 Route 146 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Map of Worcester County in central Massachusetts with Route 146 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byMassDOT | ||||
| Length | 20.99 mi[1] (33.78 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  Route 146 at theRhode Island state line | |||
| Major intersections |
| |||
| North end |  I-290 / Cambridge Street / Quinsigamond Avenue inWorcester | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Massachusetts | |||
| Counties | Worcester | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
Route 146 is a 20.99-mile (33.78 km) north-southstate highway in theU.S. state ofMassachusetts, maintained by theMassachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). Spanning approximately 21 miles (34 km) along a south–north axis, it is a continuation ofRhode Island Route 146, which splits fromI-95 inProvidence. The southern terminus within Massachusetts exists inMillville, where it enters the state fromNorth Smithfield, Rhode Island. Among several local roads, Route 146 intersects with theMassachusetts Turnpike (I-90) inMillbury andI-290 inWorcester before arriving at its northern terminus at the intersection of several surface streets in downtown Worcester. Most of the route is afreeway, except for a short section near the boundary between Millbury and Sutton where there is driveway access and at-grade crossings.
During the late 1940s, the then-Massachusetts Department of Public Works (MassDPW, nowMassDOT) planned an extension of Route 146 from Rhode Island north toward Worcester. MA 146 was built between 1949 and 1952 as a four-lane divided roadway from US 20 inMillbury to Boston Road inSutton, and from Sutton south to the Massachusetts-Rhode Island border. Route 146 was built as a three-lane undivided roadway, providing one lane in each direction and a shared lane in the center.
In 1981, the MassDPW began work on rebuilding Route 146. During the next three years, the state rebuilt the 13.1-mile-long (21.1 km) section from just south of Boston Road in Sutton to the Massachusetts-Rhode Island border, replacing the three-lane undivided section with a four-lane freeway and eliminating all at-grade intersections and curb cuts.
The project upgrading the section linking Exit 94 on theMassachusetts Turnpike north into downtown Worcester at Brosnihan Square toInterstate Highway standards was completed in November 2007 according to MassHighway. The improvements to the road created an economic boon to theBlackstone Valley through which it passes. The improved transportation corridor has attracted several large employers since the road was upgraded.[2] As of 2015, the road was widened and a major intersection was improved to fix traffic flow problems.[3]
Exits traditionally were not numbered, but sequential numbers wereassigned by MassHighway during the last sign replacement project. 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, the MassDOT confirmed that beginning in late summer 2020 the exit renumbering project will begin.[5] On March 12, 2021, MassDOT announced that the highway's exits will be renumbered starting on March 17.
The entire route is inWorcester County.
| Location | mi | km | Old exit | New exit[6] | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Millville | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | — |  Route 146 south –Providence | Continuation intoRhode Island | |
| Uxbridge | 1.1 | 1.8 | 1 |  Route 146A –Uxbridge,North Smithfield, RI | |||
| 2.6 | 4.2 | 2 | 3 | Route 146A / Chocolog Road –Uxbridge | ToRoute 98 | ||
| 5.3 | 8.5 | 3 | 6 |  Route 16 –Uxbridge,Douglas | |||
| Douglas | 7.6 | 12.2 | 4 | 8 | Lackey Dam Road –Douglas,Northbridge | ||
| Northbridge | 8.5 | 13.7 | 5 | 9 | Main Street –Northbridge,Sutton | ||
| Sutton | 10.3 | 16.6 | 6 | 11 | Purgatory Road –Northbridge | ||
| 12.3 | 19.8 | 7 | 13 | Central Turnpike –Northbridge,Oxford | |||
| Northern end of freeway section | |||||||
| 13.8 | 22.2 | Boston Road –Wilkinsonville,Sutton Center | |||||
| Millbury | 16.0 | 25.7 | 8 | 16 | West Main Street –Millbury | Interchange | |
| Southern end of freeway section | |||||||
| 16.9 | 27.2 | 9 | 17 |  Route 122A south –Millbury Center | Southern end of Route 122A concurrency | ||
| 17.9 | 28.8 | 10 | 18 |   I-90 /Mass Pike /US 20 –Springfield,Boston,Auburn,Northboro | Exit 94 on I-90 / Mass Pike | ||
| Worcester | 18.8 | 30.3 | 11 | 19 | Millbury Street –Quinsigamond Village | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | |
| 19.5 | 31.4 | 12 | 20 |    Route 122A north (McKeon Road) toI-290 west –Vernon Hill,College of the Holy Cross | Northern end of Route 122A concurrency; I-290 not signed southbound | ||
| 20.5 | 33.0 | 13 | 21 |  I-290 east –Shrewsbury,Marlboro | Northbound exit and southbound entrance; exit 16 on I-290 | ||
| 20.8 | 33.5 | — | — | Cambridge Street / Quinsigamond Avenue –Downtown Worcester | Northern terminus;at-grade intersection | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| |||||||
 Route 146A | |
|---|---|
| Location | Uxbridge |
| Length | 4.1 mi[7] (6.6 km) |
| Existed | 1984[8]–present |
Route 146A inMassachusetts, United States, is a 4.1-mile (6.6 km) north to south route which connectsRoute 122 inUxbridge, andRhode Island Route 146A inNorth Smithfield.[1] There are two connector entrances to Route 146, along Route 146A. These are Exit 1, which connects Route 146 directly to Route 146A, and Exit 3, the Chockalog Road exit in Uxbridge.[1] This highway was renamed by theMassachusetts General Court in 2004 as theLydia Taft Highway, after America's first woman voter,Lydia Chapin Taft, a colonial woman from Uxbridge. Lydia Chapin Taft's historic vote and her role in the history ofWomen's suffrage is recognized by the Massachusetts legislature since 2004, which named Route 146A from Uxbridge to theRhode Island border in her honor.[9] Route 146A is completely within the town limits of Uxbridge.
In colonial times, this route had the name of "the Great Road", and later "the Quaker Highway", after Quakers fromSmithfield, Rhode Island, settled here. There are a number of historic sites along this road including theFriends Meetinghouse, which is on theNational Historic Register. TheMoses Farnum House, and theIronstone Mill Housing and Cellar Hole are two other sites along this road.Route 98 also connects with Route 146A, near its midpoint, and has significant historic sites of the original Quaker village known as Quaker City, and Aldrich Village, which are also on the National Historic Register. Just beyond the northern terminus of Route 146A and continuing north onRoute 122 is a famous historical house known asElmshade, a home and gathering place of the influentialTaft family in America. Part of what is now Route 146A was the original Route 146 before a new limited access highway was constructed from the Rhode Island line toWorcester, between 1981 and 1984.[8] This project involved moving a former almshouse cemetery and led to archeological findings on mortuary practices following that excavation.[8]TheSecond Great Awakening changed local mortuary practices for the poor.[10]
The entire route is inUxbridge,Worcester County.
| mi | km | Destinations | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | 0.0 |  Route 146A south | Continuation intoRhode Island | ||
| 0.9 | 1.4 |  Route 146 –Providence, RI,Worcester | Exit 1 on Route 146 | ||
| 2.3 | 3.7 |  Route 98 south –Harrisville, RI,Pascoag, RI | Northern terminus of Route 98 | ||
| 2.6 | 4.2 | Route 146 –Providence, RI,Worcester | Exit 3 on Route 146 | ||
| 4.1 | 6.6 |  Route 122 –Uxbridge Ctr.,Worcester,Millville,Blackstone | Northern terminus | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
