Delaware US 202 begins at an interchange with
US 13/
US 40 south of
Wilmington. It runs north along the same road as
Delaware Route 141, then joins with
Interstate 95 through Wilmington. North of the city, it exits the freeway onto Concord Pike, heading north;
Delaware Route 202 also continues south from this point. US 202 continues north towards the state line as a six-lane
arterial road and is lined with numerous strip malls and "
big-box stores".
Pennsylvania US 202 continues north toward
West Chester, joining with
US 322 after intersecting
U.S. Route 1. South of
West Chester, US 202/US 322 exits onto a limited-access bypass of the borough; that is the West Chester Bypass, and includes a grade-level intersection at Matlack Street. North of West Chester, US 322 exits, and US 202 continues north as a freeway towards
Frazer, where it interchanges with
U.S. Route 30 and bends east to head towards
Malvern and
King of Prussia. In King of Prussia, the highway forms a large, complicated interchange with the Schuylkill Expressway (
Interstate 76), the
Pennsylvania Turnpike (Interstate 76/
Interstate 276), and
U.S. Route 422. The freeway then transitions into a
divided highway, passing the
King of Prussia shopping mall and heading northeast through commercial areas before splitting into a
one-way pair through the streets of
Bridgeport and
Norristown, crossing the
Schuylkill River in the process. North of Norristown, US 202 continues as a two-lane road heading northeast through the Philadelphia suburbs, passing through
Blue Bell and
Lower Gwynedd, where it becomes a four-lane highway for about two miles (3 km). East of
Lansdale, in
Montgomeryville, it turns into an
expressway-grade
parkway with a
parallel trail, which opened in December 2012. It continues northeast toward
Doylestown, where it joins an older section of bypass at
Pennsylvania Route 611 and proceeds north to the old alignment of US 202 (State Street). It continues as a two-lane road to
New Hope, crossing the
Delaware River on the
New Hope-Lambertville Toll Bridge.
New Jersey On the toll bridge, US 202 has two lanes in each direction. It continues a northeasterly course for about as a
freeway. This segment of US 202 was earlier called the US 202 bypass (as it bypassed the
New Hope-
Lambertville area) from its original route. The old section of US 202 between New Hope and
Ringoes, New Jersey is now
Route 179 which is also
Old York Road, the first roadway to connect
New York City and
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. In 1953, this section of Old York Road was renumbered US 202. A small section of the US 202 bypass was built in 1965 and the old route was renamed Route 179. When the western section of the bypass was built to the Delaware River, the whole former segment was renamed Route 179. The section of the new US 202 freeway section ends once it begins to run concurrently with
Route 31 in
East Amwell Township. The concurrency runs for five miles (8 km), to
Flemington. This stretch, and the 13 miles (21 km) between Flemington and
Somerville, is a four-lane divided roadway. In Bridgewater Township, just northwest of Somerville, US 202 has a junction with US 22 towards I-287 South. At Somerville, the road merges with
US 206 at a now-reconfigured
Somerville Circle. Parts of the old
traffic circle, which also carries
Route 28, remain below the US 202
flyover. US 202 splits northeastward from US 206 at
Bedminster Township and again becomes a two-lane road. From here to the state line, US 202 parallels, and has largely been supplanted by,
I-287, which during its construction dumped traffic onto US 202. US 202 continues through
Morristown to
Morris Plains with an intersection with
Route 53. With a few exceptions, US 202 is maintained by counties rather than the
New Jersey Department of Transportation north of Route 53. The only sections of US 202 in New Jersey north of Route 53 that are state-maintained are at the
I-80 interchange, at the
US 46 intersection, along the
Route 23 concurrency, and at the I-287 interchange in
Oakland. US 202 continues past
Boonton along the
Boonton Turnpike to historic Mountain View in
Wayne, where it then picks up Route 23 for about two miles (3 km) and then exits on Black Oak Ridge Road. It then follows the
Paterson-Hamburg Turnpike, Terhune Drive on the east side of Pompton Lake (past the former homes of
Cecil B. DeMille and
Albert Payson Terhune), and Ramapo Valley Road (more or less paralleling the
Ramapo River through Oakland) to
Mahwah before crossing the New York state line on the
Franklin Turnpike.
New York seen from
Bear Mountain US 202 is mostly designated east–west in New York, owing to its greater coverage in those directions.
Franklin Turnpike becomes Orange Avenue in
Suffern, and US 202 continues to a block-long
wrong-way concurrency with
NY 59 before tailing off on Wayne Avenue and heading east toward
Haverstraw. Most of this stretch is a two-lane road. At Haverstraw, US 202 makes a sharp left turn north onto
US 9W and follows US 9W's path for 13 miles (21 km) towards
Bear Mountain and then crosses the
Hudson River on the
Bear Mountain Bridge, running concurrently with
US 6, the Grand Army of the Republic Highway. The two wind around
Anthony's Nose, briefly forming New York's only three-way concurrency of U.S. highways with
US 9 at
Peekskill. Afterwards, the two separate for several miles, with US 202 taking the more southerly route through
Somers. The highways reunite at
Brewster and become a four-lane road for their last few miles before the state line, taking in
NY 121 in the process.
