An unused highway may reference a highway or highway ramp that was partially or fully constructed but was unused or later closed. An unused ramp can be referred to as a stub ramp, stub street, stub-out, or simply stub. The following is a list:
A number of cloverleaf interchanges in the Boston area have a missing arm and overly wide bridges, reflecting an unbuilt highway. Many of these were imposed as a result of the moratorium on highways inside Route 128 imposed after the Boston Transportation Planning Review.
Cancellation of Interstate 695 (The Inner Belt) resulted in two incomplete Y interchanges in the downtown area. At the planned northern terminus interchange, four ramp stubs existed; two can still be seen today while the other two were converted into the Leverett Circle Connector. [19] View before the Big Dig. The other was at exit 20 (proposed exit 15), which serves Massachusetts Avenue, Roxbury, and Andrew Square. [20] The interchange has been completed and stubs removed since the Big Dig was completed. 1965 MassDPW map
Another Y interchange was for U.S. 1 north of the Charles River crossing. Stubs were created when U.S. 1 was tunneled under the center of Charlestown. That set of ramp stubs disappeared when the Big Dig was completed and the old, elevated highway torn down, though a few can still be seen on Google maps. [21] Prior to the Big Dig.
At the junction of Interstate 95/Route 128 and U.S. Route 3, U.S. 3 south of the junction was cancelled in 1971. The cloverleaf has since been converted into a somewhat awkward trumpet interchange, but grading for the cloverleaf is still clearly visible. 1965 MassDPW map [22]
Interstate 95 was cancelled north of what is now the I-95/Route 128 and Interstate 93 junction. This cloverleaf has also been converted into a trumpet interchange, but grading for the cloverleaf and collector-distributor lane are still clearly visible. An extra bridge for a flyover from I-95 south to Route 128 south was also visible until mid-2008, when it was taken down. Portions of the roadway to the north, proposed as the Southwest Expressway, are paved and somewhat overgrown and can be traversed by foot today. 1965 MassDPW map [23] Much of the northeastern end of the Southwest Expressway's intended right-of-way became the new routing for the southern end of the MBTA Orange Line in the late 1980s, at the time of the 1987 retirement and demolition of the Washington Street Elevated tracks that the Orange Line formerly ran on.
Interstate 95 was to go through Boston and planned to split from U.S. 1 at what is now the junction of U.S. 1 and Route 60. Ramps for the unbuilt portion of I-95 remain visible, and a graded embankment extends to the Saugus River. [24]
The Sullivan Square overpass was recently dismantled, leaving a stub approach on Route 99. [25]
An old section of what was, at the time, Route 128 (now Interstate 93 after renumbering) sits in the Blue Hill Reservation as a walking trail. It is split into three parts by I-93, with the 1.25 mile section starting in Milton sometimes called Blue Hill River Road but is called Old Route 128 on the Blue Hills Trail Map north of the highway, a 0.3 mile section in between the north and southbound lanes (this section is closed to the public), and a 0.5 mile section south of I-93 terminating on West Street in Braintree.[26]
Route 57 ends abruptly at Route 187, with a stub continuation in the median. This is planned for further extension as a Southwick bypass as traffic may warrant. [27]
Both of the proposed alignments for now-cancelled Interstate 895 planned to connect at the Interstate 295 and Interstate 95 interchange. Stubs exit on the mainline of I-295 just east of the interchange. The Massachusetts Highway Department plans to construct the "Attleboro Connector" from this interchange, which is to be a divided highway spur into the city. [28]
Route 240 ends abruptly at Interstate 195 with an awkward cloverleaf-style design. From the air, the northern half has a cloverleaf-style interchange on the western half while the eastern half lacks any interchange. The southern half has a trumpet-style interchange. The bridge over 195 contains two lanes in each direction and the western lane over the bridge has a stub that ends shortly past the overpass. [29]
At the junction of Interstate 495 and Interstate 290, the bridges over I-495 are wider than needed for the two-lane freeway connector into Hudson [30], as there were once plans to extend I-290 all the way to Route 128. There is also visible grading for a cloverleaf loop from I-290 east to I-495 north, which was abandoned in the early 1980s due to its sharp angle, as well as the cancellation of the I-290 extension. This was replaced by a flyover, due to a large number of truck rollovers on the ramp. 1968 MassDPW map [31]
An old version of what became I-95 still exists running nearly a mile somewhat parallel (varying 150–350 feet east) between the Hale Street overpass and Storey Avenue (exit 57). The abandoned stretch was used for road surface marking practice and experimentation prior to the 1990s, but has since become too overgrown with weeds. [32]
The western end of the Interstate 90/Massachusetts Turnpike has ramp stubs where it once curved at the border to end at Route 102 because New York had not completed their section of I-90 through to the Massachusetts state line. [33]
