Morrissey, an MDC (now DCR)-maintained road, parallels I-93 between Exits 12 and 15. To the south, it dovetails with the ends of MA 3A and MA 203, while to the north it connects to Day Boulevard; in between, it crosses I-93 twice for a total of two direct interchanges and one in close proximity. It makes sense to extend MA 3A up Morrissey to Columbia Road to I-93/MA 3/US 1 rather than end it at Exit 12 and MA 203, but oh well.


First northbound signs on Morrissey; the signs to MA 203 are a U-turn back to where MA 3A, MA 203, and Morrissey all end, since MA 3A NB can't turn onto MA 203 WB directly.


This faces SB Morrissey traffic approaching the end of the Boulevard. Note that US 1 isn't signed anywhere around here, though it's up there with the other two routes, because signs predate 1990 (when US 1 was signed onto freeways through Boston).


This has to date to when Morrissey Blvd. was first constructed. It just has to - there is neon tubing in the sign. Click for closeup, where you can see that in the middle of "SIGNALS" and "AHEAD" it says "RED GREEN", with obvious tubing behind the letters. Unfortunately, this relic is nonfunctional, but I would love to see it in operation, especially if as I suspect the "RED" lights up red and the "GREEN" lights up, well, snozzberries. (10 points if you caught the reference, 5 points if you at least know what color "GREEN" would light up.)


SB approaching an old rail bridge now in use by the Braintree branch of the Red Line subway. The NB lanes have a newer bridge, since clearly Morrissey was patched through the old bridge over existing roads.


NB, first the truck hitting the falling weight (my favorite low clearance sign), and then an old MDC left turn warning.


SB just south of the northern terminus; the left roadway is coming from the upper rotary with Columbia Road, while the right roadway is coming from the T station and Day Blvd.


Nearly at the end of Morrissey, which splits in half. The Day Boulevard exit goes to an intersection where traffic can then be distributed into Roxbury or South Boston, and can access the JFK/UMass T station. The mainline goes up to this rotary, several feet above the Day Blvd. intersection but not on top of it, where Morrissey ends and it's possible to access I-93 via Columbia Road.


Signage at the rotary, where there is in fact another exit to Day Boulevard (for traffic that wasn't on Morrissey already). Why do these point to MA 3? When these signs were erected, it was obviously before 1990 (since shields replaced numbers by then), so US 1 was not on the JFK Expressway. If it was much before 1980, which is probable, then I-93 had not yet been extended this far. MA 3 was supposed to end at I-95 where I-93 Exit 16 (Melnea Cass Blvd.) now lies, and I-93 began out of nothing north of Boston until I-95 was killed. As an interesting side note, if one proceeds west on Columbia Road to "3", all the new LGS's at that interchange point only to I-93 and US 1. Click the first photo for clearer, closer versions of the LGS's at left (after the STATE POLICE sign has been removed).


More rotary signage, this facing traffic just after the Columbia Rd. EB entrance.

Onto I-93
Onto MA 3A
Onto MA 203
To MA 3
Into Boston
Back to Massachusetts Roads
Back to Roads