Connecticut US 202 is signed east–west in Connecticut. At
Danbury, US 6 and 202 climb up onto
I-84, which had just been joined by the north–south
US 7, making a four-way concurrency. US 7 and 202 split from I-84 and US 6 at Exit 7. It is a two-lane road in southern
Brookfield as it follows Federal Road. US 202 diverts from U.S. Route 7 at the next exit to a parallel surface route. The US 7 freeway continues for another before it rejoins US 202 at the Brookfield/New Milford town line. The now rejoined US 7 and 202 approach
New Milford in bucolic
Litchfield County, where they once again split. US 202 continues through
Torrington and on to
Cherry Brook, where it then runs concurrently with
US 44 for several miles before turning northward at
Avon. For the run to the state line, US 202 runs concurrently with
Route 10.
Massachusetts Unlike elsewhere in New England, US 202 is posted as a north–south highway in Massachusetts, as the highway runs mostly in those directions for its length through the state. US 202 and
Route 10 enter the Bay State at the "
Southwick Jog" in
Southwick, a southward jog in the state line that includes
Congamond Lake. North of
Westfield, US 202 turns eastward toward
Holyoke, crosses the
Connecticut River on the
Joseph E. Muller Bridge and travels for 1.5 miles as a limited access bypass of
South Hadley, traversing
MA 116 and
MA 33 toward
Belchertown. After crossing
MA 9, it then heads north along the west side of the
Quabbin Reservoir through
New Salem toward
Athol. This section of US 202 has been dubbed the
Daniel Shays Highway, named for a Revolutionary War veteran who
led an insurrection against the state government of Massachusetts. US 202 meets
Massachusetts Route 2 at
Orange, and runs along the
two-lane freeway to
Phillipston. There, it diverges to the north again as a two-lane road. In
Massachusetts, US 202 passes through the municipalities of
Southwick,
Westfield,
Holyoke,
South Hadley,
Granby,
Belchertown,
Pelham,
Shutesbury,
New Salem,
Orange,
Athol,
Phillipston,
Templeton, and
Winchendon. The stretch of highway through Belchertown, Pelham, Shutesbury, and New Salem opened in 1935 to coincide with the completion and opening of the Quabbin Reservoir. The roadway reaches its closest point to the reservoir itself at the crossing of the Swift River, at the Shutesbury/New Salem town line. Access to the west side of the Quabbin Reservation is made through multiple gates in the three towns. There is no public access, however, to the Prescott Peninsula.
New Hampshire US 202 is posted as an east–west highway in New Hampshire. It remains a two-lane highway for most of its length in the Granite State. It heads north, through
Rindge,
Jaffrey, and
Peterborough, to
Hillsborough, where it turns eastward along a concurrency with
New Hampshire Route 9. The span of the road between Hillsborough and
Hopkinton, which passes through
Henniker, is among the most deadly sections of roadway in the state. At
Concord, New Hampshire, the state capital, US 202 heads north and picks up a concurrency with
US 3 for a short time, and then turns eastward again along
Interstate 393, a freeway spur that also carries
US 4. The freeway ends short of
Chichester, and NH 9 rejoins the two-lane concurrency along with US 4 and 202. At
Northwood, US 4 leaves US 202 heading southeast, and NH 9 splits off a few miles later. US 202 continues alone toward
Rochester, where the road jumps up onto the
Spaulding Turnpike (
NH 16) for a short, non-tolled distance. US 202 leaves the turnpike two miles (3 km) before the state line at
East Rochester.
Maine in
Windham, Maine, typical of older residences adjacent to US 202 in rural
New England. US 202 is posted as an east–west highway in Maine. The highway enters the state by crossing the
Salmon Falls River at
South Lebanon and bridges the
Mousam River in
Sanford. The highway then passes through
Alfred,
Waterboro and
Hollis before crossing the
Saco River at
Salmon Falls. The highway passes through
Gorham and crosses the
Presumpscot River into
South Windham. There is a rotary with
U.S. Route 302 (US 202's only connection to US 2) at
Foster's Corner and an interchange with
I-95 at
Gray. The highway parallels I-95 through
New Gloucester to
Auburn and crosses the
Androscoggin River into
Lewiston, passing near the campus of
Bates College. A very short stretch through the latter two cities is four-lane highway, but most of its length in the Pine Tree State consists of two-lane road. Its final miles west of
Hampden also include a four-laned segment. The highway passes through
Greene,
Monmouth, and
Winthrop concurrently with
Maine Route 11 and
Maine Route 100 and becomes concurrent with
State Route 17 at
Manchester. US 202 runs concurrently with
U.S. Route 201 as it crosses the
Kennebec River at
Augusta, and shortly thereafter it picks up
State Route 3 and
State Route 9. US 202 ends at
I-395’s exit 2 near
Bangor. ==History==