U.S. Route 3

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"US 3" redirects here. For the band, see Us3.
U.S. Route 3
Length: 277 mi[1] (446 km)
Formed: 1926[1]
South end: Routes 2A/3 in Cambridge, MA
Major
junctions:		 I-95/Route 128 in Burlington, MA
I-495 in Chelmsford, MA
Everett Turnpike in Nashua, NH
NH Route 101 near Manchester, NH
US-4 near Concord, NH
I-93 in Franconia, NH
US-2 in Lancaster, NH
North end: QC 257 near Chartierville, QC
United States Numbered Highways
List - Bannered - Divided - Replaced

U.S. Route 3 is a north-south United States highway that runs from its southern terminus in Cambridge, Massachusetts[2] through New Hampshire to its terminus near Third Connecticut Lake at the Canadian border, where the road continues north as Quebec Route 257.

In New Hampshire parts of US 3 are known as the Daniel Webster Highway. From Burlington, Massachusetts to Nashua, New Hampshire, US 3 is a freeway (the 6.7 miles (10.8 km) in New Hampshire are a free portion of the Everett Turnpike). A second freeway portion exists in northern New Hampshire, where US 3 utilizes the Franconia Notch Parkway and a short segment of Interstate 93, before proceeding on two-lane roads north to the border with Canada. While the southern terminus has not changed there have been different northern termini to this route.

Massachusetts Route 3 continues beyond Boston to Cape Cod, but has never been part of US 3.

Contents

[edit] Route description

Lengths
mi km
NH 241.49 388.55
MA 35.52 57.14
Total 277.00 445.70

[edit] Massachusetts

In Massachusetts, US 3's freeway portion heading from Interstate 95/Route 128 to the New Hampshire border is numbered using the original exit numbering system from the days when US 3's freeway portion was to extend south of Route 128 to Boston to connect with the never-built Inner Belt (I-695). The numbering 'begins' with Exit 25 at Route 128 and proceeds north. All other freeways which once used that system have been renumbered with more conventional exit numbers.

[edit] New Hampshire

Major cities

Route 3 crosses the New Hampshire-Massachusetts border, leaving the town of Tyngsborough, Massachusetts and entering the city of Nashua, New Hampshire, and becomes known as the Everett Turnpike. Route 3 leaves the Everett Turnpike at Exit 7E in Nashua and turns northeast for approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) along a segment known as the Henri Burque Highway, before turning north onto Concord Street, which soon becomes known as the Daniel Webster Highway. Route 3 continues north through the town of Merrimack and into Bedford, where it becomes South River Road. Route 3 parallels Interstate 293 until it turns east, crossing the Merrimack River on Queen City Avenue approximately three-quarters of a mile north of the Bedford-Manchester line. After approximately three-quarters of a mile, Route 3 then turns north onto Elm Street in downtown Manchester. After approximately 2.2 miles (3.5 km) on Elm Street, Route 3 turns east onto Webster Street, then joins NH Route 28 to proceed in a northeasterly direction on another segment of the Daniel Webster Highway.

In Suncook, New Hampshire, Route 28 leaves to the northeast, and Route 3 proceeds northwest towards Concord on Pembroke Street, becoming Manchester Street when it enters the Concord city limits. Route 3 traverses downtown Concord, where it is known as North and South Main Street, then follows North State Street to Fisherville Road to Village Street in Penacook before crossing the Contoocook River into Boscawen. Route 3 travels north through Boscawen, briefly joining U.S. Route 4. Route 3 parallels the Merrimack River north into Franklin.

[edit] History

[edit] NE-6

Prior to the U.S. Highway system, the section of US 3 from Orleans, Massachusetts to Colebrook, New Hampshire was part of New England Interstate Route 6 (NE-6). It was replaced in its entirety with the establishment of US 3 in 1926.

US 3 in Lincoln, New Hampshire.
US 3 in Lincoln, New Hampshire.

[edit] Massachusetts

Route 3 in Massachusetts (from Tyngsborough to Cambridge) closely follows the route of the early 19th Century Middlesex Canal and Middlesex Turnpike.

The modern expressway was begun around Massachusetts Route 110 at Lowell before World War II. In the 1950s, it was extended south to Route 128, and by the 1960s, it was completed north from Chelmsford to New Hampshire. In the first half of the first decade of the 21st century, the chronically congested four-lane road, largely with antiquated ramps around Lowell, was widened to six lanes (as it had been in Nashua, New Hampshire a few years previously), and many interchanges were modernized in what was comically known as "The Big Wide," in reference to Massachusetts' other "Big" construction project.

[edit] Termini

The southern terminus of U.S. Route 3 has always been Boston, Massachusetts. The original northern terminus (in 1926) was Colebrook, New Hampshire, but the highway was extended to West Stewartstown, New Hampshire in 1928, and to Pittsburg, New Hampshire in 1937. Colebrook was temporarily the northern terminus again from 1939 to 1940. Since 1940, the highway has run through Pittsburg to the New Hampshire-Quebec border.

[edit] Exit list

[edit] Massachusetts

Interchange Location Destination(s) Notes
freeway begins at , Exit 32A.
25A Burlington
I-95/Route 128 North/U.S. Route 3 South		 Southbound exit/northbound entrance only.
US-3 runs concurrently with I-95/Route 128 until Exit 33A.
25B Burlington
I-95/Route 128 South		 Southbound exit/northbound entrance only.
26 Burlington Route 62
27 Billerica Concord Road
28 Billerica Treble Cove Road
29 North Billerica Route 129
30A-B-C Chelmsford Lowell Connector
Interstate 495 NORTH (via Connector NB)
Interstate 495 SOUTH		 Lowell Connector is Exit 30A northbound, no access southbound.
I-495 North is Exit 30B northbound, and 30A southbound.
I-495 South is Exit 30C northbound, and 30B southbound.
Exits 30A-B share collector ramps northbound.
Exits 30C-31 share collector ramps northbound.
31 Chelmsford Route 110 Exits 30C-31 share collector ramps northbound.
32 North Chelmsford Route 4
33 North Chelmsford Route 40
34 Tyngsboro Westford Road/Dunstable Road
35 Tyngsboro Route 113
36 Tyngsboro Middlesex Road Northbound exit only.
continues into New Hampshire.

[edit] Bannered routes

[edit] Laconia business loop



U.S. Route 3 Business
Location Laconia, New Hampshire

U.S. Route 3 Business is a 4.20-mile (6.76 km)[3] long business route running north-south through downtown Laconia, New Hampshire. It runs from US 3 in Laconia south to US 3 and NH 11 in Belmont, New Hampshire along New Hampshire Route 107 and New Hampshire Route 11A.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b US Highways From US 1 to US 830 Robert V. Droz.
  2. ^ The official end according to AASHTO is at US 20 across the Charles River in Boston, though current signs indicate a terminus in Cambridge at Route 2A/3.
  3. ^ New Hampshire Routes 1-25

[edit] External links


edit
Main U.S. Routes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38
40 41 42 43 44 45 46 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59
60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79
80 81 82 83 84 85 87 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99
101 400 412 425
Lists  U.S. Routes - Bannered - Divided - Bypassed - Portal
Browse numbered routes
< Route 2A MA Route 3 >
< US 2 NH NH 3A >
< Route 5 N.E. Route 7 >