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'Route 128', also known as the 'Yankee Division Highway' (for the 26th Infantry Division), and originally the 'Circumferential Highway', is a partial beltway around Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The majority of the highway is built to freeway standards, and about 3/5 of it is part of the Interstate Highway System. With the rapid growth of high-technology industry in the suburban areas along Route 128 from the 1960s to the 1980s, Route 128 came to symbolize the Boston high-tech community itself. However, today the industry has expanded significantly onto Interstate 495 as well, the next beltway out.^[2]
In local culture, Route 128 is seen as something of a dividing line between the inner municipalities of Greater Boston and the more far-flung suburbs. The road's roughly 10-mile radius, for example, also delimits most of the area accessible by the MBTA rapid transit system. Much of the area within Route 128 was developed before World War II, while the area outside it was developed more recently.
The south end of Route 128 is in Canton, where Interstate 95 heads south toward Providence, Rhode Island, just east of the Northeast Corridor's Route 128 Station. Common usage, as well as signs until 1997, continues Route 128 east along the first 7 miles (11 km) of Interstate 93 to the Braintree Split in Braintree, where I-93 turns north with Route 3 toward downtown Boston. This section of former Route 128 serves as the north end of the Route 24 freeway to Fall River. (Until 1965, Route 128 continued further, southeast along Route 3 and roughly north on Route 228 to Hull.)
From Canton, Route 128 and Interstate 95 heads northwest, north, northeast and east around the Boston area to Peabody, where I-95 splits to head north toward Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Along this section, Route 128 has major interchanges with Interstate 90 (the Mass Pike), Route 2, U.S. Route 3, and Interstate 93. On roads approaching Route 128 here, guide signs only list I-95; Route 128 shields are in a separate sign assembly. U.S. Route 1 has also run along Route 128 near Dedham since 1989, forming a three-way wrong-way concurrency, with I-95 and Route 128 going one way and US 1 the other. (US 1 continues east on I-93 — former Route 128 — to Braintree, and turns north there with I-93 into Boston.)
After it splits from I-95 in Peabody, Route 128 continues east into Cape Ann. The freeway (termed a highway or expressway in Massachusetts) ends at a rotary with Route 127 in Gloucester, and the last bit of Route 128 is a surface road that bypasses downtown Gloucester to the northeast. After crossing Route 127 again (Route 127 runs in a loop through Gloucester and Rockport), Route 128 ends at Route 127A east of downtown Gloucester.

Contents

The road

The high-tech region

History

Surface roads and south Circumferential Highway

West and north Circumferential Highway and extension to Gloucester

Upgrading to freeway standards and designation as an Interstate

Signage

Exit list

Cultural references

References

Bibliography

External links

The road

The route 128 number dates from the origin of the Massachusetts highway system in the 1920s. By the 1950s, it ran from Nantasket Beach in Hull to Gloucester. The first, 27-mile, section of the current limited-access highway from Braintree to Gloucester was opened in 1951. It was the first limited-access circumferential highway in the United States.

Route 128 runs concurrently with Interstate 95 from Canton north to Peabody and, when I-95 continues north from Peabody toward New Hampshire, east from Peabody to Gloucester. Until the early 1990s, it also ran concurrently with the present Interstate 93 from Canton to Braintree. This stretch of Interstate 93, which is now also designated as part of U.S. Route 1, though no longer officially part of Route 128, is still often referred to as "Route 128" by locals. The I-95 and I-93 signage were added in the mid-1970s when plans to construct I-95 through Boston, directly connecting the two I-95/Route 128 interchanges, were cancelled. An unused cloverleaf in Canton is one leftover structure from this plan.
Until 1965, while and shortly after the Route 3 freeway to Cape Cod was fully finished, the section of current Route 3 between exits 15 and 20 was also designated as Route 128. The route's southern end was then truncated to its intersection with Route 3 in Braintree. The non-freeway section of Route 128 from Route 3 through Hingham to Nantasket was redesignated Route 228. The Massachusetts Highway Department has tried twice, in 1997 and 2003, to truncate 128 even further, back to its intersection with I-95 in Peabody, but local opposition has convinced them to back down. A reflection of these attempts are along every interchange, where the main signage on the intersecting route indicates the highway as I-95, while smaller signage to the sides also identifies the road as Route 128.

