| Route information | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maintained byMassDOT | ||||
| Length | 86.253 mi[1] (138.811 km) | |||
| Existed | 1926–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end | ||||
| Major intersections | ||||
| North end | ||||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Massachusetts | |||
| Counties | Bristol,Norfolk,Suffolk,Middlesex,Essex | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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U.S. Route 1 (US 1) is a major north–southU.S. Route that runs fromKey West, Florida, toFort Kent, Maine. In the state ofMassachusetts, it travels throughEssex,Middlesex,Suffolk,Norfolk, andBristol counties. The portion of US 1 south of Boston is also known as theBoston–Providence Turnpike,Washington Street, or the Norfolk and Bristol Turnpike, and portions north of Boston are known as theNortheast Expressway and the Newburyport Turnpike.
From the south, US 1 enters Massachusetts fromRhode Island, immediately entering the city ofAttleboro. It closely parallelsInterstate 95 (I-95) as it goes through the towns ofNorth Attleborough,Plainville,Wrentham,Foxborough (whereGillette Stadium is located),Walpole,Sharon,Norwood, andWestwood. US 1 then has awrong-way concurrency with I-95 up to the interchange that is the southern terminus ofI-93. US 1 then travels concurrently with I-93 fromCanton throughDowntown Boston;Route 3 joins the concurrency inBraintree. In Downtown Boston,Route 1A and Route 3 separate from US 1 to head towardLogan International Airport andCambridge respectively, and I-93 and US 1 separate just after passing through theO'Neill Tunnel and crossing theLeonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge. US 1 continues north, crossing theTobin Bridge as the Northeast Expressway and traveling throughChelsea,Revere, andMalden, then as a four- to six-laneexpressway throughSaugus,Lynnfield, andPeabody.
The route through Saugus was once known for its abundance ofkitschy roadside commercial architecture. Those that still exist as of 2023 include the 68-foot (21 m) neon cactus originally erected for theHilltop Steak House, thetiki-styledKowloon Restaurant, the Prince Restaurant's "Leaning Tower of Pizza", and a large orange dinosaur statue that was once part of a miniature golf course. Former structures along Route 1 included restaurants built in the shapes of a ship and a Chinese palace.[2][3][4]
From Peabody, US 1 again closely parallels I-95 going through the towns ofDanvers,Topsfield,Ipswich,Rowley,Newbury, andNewburyport. In Newburyport, US 1 has a mile-long (1.6 km) freeway segment that bypasses downtown and the waterfront areas; Route 1A joins the freeway shortly before it crosses the Merrimack River, enteringSalisbury and becoming a surface arterial again. Three miles (4.8 km) later, it enters the state ofNew Hampshire.
Route 1A runs alongside US 1 in four parts of the state.
This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(June 2012) |
US 1 in Massachusetts was constructed in sections throughout the 1930s partly by widening existing roads and also by constructing new right of ways to bypass more congested areas. Originally, most of the highway was two or three lanes in each direction, with numerous widening and improvements made over the years.
Most of US 1 consists of two formerturnpike roads—theNorfolk and Bristol Turnpike and theNewburyport Turnpike. The older roads that these turnpikes were meant to bypass are now mostlyRoute 1A.
The Newburyport Turnpike opened on February 11, 1805, and was constructed by a private company at a cost of $500,000 (equivalent to $10.5 million in 2024[5]). The turnpike was used bystagecoaches and mail carriers for decades, but toll collection ceased in 1847 as parallel railroads attracted more use.
Several sections were rebuilt to accommodate automobile traffic in the early 20th century, but it saw decreased use following the completion of I-95.[6]
The section in downtown Newsburyport was bypassed in 1934.[7]

In the early 1930s,Route C1 was designated as an alternate route of US 1 throughDowntown Boston. The "C" indicated a city route. The C designation was apparently distinct to theBoston area. Route C1 ran along Brookline Avenue,Beacon Street, Embankment Road (modernRoute 28),Charles Street, Lowell Street, Merrimac Street, and Cross Street to the west end of theSumner Tunnel. InEast Boston, it went via Porter Street to Chelsea Street then shifted to the William McClellan Highway (modernRoute 1A) asStorrow Drive and theCentral Artery.
In the 1950s, Route C1 was rerouted to follow portions of these highways. The Route C1 designation was removed in 1971, with US 1 taking over most of the alignment south of theCharles River, and Route 1A taking over most of the alignment north of the river. US 1 was later moved onto theSoutheast Expressway leaving most of the former alignment of Route C1 south of the river as having no number.

For a period of time during the 1950s, a segment of US 1 in Massachusetts and New Hampshire was routed onto what later becameI-95. The roadway that had been US 1 was designated asRoute 17 fromDanvers toSalisbury[8] andNew Hampshire Route 17 (NH 17) for a short distance inSeabrook.[9]
Once the I-95 designation was adopted, Route 17 and NH 17 were restored to being US 1.
The Northeast Expressway was planned to extend north, as part ofI-95, from Saugus, through Lynn, Lynnfield and Peabody. The highway would bisect the Saugus Marsh andLynn Woods Reservation.
