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The Middlesex Turnpike was an early turnpike between Cambridge and Tyngsborough, Massachusetts and the New Hampshire border, where it connected with the Amherst Turnpike and thence Nashua and Claremont, New Hampshire.
The turnpike was chartered on June 15, 1805, by the Massachusetts legislature. After an extremely contentious argument about its route, it opened about five years later. The road started near present-day Technology Square in East Cambridge, where it intersected with the Cambridge and Concord Turnpike (now Broadway), headed roughly northwest along what are now Hampshire and Beacon Streets, passed by the 'Foot of the Rocks' in West Cambridge (now along Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington), and onwards to Lexington by today's Westminster and Lowell Streets. From there, it continued through Burlington, Bedford, and Billerica, the section of which is still called the Middlesex Turnpike as far as Concord Road in Billerica (though between 2010 and 2016 the roadway officially named Middlesex Turnpike was diverted from the right of way over a stretch of half a mile or so in Burlington near Bedford Street in order to bypass a residential neighborhood; the old roadway still exists under the name of Middlesex Turnpike Extension and is directly connected to Middlesex Turnpike at the southern end but is cut off from the heavy traffic on the Turnpike at the northern end).
The remainder of the right of way in Billerica is fragmented. The portion between Concord Road and the Concord River had become overgrown with fairly substantial trees, but a portion was recently recleared and paved as a driveway into a new commercial development that is not yet completed. On the north side of the Concord River, a short section now called Old Middlesex Turnpike serves a few blocks in a residential neighborhood, but a gate blocks access to the river. The section between River Street Extension and River Street is substantially overgrown, with the southern end serving as a dirt driveway from River Street into a couple residences. The portion of River Street nearest U.S. Route 3 also follows the original right of way. There are original fragments remaining in the Billerica State Forest, alongside Route 3, and again north and south of Rangeway Road.
From Billerica, the Middlesex Turnpike continued northwest to Chelmsford, and then along the bank of the Merrimack River to Tyngsborough. A small, 1.5-mile (2.4 km) stretch of the turnpike remains in Chelmsford, now known as "Turnpike Road." There is also a short residential street named "Old Middlesex Turnpike Street" that lies on or very near the original right-of-way, and the occasional property line denotes the original route. Its route would have gone through the middle of the Drum Hill Rotary where US 3, Route 4, Drum Hill Road and Old Westford Road all come together, and from there would have followed North Road (Route 4) and Princeton Street (Route 3A) into what is now North Chelmsford's Vinal Square, following modern Route 3A along Tyngsboro Road through North Chelmsford and Middlesex Road through Tyngsboro to Nashua, New Hampshire, where it becomes Daniel Webster Highway. It was about 26 miles (42 km) in length, with four toll gates along the way.
As was the practice of that time, the road was as straight as possible, and thus missed the advantages of passing through economic centers along the way. As its route closely paralleled that of the Middlesex Canal, and later the railroad, it suffered stiff competition for both freight and passenger traffic. As a result, at some point during the early to mid 1800s, the section that used to cross the Concord River between Concord Road (Billerica) and Mill Road (Chelmsford) was fenced off and was no longer used due to the rough terrain. The road was thus never particularly profitable. Its charter was repealed in 1841, and it became a free road in 1846.
U.S. Route 3, the expressway largely built in the 1950s from Burlington to Tyngsboro, is substantially parallel to the Middlesex Turnpike.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation is upgrading the Middlesex Turnpike in cooperation with the Towns of Burlington, Bedford and Billerica based on concept plans developed in the 1980s. Early work included Middlesex Turnpike in Burlington (up to the start of Network Drive) and the creation of Network Drive. "Phase 1" of the current work was the widening of Crosby Drive. Phase 1 was Completed in 2007.
Phase 2 began in Burlington at Route 62 and Network Drive (now Middlesex Turnpike) and stretches into Bedford just north of Crosby Drive. Total cost of Phase 2 was expected to be $13 Million+. Construction on Phase 2 began in July 2010 and ended in 2016. The contractor for Phase 2 was Newport Construction Corporation of Nashua New Hampshire. [1] [2] With the completion of Phase 2, the main flow of traffic uses a new segment of road (built on the Mitre fields) to bypass a "thickly settled" (residential) section of the Middlesex Turnpike located between Terrace Hall Road and the Bedford line in Burlington.
Billerica is planning that phase 3 become a multi-modal corridor—a green road plus 3 modes, including transit, bike lanes and sidewalks for pedestrians. The work begins between Crosby Dr and the Shawsheen River and continues north to between Manning Rd and the Mobil station/Nutting Lake post office. The road will be widened to two through lanes in each direction with center left turn lanes where appropriate. Lights will be upgraded at Lexington St and at Albion Dr and added at Oak Park Dr, Suburban Park Dr, and Manning Rd. The winning bid was Barletta Heavy Division, Inc for $34,475,000, 10% above estimate). Survey work began in late 2017 and full construction start is April 30, 2018. The project, and specifically the $35 million transportation improvement project in Bedford and Billerica, as of 2019 was scheduled to be completed in 2023. [3] [4]
Middlesex County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,632,002, making it the most populous county in both Massachusetts and New England and the 22nd most populous county in the United States. Middlesex County is one of two U.S. counties to be amongst the top 25 counties with the highest household income and the 25 most populated counties. It is included in the Census Bureau's Boston–Cambridge–Newton, MA–NH Metropolitan Statistical Area. As part of the 2020 United States census, the Commonwealth's mean center of population for that year was geo-centered in Middlesex County, in the town of Natick.
