Sharon, Stoughton
Dedham27.14443.684    Providence Highway to I-95 / US 1 / Route 128 – Boston, Providence, RIFormerly US 1, south end of silent concurrency with Providence Highway and then US 1
See Route 128 exits 29-26 and I-93 exits 1-17B
SuffolkBoston 
 
 
 
I-93 north (US 1) / Route 3 north (Storrow Drive) – Government Center
Northern terminus of silent concurrency with US 1; exit 17B on Central Artery
Haymarket SquareNorthbound entrance only
Sumner (southbound) / Callahan (northbound) Tunnels
49.48279.634East BostonAccess via Porter Street
49.67779.947  Logan Airport
50.02380.504 
 
 
 
 
I-90 Toll / Mass Pike west to I-93 south – Williams Tunnel
Eastern end of I-90; southbound exit and northbound entrance
50.30580.958 
 
Route 145 north (Bennington Street) – Winthrop, Chelsea
Interchange, southern end of Route 145
Revere52.48784.470  Route 145Interchange, northbound exit and southbound entrance
52.85285.057 
 
 
 
Route 16 west / Route 60 west – Malden, Lynn, Revere Beach, Chelsea
Eastern end of Routes 16 and 60; To US 1 via Route 60 and Route 145 via Route 16
EssexLynn55.84389.871Lynnway east – Nahant, Swampscott
58.01893.371 
 
Route 129 west – Lynnfield
Southern terminus of concurrency with Route 129
59.16795.220 
 
Route 129 east – Swampscott, Marblehead
Northern terminus of concurrency with Route 129
Salem62.554100.671 
 
Route 114 east – Marblehead
Southern terminus of concurrency with Route 114
63.326101.913 
 
Route 114 west
Northern terminus of concurrency with Route 114
64.250103.400 
 
Route 107 south – Lynn, Malden
North end of Route 107
Danvers River64.933104.500Essex Bridge
Beverly65.447105.327 
 
 
 
Route 22 north / Route 127 north
South end of Routes 22 and 127
66.242106.606  Route 62 – Danvers, Beverly Farms
67.699108.951 
 
Route 97 north – Topsfield
South end of Route 97
67.897109.270  Route 128 – Gloucester, Rockport, Peabody, BostonExits 45A-B on Route 128; cloverleaf interchange
Ipswich75.603121.671 
 
Route 133 east – Essex
Southern terminus of concurrency with Route 133
Rowley79.754128.352 
 
Route 133 west – Georgetown
Northern terminus of concurrency with Route 133
Newburyport88.395142.258 
 
Route 113 west – West Newbury, Groveland
East end of Route 113
88.588142.569 
 
US 1 south – Danvers, Boston
Southern terminus of concurrency with US 1, southbound exit and northbound entrance
Salisbury90.879146.256 
 
 
 
US 1 north / Route 110 west – Amesbury, Merrimac, Salisbury Beach
Northern terminus of concurrency with US 1, east end of Route 110
95.120153.081 
 
 
 
NH 1A north to NH 286 – Hampton
Continuation into New Hampshire
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

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  1. ^ a b "Massachusetts Route Log Application". Massachusetts Department of Transportation. 2012. Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  2. ^ Executive Office of Transportation - Office of Transportation Planning Roads - June 2008 The older tunnels to and from East Boston have interchanges with I-93 and surface roads north of the point at which unsigned Route 1A "exits" Route 1 in downtown Boston. Unsigned Route 1A along the Fitzgerald Expressway does not directly connect to those tunnels; a direct connection requires using I-90 and the newer Ted Williams Tunnel, which is not concurrent with Route 1A at any point.
  3. ^ "Massachusetts Road Map, 1929". www.arcgis.com. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  4. ^ "Massachusetts Road Map, 1931 (through April)". www.arcgis.com. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  5. ^ "Massachusetts Road Map, 1933". www.arcgis.com. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  6. ^ "Massachusetts Road Map, 1934". www.arcgis.com. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  7. ^ "Massachusetts Road Map, 1936". www.arcgis.com. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  8. ^ "Massachusetts Road Map, 1938". www.arcgis.com. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  9. ^ "Massachusetts Road Map, 1971". www.arcgis.com. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  10. ^ "Massachusetts Road Map, 1975". www.arcgis.com. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
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