From New Bedford to Wareham: 17 miles on I-195
Wareham is the far end of our run. Measured center to center it is about 17 miles from New Bedford by road, and the route is I-195 east through Fairhaven, Mattapoisett and Marion to the western part of Wareham, where the interstate ends.
It is a Plymouth County town - 23,303 people at the 2020 Census on 35.8 square miles of land - spread across villages with their own names: Onset, Wareham Center, West Wareham, East Wareham, Weweantic and White Island Shores. Tell us the village as well as the street.
Seventeen miles is the longest regular run on our list, so we are plain about timing. The arrival window depends on where the truck is when you call and on what I-195 and the Cape traffic are doing, and we give it to you on the call instead of printing a figure here.
- Distance from New Bedford
- About 17 miles by road on I-195
- Where I-195 ends
- Eastbound exit 40 splits: 40A for Route 25 toward the Cape, 40B for I-495 north
- The exit before it
- 39, Route 28 - Wareham and South Middleboro
- Town police
- Wareham Police Department, (508) 295-1212
- State Police
- Bourne barracks, (508) 759-4488, for Route 25, I-495 and I-195 in Wareham
- Winter parking ban
- November 1 to April 1, once more than three inches of snow accumulates
The I-495 and Route 25 junction, Cranberry Highway and the Cape traffic
I-195 ends at a trumpet interchange with I-495 and Route 25. Eastbound, exit 40A takes Route 25 toward the Cape and 40B takes I-495 north; just before it, exit 39 serves Route 28. I-495's highway carries on past the junction as Route 25, which runs 10 miles, around Buttermilk Bay, to the Bourne Bridge.
Wareham's old slogan was the Gateway to Cape Cod, and the highways bear it out. MassDOT's Cape Cod bridges study counted 57,870 vehicles a day on the Bourne Bridge in summer against 46,380 in the fall, and found that lane closures on the bridges back traffic up for several miles on the approach highways. Route 25 is the approach to the Bourne Bridge. A car that overheats in that line, or a trailer that loses a tire, is a shoulder job with the Cape traffic crawling past - an emergency tow off Route 25.
Off the highways, Route 28 is Cranberry Highway. US 6 comes in from Marion over the Weweantic River, runs through the center of town on Main Street and Sandwich Road, and joins Route 28 in East Wareham, where the two run together through a busy retail stretch toward Buzzards Bay.
Summer adds calls from Onset and the shore villages. When a car that sat through a beach weekend only clicks, the fix is usually a battery boost at the curb, and nobody needs to hook it.
Troopers, town police and the snow ban in Wareham
Which agency you deal with depends on the road. On Route 25, on the 3 miles of I-495 inside the town and on I-195 from Mattapoisett to its end, it is the Massachusetts State Police Bourne barracks, (508) 759-4488. Off the highways - Cranberry Highway, Main Street, the village streets - the Wareham Police Department is the agency to call, at (508) 295-1212.
- A State Police tow. A car a trooper orders off the road goes with the tow company under contract to the State Police. No business card? The State Police point owners to the barracks for that stretch of road, which for Wareham's highways is Bourne.
- A tow from a lot or a driveway. Massachusetts law, M.G.L. c.266 §120D, lets a property owner have a car removed only after telling the police chief which car it is, where it is going and who is towing it, so the Wareham Police can say where it went.
- A snow tow. From November 1 to April 1, on-street parking is banned once more than three inches of snow has built up on the roads, and the ban holds until they are cleared. Cars left out can be ticketed or towed at the owner's expense; the town's municipal lots are open except those at Town Hall and the library.
If a trooper authorizes a State Police tow to a place of your choosing, the State Police say it becomes a private agreement with that tow company, and the 220 CMR 272 rates and their contract no longer apply. A tow you call us for is private from the start, and we quote it before the truck leaves; the pricing for a long-distance tow shows what 17 miles adds to a quote.
The Massachusetts move-over law, M.G.L. c.89 §7C, requires drivers approaching a stopped tow truck with its lights flashing to slow to a safe speed and, on a highway with at least two lanes each way, to change into a lane not next to it when practicable. On the shoulder, exit on the passenger side and wait well back, beyond the barrier where one exists; if the car is stuck in a travel lane, dial 911 first.
What we send to Wareham, and what we ask first
A Wareham breakdown can mean a long carry as well - back to a shop in New Bedford, 17 miles by I-195 - and for a carry that long we send the flatbed, so nothing on the car turns for the whole 17 miles. A front-wheel-drive car going a short way to a shop on Cranberry Highway can still ride a wheel-lift. The reasons are under flatbed transport for the longer carry.
- Which road and which way. Route 25 or I-495 and the direction, I-195 and the last exit, or the stretch of Cranberry Highway and the nearest cross street.
- Anything hitched. A trailer, a boat or a camper changes the job.
- The vehicle. Year and model, and whether it is electric or drives all four wheels.
- The destination. A Wareham shop, a dealer back in New Bedford, or a driveway farther on.
Everything we run is light-duty. If what is waiting on the shoulder - a loaded box truck, a camper, a boat on a heavy trailer - needs a bigger truck, you hear that from us on the phone.
Between New Bedford and Wareham
Marion and Mattapoisett lie between New Bedford and Wareham on US 6 and I-195, and we cover both on the way out. Back toward the city, Fairhaven faces New Bedford across the harbor - see towing across the river in Fairhaven - and every one of these towns runs on the same trucks as New Bedford's own tow service.
Frequently asked
How far is Wareham from New Bedford?
Wareham's center is about 17 miles from New Bedford's by road, along I-195, which ends in the western part of Wareham at I-495 and Route 25. It is the longest regular run on our list, which is why the timing and the full price are both settled on the phone before a truck heads east.
Who do I call to find a car towed in Wareham?
For a tow from Route 25, I-495 or I-195 in Wareham, call the State Police Bourne barracks at (508) 759-4488, which is what the State Police advise when no business card was handed over. The Wareham Police Department, (508) 295-1212, is the number for anything towed off a town street, a store lot or a driveway.
What is Wareham's winter parking ban?
From November 1 to April 1, on-street parking in Wareham is banned once more than three inches of snow accumulates, and the ban lasts until the roads are cleared. Cars left on the street can be ticketed or towed at the owner's expense, and the municipal lots are open except those at Town Hall and the library.
What does the move-over law require near a tow truck?
The Massachusetts move-over law, chapter 89, section 7C of the General Laws, requires drivers approaching a stopped tow truck with flashing lights to slow to a reasonable and safe speed. On a highway with at least two lanes each way, they must also move to a lane not next to it when that is practicable.
Can you tow a car with a boat or camper attached?
Tell us on the call what is hitched and roughly what it weighs. Our trucks are light-duty, and if the rig is more than a light-duty truck should handle, we say so before anyone drives out.