Interstate 95

Interstate 95 marker

Interstate 95
I-95 highlighted in red
Route information
Length 1,900.19 mi (3,058.06 km)
Existed 1956 – present
History Completed September 22, 2018[1]
Major junctions
South end US 1 in Miami, FL
 
North end Route 95 at the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing
Location
States Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine
Highway system

Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States,[2] running largely parallel to the Atlantic Ocean coast and U.S. Highway 1, serving areas from Florida to Maine. In general, I-95 serves the major cities of the Eastern Seaboard and metropolitan areas such as Miami, Jacksonville, Savannah, Fayetteville, and Richmond in the Southeast; and Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Wilmington, Philadelphia, and New York City in the Mid-Atlantic States up to New Haven, Providence, Boston, and Portland in New England. The route follows a more direct inland route between Savannah and Washington, D.C., notably bypassing the coastal metropolitan areas of Charleston and Norfolk-Virginia Beach, which require connections through other Interstate Highways.

I-95 is one of the oldest routes of the Interstate Highway System.[1] Many sections of I-95 incorporated pre-existing sections of toll roads where they served the same right of way.[3] The southern terminus of I-95 is at U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, while the northern terminus is at the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing with New Brunswick, Canada. Before I-95 was completed in September 2018, the last gap in I-95's route was in southern New Jersey; the main through routes in the area had been I-295, I-195, and an unsigned portion of the New Jersey Turnpike.[1]

With a length of 1,900 miles (3,058 km), I-95 is the longest north–south Interstate and the sixth-longest Interstate Highway overall.[4] I-95 passes through more states than any other Interstate Highway at 15 states (as well as a very brief stretch in the District of Columbia while crossing the Potomac River), followed by I-90, which crosses 13 states. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, only five of the 96 counties (or equivalents) along the route are completely rural,[5] while statistics provided by the I-95 Corridor Coalition suggest that the region served is "over three times more densely populated than the U.S. average and as densely settled as much of Western Europe".[6] According to the Corridor Coalition, I-95 serves 110 million people and facilitates 40 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.[7]

Route description

Lengths
 mi[4]km
FL 382.15 615.01
GA 112.00 180.25
SC 198.76 319.87
NC 181.71 292.43
VA 178.73 287.64
DC 0.11 0.18
MD 109.01 175.43
DE 23.43 37.71
PA 44.25 71.21
NJ 77.96 125.46
NY 23.50 37.82
CT 111.57 179.55
RI 42.36 68.17
MA 91.95 147.98
NH 16.11 25.93
ME 303.20 487.95
Total 1,900.19 3,058.06

End of I-95 southbound at US 1 in Miami, FL
Interstate 95 express lane near Miami, FL
Northbound I-95 at the interchange with I-16 near Savannah, GA
Interstate 95 bridge over Lake Marion, Santee, SC; the old bridge (on the left) was abandoned and converted to a fishing pier, but is now closed even to pedestrian traffic)
Northbound I-95 at its interchange with I-40 near Benson, NC, c. 2009. This interchange has since been renovated.
Woodrow Wilson Bridge carrying I-95/I-495 across the Potomac River, Washington D.C.
I-95 northbound at Washington Boulevard, Baltimore, MD.
I-95 uses an elevated viaduct entering Wilmington, DE from the southwest.
I-95 southbound at the interchange with the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bristol Township, PA
I-95 splits into the Eastern and Western Spurs of the NJ Turnpike
A view of I-95 (Bruckner Expressway) from the overpass at Westchester Avenue, Bronx, NY
I-95 crossing the Connecticut River in Old Saybrook/Old Lyme, CT
End of I-95 northbound at US–Canadian border
1955 plans for the Interstate Highway System

Florida

I-95 begins at U.S. Route 1 just south of downtown Miami and heads north through Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, the Gold Coast, Treasure Coast, Space Coast, Daytona Beach, Port Orange, Saint Augustine, and then Jacksonville before entering the U.S. state of Georgia near Brunswick. This portion of the highway was notably featured in the film Flight of the Navigator when the spaceship flew along the highway towards Miami.[8] In Miami and Ft. Lauderdale, Sunpass only Express lanes pass over the highway

Prior to 1987, a notable gap used to exist between West Palm Beach and Fort Pierce where I-95 traffic was diverted to Florida's Turnpike. Today, that routing runs parallel with the turnpike.[9]

