Evacuation Route
Your GPS has a major flaw. It correctly tells you that
the route TO the regatta is to get off at the Drum Hill exit of
Route 3 and take the Rourke Bridge directly to the boathouse,
but fails to let you know that leaving the regatta late in the
afternoon is far easier if you DON'T use the Rourke bridge. As
with any event on this scale, the traffic going to the event is
more evenly spread out than at the conclusion of the event when
everyone wants to leave at the same time. There are many
bridges crossing the Merrimack north and south of the Rourke,
and they are all trailer-friendly.
So here are some valuable tips on how to leave the regatta
with your santity intact. High School and Collegiate
rowers: Please relay this information to your trailer
driver, coaches and parents.
- For Route 3 South, 495 South/West: Continue
east on the boulevard away from the boathouse. You will be on
Route 113 which will take you into downtown Lowell where you
can pick up the Lowell Connector which joins Route 3 and at
a point more south and east than the Drum Hill exit.
This is also your quickest way to 495 in both directions.
For trailers, we recommend avoiding downtown Lowell - get to
495 using the directions in the next bullet.
- For 495 North/East, 93 North and South:
Continue east on the boulevard away from the boathouse.
You are on Route 113 which will take you to Route 38, then
495 which intersects 93.
- For Route 3 North: Head west on the boulevard,
but stay in the right lane and continue on the boulevard
- pass the left turn for the Rourke Bridge (which is crowded
with all the folks that haven't read this memo) and continue
heading northwest. A few miles up the road you
can take the Tyngsboro bridge west to get on Route 3 at a
point further north than the Drum Hill exit.
You should figure that the height of Rourke congestion will
be somewhere between 3:30pm and 5pm. So please
consider these alternate routes to make a clean getaway.
If you're facing west from the parking lot when you try
to leave heading east, you can make a right turn on many of
the intersecting streets to get yourself going east.
We will be working with the Lowell PD to make your exit
as pleasant and expeditious as possible.
