Interstate 93

Encyclopedia : I : IN : INT : Interstate 93

Interstate 93 (abbreviated I-93) is an interstate highway in the New England section of the United States. Its southern terminus is in Canton, Massachusetts, in the Boston metropolitan area, at Interstate 95 ([map]); its northern terminus is near St. Johnsbury, Vermont at Interstate 91.

Contents

1 Length
2 Major cities
3 Intersections with other interstates
4 Spur routes
5 Big Dig
6 Notes
7 See also
8 References

Length


Miles	km
47	76	Massachusetts
132	214	New Hampshire
11	18	Vermont

190	308	Total

Major cities

Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs.

Intersections with other interstates

Interstate 95 in Canton, Massachusetts ([map])
Interstate 90 in Boston, Massachusetts ([map])
Interstate 95 in Woburn, Massachusetts ([map])
Interstate 495 in Lawrence, Massachusetts ([map])
Interstate 293 in Manchester, New Hampshire ([map])
Interstate 89 in Concord, New Hampshire
Interstate 393 in Concord, New Hampshire
Interstate 91 in St. Johnsbury, Vermont

Spur routes

Manchester, New Hampshire - I-293 - The southernmost portion of this highway, between I-93 and the Everett Turnpike, was once known as Interstate 193.
Concord, New Hampshire - I-393

[http://encycl.opentopia.com/ edit ]

Auxiliary routes of Interstate 93

Big Dig

Interstate 93 Tunnel

Interstate 93 is famous for being reconstructed by the Big Dig, the most massive urban construction project in history. After this project was considered mostly complete in early 2005, the section of Interstate passing through central Boston, Massachusetts was largely underground. As of April 19, 2005, the tunnel is mostly complete, but greenification from the above-ground area that was removed because of the Dig has still to be completed. The entire project is to be completed in early-mid 2006. It is the most expensive road construction project in the USA.

No additional tolls have been placed upon use of Interstate 93, but as part of the Big Dig the Massachusetts Turnpike, a toll road and also Interstate 90 while it runs through the state, was extended to East Boston, the location of Logan Airport. Northbound Interstate 93 now connects with the Massachusetts Turnpike in South Bay for access to South Boston and the airport. No toll is collected for traveling to the airport, but a toll of $3.00 is collected from motorists entering Interstate 90 at the airport.

Notes

An 8 mile (13 km) section of I-93 through Franconia Notch State Park, called the Franconia Notch Parkway in New Hampshire, was constructed as a two-lane freeway with a median divider. This was built as a compromise between the state's park department and highway officials. The speed limit on the Parkway is 45 mph (70 km/h). Originally, this section had its own exit number sequence, but they are now called Exit 34A, 34B, and 34C. This section is technically not part of I-93 and is not recognized by FHWA. I-93 is actually in two segments connected by the Franconia Notch Parkway. Signage formerly read "U.S. 3 TO I-93" in this area, but has been replaced by U.S. 3 and I-93 signage along the entire length of the Parkway. Indeed, an older brown overhead sign that read "TO I-93" has been overlaid with an I-93 shield.
A section of the highway south of Boston, beginning south of the Savin Hill overpass and ending just before the junction with Route 3, utilizes a "zipper lane", in which a movable barrier carves out a high occupancy vehicle lane in the non-peak side of the highway during rush hour.
Hazardous cargoes are now prohibited from I-93 tunnels in Boston.
I-93's original southern terminus was in Cambridge (just north of Boston) where it was to meet Interstate 695. However, when that route was cancelled, and I-95 was cancelled and rerouted along Route 128 in the mid-1970s, I-93's route was extended an additional 18 miles down what was then just Route 3 from Boston to Braintree and then west along former Route 128 to its intersection with I-95 in Canton.
I-93's route from Boston to Canton has also carried the U.S. Route 1 designation since 1989. The US route's path was changed to assist truck traffic which was banned along much of the route's original path between Boston and I-95/Route 128 in Dedham.
There are two major park and ride facilities off I-93, the Anderson Regional Transportation Center in Woburn, Massachusetts, at Exit 37C, and the Quincy Adams Red Line (MBTA) subway station, at Exit 7 in Quincy.
The Big Dig tunnel through Boston has been officially named the Thomas "Tip" O'Neill Tunnel in honor of late Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill who helped pass the legislation that funded the Big Dig.
In an attempt to alleviate rush-hour traffic jams, travel in the breakdown lane of I-93 is permitted on a small stretch between Exit 38 and Exit 47/48. This extra travel is permitted on the southbound side on weekdays between 6AM and 10AM, and on the northbound side between 3PM and 7PM. However, on most busy days this fails to prevent traffic delays.

References

[I-93 Northern Expressway on Bostonroads.com]
[MA 3 Pilgrim's Highway on Bostonroads.com]
Misc I-93 posts on misc.transport.road newsgroup
2005 Rand McNally "The Road Atlas 2005" - newest feature- interstate mileage by state.

Main Interstate Highways
4	5	8	10	12	15	16	17	19	20	22	24	25	26	27	29
30	35	37	39	40	43	44	45	49	55	57	59	64	65	66	68
69	70	71	72	73	74	75	76 (W)		76 (E)		77	78	79	80	81
82	83	84 (W)		84 (E)		85	86 (W)		86 (E)		87	88 (W)		88 (E)
89	90	91	93	94	95	96	97	99	(238)		H-1	H-2	H-3
Unsigned			A-1	A-2	A-3	A-4	PRI-1		PRI-2		PRI-3
Lists		Main - Auxiliary - Suffixed - Business - Proposed - Unsigned Gaps - Intrastate - Interstate standards - Replaced

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.