Roads and Highways of the Pioneer Valley

Interstate 90 - The Mass. Pike

Masspike Information: Western terminus is at the NY border in West Stockbridge, MA. The Eastern terminus is at Logan Airport, MA Route 1A in Boston, MA. 137.8 miles of I-90's 3,020.54 are in Massachusetts, all under control of the Masspike authority.

History/Facts: The Masspike was originally not planned to be Interstate 90 - it was planned and built before the Eisenhower Interstate system came to fruition. However, when the original I-90 through northern MA (What is now the MA 2 corridor) found environmental and community opposition, the Masspike became a viable routing alternative, since it was already an interstate grade highway. It has few interchanges before Boston, as it was always a toll road and maximizing revenue was a goal, even though exits 1-6 currently no longer collect a toll.

For more information on the history of the MassPike, check out Steve Anderson's BostonRoads.com.

Photos: Eastbound | Westbound

Westbound: Pioneer Valley/The Berkshires

These next 5 shots courtesy of Greg. 2 miles to Exit 9.

This is... interesting.

1 Mile lane split warning.

Rock cut and lane split warning.

Exit 9.

Just a general scene in Sturbridge.

Exit 8 is coming soon.

The Breckenridge St. overpass. One of several very tall (and angled steeply) overpasses.

Exit 8 is indeed coming soon.

While this is technically true, you'd only want to go this way if you were coming from Boston. To get to UMass from Exit 8 isn't as easy as it is getting there from exit 4.

Another overpass mounted sign.

So what about Albany?

Indeed, Wilbraham MA is the home of Friendly's. The first Friendly's was opened on US 20 in Wilbraham many years ago. This has been on the turnpike as long as I can remember, and can really only be seen coming westbound. I'm assuming this is to educate those poor ignorant Bostonians.

Exit 7 is indeed coming soon.

I apologize for the glare on the next several shots. This has to be the furthest west Park 'n' Ride sign on the entire turnpike. Sure, you park, but where do you ride to, exactly? If you were going to Park n Ride into Boston, wouldn't you do so in Worcester or maybe Framingham? And even then, you're heading AWAY from Boston on the WB road! I'm not aware of any park n ride programs in the Springfield area, so if someone has some clue on this, fill me in.

Exit 7.

In Ludlow, there's a road that runs parallel to the pike and very, very close, with lots of housing development. The highway was there first, and when a bypass road for a Ludlow bridge was built following the turnpike, houses sprung up next to it. These tall poles are part of a sound barrier construction project. This makes me sad, because outside of Boston, this is the only place where you can really see houses or actual development next to the turnpike, and soon you won't be able to see it anymore.

More barrier construction, and now you can see some where the boards have gone on the opposite side.

More barriers.

Exit 6 coming up soon.

Pardon the glare. One of the few exit direction signs on the pike, this one says "Springfield: exits 6 and 4" on the top half, and "Chicopee" next 2 exits on the bottom half. The funny thing is that the "exits" in the upper half is in mixed case, while "next 2 exits" is in all caps. Note that no exit is actually IN springfield, exit 6 is just outside of Springfield in Chicopee and exit 4 is just northeast in West Springfield. If you're coming from Boston, getting off at 6 and taking 291 is the best route to downtown. If you were going to Hartford, well, you should have taken 84. :)

Nearing exit 6. The small signs says Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetary, which is oddly not on the eastbound exit 6 warning signs.

Yep, it's coming.

The sun came out at the wrong time on this sign. This gantry is completely wrong for Masspike signage. It's all button copy, and the exit 5 pullthrough has a CT style hollow button copy shield. It also lists Westover as a control. The red on the interstate sign is faded away as well. This is either contractor error (most likely), old signage, or combination of both. These signs are also lit, unlike other gantries. There is a date, size, and (probably) contractor stamp on these signs, which I unfortunately can't read on the high res copy. Getting a picture of those dates is highly unlikely, so they'll probably remain a mystery.

Exit 5's warning sign.

This one actually says half a mile, unlike the eastbound one which says next right.

