 U.S. Route 20 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US 20 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by MassDOT | ||||
| Length | 153.44 mi[1] (246.94 km) | |||
| Existed | 1926[citation needed]–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  US 20 at the New York state line | |||
| ||||
| East end |  Route 2 in Boston | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Massachusetts | |||
| Counties | Berkshire, Hampshire, Hampden, Worcester, Middlesex, Suffolk | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
| ||||
U.S. Route 20 (US 20) runs its easternmost 153 miles (246 km) in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The highway crosses the state border from New Lebanon, New York, into Hancock and runs eastward to Boston, where it ends at Route 2 in Kenmore Square. It spends the vast majority of its journey paralleling I-90 (Massachusetts Turnpike), which has largely superseded US 20 for through travel. Still, US 20 directly serves many towns and local business areas which the turnpike bypasses.[2]
US 20 is currently the longest numbered highway in the entire country, at an estimated length of 3,365 miles (5,415 km) between Boston and Newport, Oregon.[1]
Parts of US 20 between the Worcester and Boston areas are part of an alignment of the Boston Post Road, an early colonial highway designated in 1673 for carrying mail between New York City and Boston.[3] US 20 is still locally known as the "Boston Post Road" in the towns of Northborough, Marlborough, Sudbury, Wayland, and Weston.[4]
- ^ a b Executive Office of Transportation, Office of Transportation Planning - 2007 Road Inventory Archived September 27, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Vincent, Dan (2005). "US 20". homepage.mac.com. Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
- ^ S.H. Holbrook, The Old Post Road: The Story of the Boston Post Road, (McGraw-Hill, 1962)
- ^ "U.S. Route 20 in Massachusetts" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved June 8, 2009.