Massachusetts Route 128

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Route 128 Route information Length: 57.5829 mi (92.6707 km) Existed: by 1927 – present Major junctions South end: I-93 / I-95 / US 1 in Canton  

I-90 in Weston Route 2 Lexington US 3 in Burlington I-93 in Reading US 1 in Lynnfield

I-95 in Peabody North end: Route 127A in Gloucester Location Counties: Norfolk, Middlesex, Essex Highway system

Massachusetts State Highway Routes

← Route 127A Route 129 →

Route 128, also known as the Yankee Division Highway (for the 26th Infantry Division), and originally the Circumferential Highway, is a partial beltway around Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is also used to refer to the high-technology industry that developed from the 1960s to the 1980s in the suburban areas along the highway.

The majority of the highway is built to freeway standards, and about 3/5 of it is part of the Interstate Highway System (that stretch has the dual designation 128/Interstate 95).

In local culture, Route 128 is seen as something of a dividing line between the inner municipalities of Greater Boston and the more far-flung suburbs. The road's roughly 10-mile (16 km) radius, for example, also delimits most of the area accessible by the MBTA rapid transit system. Much of the area within Route 128 was developed before World War II, while the area outside it was developed more recently.

Despite a majority of Route 128's length running concurrent with either I-93 or I-95, many area residents refer to the entire length of the highway as Route 128. This includes the portion of I-93 south of Canton, which is no longer 128 at all, and substantial portions of I-95 that are not noticeably signed as 128. The perception of Route 128 running the entire length of highway from Gloucester to Braintree dates back to the road's pre-Interstate era, and has become an established part of local culture.