The area along the western part of Route 128 is home to a number of high-technology firms and corporations. This part of Route 128 has been dubbed "America's Technology Highway" and, at one time, was second only to Silicon Valley.
Route 128 makes more than a 180-degree arc around Boston, and clockwise is "north" even when the road heads slightly south of east when approaching the Atlantic Ocean. Hackers in the area refer to this as going "logical north" on the route. Interstate 93, going north-and-south, intersects Route 128, which nominally goes north-and-south, at a right angle, about 15 miles north of Boston. A traveller going "logical south" on 128 (compass west) from the I-93 interchange will soon find himself driving due west, travelling logically south on 128 and I-95, and north on US 3 in a wrong-way concurrency.
Like the I-95 signage mapping onto 128, the mapping of US 3 onto this stretch of 128 is due to US 3 as a separate limited access highway terminating in Burlington on 128 instead of further south at Route 2 in Lexington as originally envisioned. This abrupt termination requires the US 3 signage to continue along 128 for somewhat over a mile until it can interchange the old US 3 surface arterial. Moreover, when I-93 and Route 128 ran concurrently south of Boston, before the route was truncated to the I-95 interchange in Canton, they were signed in opposite directions, so it was possible to travel north on I-93 and south on Route 128 at the same time.
Much of Route 128 is now part of the Interstate system, being concurrent with I-95 (and formerly I-93). However, the vast majority of locals will refer to these stretches as 128; it is uncommon for a local to use the Interstate designation(s) in ordinary conversation or while giving directions.

The northernmost several exits along Route 128, past exit 12, are not grade-separated interchanges. Exit 10 is signed as the signalized intersection with Route 127, and there are two rotaries between that and exit 12 (the Crafts Road interchange).
In the 1990s, the exit system was changed from concurrency along 128 to a system using the I-95 exits. The exits, which had gone from Gloucester to Braintree, were renumbered along I-95, from the Rhode Island state line to the border with New Hampshire. Exit 37 had been the interchange with I-93, which also had its exit numbered 37 at that interchange. Coincidentally, with the renumbering, exit 37 remained exit 37.
Route 128 Station is located along the highway in Westwood, Massachusetts and is served by Amtrak's Northeast Corridor line and MBTA commuter rail.

The high-tech region

In 1955, ''Business Week'' ran an article titled "New England Highway Upsets Old Way of Life" and referred to Route 128 as "the Magic Semicircle". By 1958, it needed to be widened from six to eight lanes, and business growth continued. In 1957, there were 99 companies employing 17,000 workers along 128; in 1965, 574; in 1973, 1,212. In the 1980s, the positive effects of this growth on the Massachusetts economy were dubbed the "Massachusetts Miracle".
Major companies located in the broader Route 128 area included Digital Equipment Corporation, Data General, Thermo Electron Corporation, Analog Devices, Computervision, Polaroid, Sun Microsystems, BEA Systems and Raytheon.

History

Surface roads and south Circumferential Highway

Route 128 was assigned by 1927^[3] along local roads, running from Route 138 in Milton around the west side of Boston to Route 107 (Essex Street or Bridge Street) in Salem. Its route was as follows:

Town	Streets
Milton	Milton Street
Boston (Hyde Park)	Neponset Valley Parkway, Milton Street
Dedham	Milton Street, High Street, Common Street, West Street
Needham	Dedham Avenue, Highland Avenue
Newton	Needham Street, Winchester Street, Centre Street, Walnut Street, Crafts Street, Waltham Street
Waltham	High Street, Newton Street, Main Street (U.S. Route 20), Lexington Street
Lexington	Waltham Street, Massachusetts Avenue (Route 2A, now Route 4/Route 225), Woburn Street
Woburn	Lexington Street, Pleasant Street, Montvale Avenue
Stoneham	Montvale Avenue, Main Street (Route 28), Elm Street
Wakefield	Albion Street, North Avenue, Water Street, Vernon Street, New Salem Street, Salem Street
Lynnfield	Salem Street
Peabody	Lynnfield Street, Washington Street, Main Street
Salem	Boston Street

By 1928, it had been extended east to Quincy from its south end along the following streets, ending at the intersection of Route 3 and Route 3A (now Route 3A and Route 53):^[4]

Town	Streets
Quincy	Washington Street, Hancock Street, Adams Street
Milton	Adams Street, Centre Street, Canton Avenue, Dollar Lane

