The Massachusetts Turnpike (colloquially "Mass Pike" or "the Pike") is a toll highway in the U.S. state of Massachusetts that is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). The turnpike begins at the New York state line in West Stockbridge, linking with the Berkshire Connector portion of the New York State Thruway. Spanning 138 miles (222 km) along an east–west axis, it is entirely concurrent with the portion of Interstate 90 (I-90) that lies within the state. The turnpike is the longest Interstate Highway in Massachusetts, while I-90 in full (which begins nationally in Seattle, Washington) is the longest Interstate Highway in the United States.
The turnpike opened in 1957, and it was designated as part of the Interstate Highway System in 1959. The original western terminus of the turnpike was located at Route 102 in West Stockbridge before I-90 had been completed in New York state. The turnpike intersects with several Interstate Highways as it traverses the state, including I-91 in West Springfield; I-291 in Chicopee; I-84 in Sturbridge; the junction of I-290 and I-395 in Auburn; and I-495 in Hopkinton. The turnpike originally ended at I-95 in Weston; it was extended to Allston in 1964, and to the Central Artery (designated as I-93, US 1, and Route 3) in Downtown Boston in 1965. The "Big Dig" megaproject provided for the construction of the Ted Williams Tunnel, which has carried the turnpike to its eastern terminus at Route 1A beyond Logan International Airport since 2003. As an Interstate Highway, the turnpike is supplemented by I-190 and I-290 as auxiliary Interstate Highways.
The turnpike was maintained by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority until the department was replaced by the Highway Division of MassDOT in 2009. The implementation and removal of tolls in some stretches of the turnpike have been controversial; travel between most, but not all, exits requires payment. The Fast Lane electronic toll collection system was introduced alongside cash payment in 1998; it was later folded into the E-ZPass branding in 2012. The original toll booths were demolished and replaced by toll gantries with the transition to open road tolling in 2016, which replaced cash payment with "pay-by-plate" billing.
Route description[]
The Massachusetts Turnpike is informally divided into two sections by MassDOT: the original 123-mile (198 km) "Western Turnpike" extending from the New York state border through the interchange with I-95 and Route 128 at exits 14 and 15 in Weston, and the 15-mile (24 km) "Boston Extension" that continues beyond exits 14 and 15 through Boston. It is a four-lane highway from the New York state border through its interchange with I-84 at exit 9 in Sturbridge; it expands to six lanes beyond this interchange, and briefly travels with eight lanes from exit 17 in Newton through exit 22 by the Prudential Center in Boston. The .75-mile (1.21 km) underwater section of the Ted Williams Tunnel, which carries the turnpike under Boston Harbor to its eastern terminus at Route 1A by Logan International Airport, reduces to four lanes.
Western Turnpike[]
In the west, the turnpike begins in Berkshire County at the Massachusetts state line in West Stockbridge, where I-90 (routed through the Berkshire Connector portion of the New York State Thruway) enters from Canaan, New York. Most toll plazas were located on the entrance/exit ramps before entering the turnpike itself. An exception was the mainline West Stockbridge toll plaza, designed for toll collection from inbound traffic from New York; it existed shortly after exit 1, an eastbound-only entrance and westbound-only exit in Massachusetts. The turnpike crosses the Williams River later in West Stockbridge, and passes over the Housatonic River in Lee. The 30-mile (48 km) gap between exit 2 to US 20 in Lee and exit 3 to US 202 and Route 10 in Westfield (the first in Hampden County) is the longest gap between exits on the turnpike, and the seventh-longest gap between exits in the entire Interstate Highway System. The highest elevation on the turnpike exists in The Berkshires, reaching 1,724 feet (525 m) above sea level in Becket; this point is also the highest elevation on I-90 east of South Dakota. Beyond the peak elevation and between the exits, an eastbound runaway truck ramp exists in Russell.
