Massachusetts Route 111

Route 111
Map Route 111 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MassDOT
Length	27.282 mi (43.906 km)
Existed	1926–present
Major junctions
South end	Route 2 / Route 2A / Route 119 in Concord
Major intersections	I-495 in Boxborough Route 2 in Harvard Route 119 / Route 225 in Groton
North end	NH 111 at Hollis, NH
Location
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
Counties	Worcester, Middlesex
Highway system
Massachusetts State Highway System Interstate US State
← Route 110A → Route 112

Route 111 is a 27.282-mile-long (43.906 km) state highway in Massachusetts, a continuation of New Hampshire Route 111. The route has a north–south component and an east–west one, though it is signed exclusively as a north–south route on newer signs. The east–west portion of the route largely follows the path of the Union Turnpike, built in the early 19th century to connect the communities of Leominster and Concord. (A few older east–west directional signs still exist east of Harvard.)

Route description

Route 111 begins in Concord at the rotary junction of Route 2, Route 2A and Route 119, next to Massachusetts Correctional Institution – Concord. The route is concurrent along Union Turnpike with Route 2 for the first 2.4 miles (3.9 km) into Acton, before Route 2 heads northwestward, beginning its western highway portion. Route 111 continues along Massachusetts Avenue, having a junction with Route 27 not far from the split. The split is Exit 118 (old exit 43).

Route 111 eastbound in West Acton

Route 111 continues relatively westward along Massachusetts Avenue through Boxborough, meeting I-495 at Exit 28, just before entering Harvard. In Harvard, the route leaves Massachusetts Avenue at its far western end, looping around until it meets Route 110 at that town's center. The two routes continue northward, crossing Route 2 at exit 38, before continuing northward, east of Fort Devens into Ayer. In Ayer, Route 111 splits from Route 110 as that route turns eastward with Route 2A Eastbound, while Route 111 turns westbound along that route, passing concurrently with it along Ayer's Main Street.

After turning northward again, Routes 111 and 2A split, just west of Moore Army Air Field, with Route 111 turning more northerly into Groton. In Groton, Route 111 joins Route 225 near the center of town, with the two of them meeting Route 119. At this point, Route 225 joins Route 119 eastbound while Route 111 joins Route 119 west bound. The two routes head northwestward and cross the Nashua River into the town of Pepperell concurrently. Once in Pepperell, Route 111 turns northward again, running in roughly the same direction as the river. It crosses Route 113 near the center of Pepperell before continuing northward as it enters Hollis, New Hampshire and becomes New Hampshire Route 111.

History

Before 1932, Route 111 only existed south of Harvard. It was extended to Nashua, NH in 1932.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Middlesex	Concord	0.000	0.000	Route 2 / Route 2A / Route 119 west – Littleton, Greenfield	Southern terminus; rotary; southern end of Routes 2/Route 111 concurrency; eastern terminus of Route 119
	Acton	2.400	3.862	Route 2 west – Athol, Greenfield	Northern end Route 2 of concurrency; exit 117 on Route 2
		2.900	4.667	Route 27 – Maynard, Lowell
	Boxborough	7.600	12.231	I-495 – Marlboro, Lowell	Exit 75 on I-495; partial cloverleaf interchange
Worcester	Harvard	10.300	16.576	Route 110 west – Bolton, Clinton	Southern end of Route 110 concurrency
		11.900	19.151	Route 2 – Concord, Boston, Athol, Greenfield	Exit 109 on Route 2; cloverleaf interchange
Middlesex	Ayer	14.100	22.692	Route 2A east / Route 110 east – Littleton	Northern end of Route 110 concurrency; southern end of Route 2A concurrency; rotary
		15.800	25.428	Route 2A west – Lunenburg, Fitchburg	Northern end of Route 2A concurrency
	Groton	18.600	29.934	Route 225 west – Lunenburg	Southern end of Route 225 concurrency
		19.200	30.899	Route 225 east – Westford Route 119 east – Groton	Northern end of Route 225 concurrency; southern end of Route 119 concurrency
	Pepperell	21.000	33.796	Route 119 west – Townsend, Ashby	Northern end of Route 119 concurrency
		23.800	38.302	Route 113 – Townsend, Dunstable, Tyngsboro
		27.282	43.906	NH 111 east – Hollis, Nashua	Continuation into New Hampshire
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

References

• Massachusetts Atlas and Gazetteer (Map) (1st ed.). DeLorme. 1998.

External links

• Media related to Massachusetts Route 111 at Wikimedia Commons