Interstate 290 (Massachusetts)

Interstate 290
Map I-290 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-90
Maintained by MassDOT
Length	20.16 mi (32.44 km)
Existed	1970–present
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
West end	I-90 / Mass Pike / I-395 in Auburn
Major intersections	Route 146 in Worcester Route 9 in Worcester I-190 in Worcester Route 140 in Shrewsbury
East end	I-495 / Route 85 in Marlborough
Location
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
Counties	Worcester, Middlesex
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future Massachusetts State Highway System Interstate US State
← Route 286 → I-291

Interstate 290 (I-290) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the US state of Massachusetts, maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). Spanning approximately 20 miles (32 km), it is signed as an east–west spur route of I-90 (Massachusetts Turnpike) in Central Massachusetts. The route begins in Auburn at I-90 as a northward continuation of I-395. It follows an L-shaped route, the nominally western half of which runs north into the city of Worcester, and, upon leaving the city, turns to the east to its eastern terminus at I-495 in Marlborough. Past I-495, the road continues as an unnumbered one-mile (1.6 km) connector to the town of Hudson.

Route description

Exit numbers on I-290 are a continuation of I-395 exit numbers. I-290 begins as the continuation of I-395 in Auburn with exits to I-90, Route 12, and the Auburn Mall. I-290 continues north through Worcester into downtown, where Route 146 splits off to the southeast toward Providence, Rhode Island, and I-190 to the north toward the Leominster–Fitchburg area. After Route 146, I-290 has exits for Route 122A, Route 122, downtown, and Route 9. After I-190, I-290 presumes east to a junction with Route 70, then continues over Quinsigamond Lake into Shrewsbury, where it goes northeast. Here, the scenery changes drastically from the Worcester urban area to more wooded areas in Shrewsbury and Northborough. I-290 has a junction with Route 140 and starts east into Boylston and Northborough, where it travels northeast again. I-290 enters Marlborough with an exit for the Solomon Pond Mall and has its final junction with I-495, where it terminates shortly after on Route 85 Connector, which continues into Hudson.

History

Originally, I-290 was to rejoin I-90 in Westborough, roughly where I-495 sits now. However, this route would have run through the town centers of Shrewsbury and Northborough. Additionally, I-290 was intended to be extended past I-495 to I-95/Route 128 in Waltham, but this was canceled under pressure from towns along the planned route. A brief two-lane connector heads to Route 85 as a result of this aborted plan. The interchange with I-495 was originally supposed to be a cloverleaf, but, after the plan was canceled, it was modified with a flyover ramp onto I-495 northbound. In 2004, the former exit 12 (current exit 16) was temporarily closed when the Route 146 highway was under construction between the Massachusetts Turnpike and I-290. It was completed in 2007.

Future

Milepost-based exit numbering

While Massachusetts has used sequential exit numbers since 1964, the 2009 edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices required that all US states submit plans to transition to milepost-based exit numbering by 2012. All interchanges were to be renumbered to milepost-based numbers under a project scheduled to start in 2016. However, this project was indefinitely postponed until November 18, 2019, when MassDOT confirmed that the exit renumbering project will begin, and "dual" milemarkers with I-395 mileage will be installed, in late mid-2020. On July 29, 2021, MassDOT announced that the exit renumbering on I-395 and I-290 will start on August 8, and it lasted for two weeks. The department had stated that it would consider redesignating I-290 as an extension of I-395 if both the exit numbering project and dual mile markers are well-received by motorists.

By 2022, the dual mile markers were removed. Today, the mile markers along I-290 are marked with I-290 shields but represent the I-395/I-290 route as one.

Exit list

County	Location	mi	km	Old exit	New exit	Destinations	Notes
Worcester	Auburn	0.000	0.000	—	—	I-395 south to US 20 – Norwich, CT, New London, CT	Continuation south
				7-8	12	I-90 / Mass Pike / Route 12 – Boston, Springfield, Auburn, Webster	No eastbound exit; signed as exits 12A (I-90/Route 12 north) and 12B (Route 12 south); exit 90 on I-90 / Mass Pike
				8	12	I-90 / Mass Pike / Route 12 south – Auburn, Webster	Eastbound exit only; exit 90 on I-90 / Mass Pike
		0.930	1.497	9	13	Swanson Road – Auburn	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		1.700	2.736			Auburn Street – Auburn	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
	Worcester	3.358	5.404	10	14	Route 12 north (Hope Avenue)	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		3.565	5.737	11	15	College Square / Federal Square / Southbridge Street	Signed for Route 146 South, Millbury eastbound, and Route 12 South westbound.
		4.611	7.421	12	16	Route 146 south to I-90 / Mass Pike – Millbury, Providence, RI	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; former configuration had complete access via a rotary.
		5.265	8.473	13	17	Route 122A (Vernon Street) – Kelley Square	Serves Polar Park
		5.638	9.073	14	18	Route 122 (Grafton Street) – Grafton, Paxton	No westbound entrance
		5.810	9.350	15	19	Shrewsbury Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		6.137	9.877	16	20	MLK Jr. Boulevard – Downtown Worcester	Serves Union Station, Saint Vincent Hospital, DCU Center, and Polar Park
		6.572	10.577	17 18	21	Route 9 (Belmont Street) to Route 70 north – Lincoln Square	Eastbound signage
		6.980	11.233			Route 70 north to Route 9 – Lincoln Square	Westbound signage
		7.377	11.872	19	22	I-190 north to Route 12 – Sterling, Leominster	Southern terminus of I-190; eastbound exit is combined with exit 23
		7.377	11.872	20	23	Burncoat Street to Route 70 (Lincoln Street)	Eastbound signage; combined exit ramp with exit 22
		8.421	13.552			Route 70 (Lincoln Street), Burncoat St	Westbound signage
		9.641	15.516	21	24	Plantation Street – Worcester	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
	Shrewsbury	10.173	16.372	22	25	Main Street – Shrewsbury, Worcester
		12.685	20.415	23	26	Route 140 – Shrewsbury, Boylston	Signed as exits 26A (south) and 26B (north)
	Northborough	14.855	23.907	24	27	Church Street – Northborough, Boylston
		17.913	28.828	25A	30A	Hudson Street – Northboro
		17.925	28.847	25B	30B	Solomon Pond Mall Road – Berlin	To Solomon Pond Mall; exit partially located in Marlborough
Middlesex	Marlborough	20.000	32.187	26	32	I-495 – Cape Cod, Lowell	Signed as exits 32A (south) and 32B (north); exits 65A-B on I-495
		20.16	32.44	—	—	To Route 85 – Hudson	Access via 0.9-mile (1.4 km) Route 85 Connector
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Electronic toll collection       Incomplete access

Gallery

• 

  The I-290 viaduct at Union Station in 1976

• 

  The I-290/Route 146 junction seen under construction as well as downtown Worcester from above looking north

• 

  Orson the bear, the mascot of Polar Beverages, is a prominent landmark visible from I-290 in Worcester

External links

• MassDOT Highway Division website
• The Roads of Metro Boston: Worcester Expressway (I-290)