Interstate 291 (Massachusetts)

I-291 begins as a spur of I-91 at exit 6 in Springfield, concurrent with US 20, which merges from the north. The two entry ramps from I-91 merge with each other after exits 2A and 2B, where a sign for the beginning of I-291 east is posted. I-291 and US 20 run eastbound concurrently until exit 5A (US 20 joins westbound at exit 5), where US 20 east leaves the highway for a junction with Route 20A. I-291 continues east into Chicopee, where it intersects the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90). I-291 ends at an odd intersection at a stoplight on Burnett Road, but I-291 east traffic can exit uninterrupted by way of a ramp to the turnpike. However, drivers coming from the turnpike must deal with this traffic light, as a left turn across the intersection is required to get on I-291 west.

I-291 eastbound

The westbound interchange with I-91 is unusual in that the ramps for exits 1A and 1B split before the ramps for exits 2A and 2B do. Traffic bound for exit 2A (Chestnut Street) must first take the ramp for exit 1A (I-91 south), and traffic bound for exit 2B (Dwight Street) must first take the ramp for exit 1B (I-91 north).

Traffic bound for US 20 west from I-291 takes exit 1B. US 20 does not actually join with I-91, but rather this exit splits, left for the onramp to I-91 north, the right to continue on the US 20 access ramp.

I-291 was originally conceived in 1953, prior to the creation of the Interstate Highway System, as the Springfield Expressway, which would bypass US 20 and connect to the US 5 expressway (now I-91) and the proposed Massachusetts Turnpike. I-291 follows the original planned alignment of the expressway, except for the stretch between exit 4 (St. James Avenue) and exit 5 (US 20/Route 20A/Page Boulevard). The original planned alignment had the route turn in almost a perfect 90-degree angle onto Roosevelt Avenue, but industrial development (including the relocation of Smith & Wesson's corporate headquarters) had the highway turn more gently. The first section of the expressway that was built was the bridge over the Chicopee River.[3] The first section of the expressway that opened was from US 20/Route 20A to I-90 (Massachusetts Turnpike) in 1957; work on the freeway started up again in 1967, and the entire highway was completed in 1971.[2] The construction delay was due to I-91 having priority through western Massachusetts.

All interchanges were to be renumbered to mileage-based numbers under a project scheduled to start in 2016.[4] However, this project was indefinitely postponed. On November 18, 2019, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation announced that I-291's exit numbers would not be changed[4][5] because its exits were so tightly spaced.[6]

The entire route is in Hampden County. [7]

Location[7]	mi[7]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Springfield	0.000	0.000	1A	I-91 south – Hartford, CT	Exit 6 on I-91; tri-stack interchange.
	0.463	0.745	1B	I-91 north / US 20 west – West Springfield	Exit 6 on I-91; western end of concurrency with US 20
	0.589	0.948	2A	Chestnut Street	Signed as Exit 2 eastbound; shares ramp with Exit 1A westbound; no access from I-91 north
	0.463	0.745	2B	Dwight Street	Shares ramp with Exit 1B westbound; no access from I-91 south
	1.340	2.157	3	Armory Street
	2.410	3.879	4	St. James Avenue – Chicopee Falls
	4.046	6.511	5A	US 20 east – Indian Orchard	Signed as exit 5 southbound; Eastern end of concurrency with US 20
	4.057	6.529	5B	Route 20A west – East Springfield	Southbound exit is combined with Exit 5
Chicopee	5.027	8.090	6	Fuller Road – Ludlow, Chicopee Falls
	5.218	8.398	7	I-90 Toll (Mass Pike) – Boston, Albany, NY	Exit 51 on I-90
	5.52	8.88	–	Burnett Road north
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access        Tolled

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Interstate 291 (Massachusetts).

• I-291 Historical Overview from bostonroads.com
• I-291 - kurumi.com
• I-291 - Roads and Highways of the Pioneer Valley and Western Massachusetts
• I-291 Exit Numbers List