NEW ENGLAND INTERSTATE ROUTE 12

(Redirected from Route 12 (New England))

'Route 12' is a multi-state north-south state highway in the New England region of the United States, running from Groton, Connecticut through Worcester, Massachusetts and Keene, New Hampshire, to Morrisville, Vermont. Its number dates from 1922, when it was a New England Interstate Route, also known as the 'Keene Way'.

Contents

Route description

Connecticut

Massachusetts

New Hampshire

Vermont

History

See also

References

Route description

Connecticut

The section of Route 12 from Groton to Norwich is a primary route, serving the Naval Submarine Base New London and is known as 'U.S. Submarine Veterans Memorial Highway'. North of Norwich, Route 12 is a minor road closely paralleling Interstate 395. Route 12 goes through the following towns in Connecticut: Groton, Ledyard, Preston, Norwich, Lisbon, Griswold, Canterbury (0.14 miles only), Plainfield, Killingly, Putnam, and Thompson.

Town	Milepost	Junction	Notes
Groton	0.0	US 1	Single interchange
	0.1	I-95
	0.2	Route 184
Ledyard	6.9	Route 214
Preston	9.1-9.4	Route 2A
Norwich	12.1-12.4	Route 2
	15.2	Route 97
Lisbon	19.6	I-395
	20.4	Route 138	Begin overlap
Griswold	20.8	Route 138	End overlap
	21.0	Route 201
Plainfield	27.5-27.9	Route 14A
	30.3-30.6	Route 14
	32.1	Route 205
Killingly	36.2-36.5	US 6
	39.5	Route 101
	42.0	Route 21
Putnam	45.6-46.2	US 44
Thompson	48.2	Route 193
	48.9	I-395
	49.9	Route 200
	52.0	Route 131

Massachusetts

Route 12 goes through the central Massachusetts towns of Dudley, Webster, Oxford, Auburn, Worcester, West Boylston, Sterling, Leominster, Fitchburg, Westminster, Ashburnham, and Winchendon.
Route 12 has a junction with Interstate 90 (the Massachusetts Turnpike) at an interchange in Auburn that also includes Interstates 290 and 395 and US 20. Route 12 has an interchange with I-290 in Worcester, and three interchanges with I-190, in Worcester, West Boylston, and Sterling. Route 12 is a minor road in Massachusetts, having been replaced by I-395 from the Connecticut state line to Auburn, I-290 from Auburn to Worcester, and I-190 from Worcester to Leominster.

Town	Milepost	Junction	Notes
Dudley		Route 197
Webster		Route 16/ Route 193
Oxford		Route 56
Auburn		US-20
		I-395/I-290/I-90	I-395 / I-290 exit 7, I-90 exit 10
Worcester		Route 9
		Route 122
		Route 122A
		I-190	I-190 exit 1
West Boylston		I-190	I-190 exit 4
		Route 140
		Route 110
Sterling		Route 62
		I-190	I-190 exit 6
Leominster		Route 117
		Route 13
		Route 2
Fitchburg		Route 2A
		Route 31
Ashburnham		Route 101
Winchendon		Route 140
		US-202

New Hampshire

'New Hampshire Route 12' begins at the Massachusetts state line in Fitzwilliam. It goes through Keene, then travels along the east bank of the Connecticut River until Claremont. From there, it crosses the Connecticut River into Vermont.
{|class=wikitable
!Town
!Milepost
!Junction
!Notes
|-
|Fitzwilliam
|5.5
| NH 119
|-
|rowspan=6|Keene
|17.0
| NH 32
|-
|17.9
| NH 101 East
|Begin overlap with NH 101
|-
|18.7
| NH 10 South
|-
| 
| NH 9 West
|End overlap with NH 101 (western terminus of NH 101)
|-
|20.6
| NH 9 East / NH 10 North
|Grade-separated
|-
|22.0
| NH 12A
|Southern segment (southern terminus)
|-
|Westmoreland
|30.3
| NH 63
|-
|rowspan=3|Walpole
|36.0
| NH 123 West to US 5
|Begin overlap
|-
|38.8
| NH 123 East
|End overlap
|-
|40.4
|To U.S. Route 5
|-
|rowspan=3|Charlestown
|43.7
| NH 12A
|Southern segment (northern terminus}
|-
|48.4
| NH 11 West
|Begin overlap with NH 11
|-
| 
| NH 12A
|Northern segment (southern terminus)
|-
|rowspan=2|Claremont
| 
| NH 11 East / NH 103 East
|End overlap with NH 11
Begin overlap with NH 103
|-
|62.1
| NH 12A
|Old Route 12 continues north on NH 12A
End overlap with NH 103 (western terminus of NH 103)
|}

Vermont

'Vermont Route 12' begins at the New Hampshire state line in the town of Weathersfield. It continues north along the west bank of the Connecticut River, overlapped with U.S. Route 5, until Hartland. It then heads northwest to Woodstock and then north through Montpelier, Vermont to end at Vermont Route 100 in Morrisville. Vermont Route 12 runs parallel to Interstate 89 from the Woodstock/Hartford vicinity to Montpelier.

History

The southern terminus of Route 12 was originally at New London, Connecticut. It travelled along present day Route 32 (along the west bank of the Thames River) from New London to Norwich, Connecticut. In 1932, when Connecticut decommissioned its New England Routes, Route 12 swapped places with Route 32 south of Norwich. From Norwich, Connecticut to Claremont, New Hampshire, Route 12 still follows its 1920s alignment.
Another alignment change occurred between Claremont, New Hampshire and Taftsville, Vermont in the late 1930s to early 1940s. The original route ran along the east bank of the Connecticut River in New Hampshire instead of along the west bank in Vermont. The original route used what is now New Hampshire Route 12A from Claremont to Lebanon, New Hampshire. It crossed the Connecticut River into White River Junction, Vermont along present-day U.S. Route 4, continuing west along U.S. Route 4 up to Taftsville, where it meets Vermont Route 12. From Taftsville to Montpelier, Vermont, the original route remains unchanged.
The original northern terminus was at Derby, Vermont. In the 1960s, the route was truncated and the northern terminus was moved to its present location at Morrisville, Vermont. The original route ran along what is now Vermont Route 14 from Montpelier to Hardwick, Vermont Route 16 from Hardwick to Barton, and U.S. Route 5 from Barton to Derby.

See also

★ Vermont Route 12A - Formerly New England Route 12A

★ Vermont Route 14 - The northernmost section used to be New England Route 12B

★ New Hampshire Route 12A

References

1. Connecticut State Numbered Routes and Roads as of December 31, 2004 (PDF)
2. Executive Office of Transportation, Office of Transportation Planning - 2005 Road Inventory
3. New Hampshire DOT Route Logs
4. VTrans Traffic Log