The first section of the new 'Circumferential Highway', in no way the freeway that it is now, was the piece from Route 9 in Wellesley around the south side of Boston to Route 3 (now Route 53) in Hingham. Parts of this were built as new roads, but most of it was along existing roads that were improved to handle the traffic. In 1931, the Massachusetts Department of Public Works acquired a right-of-way from Route 138 in Canton through Westwood, Dedham and Needham to Route 9 in Wellesley. This was mostly 80 feet (24 m) wide, only shrinking to 70 feet (21 m) in Needham, in the area of Great Plain Avenue and the Needham Line. Much of this was along new alignment, but about half — mostly in Needham — was along existing roads:

★ Royall Street from west of Route 138 to east of Green Street (Canton)

★ Green Lodge Street from Royall Street (now cut by Route 128) to Route 128 Station (Canton and Westwood)

★ Greendale Avenue from Lyons Street and Common Street just south of the Charles River to Hunting Avenue (Dedham and Needham)

★ Fremont Street north from Highland Avenue (Needham)

★ Reservoir Street from Central Avenue to Route 9 (Needham and Wellesley)^[5]
From Route 138 in Canton east through the Blue Hills Reservation in Canton, Milton, Quincy and Braintree, Norfolk County acquired a right-of-way in 1927^[6] and built the Blue Hill River Road. This tied into West Street in northwest Braintree, which itself had been taken over by the county in 1923.^[7]
West Street led to Route 37, which ran southeast to Braintree center. This part of Route 37 had been taken over by the state in 1919 (to Braintree center)^[8] and 1917 (in Braintree center).^[9]
The rest of the new highway, from Route 37 east to Route 3 (now Route 53), through Braintree, Weymouth and Hingham, was taken over by the state in 1929. This was all along existing roads, except possibly the part of Park Avenue west of Route 18 in Weymouth.^[10]
By 1933,^[11] the whole Circumferential Highway had been completed, and, except for the piece from Route 9 in Wellesley south to Highland Avenue in Needham, was designated as Route 128. Former Route 128 along Highland Avenue into Needham center was left unnumbered (as was the Circumferential Highway north of Highland Avenue), but the rest of former Route 128, from Needham center east to Quincy, became part of Route 135. Thus the full route of the Circumferential Highway, as it existed by 1933, is now the following roads:

Town	Streets
Hingham	Derby Street, Old Derby Street
Weymouth	Ralph Talbot Street, Park Avenue, Columbian Street
Braintree	Columbian Street, Grove Street, Washington Street (Route 37), Franklin Street (Route 37), West Street, closed road in the Blue Hills Reservation
Quincy	closed road in the Blue Hills Reservation (partly upgraded on the spot to Route 128), Blue Hill River Road
Milton	Blue Hill River Road, Hillside Street
Canton	Blue Hill River Road, Royall Street, Green Lodge Street (cut by the Route 128/Interstate 95 interchange)
Westwood	Blue Hill Drive (cut by Route 128 Station, and later upgraded on the spot as northbound Route 128)
Dedham and Westwood	upgraded on the spot as northbound Route 128 (under U.S. Route 1) and then mostly in the median
Needham	Greendale Avenue, Hunting Road, southbound Route 128 under Highland Avenue, Reservoir Street
Wellesley	inside the present Route 9 interchange

At the same time as Route 128 was extended along the new Circumferential Highway, it was extended further into Hull. This alignment, not part of the Circumferential Highway, ran southeast on Route 3 (now Route 53) (Whiting Street) to the border of Hingham and Norwell, where it turned north on present Route 228 (Main Street) through Hingham and into Hull. The exact route through Hingham was Main Street, Short Street, Leavitt Street, East Street, and Hull Street. The end of the numbered route was at the south end of Nantasket Beach, where Nantasket Avenue curves northwest to follow the shore of Massachusetts Bay.^[12]

