# Interstate 290 (Massachusetts)

Interstate 290 (I-290) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the US state of Massachusetts, maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). Spanning approximately 20 miles (32 km), it is signed as an east–west spur route of I-90 (Massachusetts Turnpike) in Central Massachusetts. The route begins in Auburn at I-90 as a northward continuation of I-395. It follows an L-shaped route, the nominally western half of which runs north into the city of Worcester, and, upon leaving the city, turns to the east to its eastern terminus at I-495 in Marlborough. Past I-495, the road continues as the Route 85 Connector to the town of Hudson. The route serves as the main freeway route through Worcester, as well as being part of a longer distance travel corridor through New England, connecting Connecticut and Western Massachusetts with much of New Hampshire and Maine.

## Route description

I-290 begins as the continuation of I-395 in Auburn with exits to I-90, Route 12, and the Auburn Mall. I-290 continues north through Worcester into downtown, where Route 146 splits off to the southeast toward Providence, Rhode Island, and I-190 to the north toward the Leominster–Fitchburg area. After Route 146, I-290 has exits for Route 122A, Route 122, downtown, and Route 9. After I-190, I-290 presumes east to a junction with Route 70, then continues over Quinsigamond Lake into Shrewsbury, where it goes northeast. Here, the scenery changes drastically from the Worcester urban area to more wooded areas in Shrewsbury and Northborough. I-290 has a junction with Route 140 and starts east into Boylston and Northborough, where it travels northeast again. I-290 enters Marlborough with an exit for the Solomon Pond Mall and has its final junction with I-495, where it becomes the Route 85 Connector, which continues into Hudson.

## History

Originally, I-290 was to rejoin I-90 in Westborough, roughly where I-495 sits now. However, this route would have run through the town centers of Shrewsbury and Northborough. Additionally, I-290 was intended to be extended past I-495 to I-95/Route 128 in Waltham, but this was canceled under pressure from towns along the planned route. A brief two-lane connector heads to Route 85 as a result of this aborted plan. The interchange with I-495 was originally supposed to be a cloverleaf, but, after the plan was canceled, it was modified with a flyover ramp onto I-495 northbound. In 2004, the former exit 12 (current exit 16) was temporarily closed when the Route 146 highway was under construction between the Massachusetts Turnpike and I-290. It was completed in 2007.

## Future
### Milepost-based exit numbering

While Massachusetts has used sequential exit numbers since 1964, the 2009 edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices required that all US states submit plans to transition to milepost-based exit numbering by 2012. All interchanges were to be renumbered to milepost-based numbers under a project scheduled to start in 2016. However, this project was indefinitely postponed until November 18, 2019, when MassDOT confirmed that the exit renumbering project will begin, and "dual" milemarkers with I-395 mileage will be installed, in late mid-2020. On July 29, 2021, MassDOT announced that the exit renumbering on I-395 and I-290 will start on August 8, and it lasted for two weeks. The department had stated that it would consider redesignating I-290 as an extension of I-395 if both the exit numbering project and dual mile markers are well-received by motorists.
By 2022, the dual mile markers were removed. Today, the mile markers along I-290 are marked with I-290 shields but represent the I-395/I-290 route as one.

