Interstate 290 marker

Interstate 290

I-290 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-90
Maintained by MassDOT
Length20.16 mi[1] (32.44 km)
Existed1970–present
NHSEntire route
Major junctions
West end
Major intersections
East end I-495 / Route 85 in Marlborough
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMassachusetts
CountiesWorcester, Middlesex
Highway system
← Route 286→ I-291

Interstate 290 (I-290) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the US state of Massachusetts, maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). Spanning approximately 20 miles (32 km), it is signed as an east–west spur route of I-90 (Massachusetts Turnpike) in Central Massachusetts. The route begins in Auburn at I-90 as a northward continuation of I-395. It follows an L-shaped route, the nominally western half of which runs north into the city of Worcester, and, upon leaving the city, turns to the east to its eastern terminus at I-495 in Marlborough. Past I-495, the road continues as an unnumbered one-mile (1.6 km) connector to the town of Hudson. The route serves as the main freeway route through Worcester, as well as being part of a longer distance travel corridor through New England, connecting Connecticut and Western Massachusetts with much of New Hampshire and Maine.

Route description

Exit numbers on I-290 are a continuation of I-395 exit numbers. I-290 begins as the continuation of I-395 in Auburn with exits to I-90, Route 12, and the Auburn Mall. I-290 continues north through Worcester into downtown, where Route 146 splits off to the southeast toward Providence, Rhode Island, and I-190 to the north toward the Leominster–Fitchburg area. After Route 146, I-290 has exits for Route 122A, Route 122, downtown, and Route 9. After I-190, I-290 presumes east to a junction with Route 70, then continues over Quinsigamond Lake into Shrewsbury, where it goes northeast. Here, the scenery changes drastically from the Worcester urban area to more wooded areas in Shrewsbury and Northborough. I-290 has a junction with Route 140 and starts east into Boylston and Northborough, where it travels northeast again. I-290 enters Marlborough with an exit for the Solomon Pond Mall and has its final junction with I-495, where it terminates shortly after on Route 85 Connector, which continues into Hudson.

History

Originally, I-290 was to rejoin I-90 in Westborough, roughly where I-495 sits now. However, this route would have run through the town centers of Shrewsbury and Northborough. Additionally, I-290 was intended to be extended past I-495 to I-95/Route 128 in Waltham, but this was canceled under pressure from towns along the planned route. A brief two-lane connector heads to Route 85 as a result of this aborted plan. The interchange with I-495 was originally supposed to be a cloverleaf, but, after the plan was canceled, it was modified with a flyover ramp onto I-495 northbound. In 2004, the former exit 12 (current exit 16) was temporarily closed when the Route 146 highway was under construction between the Massachusetts Turnpike and I-290. It was completed in 2007.

Future

Milepost-based exit numbering

While Massachusetts has used sequential exit numbers since 1964,[2] the 2009 edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices required that all US states submit plans to transition to milepost-based exit numbering by 2012.[3] All interchanges were to be renumbered to milepost-based numbers under a project scheduled to start in 2016.[4] However, this project was indefinitely postponed until November 18, 2019, when MassDOT confirmed that the exit renumbering project will begin, and "dual" milemarkers with I-395 mileage will be installed, in late mid-2020. On July 29, 2021, MassDOT announced that the exit renumbering on I-395 and I-290 will start on August 8, and it lasted for two weeks.[5] The department had stated that it would consider redesignating I-290 as an extension of I-395 if both the exit numbering project and dual mile markers are well-received by motorists.[6]

By 2022, the dual mile markers were removed. Today, the mile markers along I-290 are marked with I-290 shields but represent the I-395/I-290 route as one.

