Route 140 (Massachusetts)

Route 140
Alfred M. Bessette Memorial Highway
Map of Massachusetts with Route 140 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MassDOT
Length:	107.76 mi (173.42 km)
Major junctions
South end:	US 6 in New Bedford
	I‑195 in New Bedford Route 24 in Taunton US 44 in Taunton I‑495 in Mansfield and Franklin I‑95 in Foxborough Route 9 in Shrewsbury US 20 in Shrewsbury I‑290 in Shrewsbury I‑190 in Sterling Route 2 in Westminster
North end:	Route 12 in Winchendon
Location
Counties:	Bristol, Plymouth, Norfolk, Worcester
Highway system
Massachusetts State Highway System Interstate US State ← Route 139 Route 141 → ← Route 63 Route 66 →

Route 140 is a 107.8-mile (173.5 km) long state highway which passes through parts of southeastern and central Massachusetts. The highway follows a southeast-northwest trajectory, running from U.S. Route 6 in New Bedford just north of Buzzards Bay northwest to an intersection with Route 12 in Winchendon, a few miles south of the border with New Hampshire.

The southern 19 miles (30 km) of Route 140 between New Bedford and Taunton is a freeway known as the Alfred M. Bessette Memorial Highway, or more commonly, the Taunton-New Bedford Expressway.

The section of modern Route 140 from West Boylston to Gardner was numbered Route 64 when it was first commissioned by 1933. By 1939, the entirety of the route was redesignated as Route 140, effectively extending existing Route 140 northwest, which had previously ended in Grafton.

In 1947, the Massachusetts Department of Public Works announced plans for a "Relocated Route 140", one of the first steps as part of its statewide expressway program. Between 1955-1970 the current route was widened and straightened, while the section south of Taunton, which runs to New Bedford, was built as an expressway. The New Bedford Expressway was to serve as a spur from the Fall River Expressway, connecting to points in the Boston metropolitan area. The creation of this spur was considered a key component of revitalizing the old port city of New Bedford.