Northern Expressway (Massachusetts)

This article covers the stretch of Interstate 93 in the United States. For the street of the same name in Australia see Northern Expressway .

Basic data
Overall length:	27.9  mi (44.9  km )
Opening:	1956–1973 (in sections)
States:	Massachusetts New Hampshire
Starting point:	I-93 / US 1 at Zakim Bridge in Boston , Massachusetts
End point:	I-93 in Salem , New Hampshire

The Northern Expressway is the 27.9  mi (44.9  km ) long section of Interstate 93 north of the city of Boston in the state of Massachusetts in the United States to the state line in New Hampshire .

history

The Northern Expressway was built from Medford to the New Hampshire border between 1956 and 1963. From 1965 to 1973 it was expanded through Somerville and Charlestown to the Central Artery and US Highway 1 in Boston. Since the road was already under construction, it received an exemption from the 1970 moratorium on expanding existing highways within Massachusetts Route 128 .

The southern end of Interstate 93 was originally in Cambridge , where the road was to meet the planned Inner Belt (Interstate 695). However, this bypass was never built and the plans to run Interstate 95 through Boston were also discarded. In the mid-1970s, I-95 was routed along Route 128 and I-93 for a further 18 mi (29 km) along the Central Artery and further on the Southeast Expressway to Braintree and along the former route of Route 128 to the connection extended to I-95 in Canton .

In order to reduce traffic obstructions during rush hour , driving in the hard shoulder is permitted on I-93 between exits 41 and 47/48 at certain times . In fact, however, this regulation does only little to reduce the length of traffic jams and is viewed critically by the Massachusetts State Police , because the emergency vehicles cannot travel unhindered due to such a blocked hard shoulder and cannot react to emergencies promptly.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Northern Expressway. Historic Overview. Bostonroads.com, accessed May 18, 2013 .