In the year 2010, the Florida section of I-95 had the most fatalities of all Interstate Highways.[10]

Georgia

The Georgia section of Interstate 95 travels through the marshlands closely following the coastline but bypassing the cities of Brunswick and Savannah. It intersects Interstate 16 and then crosses into South Carolina. The exit numbers were converted from a sequential system to a mileage based system around the year 2000.[11]

The Carolinas

In the Carolinas, I-95 travels west of the coastal sections and indirectly serves popular destinations such as the Outer Banks, Myrtle Beach, and Hilton Head via various side routes. I-95 notably bypasses the major cities of Charleston and Raleigh while intersecting major Interstate highways at Florence and Benson. I-95 also passes the South of the Border attraction immediately before crossing into North Carolina.

In North Carolina, I-95 informally serves as the separation between the state's western piedmont and eastern coastal plain regions. Rocky Mount and Fayetteville are the largest cities along I-95 in North Carolina. After Gaston, I-95 crosses into Virginia.

Mid-Atlantic Region

I-95 enters the Mid-Atlantic region in Virginia and travels through some of the most populated areas along the east coast. I-95 is concurrent briefly with I-64 in the middle of Richmond before heading toward Northern Virginia. In the Washington Metropolitan Area, it is concurrent with the Capital Beltway, passing through the southernmost corner of the District of Columbia for about 0.11 miles (0.18 km) via the Woodrow Wilson Bridge[12] before entering Maryland where it bends away from the Beltway toward Baltimore. From the tunnels of Baltimore to the bridges of New York, I-95 is mostly a tolled road. I-95 connects to an unsigned portion of the New Jersey Turnpike via I-295 near Wilmington, DE where drivers can bypass Philadelphia through South Jersey between exits 1 and 6. I-95 itself passes through Philadelphia and formerly ended at a notable gap in Bristol Township, PA until a new interchange with I-95, I-276, and I-295 was opened in fall 2018.[13] I-95 connects to New York via the George Washington Bridge.

New York

I-95 in New York comprises several named expressways, the Trans-Manhattan Expressway, the Cross Bronx Expressway, the Bruckner Expressway, and the New England Thruway. From New Jersey, it is briefly co-signed with U.S. 1 and U.S. 9 (U.S. 9 quickly exits in NY and heads toward Broadway and U.S. 1 stays on I-95 to the Webster Ave exit). There are many interchanges within this 23-mile (37 km) stretch that connects New York City to Albany, Upstate New York, and Long Island. I-95 then becomes the New England Thruway to Connecticut, where it continues as the Connecticut Turnpike.[14]

New England

I-95 enters New England in the state of Connecticut, and follows along the southern part of the state within miles of the coast in a more east–west direction. In New Haven, I-95 intersects the south end of I-91. It then gradually curves back northward, passing through Rhode Island's capital of Providence. The highway then enters Massachusetts heading around Boston via Route 128 before turning north and passing briefly into and through New Hampshire, and then into Maine, following the Maine Turnpike to Augusta and continuing as a free highway to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing. It intersects US 1 and the east end of US 2 before entering the province of New Brunswick as Route 95.[15]

History

Many parts of I-95 were made up of toll roads that had already been constructed or planned, particularly in the northeast.[16] Many of these routes still exist today, but some have removed their tolls. Outside of Florida, current I-95 toll facilities are compatible with the E-ZPass electronic payment system; in Florida, while I-95 can be driven toll-free, use of the '95 Express Managed Toll Lanes' requires a SunPass transponder.

The toll roads utilized as part of I-95 formerly included Florida's Turnpike, the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike (tolled until 1992), and the Connecticut Turnpike (tolled until 1985). Today, I-95 utilizes the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway, the Delaware Turnpike, the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the New Jersey Turnpike, the New England Thruway, the New Hampshire Turnpike, and the Maine Turnpike.

In Florida, the missing link was filled in 1987.[17][18] Once the Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 95 Interchange Project was completed, the last remaining gap in New Jersey was filled making I-95 continuous from Florida to Canada.

Many notable bridges and tunnels along I-95 were also tolled. The Fuller Warren Bridge, spanning the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida, was tolled until the 1980s and was replaced in 2002. The Fort McHenry Tunnel is underneath the harbor of Baltimore, Maryland and was opened in 1985. The George Washington Bridge, opened in 1931, carries I-95, US 1, US 9, and US 46 (latter is officially considered to end at the NY state line) across the Hudson River between New Jersey and Upper Manhattan.

