On February 29, 1968, at Hingham High School, the MDPW presented a plan for an 8-mile, four-lane freeway 250 to 400 feet wide that would run from Route 3 to George Washington Boulevard in Hull.

All three alternatives would meet at the 'Common Line' near Prospect Street in Hingham and follow a path north, paralleling the western side of what today is Wompatuck State Park.

The two Western alternatives would have used the existing George Washington Boulevard bridge (upgraded to handle more traffic) to cross the Weir River into Hull, while the Eastern alternative would have used a new bridge to be constructed to the east and meet George Washington Boulevard near the Hull Dump.

Hingham town officials were receptive to the plan as long as the route started in Norwell and used the Eastern Line Alternative, with an additional interchange at Rockland Street.

The townspeople of Norwell, though, voted to oppose any route through their town, citing fears of contaminating their water supply.

Continued opposition to routing the freeway in Norwell and parts of Hingham into the early 1970s eventually led the MDPW to give up on the plan.

Maps and Massachusetts Highway Department documents over the years disagree as to whether the Derby and Whiting Street section is officially Route 228.