Boston Marathon 2021: How To Cross Route 135 During Race

NATICK, MA — There's an old joke about this: How do you cross Route 135 during the Boston Marathon?

Do it before the marathon starts.

Starting early Monday morning, Route 135 will close for about eight hours for the 125th Boston Marathon, effectively cutting Natick, Framingham, Ashland and Hopkinton in half.

Unfortunately, there aren't many quick options to cross Route 135 — in fact, there are only two: I-95 or I-495. People living south of Route 135 have the worse end of the traffic dilemma because they won't have direct access to the Mass Pike and Route 9.

The closest on-ramps to these highways south of Route 135 are in Milford, Hopkinton (west of Route 85), Dedham and Needham. Routes 16 and 126 will take drivers into Milford, where there are I-495 ramps at Route 109 and Route 85.

Route 109 will be particularly important because it leads to I-95 ramps in Dedham and connects to Routes 126, 115 and 27. Drivers can also take it west to I-495 in Milford. There's also a section of Route 135 in Needham that connects to I-95 after the marathon course jogs northeast in Wellesley.

Check out this Google Maps version of the Boston Marathon route to see where Route 135 will be cut off.