 Route 2A | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Route 2A highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Auxiliary route ofRoute 2 | ||||
| Maintained byMassDOT | ||||
| Length | 98.5 mi[1][2] (158.5 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |   I-91 /Route 2 inGreenfield | |||
| Major intersections | ||||
| East end | Route 2 inBoston | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Massachusetts | |||
| Counties | Franklin,Worcester,Middlesex,Suffolk | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Route 2A is a 98.5-mile-long (158.5 km) east–weststate highway inMassachusetts. It exists in several sections, mainly as parts of formerRoute 2 that have been moved or upgraded. Route 2A runs fromGreenfield in the west toBoston in the east. It formerly extended toShelburne Falls inBuckland in the west, but as of 2007, the route terminates atInterstate 91 (I-91) in Greenfield.
Route 2A begins at therotary intersection withRoute 2 atI-91 inGreenfield. It passes through downtown Greenfield before reconnecting to its parent route just west of the Greenfield-Gill town line. After a 12.6-mile (20.3 km) silentconcurrency, Route 2A leaves Route 2 once more, passing through Orange and Athol. In Athol it passes the former northern terminus ofRoute 21, which was truncated toBelchertown after the creation of theQuabbin Reservoir. FromPhillipston throughWestminster, Route 2A weaves around its parent route, crossing it a total of six times with five exits of access off of Route 2. InFitchburg the road is shared with several other routes as it passes through the northern half of town. Once inLunenburg it has another short concurrency withRoute 13 just north of the formerWhalom Park before crossing intoMiddlesex County atShirley.
In Shirley, Route 2A passes north ofFort Devens intoAyer, heading intoLittleton and crossingI-495 at exit 79 (formerly exit 30). It then turns south throughActon and intoConcord before rejoining its parent route once more. As a silent concurrency, it passes south of the historic center of town and north ofWalden Pond before splitting again. Route 2A then passes through theMinuteman National Historical Park just south of theBattle Road, the route taken by British troops between theBattles of Lexington and Concord. It then leaves the park, intersecting withI-95/Route 128 at exit 46 (formerly 30). The road passes south ofLexington's town center before winding intoArlington.
In Arlington, the road begins a concurrency withU.S. Route 3 (US 3) which eventually joins the route toMassachusetts Avenue (Mass Ave). After US 3 leaves Mass Ave atAlewife Brook Parkway, Route 2A continues through the city ofCambridge, passing byHarvard Yard and throughHarvard Square. Due to the one-way circulation patterns of the square, Route 2A follows Mass Ave in the westbound direction and a combination of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street, and Mt. Auburn Street in the eastbound direction before rejoining Mass Ave east of Putnam Avenue. It then passes by theMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It intersects the junction of US 3 andRoute 3 atMemorial Drive before crossing theHarvard Bridge (also known as the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge) and crossing intoBoston, ending at Route 2 andCommonwealth Avenue.
In 2013, Route 2A signs were extended 2.2 miles (3.5 km) further into Boston through theBack Bay andSouth End neighborhoods along Massachusetts Avenue. This extension connected it with several additional numbered routes including theMassachusetts Turnpike (I-90) by its junction with Boylston Street, Huntington Avenue (Route 9), Columbus Avenue (Route 28), and Massachusetts Avenue Connector (which connects withI-93/US 1/Route 3 via I-93 Frontage Road) inRoxbury. Not only did neither theMassachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) nor the Boston Transportation Department acknowledge that Route 2A had been extended, they denied knowing who put up the signs, indicating it was the action of an unknown organization. The Route 2A signs themselves had either wrong directional banners (signed as a north-south highway at least once north of Melnea Cass Boulevard) or are signed backwards (east going west and vice versa), as it heads in a northwesterly direction towards Commonwealth Avenue beyond Tremont Street. On February 26, Boston television station,WFXT-TV aired an investigative reporting segment showing the incorrect signs and their attempt to track down the source. In the report, Boston transportation officials admitted they had paid a private firm, Jacobs Engineering, to manufacture and put up the signs through a wayfinding improvement grant. The signage errors were caused by problems with the plans developed by Jacobs that apparently were not checked for accuracy before they were approved for installation by the city. The city said they were going to take action against the firm to recoup moneys from Jacobs, and would work to fix the signs as soon as possible.[3] Meanwhile, a MassDOT official reiterated that the eastern terminus of Route 2A is at the intersection of Massachusetts and Commonwealth Avenue and that crews would be removing the MA 2A signs further east. In the city's defense, they stated that they do not typically manufacture, install, or maintain signage pertaining to state entities, similar to an arrangement with theMassachusetts Bay Transportation Authority relating to bus stop signage within the city.
