Andover By-Pass
The Andover-By-Pass (Route 125) was constructed to reduce traffic on the Phillips Academy campus and in downdown Andover. Phillips Academy trustees, under the leadership of Alumni Thomas Cochran, bought the land and the state constructed the road, which opened in 1931. [1] The plans for the original 5-mile stretch from South Main Street in Andover to what was then called the Salem turnpike were made public in the spring of 1930. [2] [3] [4] Land acquisitions for completion of the project were listed in the Andover Townsman on April 11, 1930. [5] The Andover By-Pass opened for travel in August of 1931 with two ten-foot concrete lanes and a ten foot macadam center. [6] [7] The first state highway road signs on the new by-pass caused controversy in Andover when it was observed that they listed the number of miles to Haverhill, Lawrence and North Andover but not Andover. Andover business owners complained that the "nearest village" had been slighted. [8]
Thomas Cochran was also the benefactor for the Cochran Wild Life Sanctuary on the grounds of Phillips Academy.
REFERENCES
- ↑ Andover's New Roads, The Andover Townsman, June 13, 1930, p.1.
- ↑ Memorial Highway in Andover Planned Private Capital Mostly Used to Purchase Land, The Boston Globe, March 14, 1930.
- ↑ The new cut off, The Andover Townsman, March 28, 1930, p.4.
- ↑ Andover to have by-pass, The Andover Townsman, March 14, 1930.
- ↑ Real Estate Transactions, The Andover Townsman, April 11, 1930, p. 2.
- ↑ New cut-off opened early last month, The Phillipian, September 19, 1931.
- ↑ $800,000 in two new important Massachusetts Highways, The Boston Transcript, August 13, 1931, p.2
- ↑ Motorists say by-pass signs misleads them, The Andover Townsman, August 21, 1931, p. 1
See
- "History of the Andover By-Pass (Route 125)"The Andover Townsman, September 17, 2015, page 11
--Eleanor (talk) 13:41, 12 February 2016 (EST)
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