The highway would then connect with the present junction of I-95 and Route 128 in Peabody. The Northeast Expressway was planned to carry the I-95 designation from Charlestown to Peabody. The first section of the expressway built was theTobin Bridge over theMystic River, which opened in 1950. In various stages, the Chelsea and Revere portions opened from 1956 to 1958.
The highway carried the I-95 designation from 1955 (in its planning stages) to 1973. It was among the canceled highways affected by GovernorFrancis Sargent's February 1970 moratorium on expressway construction within Route 128. US 1 replaced I-95 on the Northeast Expressway, in the 1970s after I-95 joined Route 128 from Westwood to Peabody around Boston.[10]
In the late 1980s, at the request of the Metropolitan District Commission (now theDepartment of Conservation and Recreation) in an attempt to reduce the incidence of overheight vehicles finding their way onto Storrow Drive,[11] US 1 was moved ontoI-93 south of and through Boston, leaving the old route—Veterans of Foreign Wars Parkway (VFW Parkway),Jamaicaway,Riverway, andStorrow Drive throughDedham,Chestnut Hill,West Roxbury,Jamaica Plain, and centralBoston—without a number. There are still some street signs incorrectly indicating the former alignment as US 1, and many local residents still refer to parts of VFW Parkway and Jamaicaway as "Route 1", as if it still runs along its old trajectory.[citation needed]

In the early 2010s, theMassachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) proposed a $137-million (equivalent to $192 million in 2024[12]) project to widen the existing 2.4-mile (3.9 km) four-lane highway section to six lanes, from north ofRoute 99 in Saugus to south ofRoute 60 in Revere. The proposal consisted of adding a 12-foot (3.7 m) travel lane and 10-foot (3.0 m) shoulder in each direction. Work would also include reconstruction of the Copeland Circle interchange by eliminating the existing rotary, and demolition of the existing 1957 bridges from the never-built highway extension. The Lynn Street/Salem Street interchange in Malden, and the Route 99 interchange in Saugus, were slated to be reconstructed. Major rock blasting would be required for the project due to a massive ledge next to the highway, and seven bridges would be replaced and three others upgraded to handle the new lanes. In 2012, $10 million (equivalent to $13.5 million in 2024[12]) was added to the state budget with the intent to be used for design costs and pulling permits for US 1.[13] The project was expected to begin in 2012, but no further movement by the state has been implemented. Since then, town officials have made the push to ask MassDOT to revisit the project and begin development.[14]
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Old exit | New exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol | Attleboro | 0.000 | 0.000 | Continuation intoRhode Island | |||
| 0.291 | 0.468 | Northbound exit and southbound entrance; exit 1 on I-95 | |||||
| 1.845 | 2.969 | ||||||
| 2.036 | 3.277 | Northern terminus of Route 1A | |||||
| North Attleborough | 3.974 | 6.396 | Exits 2A-B on I-295 | ||||
| 5.238 | 8.430 | Eastern terminus of Route 120 | |||||
| 7.318 | 11.777 | Southern terminus of Route 1A | |||||
| Norfolk | Plainville | 8.370 | 13.470 | ||||
| 9.992 | 16.081 | Northern terminus of Route 152 | |||||
| 10.600 | 17.059 | Exits 36A-B on I-495 | |||||
| Foxborough | 13.506 | 21.736 | Interchange; access via East Street/Main Street | ||||
| Sharon | 18.597 | 29.929 | Exit 19 on I-95 | ||||
| Walpole | 19.264 | 31.002 | |||||
| Norwood | 23.058 | 37.108 | Neponset Street / Nahatan Street –Norwood,Canton | Pendergast Circle;roundabout interchange | |||
| Dedham | 26.319 | 42.356 | Southern end of freeway section | ||||
| 15 | 29 | Signed as exits 29B (I-95) and 29A (Route 1A); southern end of I-95/Route 128 concurrency; Route 128 not signed southbound | |||||
| Westwood | 26.922 | 43.327 | 14 | 28 | East Street / Canton Street | ||
| Dedham | 28.131 | 45.272 | 13 | 27 | University Avenue –MBTA / Amtrak Station | ||
| Canton | 28.693 | 46.177 | 12 (NB) 63A (SB) | 26 (NB) 1A (SB) | Northern end of I-95 concurrency | ||
| Route 128 ends,I-93 begins | |||||||
| 30.053 | 48.366 | 64 | 2 | Signed as exits 2A (south) and 2B (north) | |||
| Milton | 31.262 | 50.311 | 65 | 3 | Ponkapoag Trail –Houghton's Pond | ||
| Randolph | 32.046 | 51.573 | 66 | 4 | Left exit northbound; northern terminus and exits 41A-B on Route 24 | ||
| 32.882 | 52.918 | 67 | 5 | Signed as exits 5A (south) and 5B (north) | |||
| Braintree | 35.087 | 56.467 | 68 | 6 | Northern terminus of Route 37 | ||
