Hype for the Future 62AIR: The Airline Road in Maine

Overview

In the State of Maine, Route 9, particularly the section between Bangor to the west and Calais to the east, is often referred to as the “Airline Road,” traditionally representing the shortcut between the two such communities prior to commercial aviation. The “shortcut” analogy was largely determined by United States Route 1, which continues to traverse the area on a similar axis yet remains fully identified as a north-to-south route.

The Town of Aurora is located in Hancock County, Maine, and is home to a scenic turnout and viewpoint related to the “Airline” Road. Outside of the Aurora area, however, not much else is identified as place(s) of interest throughout the entirety of the region.

Hype for the Future 54T: Massachusetts State Route 9 in Detail

Within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, State Route 9 refers to a major state highway associated with the corridor between Pittsfield to the west and Boston to the east. At the western terminus of Route 9 is the intersection for which United States Route 7 exists north and south and United States Route 20 exists west and south. While United States Route 20 is directed in a southerly direction, Route 9 is headed more directly eastward, with particular locations beyond Pittsfield including Dalton, Windsor, Cummington, Goshen, and Williamsburg in the rural areas between the Berkshires to the west and Pioneer Valley to the east. The next major community is the City of Northampton, home to Smith College and traditionally serving as the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts. After crossing the Connecticut River, the Town of Hadley is the next accessible community, with Mount Holyoke College located in the nearby town of South Hadley accessible via Route 47. Following the rural fringe community of Hadley, Massachusetts, is the City of Amherst, which officially prefers to be referred to as the “Town of Amherst” and is a community of three colleges: Amherst, Hampshire, and UMass Amherst. Though the campus of Amherst College is associated with Route 9, the highway actually serves the role of the northern campus boundary of the college. Belchertown and Ware are the next communities and the last within Hampshire County, with the highway routed along the southern edge of the Quabbin Reservoir effectively separating the Pioneer Valley and Worcester regions of the Commonwealth from one another.

Now in Worcester County, Route 9 is notable for serving the Central Massachusetts communities of West Brookfield, Brookfield, Spencer, and Leicester prior to reaching the Worcester city limits. Beyond Worcester, the state highway continues to serve the communities of Shrewsbury, southern Northborough, northern Westborough, Southborough, Framingham, (North) Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline, and finally, Boston.

Hype for the Future 54O: Route 10 in New England

The most significant of the Routes 10 in New England is perhaps the combined Route 10 of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, covering the communities from the New Haven area to the west side of Hartford followed by the central Pioneer Valley largely overlapping United States Route 5 north of Northampton. Further north is Northfield, Massachusetts, followed by access to Pulpit Falls near the tripoint of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Though Route 10 is not immediately along the Connecticut River in the Mount Monadnock region of the State of New Hampshire, the highway eventually meets Interstate 89, forming a concurrency that ultimately ends in the City of Lebanon, along the Connecticut River with United States Route 5 and Interstate 91 on the opposite (Hartford, Vermont) side.

Hype for the Future 54H: Route 8 of New England

Introduction

Within the westernmost part of New England and within fair proximity to Route 7 is Route 8, a north-to-south state highway that services the western parts of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and southern Vermont. Though commonly associated with Route 7, especially because of the strong connections between such communities as North Adams and Williamstown in the northern Berkshires of Massachusetts, the entirety of Route 8 is identified as physically further east than Route 7, regardless of the physical locations on either route.

Hype for the Future 53N: Vermont State Route 105

Located in the extreme northern portion of the State of Vermont, Route 105 functions as a major route, predominantly on two lanes, between the communities of the City of St. Albans along United States Route 7 in the west and the Town of Stratford, New Hampshire, along United States Route 3. While much of the route is only fairly north within the State of Vermont, the geographic specialty of the highway is to serve the areas in Vermont located modestly north of United States Route 2.

Perhaps the most notable exception to the general rule of State Route 105 serving the area modestly north in the State of Vermont is within the areas around Jay, Derby, and Richford, in which the state highway is extremely close to Québec, Canada, the Canadian province opposite the 45th parallel north.

Hype for the Future 16B: The Southwick Jog

The Southwick Jog shall not be treated as a tourist destination but as a place that the community may pass through, particularly along local travel routes involving US 202 and lesser routes. US Route 202 is located within the Northeastern United States, from Wilmington, Delaware, to near Portland, Maine; the highway serves both the Springfield and the Holyoke regions prior to continuing toward Winchendon in Worcester County and toward New Hampshire to the north. To the south is the Greater Hartford region of Connecticut, but the highway continues in the southwestward direction toward Danbury and the New York state line (as the only highway link between Connecticut and New Jersey that avoids the City of New York entirely).