A study that could lead to the imposition of tolls on I-95 in North Carolina is under way as of March 2010.[19]

Between Richmond, Virginia, and New Jersey a few large projects were undertaken that are helping to ease traffic along the corridor. The reconstruction of the Springfield Interchange in Northern Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C., helped to ease traffic at the intersection of I-95, I-495, and I-395, and surrounding interchanges. The Springfield Interchange is one of the busiest highway junctions on the East Coast, serving between 400,000 and 500,000 vehicles per day. With the exception of HOT lanes on the Capital Beltway (I-495/I-95), this project was completed in July 2007.[20] A few miles to the east was another major project: the Woodrow Wilson Bridge replacement. The bridge carries I-95/I-495 over the Potomac River. The former Woodrow Wilson Bridge, which has since been demolished, was a six-lane bridge that was severely over-capacity. The new bridge is actually two bridges with a total of 12 lanes; five in each direction, with an additional lane in each direction for future use (rapid-bus or train). This project was completed with the 10 lanes opened on December 13, 2008, greatly reducing the traffic delays on the beltway. The lanes are divided into two thru-lanes and three local lanes in each direction. About 30 miles (48 km) north of the Wilson Bridge, and about 20 miles (32 km) south of Baltimore near Laurel, Maryland, a large new interchange is under construction as of 2008 was scheduled for completion in late 2011, and opened to traffic on November 9, 2014, which will connect I-95 to Maryland Route 200.

Farther north in Pennsylvania, a project is underway at the intersection of I-95 and I-276 (Pennsylvania Turnpike). The Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 95 Interchange Project constructed an interchange between I-95 and I-276. I-295 was extended to this interchange, replacing the section of I-95 through the Trenton, New Jersey area. This project resulted in another toll being added to the route, that of the Delaware River-Turnpike Toll Bridge over the Delaware River.[21] The toll, much like the other crossings of the river, will be for traffic leaving New Jersey only (I-95 southbound). More critically, completion of this project closed the remaining gap in the route. The ramps connecting I-95 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike opened on September 22, 2018.[1]

In 2006, the Virginia General Assembly passed SJ184, a resolution calling for an interstate compact to build a toll highway between Dover, Delaware, and Charleston, South Carolina, as an alternative to I-95 that would allow long-distance traffic to avoid the D.C. Metropolitan area.[22]

Federal legislation has identified I-95 through Connecticut as High Priority Corridor 65. A long-term multibillion-dollar program to upgrade the entire length of I-95 through Connecticut has been underway since the mid-1990s and is expected to continue through at least 2020. Several miles of the Connecticut Turnpike through Bridgeport were recently widened and brought up to Interstate standards. Work has shifted to reconstructing and widening 12 miles (19 km) of I-95 through New Haven, which includes replacing the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge. Environmental studies for reconstructing and widening 60 miles (97 km) of I-95 from New Haven to the Rhode Island state line are also progressing.

There are plans to expand the 1,054-mile (1,696 km) I-95 corridor from Petersburg, Virginia, to Florida through a U.S. multi-state agreement to study how to improve the corridor through widening and reconstruction, with the goal of reducing congestion and improving overall safety for years to come.[23]

Florida continues to complete widening projects. As of December 2010, I-95 from the South Carolina–Georgia line south to Jacksonville, Florida has been upgraded to six lanes. The section from Jacksonville to the I-4 junction in Daytona Beach was expanded to six lanes in 2005. As of 2009, widening projects continue in Brevard County from the SR 528 junction in Cocoa to Palm Bay, as well as in northern Palm Beach County.

In 2009, state legislators representing Maine's Aroostook County proposed using federal economic stimulus funds to extend I-95 north to Maine's northernmost border community of Fort Kent via Caribou and Presque Isle.[24] The proposed route would parallel New Brunswick's four-lane, limited access Trans-Canada Highway on the U.S. side of the Canada–United States border. Legislators argued that extension of the Interstate would promote economic growth in the region.

