I-93

About I-93

Also known as Northern Expressway, Southeast Expressway, John F. Fitzgerald Expressway, Central Artery.

From Canton, MA (I-95) to St. Johnsbury, VT (I-91)

Interstate 93 is a route running about 190 miles from the Boston area north through New Hampshire to St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Its southern end is at Interstate 95 in Canton, southwest of Boston, and the highway runs north through the city, where it forms the spine of the rebuilt Central Artery. From the Boston suburbs it continues into New Hampshire through Manchester and Concord, then climbs through the White Mountains to reach Interstate 91 at St. Johnsbury.

Through Boston the route passes underground in a tunnel beneath the downtown and crosses the Charles River on the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge, both products of the Central Artery and Tunnel project known as the Big Dig. North of the city it serves the largest cities of New Hampshire before entering more mountainous terrain.

In the White Mountains the highway narrows to a parkway through Franconia Notch, a constrained two-lane section built to limit the impact on the surrounding state park. Beyond the notch it continues north through northern New Hampshire to its terminus in Vermont, serving as a primary route between Boston and the northern New England interior.

State-by-state mileage

State	Miles
Massachusetts	46.7
New Hampshire	131.4
Vermont	11.1
Total	189.2

History

Interstate 93 was designated in 1957 and built in segments over the following decades through Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The Franconia Notch section was completed as a parkway after long debate over how to carry the Interstate through the protected mountain pass.

The Boston portion was rebuilt through the Central Artery and Tunnel project, completed in the 2000s, which replaced an elevated highway with an underground roadway and new bridges across the Charles River.

Major cities and places

Notable features

• Central Artery tunnel
• Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge
• Franconia Notch Parkway

Did you know

• The southern terminus is at I-95 in Canton, Massachusetts, and the northern terminus is at I-91 in St. Johnsbury, Vermont.
• Through Boston it forms the Central Artery, rebuilt underground during the Big Dig.
• It crosses the Charles River on the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge.
• Through Franconia Notch it narrows to a two-lane parkway to protect the surrounding state park.