4) for the Lowell Connector, but was taken down by 2008. Crashes In the 2000s, the Lowell Connector was ranked the most dangerous highway in Massachusetts, in terms of crashes per mile. The Connector has many serious design flaws, such as a lack of median guard rails, short and steep entrance and exit ramps, and inadequate spacing between exits which leads to weaving. An analysis by the Lowell Sun found that, on average between 2000 and 2005, there were 25 crashes per year, including nine that caused non-fatal injuries and one fatal crash on average. At the time, Lowell had one of the lowest incidences of seatbelt use in Massachusetts, which contributed to the high injury and death rates. At its northern terminus, the Lowell Connector slopes downhill before abruptly terminating at Gorham Street (exit 5C). As a result, cars have overshot the end of the freeway and crashed into the brick wall of a residential property across the street; in 2005, the Lowell Sun reported that cars crashed into that house twice a year. After three people died on the highway in 2005, MassDOT added median guardrails and multiple flashing warning signs giving the exact distance to the end of the road. In addition, the terminus features two flashing (strobe) stoplights and a metal railing, protecting the property at the opposite end of the intersection. Exit list All interchanges were to be renumbered to milepost-based numbers under a project scheduled to start in 2016. However, this project was indefinitely postponed by MassDOT. On November 18, 2019, MassDOT announced that the Lowell Connector's exit numbers would not be changed because its exits were so tightly spaced. References External links Freeways in the United States Interstate 95 Roads in Massachusetts Transportation in Lowell, Massachusetts Transportation in Middlesex County, Massachusetts