Major intersections

Florida
US 1 in Miami
Florida's Turnpike in Golden Glades
I‑4 in Daytona Beach
I‑10 in Jacksonville
Georgia
I‑16 in Savannah
South Carolina
I‑26 near Harleyville
I‑20 in Florence
North Carolina
I-74 near Lumberton
I‑40 in Benson
Virginia
I‑85 in Petersburg
I‑64 for four miles (6.4 km) in Richmond
Pennsylvania
I‑76 in Philadelphia
I-295 in Bristol
I-276 / Penna Turnpike in Bristol
New Jersey
N.J. Turnpike in Mansfield Township
G.S. Parkway in Woodbridge Township
I‑78 in Newark
I‑80 in Teaneck
New York
I-87 in The Bronx
Connecticut
I‑91 in New Haven
Massachusetts
I‑93 in Canton
I‑90 in Weston
I‑93 in Woburn

Auxiliary routes

Interstate 95 has many auxiliary routes. They can be found in most states the route runs through; with exceptions being Georgia, South Carolina, and New Hampshire. Business Routes also exist in both Georgia and North Carolina.

See also

  • U.S. Roads portal

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Sofield, Tom (September 22, 2018). "Decades in the Making, I-95, Turnpike Connector Opens to Motorists". Levittown Now. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  2. ↑ Montgomery, David & White, Josh (February 23, 2001). "128 Cars, Trucks Crash in Snow on I-95". The Washington Post. p. A1.
  3. ↑ Samuel, Peter (December 10, 2010). "Penn Pike Moving—Very Slowly—To End Gap in I-95". TollRoadsNews. Archived from the original on December 13, 2010. Retrieved December 10, 2010.
  4. 1 2 Staff (October 31, 2002). "Table 1: Main Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways as of October 31, 2002". Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved March 28, 2007.
  5. ↑ El Nasser, Haya (June 27, 2004). "Small-Town USA Goes 'Micropolitan'". USA Today.
  6. ↑ "I-95 Corridor Facts". I-95 Corridor Coalition. March 30, 2008. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  7. ↑ Griffin, Riley (20 August 2018). "No Thanks to New Jersey, I-95 Is Finally Done 60 Years Later". Bloomberg. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  8. ↑ "Flight of the Navigator (1986)".
  9. ↑ Google (June 8, 2009). "Southern Terminus of I-95 at Miami, Florida" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved June 8, 2009.
  10. ↑ Tom Barlow (July 13, 2010). "Most deadly times, places to drive". Walletpop.com. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Georgia's Interstate Exit Numbers". Georgia Department of Transportation. June 12, 2003. Archived from the original on February 15, 2004. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  12. ↑ "Miscellaneous Interstate System Facts". Federal Highway Administration. April 6, 2011. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
  13. ↑ "I-95/I-295 Signing Redesignation Project Overview". New Jersey Department of Transportation. February 21, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  14. ↑ Google (September 22, 2018). "Interstate 95 in New York" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  15. ↑ Google (September 22, 2018). "I-95 In New England" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  16. ↑ Schleck, Dave (July 17, 2002). "Exceptions to the law allow I-90 tolls in some states". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  17. ↑ "I-95 'Missing Link' Okayed". Lakeland Ledger. April 19, 1973. p. 4A.
  18. ↑ "Gap In I-95 To Close Saturday". Miami Herald. December 13, 1987. p. 1A.
  19. ↑ Samuel, Peter (March 30, 2010). "North Carolina tolling I-95 being studied". TollRoadsNews. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  20. ↑ "Interstate 95 @ Interstate-Guide.com". Interstate Guide. Retrieved February 15, 2008.
  21. ↑ "Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 95 Interchange Project".
  22. ↑ "SJ 184 Interstate Route 95; Construction and Operation of Controlled-Access Highway as Alternative Thereto". Virginia Legislature. Archived from the original on 2011-05-24.
  23. ↑ Drewes, Britt (February 3, 2009). "Five States and USDOT Partner to Improve Interstate 95 Through Corridor of the Future Program: Development Agreement Aims to Reduce Congestion, Increase Safety and Reliability" (Press release). Virginia Department of Transportation. CO-0903. Archived from the original on February 11, 2009.
  24. ↑ "Aroostook Delegation Pushes for I-95 Extension". Bangor Daily News. April 10, 2009. Retrieved January 29, 2013.


Further reading

  • Evans, Mark T. (2015). Main Street, America: Histories of I-95 (Ph.D. dissertation). University of South Carolina.

Route map:

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