| County | Location | mi[2] | km | Old exit | New exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin | Greenfield | 0.0 | 0.0 | I-91 /Route 2 –North Adams,Boston,Springfield,Brattleboro, VT | Western terminus;roundabout; exit 43 on I-91 | ||
| 1.1 | 1.8 |   US 5 /Route 10 –Deerfield,Bernardston | Court Square | ||||
| 4.1 | 6.6 |  Route 2 west –North Adams,Williamstown | Western end of Route 2 concurrency | ||||
| Gill | 8.0 | 12.9 | French King Bridge over theConnecticut River | ||||
| Erving | 8.9 | 14.3 |   ToRoute 63 –Northfield,Millers Falls | Access via Gateway Drive | |||
| 9.1 | 14.6 | ToRoute 63 –Northfield,Hinsdale, NH | Access via Forest Street | ||||
| 16.7 | 26.9 |  Route 2 east –Athol | Eastern end of Route 2 concurrency | ||||
| Orange | 18.9 | 30.4 |   Route 78 north –Warwick,Winchester, NH | Southern terminus of Route 78 | |||
| 20.2 | 32.5 |    Route 122 south toUS 202 –New Salem,Worcester | Northern terminus of Route 122 | ||||
| Worcester | Athol | 25.2 | 40.6 |  Route 32 north –West Royalston,Richmond, NH | Western end of Route 32 concurrency | ||
| 26.6 | 42.8 | Route 32 south –Petersham,Barre | Eastern end of Route 32 concurrency | ||||
| 27.7 | 44.6 | US 202 south /Route 2 west –Greenfield,Belchertown | Exit 77 on Route 2 | ||||
| Phillipston | 28.4 | 45.7 | US 202 north /Route 2 east –Boston,Winchendon | Exit 77 on Route 2 | |||
| 30.7 | 49.4 | US 202 south /Route 2 –Fitchburg,Boston,Greenfield,Belchertown | Western end of US 202 concurrency; exit 79 on Route 2 | ||||
| Templeton | 31.5 | 50.7 | US 202 north –Baldwinville,Winchendon | Eastern end of US 202 concurrency | |||
| 34.5 | 55.5 |  Route 101 south –Queen Lake,Petersham,Barre | Western end of Route 101 concurrency | ||||
| 35.5 | 57.1 | Route 2 –Fitchburg,Boston,Greenfield,North Adams | Exit 83 on Route 2 | ||||
| 36.2 | 58.3 | Route 101 north –Gardner,Ashburnham | Eastern end of Route 101 concurrency | ||||
| Gardner | 38.6 | 62.1 |  Route 68 –Hubbardston,Holden,Gardner | ||||
| Westminster | 43.8 | 70.5 |  Route 2 east /Route 140 south –Concord,Boston,Princeton,Shrewsbury | Western end of Route 140 concurrency; exit 92 on Route 2 | |||
| 44.0 | 70.8 | Route 2 west /Route 140 north –Athol,Greenfield,Winchendon | Eastern end of Route 140 concurrency; exit 92 on Route 2 | ||||
| Fitchburg | 47.7 | 76.8 |  Route 31 south –Princeton | Western end of Route 31 concurrency | |||
| 48.8 | 78.5 |  Route 12 north –Ashburnham,Keene, NH | Western end of Route 12 concurrency | ||||
| 49.6 | 79.8 | Route 12 south –Leominster,Sterling | Eastern end of Route 12 concurrency | ||||
| 50.6 | 81.4 | Route 31 north –Ashby,Greenville, NH | Eastern end of Route 31 concurrency | ||||
| Lunenburg | 53.4 | 85.9 |  Route 13 south –Whalom,Leominster | Western end of Route 13 concurrency | |||
