If you’ve memorized enough of Interstate 91 or Route 2 to know which highway exit you need to take based on its number, that institutional knowledge will do you no good after the next four weeks or so.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is renumbering highway exits statewide, having completed Interstate 91 in the past few days. According to the Orange Fire Department’s Facebook page, work on Route 2 from West Orange to Arlington has begun and is expected to last four weeks, with crews working from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.
The state anticipates minimal impacts to traffic during construction, and MassDOT will use portable changeable message signs with electronic displays to inform drivers of the pending changes.
MassDOT spokesperson Judith Reardon Riley said states are statutorily required to adopt the Federal Highway Administration’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. The one in 2009 mandated that all states establish a mile-based exit numbering system. Reardon Riley said Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Delaware are the only states not in compliance with this requirement. Non-compliance could result in the withdrawal of federal aid.
Reardon Riley said MassDOT has committed to the Federal Highway Administration to comply with mileage-based exits by January 2022.
The exit signs are not being replaced as part of this project — MassDOT is installing overlays over the numbers on the existing signs. Reardon Riley noted that “Old Exit #” signs will be installed and remain at the 1-mile advance sign and at each exit for at least two years. An interactive map of the old and new exit numbers can be found at newmassexits.com.
According to MassDOT, the new system will offer driver-friendly navigation by allowing motorists to quickly determine distances to destinations and to more easily calculate miles traveled. The change will also ensure more accurate responses by emergency vehicles.
The project is estimated to cost $2.8 million, and will be paid for with federal Highway Safety Improvement Program money. According to MassDOT, 90 percent will be funded through federal allocations and the remaining 10 percent will be funded through state highway funds.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.