The turnpike has an interchange with I-91 and US 5 at exit 4 in West Springfield; it passes over the Connecticut River before reaching Route 33 at exit 5 and I-291 at exit 6, both in Chicopee. The turnpike passes through Ludlow at exit 7 before crossing the Quaboag River to exit 8 in Palmer. The turnpike first exits into Worcester County in Sturbridge, where exit 9 is the eastern terminus of I-84. In Auburn, exit 10 deposits traffic into the route transition of I-395 traveling southbound and I-290 traveling eastbound. The Blackstone River flows underneath the turnpike in Millbury, where it has an interchange with Route 146 and a second direct connection to US 20 at exit 10A. Entering Middlesex County in Hopkinton, it intersects with I-495 at exit 11A. The turnpike crosses the Sudbury River between exit 12 at Route 9 and exit 13 at Route 30, all located within Framingham. The last connection with another Interstate Highway on the Western Turnpike is located in Weston, at the I-95 and Route 128 concurrency. This multi-piece interchange is collectively referred to as the "Weston tolls". Exit 14 is an eastbound exit and westbound entrance, and exit 15 is a westbound exit and eastbound entrance; prior to demolition, a mainline toll plaza existed for through traffic. Following the removal of the toll plazas, exit 15 was reconfigured into exit 15A for I-95 and Route 128, and exit 15B towards Route 30. At this junction, the turnpike crosses over the Charles River.
Boston Extension[]
The first exit of the Boston Extension, exit 16 is an eastbound entrance and westbound exit at Route 16 in Newton. The turnpike enters Suffolk County in Boston before reaching the "Allston–Brighton tolls", depositing traffic towards the Boston neighborhoods of Allston and Brighton, and the nearby city of Cambridge. Exit 18 is a left-hand eastbound exit and westbound entrance, and exit 20 is a westbound exit and eastbound entrance; a mainline toll plaza was previously placed in between them for through traffic, and was classified as "exit 19". Compensating for the sparsity of eastbound entrances and westbound exits in Back Bay and Downtown Boston, a westbound U-turn ramp heading eastbound was opened in Allston in 2007; while unsigned with an exit number, it is recognized as exit 20A for administrative purposes. The turnpike crosses over the Muddy River past the Allston–Brighton tolls.
Exit 22 and the closed Clarendon Street on-ramp are located within the Prudential Tunnel, which takes the turnpike underneath the Prudential Center; the former is an eastbound exit towards the Prudential Center and Copley Square, while the latter is a westbound-only entrance from Clarendon Street. Beyond the Prudential Tunnel, exit 24 is labeled as a singular exit traveling westbound, but splits into three ramps for eastbound travel; exit 24A is a left-hand exit towards South Station, while exits 24B and 24C are directed towards I-93 northbound and southbound, respectively. The turnpike travels under the Fort Point Channel before reaching South Boston at exit 25, after which it enters the Ted Williams Tunnel to pass beneath Boston Harbor. Exit 26 to Logan International Airport is the sole exit within the Ted Williams Tunnel, before the turnpike exits the tunnel and merges into Route 1A northbound toward Revere.
Air rights[]
Much of the air space ("air rights") over the Boston Extension has been leased to third parties for commercial development. This concept was originally designed to "knit together communities" that were divided by the new highway, since the turnpike had been described as "wider and more divisive to the city" than the original Central Artery. More recently, the income received from the leased air rights have been used for paying off the Big Dig. There are 23 parcels of air space over the highway, the majority of which have not been developed. Among other objectives, guidelines established by the "Civic Vision for Turnpike Air Rights in Boston" in 2000 recommend that the proposed use of the parcels "[foster] increased use and capacity of public transportation" and "[reinforce] the vitality and quality of life in adjacent neighborhoods".
The Star Market (briefly renamed Shaw's Supermarket) in Newton is the earliest example of commercial construction over the turnpike. In the 1960s, the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority intended to route the highway through the parking lot of the supermarket's previous location in the city; this alignment that was ultimately approved by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, under the condition that a replacement Star Market was allowed to be built over the turnpike. Other projects developed through air rights include the Newton Plaza Hotel in Newton, the Copley Place shopping mall in Boston, and the Prudential Center in Boston. Proposals for future air rights projects include the mixed-use Fenway Center, and an extension of the Boston University campus near Boston University Bridge.