Most of its length, from Spring Street in West Roxbury to its eastern end, is administered by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), a successor to the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) which oversaw the road's construction.

It crosses the Needham Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail before turning more generally eastward near the junction with Baker Street.

It passes by the Hancock Village development on its left, before meeting the West Roxbury Parkway at the Frank R. Kelly Memorial Rotary in Chestnut Hill.

It then passes the Allandale Woods on its left before reaching its eastern end at Centre Street, a short way west of the Arnold Arboretum.

A drainage system was installed in the Baker Street area in 1939, and the southbound lanes south of West Roxbury Parkway were reconstructed in 1941.