The "road to Nowhere" opens
The second piece of William Callahan's new highway opened from Wakefield to Wellesley on August 23, 1951, and was an instant success.
The new Route 128 in Reading, shortly after the opening
(Courtesy of the Reading Historical Commission)
Anticipating the demand, William Callahan acquired
enough land on either side of Route 128 to expand the highway, something
that was begun in the northern portion (Peabody to Wellesley) even before
the southern portion to Braintree was completed in 1958! (Courtesy of the
Reading Historical Commission)
A rare moment of calm, looking north on Route 128
in Lexington on March 28, 1954 (Courtesy of the Lexington Historical Society)
By 1957 the daily volume on Route 128 was up to 25,000,
with up to 50,000 cars, trucks, buses, and other vehicles squeezing onto
the four lane road during holiday weekends. Accidents, like this
one in Lexington, often occurred as motorists "opened her up" on the new
highway. (Courtesy of the Lexington Historical Society)
When Route 128 was widened many of the short off ramps
(which, like the one here in Lexington at the interchange with Route 4
and 25) were extended to help prevent accidents, like the one above, involving
a Studebaker in 1949, whose driver couldn't quite make the turn at the
exit. (Courtesy of the Lexington Historical Society)
What no one predicted - not even Bill Callahan - was
the tremendous growth that would ensue even before the completion of Route
128. Above, land near the Route 128 / Route 109 interchange is being
prepared for another in a series of industrial parks that were sited alongside
the highway. Building Route 128 has an entire
chapter devoted to the growth around the highway, and how it has affected
the Boston metropolitan region.
(Courtesy Massacusetts Highway Department)