Exit list

CountyLocation[7]mi[7]kmOld exit[8]New exit[9]DestinationsNotes
WorcesterAuburn0.0000.000——

 I-395 south to US 20 – Norwich, CT, New London, CT		Continuation south
7-812 I-90 / Mass Pike / Route 12 – Boston, Springfield, Auburn, WebsterNo eastbound exit; signed as exits 12A (I-90/Route 12 north) and 12B (Route 12 south); exit 90 on I-90 / Mass Pike
812
 I-90 / Mass Pike / Route 12 south – Auburn, Webster		Eastbound exit only; exit 90 on I-90 / Mass Pike
0.9301.497913Swanson Road – AuburnEastbound exit and westbound entrance
1.7002.736Auburn Street – AuburnWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
Worcester3.3585.4041014
 Route 12 north (Hope Avenue)		Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
3.5655.7371115College Square / Federal Square / Southbridge StreetSigned for Route 146 South, Millbury eastbound, and Route 12 South westbound.
4.6117.4211216

 Route 146 south to I-90 / Mass Pike – Millbury, Providence, RI		Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; former configuration had complete access via a rotary.
5.2658.4731317 Route 122A (Vernon Street) – Kelley SquareServes Polar Park
5.6389.0731418 Route 122 (Grafton Street) – Grafton, PaxtonNo westbound entrance
5.8109.3501519Shrewsbury StreetEastbound exit and westbound entrance
6.1379.8771620MLK Jr. Boulevard – Downtown WorcesterServes Union Station, Saint Vincent Hospital, DCU Center, and Polar Park
6.57210.57717
18		21

 Route 9 (Belmont Street) to Route 70 north – Lincoln Square		Eastbound signage
6.98011.233

 Route 70 north to Route 9 – Lincoln Square		Westbound signage
7.37711.8721922

 I-190 north to Route 12 – Sterling, Leominster		Southern terminus of I-190; eastbound exit is combined with exit 23
7.37711.8722023 Burncoat Street to Route 70 (Lincoln Street)Eastbound signage; combined exit ramp with exit 22
8.42113.552 Route 70 (Lincoln Street), Burncoat StWestbound signage
9.64115.5162124Plantation Street – WorcesterEastbound exit and westbound entrance
Shrewsbury10.17316.3722225Main Street – Shrewsbury, Worcester
12.68520.4152326 Route 140 – Shrewsbury, BoylstonSigned as exits 26A (south) and 26B (north)
Northborough14.85523.9072427Church Street – Northborough, Boylston
17.91328.82825A30AHudson Street – Northborough
17.92528.84725B30BSolomon Pond Mall Road – BerlinTo Solomon Pond Mall; exit partially located in Marlborough
MiddlesexMarlborough20.00032.1872632 I-495 – Cape Cod, LowellSigned as exits 32A (south) and 32B (north); exits 65A-B on I-495
20.1632.44——
 To Route 85 – Hudson		Access via 0.9-mile (1.4 km) Route 85 Connector[10]
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ↑ Starks, Edward (January 27, 2022). "Table 2: Auxiliary Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways". FHWA Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  2. ↑ Clauss, Kyle Scott (April 8, 2016). "Many Massachusetts Highway Exit Numbers Could Soon Change". Boston Magazine. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  3. ↑ Thompson, Elaine (March 19, 2016). "Watchdog Report: No signs yet from state on exit-conversion launch". Telegram & Gazette. Worcester, MA. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  4. ↑ Commonwealth of Massachusetts (2015). "COMMBUYS - Bid Solicitation FAP# HSIP-002S(874) Exit Signage Conversion to Milepost-Based Numbering System along Various Interstates, Routes and the Lowell Connector". Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  5. ↑ Robert H. Malme (2017). "Massachusetts Interstate Highways Exit Lists". Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  6. ↑ Malme, Robert H. (December 14, 2019). "I-290 MA Exit List". Malme Roads. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  7. 1 2 "MassDOT Route Log Application". Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Major highway routes and exits". Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on October 15, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  9. ↑ "I-395 & I-290 Renumbering" (PDF). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. December 5, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  10. ↑ Google (August 10, 2015). "Route 85 Connector" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
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