## Exit list

Exit numbers on I-290 are a continuation of I-395 exit numbers.
| County | Location | mi | km | Old exit | New exit | Destinations | Notes |
| Worcester | Auburn | 0.000 | 0.000 | — | — | I-395 south / US 20 to Route 146 (Route 122A) – Norwich, CT, New London, CT | Continuation south |
| Worcester | Auburn | 0.347 | 0.558 | 7 | 12A | I-90 / Mass Pike / Route 12 north – Boston, Springfield, Auburn | Eastbound exit signed as exit 12 to Route 12 south; westbound exit to Route 12 north; exit 90 on I-90 / Mass Pike |
| Worcester | Auburn | 0.070 | 0.113 | 8 | 12B | Route 12 south – Auburn, Webster | Westbound exit only |
| Worcester | Auburn | 0.930 | 1.497 | 9 | 13 | Swanson Road to Route 12 – Auburn | Eastbound signage |
| Worcester | Auburn | 1.700 | 2.736 | 9 | 13 | Auburn Street to Route 12 – Auburn | Westbound signage |
| Worcester | Worcester | 3.358 | 5.404 | 10 | 14 | Route 12 north (Hope Avenue) | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance |
| Worcester | Worcester | 3.565 | 5.737 | 11 | 15 | College Square / Federal Square / Southbridge Street | Signed for Route 146, Millbury eastbound, and Route 12 South westbound. |
| Worcester | Worcester | 4.611 | 7.421 | 12 | 16 | Route 146 south to I-90 / Mass Pike – Millbury, Providence, RI | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; former configuration had complete access via a rotary |
| Worcester | Worcester | 5.265 | 8.473 | 13 | 17 | Route 122A (Vernon Street) – Kelley Square | Serves Polar Park |
| Worcester | Worcester | 5.638 | 9.073 | 14 | 18 | Route 122 (Grafton Street) – Grafton, Paxton | No westbound entrance |
| Worcester | Worcester | 5.810 | 9.350 | 15 | 19 | Shrewsbury Street | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance |
| Worcester | Worcester | 6.137 | 9.877 | 16 | 20 | MLK Jr. Boulevard – Downtown Worcester | Serves Union Station, Saint Vincent Hospital, DCU Center, and Polar Park |
| Worcester | Worcester | 6.572 | 10.577 | 1718 | 21 | Route 9 (Belmont Street) to Route 70 north – Lincoln Square | Eastbound signage |
| Worcester | Worcester | 6.980 | 11.233 | 1718 | 21 | Route 70 north to Route 9 – Lincoln Square | Westbound signage |
| Worcester | Worcester | 7.377 | 11.872 | 19 | 22 | I-190 north to Route 12 – Sterling, Leominster, Fitchburg | Southern terminus of I-190; eastbound exit is combined with exit 23 |
| Worcester | Worcester | 7.377 | 11.872 | 20 | 23 | Burncoat Street to Route 70 (Lincoln Street) | Eastbound signage; combined exit ramp with exit 22 |
| Worcester | Worcester | 8.421 | 13.552 | 20 | 23 | Route 70 (Lincoln Street), Burncoat St | Westbound signage |
| Worcester | Worcester | 9.641 | 15.516 | 21 | 24 | Plantation Street – Worcester | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance |
| Worcester | Shrewsbury | 10.173 | 16.372 | 22 | 25 | Main Street – Shrewsbury, Worcester | |
| Worcester | Shrewsbury | 12.685 | 20.415 | 23 | 26 | Route 140 – Shrewsbury, Boylston | Signed as exits 26A (south) and 26B (north) |
| Worcester | Northborough | 14.855 | 23.907 | 24 | 27 | Church Street – Northborough, Boylston | |
| Worcester | Northborough | 17.913 | 28.828 | 25A | 30A | Hudson Street – Northborough | |
| Worcester | Northborough | 17.925 | 28.847 | 25B | 30B | Solomon Pond Mall Road – Berlin | To Solomon Pond Mall; exit partially located in Marlborough |
| Middlesex | Marlborough | 20.16 | 32.44 | 26 | 32 | I-495 – Cape Cod, Lowell | Signed as exits 32A (south) and 32B (north); exit 65B on I-495 |
| Middlesex | Marlborough | 20.16 | 32.44 | — | — | To Route 85 – Hudson | Eastern terminus; access via Route 85 Connector |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Electronic toll collection Incomplete access ||||||||

## Gallery

* The I-290 viaduct at Union Station in 1976
* The I-290/Route 146 junction seen under construction as well as downtown Worcester from above looking north
* Orson the bear, the mascot of Polar Beverages, is a prominent landmark visible from I-290 in Worcester