Massachusetts Route 146

Route 146
Map of Worcester County in central Massachusetts with Route 146 highlighted in red
Route information
Length:	20.9901 mi (33.7803 km)
Major junctions
South end:	Route 146 in North Smithfield, RI
	Route 146A / Route 16 in Uxbridge Route 122A in Millbury / Worcester I‑90 / Mass Pike / US 20 in Millbury I‑290 in Worcester
North end:	Quinsigamond Ave. / Cambridge St. / Millbury St. in Worcester
Location
Counties:	Worcester
Highway system
Massachusetts State Highway System Interstate US State ← Route 145 Route 147 →

Route 146 is a high-speed road, mostly freeway, linking Rhode Island Route 146 (the North Smithfield Expressway towards Providence, Rhode Island) to I-290 in Worcester, Massachusetts. South of the interchange with Route 122A, Route 146 is known as the Worcester-Providence Turnpike.

During the late 1940s, the Massachusetts Department of Public Works (MassDPW) planned an extension of Route 146 from Rhode Island north toward Worcester. MA 146 was built between 1949 and 1952 as a four-lane divided roadway from US 20 in Millbury to Boston Road in Sutton and from Sutton south to the Massachusetts-Rhode Island border, Route 146 was built as a three-lane undivided roadway, providing one lane in each direction and a shared lane in the center.

In 1981 the MassDPW began work on rebuilding Route 146. During the next three years, the state rebuilt the 13.1-mile-long section from just south of Boston Road in Sutton to the Massachusetts-Rhode Island border, replacing the three-lane undivided section with a four-lane freeway and eliminating all at-grade intersections and curb cuts.

The project upgrading the section linking Exit 10A on the Massachusetts Turnpike north into downtown Worcester at Brosnihan Square to Interstate Highway standards was completed in November 2007 according to the State Highway Administration. The improvements to the road created an economic boon to the Blackstone Valley through which it passes. The improved transportation corridor has attracted several large employers since the road was upgraded. As of 2015, there still remains a non-freeway section of 146 in the Sutton-Millbury area, though the road was widened and a major intersection was improved to fix traffic flow problems.