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Feds force state to let you know you're mainly on 95, not 128
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Comments
Too bad, Im gonna still call
Too bad, Im gonna still call it 128 I dont care how much of my money they waste on the project to rebrand it.
I do not see why its such a big deal for them, its classic New England to have multiple road names. Especially because 128 and 95 are in fact two different routes that happen to share a piece of road at one point.
If you want federal money ...
You have to follow federal signage rules. If you want it to be just "128", they we need to find new financing for maintenance and repairs and a new route for I-95.
Meanwhile, you can call it whatever you want. Fact is, it is an interstate highway and not a state road.
But it wasn't supposed to be
The only reason most of it is an interstate is because the feds couldn't cope with the idea of 95 having a gaping hole in Boston after the state canceled the Southwest Expressway project, so they decreed the existing multilane highway between the two 95 segments to be 95 also.
And that's why 95 in the Boston area is the only loop road around a major city that doesn't have a three-digit route number (think 495).
If they removed just one traffic light from Route 1
they could have just designated it as I-95 throughout Lynnfield, Saugus, Revere, and Chelsea. There are no other breaks in the median except for that one light (the 'jughandle') in Lynnfield.
No Way
Route 1 is not up to federal standards for an interstate - not even close! In order to begin to qualify, they would have to wall it off from all of the driveways and businesses. Several turns and curves do not meet standards and the lanes are not wide enough, either.
(Yes, I asked Dad this question while heading to the Hilltop for dinner with my parents while I was still living at MITSH. One would think it a no brainer, but the road is simply not limited access. This was before the link between 95 and 95 was complete, and the whole mess dumped on Rt 1 for a few miles.)
Likely why it is maintained and still intact, too
It would probably look like Soldier's Field Road if the feds hadn't pumped money into the upkeep.
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That said, a humorous note about federal signage:
About 20 years ago, my dad asked to take a roadtrip up to Concord, NH so he could get some good pictures of the "State Safety Rest Area and NH State Liquor Store" signs. These were absolutely notorious in federal highway circles because NH was insisting that the feds should pay for these huge signs that advertized their liquor store because it had restrooms, and the feds said NFW! NH paid for them themselves, and they were huge. He wanted pictures to put in a presentation for the "can you believe THIS?" laffs.
I for one appreciate knowing
I for one appreciate knowing where I can buy liquor. There are signs that tell me where I can find gas, hotel rooms, and McDonalds, why not Jack Daniels?
Ethanol!
Hey, everclear is a motor fuel!
Exactly!
Granted this is fairly moot now that most of us have mobile devices with google on them, but I've always wondered why they stick to restaurants and gas stations and hotels. There have been many times I would have loved if there were signs on the highway showing where I could find a grocery store or post office or photocopying place. And sure, why not add liquor stores?
Cool shot of the partially constructed 95/128 interchange
In Canton:
View Larger Map
Even cooler on the ground!
Hiked around there last winter-- very interesting and weird. The road just dead ends in the forest; lots of trails and swamp land and lots of deer. Far fewer people than are on the Great Blue Hill part of the reservation, too.
Where can one park?
I'd like to explore this -- but where can one (more or less legally) park?
Looks like
You can just drive right up there.
Blue Hills Reservation
It's in the Blue Hills Reservation, so you can park at their lots and hike a bit. There are company parking lots at the end of Royall St, Canton so you could probably get away with parking there too. (I have.)
They ripped down the
They ripped down the overpass last Summer (or was it the one before?).
Out of our cold, dead hands
Never!
Changing the name of 128 would be like changing the name of Fenway Park. Somebody might pay $1.3 million to change the road, or the $4 bazillion dollars it would take to rename Fenway, but they'll never change our hearts. Well, unless maybe they give the $1.3 million directly to me. Then I'd call it whatever they wanted.
They may take our road
They may take our road signs, but they will never take our FREEDOM!
I thought the state got
I thought the state got special dispensation from the feds back in the '80s (?) to call it (and sign it) 128 as well as 95, though even then the regs said it should only show the interstate number. Of course, if my memory of all this is right, that was also when big signs were posted along it: "128 - America's Technology Highway."
Anne
Waste
A, it's a waste of money, and B, who really cares?
I still refer to it as 128 and not 95 because I've always confused it with 93--just because the numbers are too close--so calling it 128 helps me keep them straight.