West and north Circumferential Highway and extension to Gloucester

Upgrading to freeway standards and designation as an Interstate

Signage

	Signs installed before Interstate 95 was moved onto Route 128 in the 1970s prominently displayed the Route 128 designation.
	Signage on Interstate 90 - the Massachusetts Turnpike - clearly shows both routes.
	After I-95 was moved to Route 128, new signs instead featured only that designation, with Route 128 marked only on separate sign assemblies.
	Other than on the Mass Pike, the only overhead signs to include both I-95 and Route 128 are near their northern split in Peabody.
	The overhead sign on U.S. Route 1 north at the exit to Route 128 in Lynnfield, near the split in Peabody, originally indicated both directions of Route 128. (I-95 is only marked south because a more direct ramp to I-95 north exists straight ahead.) A standard sign assembly for Route 128 south was also installed.
	When the above sign was replaced in 2003 or 2004, Route 128 south was removed.
	Overhead signage on the ramp from US 1 north to Route 128 similarly only shows Route 128 north.
	Until 1997, Route 128's south end was at the Braintree Split in Braintree. Several signs for Route 3 in that area still indicated that in 2001.

Exit list

This exit list covers all of Route 128 as it existed before 1997.

Milepost	Municipality	#			Destinations	Notes
		Old
	Braintree		69		Interstate 93 north; U.S. Route 1 north; Route 3 north - Boston	southbound exit and northbound entrance
			69	7	Route 3 south - Cape Cod	southbound exit and northbound entrance
			68	6	Route 37 - Braintree; Holbrook
	Randolph		67	5	Route 28 - Randolph; Milton	split into 5A and 5B
			66	4	Route 24 south - Brockton; Fall River
2.978	Milton		65	3	Ponkapoag Trail - Houghton's Pond
1.781	Canton	61 60	64	2	Route 138 - Stoughton; Milton	split into 2A and 2B
			63	1	Interstate 95 south - Providence, RI	I-95 joins northbound and leaves southbound; I-93 ends southbound and begins northbound
	Dedham	59	62	13	University Avenue - MBTA/Amtrak station
28.553 28.719	Westwood	58	61	14	East Street; Canton Street
29.32	Dedham	57 56	60	15	to Route 1A; U.S. Route 1 south - Dedham; Norwood	split into 15A and 15B
30.82		55B 55A	59	16	Route 109 - Dedham; Westwood	split into 16A and 16B
32.3		55	58	17	Route 135 - Needham; Natick
32.77	Needham	54A	57	18	Great Plain Avenue - Dedham; West Roxbury
35.55		54 53	56	19	Highland Avenue - Newton Highlands; Needham	split into 19A and 19B
36.6	Wellesley	52 51	55	20	Route 9 - Brookline; Boston; Framingham; Worcester	split into 20A and 20B
	Newton	50 49	54	21	Route 16 - Newton; Waban; West Newton; Wellesley	split into 21A and 21B southbound
			53	22	Grove Street - MBTA station; Auburndale
	Weston		52	23	Recreation Road	northbound exit and entrance
39.218			51	24	Route 30 - Newton; Wayland
			50	25	Interstate 90 - Mass Pike; Worcester
41.16 41.31	Waltham	44 43	49	26	U.S. Route 20 - Waltham; Weston
43.09		42A	48	27	Totten Pond Road; Wyman Street; Winter Street - Waltham	split into 27A and 27B
44.35		42	47	28	Trapelo Road - Belmont; Lincoln	split into 28A and 28B northbound
45.22	Lexington	41 40	46	29	Route 2 - Arlington; Cambridge; Acton; Fitchburg	split into 29A and 29B
46.3		39 38	45	30	Route 2A - East Lexington; Hanscom Field; Concord	split into 30A and 30B
48.5		37 36	44	31	- Lexington; Bedford	split into 31A and 31B
49.87	Burlington	35A	43	32A	U.S. Route 3 north - Lowell; Nashua, NH	US 3 joins northbound and leaves southbound
		35	42	32B	Middlesex Turnpike - Arlington; Burlington
51.565		34 33	41	33	U.S. Route 3 south; Route 3A north - Winchester; Burlington; Billerica	split into 33A and 33B; US 3 joins southbound and leaves northbound
52.44		32	40	34	Winn Street - Burlington; Woburn; Billerica
53.487 53.581	Woburn	31 30	39	35	Route 38 - Woburn; Wilmington
			38	36	Washington Street - Woburn; Winchester
55.151	Reading		37	37	Interstate 93 - Boston; Concord, NH	split into 37A and 37B
			36	38	Route 28 - Stoneham; Reading	split into 38A and 38B
57.590	Wakefield		35	39	North Avenue - Reading; Wakefield
58.259 58.416			34	40	Route 129 - Wakefield Center; Wilmington
59.11	Lynnfield		33	41	Main Street - Lynnfield Center; Wakefield
60.669	Wakefield		32	42	Salem Street - Wakefield
61.319	Lynnfield		31	43	Walnut Street - Saugus; Lynn; Lynnfield
62.701 0.000	Peabody		30	44	U.S. Route 1; Route 129 - Boston; Danvers	split into 44A and 44B northbound
2.365			29		Interstate 95 north - Portsmouth, NH	I-95 joins southbound and leaves northbound
			28		Forest Street; Centennial Drive	Summit Street, an at-grade intersection, was "exit 27"
		18	26		Lowell Street - Peabody; Salem
3.71		17 16	25		Route 114 - Salem; Marblehead; Middleton	split into 25A and 25B
4.42	Danvers	15A	24		Endicott Street
5.13			23		Route 35 - Salem; Danvers	split into 23N and 23S
5.73			22		Route 62 - Beverly; Danvers; Middleton	split into 22W and 22E northbound
			21		Trask Lane - Folly Hill	northbound exit and entrance
			21		Conant Street - Industrial Park	southbound exit and entrance
7.45	Beverly		20		Route 1A - Beverly; Hamilton	split into 20A and 20B
8.100			19		Sohier Road; Brimbal Avenue - Beverly; Montserrat
9.329			18		Route 22 - Essex; Wenham; Beverly
11.406	Wenham		17		Grapevine Road - Beverly Farms; Prides Crossing; Wenham
13.03	Manchester		16		Pine Street - Manchester; Magnolia
14.391			15		School Street - Manchester; Magnolia
17.469	Gloucester		14		Route 133 - West Gloucester; Gloucester Harbor; Essex; Ipswich
18.193			13		Concord Street - Wingaersheek Beach
18.942			12		Crafts Road - Rust Island
					Route 127 north - Annisquam; Pigeon Cove	Grant Circle
					Blackburn Industrial Park Boulevard	Blackburn Circle
21.6			10		Route 127 - Gloucester; Manchester; Rockport	at-grade intersection
21.769					Route 127A - State Pier; Bass Rocks; Rockport; Eastern Point	at-grade intersection

