The 'Braintree Split' is the intersection of
Interstate 93 and
MA Route 3. The Braintree Split was also the southern end of
Route 128 until 1997, when 128 was truncated to the
I-95/
I-93 intersection in
Canton.
It is located on the border of
Braintree and
Quincy and may be considered the northern tip of
Boston's
South Shore. The split wraps around the
South Shore Plaza (aka the Braintree Mall) and is a critical point in Boston's highway system, thus making it a very high traffic area.
From the split, a driver can head south to
Cape Cod on Route 3; into South Boston or through downtown Boston via the
Southeast Expressway; or north to
Route 24,
Interstate 95,
Interstate 495, or
U.S. Route 1. The term "Braintree Split" is used in local radio traffic reports. If traffic is slow on one of the three highways that meet at the split, the slow traffic often overflows onto the other two highways.