Route 146 is a north-south state highway in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). Spanning approximately along a south–north axis, it is a continuation of Rhode Island Route 146, which splits from I-95 in Providence. The southern terminus within Massachusetts exists in Millville, where it enters the state from North Smithfield, Rhode Island. Among several local roads, Route 146 intersects with the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90) in Millbury and I-290 in Worcester before arriving at its northern terminus at the intersection of several surface streets in downtown Worcester. Most of the route is a freeway, except for a short section near the boundary between Millbury and Sutton where there is driveway access and at-grade crossings.
History
During the late 1940s, the then-Massachusetts Department of Public Works (MassDPW, now MassDOT) planned an extension of Route 146 from Rhode Island north toward Worcester. MA 146 was built between 1949 and 1952 as a four-lane divided roadway from US 20 in Millbury to Boston Road in Sutton, and from Sutton south to the Massachusetts-Rhode Island border. Route 146 was built as a three-lane undivided roadway, providing one lane in each direction and a shared lane in the center.
In 1981, the MassDPW began work on rebuilding Route 146. During the next three years, the state rebuilt the section from just south of Boston Road in Sutton to the Massachusetts-Rhode Island border, replacing the three-lane undivided section with a four-lane freeway and eliminating all at-grade intersections and curb cuts.
The project upgrading the section linking Exit 94 on the Massachusetts Turnpike north into downtown Worcester at Brosnihan Square to Interstate Highway standards was completed in November 2007 according to MassHighway. The improvements to the road created an economic boon to the Blackstone Valley through which it passes. The improved transportation corridor has attracted several large employers since the road was upgraded. As of 2015, the road was widened and a major intersection was improved to fix traffic flow problems.
Future
Exits traditionally were not numbered, but sequential numbers were assigned by MassHighway during the last sign replacement project. 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, the MassDOT confirmed that beginning in late summer 2020 the exit renumbering project will begin. On March 12, 2021, MassDOT announced that the highway's exits will be renumbered starting on March 17.