Exit 5 in Chicopee on a mast arm with no pull through (unlike the eastbound side).

There is a 2 mile advance sign, but I didn't get a good shot of it.

Yep, it's coming...

Exit 4. No more Massachusetts destination pull-throughs, I'm afraid.

A view of the tollbooth from the Prospect St. overpass.

This bronze plaque on rock is located in the grassy area between the various exit ramps, and a pedestrian would in no way be able to get to it. I took a photo of it from the Prospect st. overpass. Thanks to Robert Bliss of the Turnpike Authority, I have a close-up picture of this monument:

Anne McHugh was a Holyoke education leader, politician, and the first woman to serve on the Turnpike authority, which is probably why there's a monument here for her (it probably also helped that she was good friends with Dukakis). She was only 53 when she died of a heart attack. The rock is indigenous to Western MA, and this area of the interchange is rather beautiful. McHugh spearheaded campaigns to beautify the turnpike, and it is mostly her contributions that make the Turnpike (at least, outside of Boston) as beautiful as it is to drive.

Since the Masspike is maintained by its own authority, it is still signed as the Masspike, and will probably be for all eternity.

With a few exceptions, controls along the masspike are fairly logical - the next exit, the next major city (of Albany, Springfield, Worcester, and Boston), and the two largest metro areas (Boston for Eastbound, and Albany for Westbound). In some cases, only two controls are listed, like this sign here.

There are several state police stations along the Masspike, due to its tolled nature. There usually aren't troopers hanging around this station, though - they usually drive out to hide other places.

This sign has been replaced (or patched over) to instruct motorists to dial 911. If your car has mechanical problems, they will send the Masspike "yellow truck patrol" as I call them - they'll help you fix a flat or get a tow or more serious problems. If you are having life threatening problems, they'll send an ambulance or a statie to your rescue.

Yes, the next exit really is 30 miles (Lee, which would take you to my hometown of Pittsfield). Note that Masspike signage is different from any other signage in the entire state - observe the tabs and direct applied text with no button copy. It also lists the next exit location (important since this is a tolled highway).

There's the state police station I was talking about earlier. Barnes Airport is also just ahead, and often you can see jets or military aircraift taking off and landing over the pike.

Masspike sometimes likes to put these signs on overpasses. Note that overpass signage on the masspike is different than what masshighway uses - Masshighway uses green "mini green signs", while Masspike uses those white on black things.

This comes right as you get on the Pike from Exit 3 - yes, that's 29 miles to Lee. There's been talks of a Becket or Blandford interchange, but I wouldn't get my hopes up.

This is the five lane segment (two east, three west) starting up in Russell. Westbound has a third climbing lane for trucks to get over Blandford mountain, as it's a fairly steep grade (for an interstate highway).

Masspike has service plazas (a holdover from the days before it joined the Interstate system). Several were recently rebuilt a few years ago when the contract was given to a new company, which brought McDonald's, Exxon Fuels, and bigger convenience areas (they used to be Circle K (or whatever), but now they're Tigermarts). Gas prices on the Pike aren't that bad compared to the surrounding towns.

This is in Becket, about 7 miles to Lee.

Yes, there are even parts that don't have guardrails. On "nice" days, cops like to sit out there with their radar guns.

As we get closer to exit 2, we have several guide signs as to what lies in the Berkshires. This is the first, a vague one, but one nonetheless.

This is getting closer to Exit 2, and a bit more specific. Lenox, Stockbridge, and G.B. are fairly close to exit 2, but where's our guide sign for Pittsfield, MassPike?

The first of "exit approach" signs for Exit 2. This sign needs to be replaced, as it's losing its reflectivity at night.

One of the few brown signs on the MassPike. While the Rockwell museum is in vicinity of the Pike, MassMoCa and the Clark are all the way up in North Adams and Williamstown - if you're going to North County, you better have directions.

This sign is losing its reflectivity too. This is also a two lane exit, for whatever reason.

Done? Head Eastbound or Return home.