Cultural references

★ The song "Roadrunner" by Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers, first recorded in 1972 and in numerous lyrically different versions thereafter, describes the joys of driving around Boston and Massachusetts using Route 128, late at night with the radio on. Richman was born and grew up in Natick, Massachusetts.

★ Route 128 has been mentioned in several other rock and roll songs such as "Blue Thunder" by Galaxie 500.

References

1. Executive Office of Transportation, Office of Transportation Planning - 2005 Road Inventory
2. Mass High Tech: The Journal of New England Technology
3. 1927 Rand McNally Boston and vicinity map
4. 1928 map of numbered routes in Boston and vicinity, prepared by the Massachusetts Department of Public Works for the New England Affairs Bureau, Boston Chamber of Commerce
5. MassHighway state highway layout plans:

★ Canton: 2807 (July 14, 1931)

★ Westwood: 2808 (July 14, 1931); 2831 (October 13, 1931)

★ Dedham: 2806 (July 14, 1931); 2833 (October 13, 1931)

★ Needham: 1832 (October 13, 1931); 2858 (December 22, 1931)

★ Wellesley: 2857 (December 22, 1931)
6. MassHighway state highway layout plan 3960
7. MassHighway state highway layout plan 6741
8. MassHighway state highway layout plan 1823 (June 24, 1919)
9. MassHighway state highway layout plan 1765 (September 4, 1917)
10. MassHighway state highway layout plans:

★ Hingham: 2604 (September 3, 1929)

★ Weymouth: plan 2603 is missing

★ Braintree: 2602 (September 3, 1929)
11. 1933 General Drafting Boston and vicinity map
12. 1937 Massachusetts Department of Public Works map of Hull

Bibliography

★ Susan Rosegrant, David R. Lampe, ''Route 128: Lessons from Boston's High-Tech Community,'' Basic Books, 1992, ISBN 0-465-04639-8. The story of the Boston high-tech industry, starting from its 19th-century roots.

External links

★ http://www.bostonroads.com/roads/MA-128/ - Historical overview

★ http://www.route128history.org/ - Links about the region's tech history

★ http://jpgmag.com/photos/55415/ - today