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Is state getting ready to put Rte. 1 back where it used to be?
By adamg on Fri, 02/25/2011 - 9:21am
In 2008, the state erected a sign on Centre St. just before the VFW Parkway that sure seemed to indicate Rte. 1 was just around the bend. Now a brand-new "Rte. 1 Jct" sign has gone up on Washington Street southbound in Dedham, just by the mall and just before the rotary with what was once Rte. 1, before the state decided it was very important that Rte. 1 smush with Rte. 128 instead of ambling along the Riverway, Jamaicaway and VFW Parkway.
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Comments
commercial vehicles
I thought the reason they moved Route 1 was because commercial vehicles are banned from the parkways, and truck drivers from out of town would need to be able to follow Route 1 to find their way.
Any relocation of US 1,
even if it were back to its previous routing, would have to be reviewed and approved by AASHTO (which oversees all changes to the US primary route system) before any signs could be changed.
And, it appears unlikely that a formal re-routing of US 1 would be approved, as the DCR parkways do not meet current AASHTO design standards of US routes, and using the DCR parkways is generally a slower routing for through traffic than the present I-95/I-93 routing is.
Rather, it sounds to me that somebody in the town or at DCR decided to replace these signs "in-kind" without checking beforehand to see if they were still applicable or the texts needed to be changed.
As for the 'importance' of the 1989 re-routing of US 1 between Dedham and Charlestown by way of I-95 and I-93, be reminded that this re-routing was done at the specific request of the MDC, who saw the change to US 1 as a means of reducing the number of overheight trucks that were finding their way onto Storrow Drive.
Roadman
...thou art aptly named sir.
By the by, do you have references to recommend on the history of Route 1 in Massachusetts?
If you're specifically looking for information
on the various routings US 1 has had through parts of Massachusetts over the years, I'd start by sending a query to MassDOT Highway Division.
They have fairly good infomation about the various re-routings that have been made to US and Interstate Routes within Massachusetts going back to the mid-1940s.
You can e-mail your request directly to them at
http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/main/MassDOTContact...
Low overpass on former US 1
Besides Storrow Drive, there's also a low clearance where the Needham commuter rail passes over VFW Parkway in West Roxbury.
Info on Rt. 1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_1_in_Massa...
Rerouting made sense, but
I understand the need to reduce the number of trucks on the Boston part of the former Route 1 route, but it grates against my natural keep it simple desire to order the world.
There is something very discordant to see road signs that say "I93 North, I95 South, Route 1 North". There's something fundamentally wrong about a road that goes both north and south at the same time.
rt. 1 from West Roxbury to
rt. 1 from West Roxbury to Dedham could really use a repave, and preferably a new median with trees and maybe even a grade separated bike lane.
I know won't happy because we're always broke, but i can day dream.
Or extend Route 1A onto the former US 1
What would make better sense is to take the Route 1A that currently ends in Islington and appending it to the former US 1. The route 1A's we have now are disconnected but here is an idea on how they would be connected:
- Dedham: Boston-Providence Hwy, VFW Parkway
- Boston: VFW Parkway, Centre St, Jamaicaway, Riverway, Boylston St, Storrow Drive, Leverett Circle, Causeway Street, Congress St, Hanover St to Callahan Tunnel
Thoughts?
+1
Would also let the state replace that awkward sign southbound on 128 north that now reads "To 1A" with a bold "Rte 1A."