| 53.7 | 86.4 | Route 13 north –Townsend,Milford, NH | Eastern end of Route 13 concurrency | ||||
| 58.0 | 93.3 |  Route 225 east –Groton,Westford | Western terminus of Route 225 | ||||
| Middlesex | Ayer | 63.0 | 101.4 |  Route 111 north –Groton,Nashua, NH | Western end of Route 111 concurrency | ||
| 64.7 | 104.1 |  Route 111 south /Route 110 west toRoute 2 –Harvard,Worcester | Eastern end of Route 111 concurrency; western end of Route 110 concurrency | ||||
| Littleton | 69.2 | 111.4 |  I-495 –Marlboro,Taunton,Lowell,Lawrence | Exit 79 on I-495 | |||
| 69.8 | 112.3 |  Route 110 east /Route 119 west –Lowell,Chelmsford,Groton,Townsend | Eastern end of Route 110 concurrency; western end of Route 119 concurrency | ||||
| Acton | 74.8 | 120.4 |  Route 27 –Chelmsford,Lowell,Acton | ||||
| Concord | 77.6 | 124.9 | Route 2 west /Route 111 north /Route 119 west –Fitchburg,West Acton | Roundabout; western end of Route 2 concurrency; eastern terminus of Route 119; southern terminus of Route 111 | |||
| Western end of limited-access section | |||||||
| 78.9 | 127.0 |  Route 62 (Main Street) –West Concord,Maynard,Bedford | At-grade intersection | ||||
| 81.1 | 130.5 |   Route 126 south (Walden Street) toRoute 117 –Walden Pond,Framingham,Waltham | At-grade intersection; northern terminus of Route 126 | ||||
| 82.2 | 132.3 | 50 | 125 | Route 2 east –Boston | Eastern end of Route 2 concurrency | ||
| Eastern end of limited-access section | |||||||
| Lexington | 85.3 | 137.3 | Marrett Road –Minuteman Park | ||||
| 85.6 | 137.8 |   I-95 /Route 128 –Canton,Providence, RI,Peabody,Portsmouth, NH | Exits 46A-B on I-95 | ||||
| 88.3 | 142.1 |  Route 4 north /Route 225 west –Lexington,Bedford | Western end of Route 4/Route 225 concurrency | ||||
| 88.4 | 142.3 | Route 4 south /Route 225 east –Belmont,Cambridge | Eastern end of Route 4/Route 225 concurrency | ||||
| Arlington | 92.0 | 148.1 |  US 3 north /Mystic Valley Parkway –Winchester,Lowell | Western end of US 3 concurrency | |||
| 92.2 | 148.4 |  Route 60 east –Medford,Malden | Western end of Route 60 concurrency | ||||
| 92.3 | 148.5 | Route 60 west (Mystic Street) /Massachusetts Avenue –Belmont | Eastern end of Route 60 concurrency | ||||
| Cambridge | 93.7 | 150.8 |  US 3 south /Route 16 (Alewife Brook Parkway) –Boston,Medford,Watertown | Eastern end of US 3 concurrency | |||
| 95.9 | 154.3 | Harvard Square | Route 2A passes byHarvard University | ||||
| 97.8 | 157.4 |  US 3 north /Route 3 south (Memorial Drive) toRoute 2 –Boston | Interchange; northern terminus of Route 3; southern terminus of US 3 | ||||
| Charles River | Harvard Bridge | ||||||
| Suffolk | Boston | 98.5 | 158.5 | Route 2 (Commonwealth Avenue) –Kenmore Square,Downtown Boston | Eastern terminus | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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