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Dueling dual highway names
By Lyss on Sun, 08/13/2006 - 8:06pm
Why do people still use '128' to refer to Interstate 95?
As it was explained to me by several Boston and Providence natives, the road is Interstate 95 and no longer actually 128. Naturally, this leaves me very curious about why they do it.
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Comments
Why not?
For the same reason that, more than 50 years after Sixth Avenue was renamed Avenue of the Americas, N** Y***ers still refer to it as Sixth Avenue. For the same reason that, like 10 years after it stopped being officially Rte. 1, I still can't help calling the stretch of road between the end of the VFW Parkway and the 128 interchange (hah!) in Dedham "Rte. 1."
Now as to why 128 is now officially I-95 (well, a big chunk of it, anyway, other pieces are I-93 and, I think a small piece up by Gloucester is actually still 128):
I-95 was originally scheduled to cut right through Boston and Cambridge, from roughly Dedham to just past where the Zakim Bridge now is. But after the state condemned lots of houses and actually tore many of them down, then Gov. Frank Sargent decided the destruction wasn't worth the effort and cancelled the project (the condemned land in JP and Roxbury became today's Orange Line and Southwest Corridor park).
Ah, but wait, we're talking about the federal government here! A government that could not tolerate the idea of a highway with a large missing piece. So it renamed the stretch of 128 between 95 in the south and 95 in the north as 95. Voila: The National Interstate and Defense Highway System would be complete!
Stupid bureaucrats.
I-95 ...
would not have gone through Cambridge (that was supposed to be I-695, the Inner Belt), but it would have gone through the Lynn Woods and the Saugus salt marsh. In its own way, this would have been just as destructive as the better-known section through Roxbury and Jamaica Plain.
128
Adam's answer, that 95 isn't synonymous with the entirety of 128, is correct. We could call it "the beltway" if we were lame.
But let's not forget, letting 128 come out of use would confuse future generations listening to "Roadrunner" for the first time.
Fun with 128
Also fun: When we want to go to the South Shore Plaza, we need to go north - so in Dedham, we get on 128 South.
that is wacky.
that is wacky.
Still the same.
128 still shares signage with 95, especially according to a lot of maps (check maps.google.com). Also, people generally prefer more specific language. 128 refers to something different than 95 - the inner "belt" (crescent?). If someone says 128, you know that they're not in Rhode Island, they're not in NH. There are parts of 128 up towards Cape Ann as well which don't share routes with 95.
95 could refer to the road up into NH and Maine, or down into RI, so 128 is more precise than just saying 95.
Inner Belt
Here is a little bit about the I-695 Inner Belt:
bostonhistory.typepad.com/...building_roads_.html
128-95
128 and I-95 are two different highways that happen to overlap for a stretch -- there are many similar cases in our area. There is even a place where 128 North is 95 South (and vice versa). There is a much stronger distinction between 128 and I-95 than there is between the Mass Pike and I-90.
Where is that
I have been hearing for years that there is a place where 128 north is 95 south. But I do not know where on the highway it is.
Does anyone know what city in Mass has this part of the highway?
128 South and 93 North
The stretch of 128 South heading north toward the exit for the South Shore Plaza (Braintree? Yes, it is sad that I only know directions by which malls they go past).
This is also Rte. 1 North. If you turn around and head south, you will eventually get to an exit for Rte. 1 South. There is, however, no exit for Rte. 1 North. Instead, the exit has a lame "To Rte. 1A" sign where the "Rte 1 North" sign used to be, until the state decided Rte. 1 went through Dorchester instead of along the Muddy River (I think there are still "Rte. 1" exit signs along Storrow Drive - put up by the MDC, which also no longer exists).
I'm travelling from NH to
I'm travelling from NH to Brocton.
To avoid the tunnels...
I take Interstate 93 SOUTH to Interstate 95 SOUTH to Interstate 93 NORTH to Mass 24 SOUTH.
I'd rather take Interstate 93 SOUTH to Mass 128 SOUTH to Mass 24 SOUTH.
Now with polling goodness
Let's settle this matter once and for all - I'm sure the Federal Highway Administration and MassHighway will be counting every vote.
Routes vs. Names
The name of the road is Yankee Division Highway. From Milton to Lynn, the two routes, MA-128 and I-95, both follow the Yankee Division Highway, and then they continue on to different roads. This is no different from Routes I-93, US-1 and MA-3 sharing the Fitzgerald & Southeast Expressways before splitting apart in Quincy.
A route just follows roads. There is no rule that says a road can be a part of only one route.
In practical terms, however ...
Nobody says "Take the Yankee Division Highway to exit 19B" any more than people in Natick and Framingham would ever tell you to "take the Ted Williams Highway to Temple Street" (yes, long before the tunnel, the legislature officially changed Rte. 9's name in those two towns to the Ted Williams Highway, and if you don't understand why, well, go back to New Jersey or, at the least, ponder why it's also "Worcester Road" in one town and "Worcester Street" in the other).
True
I agree that it is not practical to refer to the road in that way. Nevertheless, the stretch of road in question is part of two routes, as many area roads are, and it just becomes a matter of which route you wish to follow. In this case, you have a choice, although I-95 is obviously the easier one to follow since that is the dominant signage and, arguably, the more important route, unless you're going to Gloucester.
Personally, I still tend to think of it as 128 simply because it makes me think of "the highway that goes around Boston", as opposed to "the interstate that takes you out of state". This is just an old habit of mine; If I'm giving directions to someone from out-of-state, I will make a point to say "I-95".
You could argue that the 128 designation is superfluous, except for the portion between Lynn and Gloucester. In fact, Neibert.com says it may already be official.
Ted Williams
Actually, I have no idea what connection Ted Williams had to Natick or Framingham. Did he live in one or both of these towns when he played for the Red Sox?
The answer lies in the route number
9.