Interstate 84 in Massachusetts is the easternmost segment of the eastern I-84 highway originating in Dunmore, Pennsylvania,. Within Massachusetts, I-84 exists in the towns of Holland and Sturbridge. Known as the Wilbur Cross Highway, it has also been signed as Massachusetts Route 15 between 1948 and 1980 as well as Interstate 86 between 1971 and 1984.
History
Origins
The highway originated as Route 15, an extension of Connecticut Route 15. The extension started in Holland, and within, it entered Sturbridge as Mashapaug Road. It then followed Haynes Road to Sturbridge Center ending at Route 131.
Between 1949 and 1952, the Massachusetts Department of Public Works initiated construction of the Wilbur Cross Highway extension to 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 co-signed with Route 15 north and east of East Hartford, Connecticut, into Massachusetts. In late 1968, the Federal Highway Administration approved a new Interstate connection from Hartford to Providence, 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 was redesignated I-86. Shortly thereafter, MassDPW embarked on a reconstruction of its portion of the highway with new and reconstructed carriageways providing three 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 reconstruction project was completed in 1973. On October 1, 1980, the Connecticut Department of Transportation decided to truncate Route 15 back to I-84 exit 57, 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 cancelled 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
MassDOT planned to convert I-84, along with the rest of the state's interstates, into the usage of 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.
