Berkshire and Franklin counties Route 2 proceeds east from the New York state line on a winding, scenic path in
Berkshire County through
Williamstown, where it serves the
Williams College area, and through
North Adams, where it serves the
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. East of North Adams, Route 2 ascends via a
hairpin turn into the
Hoosac Range along what is known as the
Mohawk Trail. Route 2 then enters
Franklin County, meeting
Interstate 91 at an
interchange in
Greenfield and briefly runs concurrently with I-91. While the old Route 2 becomes
Route 2A and goes through downtown Greenfield, Route 2 joins I-91 in a short concurrency before leaving it and becoming a
two-lane freeway. Outside Greenfield, Route 2A temporarily ends and merges with Route 2, and Route 2’s freeway section ends. Route 2 remains a two-lane surface road in
Gill, crossing the
Connecticut River into
Millers Falls, where it has an interchange with
Route 63.
Orange–Cambridge As the route approaches
Orange, Route 2A resumes and diverges from Route 2. At this point, Route 2 again becomes a
two-lane freeway. In Orange, Route 2 runs concurrently with
U.S. Route 202. The road at this point enters the town of
Athol in
Worcester County. After its eastern interchange in
Phillipston when US-202 departs to the north, Route 2 becomes a four-lane
freeway, though not to Interstate standards at most points. It continues through
Gardner into
Fitchburg where Route 2 has several at-grade intersections with Oak Hill Rd, Palmer Rd, Mt. Elam Rd and Abbott Ave. At the intersection with Mt. Elam Rd, a traffic light remains in use on the eastbound side. Continuing east into
Leominster,
Interstate 190 splits off, heading south to
Worcester. Route 2 continues east to
Middlesex County and enters Boston's outer loop at the interchange with
Interstate 495 in
Littleton. It continues into
Acton, where Route 2 reduces its speed to 45 miles per hour, and becomes a four-lane
expressway with at-grade intersections. At the
Concord Rotary, a major traffic choke point, Route 2 becomes a four-lane surface road and intersects with Route 2A and the eastern terminus of
Route 119 (which is concurrent with Route 2A). After the rotary, the road passes by the State Police (who have an emergency-only traffic light) and over the
Assabet River. Route 2A formerly broke away from Route 2 at the next traffic light to go left into Concord but is now overlaid with Route 2, where it becomes a four-lane expressway again. At Crosby's Corner, the sixth intersection after the rotary, Route 2A exits under the highway while Route 2 veers right (but still heads east). After a signalized at-grade intersection with Bedford Road in
Lincoln, the highway becomes a four-lane
arterial road.. Route 2 enters
Lexington and heads to
Boston's inner belt, and as it crosses
Interstate 95/
Route 128, it becomes a six-lane
freeway with a speed limit of 55 miles per hour. In
Belmont, Route 2 remains a six-lane freeway, and then becomes an eight-lane freeway at Exit 132 in
Arlington, where
U.S. Route 3 would have joined it from the north. At Exit 135, the freeway narrows in width to six lanes. The section of freeway from Route 128 to the Cambridge line meets the standards of an interstate highway. The highway enters
Cambridge, the highway reduces its speed limit back to 45 miles per hour and becomes a five-lane freeway (three lanes heading east, two lanes heading west), with a strip of residential and transit-oriented development on its eastbound side, including an off-ramp that serves the
MBTA Alewife Station,
Cambridge Discovery Park and development to the south and west of the station. After the Alewife exit, the highway narrows again to four lanes.
Cambridge and Boston The highway then meets a large at-grade intersection with Routes 3 and 16, where Route 2 east merges with U.S. Route 3 south and
Route 16 and continues as a four-lane, 35 mile per hour
arterial road — managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation — for the rest of its time in Cambridge. Route 2 follows
Alewife Brook Parkway and
Fresh Pond Parkway along its
wrong way concurrency with Routes 3 and 16, before Route 16 heads west into
Watertown. Route 2 and Route 3 concurrently start paralleling the
Charles River as
Memorial Drive, passing by
Harvard University’s campus. It then heads southward on the
Boston University Bridge into Boston proper, as it separates from Route 3. It winds through the
Boston University campus as Mountfort Street and crosses over both the
Massachusetts Turnpike and
Commonwealth Avenue before heading due east towards Kenmore Square, while running parallel to
U.S. Route 20. Immediately east of the Boston University campus, it crosses into
Kenmore Square, which is also the eastern terminus of U.S. Route 20. From Kenmore Square, Route 2 follows Commonwealth Ave to Arlington St. It circles the
Boston Public Garden, using Arlington, Boylston, and Charles Streets. Route 2 east goes along northbound
Route 28 north at the intersection of Charles and Beacon Streets between
Boston Common and the Boston Public Garden. As Route 28 north joins
Storrow Drive, which shortly after would join
Route 3, Route 28 south joins Route 2 and completes the loop around Boston Public Garden. ==History==