Bedford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population of Bedford was 14,161 at the 2022 United States census.
Billerica is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 42,119 according to the 2020 census. It takes its name from the town of Billericay in Essex, England.
Tyngsborough is a town in northern Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Tyngsborough is 28 miles (45 km) from Boston along the Route 3 corridor, and located on the New Hampshire state line. At the 2020 census, the town population was 12,380. By its location, the town serves as a suburb of neighboring cities such as Nashua, New Hampshire and Lowell, Massachusetts.
U.S. Route 3 (US 3) is a United States Numbered Highway running 277.90 miles (447.24 km) from Cambridge, Massachusetts, through New Hampshire, to the Canada–United States border near Third Connecticut Lake, where it connects to Quebec Route 257.
The Middlesex Canal was a 27-mile (44-kilometer) barge canal connecting the Merrimack River with the port of Boston. When operational it was 30 feet wide, and 3 feet deep, with 20 locks, each 80 feet long and between 10 and 11 feet wide. It also had eight aqueducts.
The Boston and Lowell Railroad was a railroad that operated in Massachusetts in the United States. It was one of the first railroads in North America and the first major one in the state. The line later operated as part of the Boston and Maine Railroad's Southern Division.
The Frederick E. Everett Turnpike, also called the Central New Hampshire Turnpike, is a controlled-access toll road in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, running 44 miles (71 km) from the Massachusetts border at Nashua north to Concord. The Everett Turnpike is named for Frederick Elwin Everett, the first commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Transportation.
Route 225 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The highway runs 31.100 miles (50.051 km) from Route 2A in Lunenburg in northeastern Worcester County east to Route 2 in Lexington. Route 225 serves the western Middlesex County towns of Shirley, Groton, Westford, and Carlisle. The highway also passes through Bedford along its concurrency with Route 4, which terminates at the same junction with Route 2.
Route 4 is an 18.26-mile-long (29.39 km) state highway in northeastern Massachusetts. It runs south to north, serving many of Boston's western and northwestern suburbs, from an interchange with Route 2 in Lexington northwest to an intersection with Route 3A in North Chelmsford. Much of it, north of Lexington, runs parallel to U.S. Route 3. The entire route is contained within Middlesex County.
Route 62 is an 82.1817-mile-long (132.2586 km) east–west state route in Massachusetts. The route crosses four of the Bay State's 13 interstates, as well as U.S. Route 1, US 3, Route 2 and Highway 128 as it heads from the northern hills of Worcester County through the northern portions of Greater Boston, ending in the North Shore city of Beverly at Route 127.
Daniel Webster Highway is the name for several sections of U.S. Route 3 in New Hampshire. The highway is named after 19th century statesman Daniel Webster, a New Hampshire native.
Route 3A is a 97-mile-long (156 km) state highway in eastern Massachusetts, which parallels Route 3 and U.S. Route 3 from Cedarville in southern Plymouth to Tyngsborough at the New Hampshire state line.
The Circumferential Highway is the common name for a freeway bypass around the city of Nashua in southern New Hampshire, most of which has not yet been built. The purpose of the highway is to provide easier access to the F.E. Everett Turnpike and U.S. Route 3 in Nashua. Most of the highway is planned to be built in Hudson, with small sections also built through the towns of Litchfield and Merrimack as well as the city of Nashua.
The Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad was a railroad company chartered in 1845 and opened in 1846 that operated in eastern Massachusetts. It and its successors provided passenger service until 1977 and freight service until 1980 or early 1981.
North Billerica is an unincorporated village of the town of Billerica, Massachusetts, United States, one of the nine sections (hamlets) that make up the Town of Billerica. It is the home to Faulkner and Talbot mills and the North Billerica Train Depot. The Middlesex Canal was built through the village in 1783 and the Boston and Lowell Railroad was put through in the 1840s.
The Lowell Regional Transit Authority (LRTA) is a public, non-profit organization in Massachusetts, charged with providing public transportation to the Greater Lowell area. This primarily includes the city of Lowell and the towns of Andover, Billerica, Burlington, Dracut, Chelmsford, Littleton, Tewksbury, Tyngsborough, Westford and Wilmington. The LRTA provides fixed route bus services and paratransit services within this area, although some fixed lines do extend beyond these towns.
Bedford Depot is a historic railroad depot in Bedford, Massachusetts, United States. Bedford was the junction of the Reformatory Branch and the Lexington Branch of the Boston and Maine Railroad; it saw passenger service until 1977 as the stub of the Lexington Branch. The original 1874 depot and 1877 freight house are listed on the National Register of Historic Places; along with a restored Budd Rail Diesel Car, they form the centerpieces of the Bedford Depot Park.
Vine Brook is a brook in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. According to the History of Bedford, Vine Brook is "an important tributary of Shawsheen River." The book also states it as an excellent source of water-power in the 17th to 19th Centuries.
The Merrimack Valley is a bi-state region along the Merrimack River in the U.S. states of New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The Merrimack is one of the larger waterways in New England and has helped to define the livelihood and culture of those living along it for millennia.