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Boston Major Streets and Roadways

The streets of Boston were not initially planned. The streets, highways and the freeways in the city seem haphazard, making it difficult for visitors to navigate. According to some folklore, the streets of Boston were laid out by wild cows and bulls who wandered throughout the city aimlessly. However the reason for the random arrangement of the streets was the lack of urban planning and the topography of the city. The rapid expansion of the city from a small village gave no time for city planners to set up a plan for the city. Recently, some streets in the city of Boston have been remodeled to make the city easier to navigate. 

Certain highways have become the backbone of the city such as the East Boston Expressway. The proposal for the city highway was laid down in 1948 and the plan was to have a highway that will link the Logan International Airport with downtown Boston to reduce the tension on the city’s roads. The route was finished in 1951 and today it is said to carry around 50,000 vehicles every 24 hours. 

Another important highway in the city is Fall River Expressway which is also known as the Amvets Highway. Work started on the highway in 1950 and was opened to traffic in just two years. These two highways are just parts of the network of highways and expressways in the city. For a city that is as large as Boston, constant maintenance of the roads is not just important, it is necessary, especially so as to ease the flow of people and goods into, within and out of the city.

Major Freeways, Highways, and Streets

  • I-95 - Circles around the W side of the city
  • I-93 - Cuts through the center of the city from N to S
  • I-90 - Branches from center of the city to the W
  • 1 - Ties I-93 to I-95
  • 138 - Branches from I-93 to S
  • 3 - Branches to NW from I-95
  • 24 - Branches from I-93 to S