| 35.382 | 56.942 | — | 7 | Braintree Split; southern end of Route 3 concurrency; exit 43 on Route 3 | |||
| Quincy | 36.764 | 59.166 | — | 8 | Furnace Brook Parkway –Quincy | ||
| 37.815 | 60.857 | — | 9 | Adams Street / Bryant Avenue –North Quincy,West Quincy,Milton | Signed for Adams Street northbound, Bryant Avenue southbound | ||
| Milton | 38.639 | 62.183 | — | 10 | Squantum Street –Milton | Southbound exit only | |
| 39.500 | 63.569 | — | 11 | Signed as exits 11A (south) and 11B (north) southbound; no northbound access to Granite Avenue south | |||
| Suffolk | Boston | 40.367 | 64.964 | — | 12 | No northbound exit | |
| 41.316 | 66.492 | 13 | 13A | Freeport Street –Dorchester | Northbound exit only | ||
| 41.501 | 66.789 | 14 | 13B | Morrissey Boulevard –Savin Hill | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| 43.021 | 69.236 | 15 | 14 | Columbia Road –Dorchester,South Boston | |||
| 43.749 | 70.407 | 16 | 15A | Southampton Street –Andrew Square | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| 44.163 | 71.073 | 18 | 15B | Frontage Road /Massachusetts Avenue –Roxbury | Signed as exit 15 southbound | ||
| 45.109 | 72.596 | 20 | 16 | South Bay interchange; signed as exits 16A (South Station) and (I-90) southbound; exits 134B-C on I-90 / Mass Pike | |||
| 45.993 | 74.019 | 23 | 17 | Government Center | Northbound exit and southbound entrance; access via North Street | ||
| 46.121 | 74.225 | 23 | 16B | Purchase Street | Southbound exit and entrance | ||
| 46.365 | 74.617 | 24 | 17 | Southbound exit and northbound entrance; signed as exits 17A (Government) and 17B (Route 1A) | |||
| 46.848 | 75.395 | 26 | 18 | Northern end of Route 3 concurrency | |||
| Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge over theCharles River | |||||||
| 47.284 | 76.096 | 27 | 19 | Northbound exit and southbound entrance; northern end of I-93 concurrency; last northbound exit before toll | |||
| 47.950 | 77.168 | — | — | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | |||
| Mystic River | Tobin Bridge (toll;E-ZPass orpay-by-plate) | ||||||
| Suffolk | Chelsea | 49.567 | 79.770 | — | — | Beacon Street | Northbound exit and southbound entrance |
| 50.038 | 80.528 | — | — | Fourth Street | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| 50.323 | 80.987 | — | — | Sixth Street | Northbound entrance only | ||
| 50.618 | 81.462 | — | — | Carter Street –Chelsea,East Boston | Southbound exit and entrance; last southbound exit before toll | ||
| 51.378 | 82.685 | — | — | Webster Avenue –Chelsea,Everett | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| 51.327 | 82.603 | — | — | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | |||
| — | — | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | |||||
| Revere | 52.517 | 84.518 | — | — | Sargent Street –West Revere | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | |
| 53.348 | 85.855 | — | — | Copeland Circle;roundabout interchange | |||
| 53.854 | 86.670 | — | — | Lynn Street –Saugus,Malden | Partial cloverleaf interchange | ||
| Middlesex | Malden | Northern end of freeway section | |||||
| Essex | Saugus | 55.217 | 88.863 | No northbound exit; northern terminus of Route 99 | |||
| 55.511 | 89.336 | Essex Street –Saugus,Melrose | Cloverleaf interchange | ||||
| 56.039 | 90.186 | Main Street –Saugus,Wakefield | Cloverleaf interchange | ||||
| 57.162 | 91.993 | Lynn Fells Parkway west –Melrose,Stoneham | Trumpet interchange | ||||
| 57.772 | 92.975 | Cloverleaf interchange; southern end of Route 129 concurrency | |||||
| Lynnfield | 59.728 | 96.123 | Diamond interchange; northern end of Route 129 concurrency | ||||
| Peabody | 60.492 | 97.352 | Interchange | ||||
| 61.946 | 99.692 | Northbound exit and southbound entrance; exit 66 on I-95 | |||||
| 62.327 | 100.306 | Lowell Street –Peabody | Partial cloverleaf interchange | ||||
| Danvers | 63.233 | 101.764 | Cloverleaf interchange; I-95 not signed | ||||
| 63.848 | 102.753 | Centre Street –Danvers | Partial cloverleaf interchange | ||||
| 64.902 | 104.450 | Cloverleaf interchange | |||||
| 65.598 | 105.570 | Exit 70 on I-95 | |||||
| Topsfield | 68.782 | 110.694 | |||||
| Rowley | 73.819 | 118.800 | |||||
| Newburyport | 81.623 | 131.359 | Diamond interchange; southern end of Route 1A concurrency; eastern terminus of Route 113 | ||||
| Salisbury | 83.633 | 134.594 | Eastern terminus of Route 110 | ||||
| 83.809 | 134.878 | Northern end of Route 1A concurrency | |||||
| 85.953 | 138.328 | ||||||
| 86.253 | 138.811 | Continuation intoNew Hampshire | |||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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