Interstate 84 in Massachusetts

This article is about the section of Interstate 84 in Massachusetts. For the entire route, see Interstate 84 (Pennsylvania–Massachusetts).

Interstate 84 (I-84) in Massachusetts is the easternmost segment of the eastern I-84 freeway originating in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, (near Scranton). Within Massachusetts, I-84 exists in the towns of Holland and Sturbridge. Known as the Wilbur Cross Highway, it has also been signed as Route 15 between 1948 and 1980 as well as Interstate 86 (I-86) between 1971 and 1984. The Massachusetts segment of I-84 is the shortest state length of the four states it travels through.

Interstate 84
Wilbur Cross Highway
I-84 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MassDOT
Length	8.15 mi (13.12 km)
Existed	1958–present
History	Route 15 (1948–1980) I-84 (1958–1971, August 1984–present) I-86 (1971–1984)
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
West end	I-84 at the Connecticut state line
Major intersections	US 20 in Sturbridge
East end	I-90 / Mass Pike in Sturbridge
Location
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
Counties	Hampden, Worcester
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future Massachusetts State Highway System Interstate US State
← Route 83 → Route 85
← Route 85 I-86 → Route 86 ← Route 14 Route 15 → Route 15

Route description

The Wilbur Cross Highway continues on I-84 after the highway enters Massachusetts. For a short distance (approximately 90 yards (82 m) eastbound and 200 yards (180 m) westbound), the Interstate passes through the town of Holland in Hampden County before crossing into Sturbridge in Worcester County for the remainder of its length. I-84 has only three exits in Massachusetts, one of them being a major road, which is U.S. Route 20. The road then ends at I-90, the Massachusetts Turnpike. I-84 ends at exit 78 (formerly exit 9) of I-90, which is located in Sturbridge. The length of I-84 in Massachusetts is 8.15 miles (13.12 km), making the Massachusetts section of I-84 the shortest distance within any of the four states it traverses.

History

Origins

The highway originated as Route 15, an extension of Connecticut Route 15 (then known as the Wilbur Cross Highway). The extension started in Holland, and, within 1⁄4 mile (0.40 km), it entered Sturbridge as Mashapaug Road. It then followed Haynes Road to Sturbridge Center ending at Route 131.

Upgrade to Interstate Highway

Between 1949 and 1952, the Massachusetts Department of Public Works (MassDPW) initiated construction of the Wilbur Cross Highway extension to US Route 20 (US 20) in Sturbridge, with two lanes in each direction separated by a wide median and frequent U-turns.

Between 1955 and 1957, an extension was created to connect Route 15 to the new Massachusetts Turnpike, which opened on May 15, 1957. In 1958, I-84 was cosigned with Route 15 north and east of East Hartford, Connecticut, into Massachusetts.

In late 1968, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) approved a new Interstate connection from Hartford, Connecticut, to Providence, Rhode Island, which was to become part of a rerouted I-84. As a result, the existing section of I-84 from Manchester, Connecticut, to I-90 (overlapping Route 15) was redesignated I-86.

Shortly thereafter, MassDPW embarked on a reconstruction of its portion of the highway with new and reconstructed carriageways providing three 12-foot-wide (3.7 m) lanes and standard shoulders. Both carriageways were separated by a wide, forested variable median. New bridges, interchanges, and weigh stations were erected along the route. The $20-million (equivalent to $105 million in 2023) reconstruction project was completed in 1973. (Similar improvements in Connecticut were not completed until the 1980s.)

On October 1, 1980, the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) decided to truncate Route 15 back to I-84 exit 57 (where it ends today), eliminating the overlap with I-86. Simultaneously, Massachusetts eliminated the overlap by decommissioning its Route 15 entirely.

Redesignation

When the planned portion of I-84 toward Providence ran into opposition in Rhode Island and was canceled in 1983, I-86 was officially reverted to I-84. The I-86 numbering was officially deleted on December 12, 1984. Plans to connect I-84 along the present day I-384/US 6 corridor from Hartford to Providence were scuttled for environmental reasons. As a result, I-84 was rerouted back onto the completed I-86 freeway.

Exit list

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) planned to convert I-84, along with the rest of the state's Interstates, to use milepost-based exits during 2016; however, this project was indefinitely postponed until November 18, 2019, when MassDOT confirmed that beginning in late summer 2020 the exit renumbering project will begin. On February 10, 2021, MassDOT announced in a blog post that the exit renumbering on I-84 will begin on February 28 and last for a week.

County	Location	mi	km	Old exit	New exit	Destinations	Notes
Hampden	Holland	0.000	0.000			I-84 west (Wilbur Cross Highway) – Hartford	Continuation into Connecticut
Worcester	Sturbridge	0.289	0.465			Haynes Street	Westbound entrance only
		3.252	5.234	1	3	Mashapaug Road – Southbridge, Sturbridge	Access via Haynes Street
		5.077	8.171	2	5	To Route 131 – Sturbridge, Southbridge	Access via Haynes Street
		6.550– 6.869	10.541– 11.055	3	6	US 20 – Charlton, Palmer	Signed as exits 6A (east) and 6B (west)
						I-90 west / Mass Pike west – Springfield, Albany NY	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; exit 78 on I-90 / Mass Pike
		7.710	12.408			I-90 east / Mass Pike east – Worcester, Boston	Eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Electronic toll collection       Incomplete access

See also

• Massachusetts portal
• U.S. Roads portal

External links

Template:Attached KML/Interstate 84 in Massachusetts

KML is from Wikidata