User:MPD01605/Interstate 95

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Interstate 95
Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Length: 1,927 mi (3,101 km)
Formed: 1957
South end: US 1 in Miami, FL
Major
junctions:		 I-10 in Jacksonville, FL
I-20 near Florence, SC
I-40 near Benson, NC
I-85 in Petersburg, VA
I-80 in Teaneck, NJ (near NYC)
I-90 near Boston, MA
North end: NB 95 near Houlton, ME

Interstate 95 (abbreviated I-95) is an Interstate highway that runs 1,927 miles (3,101 kilometers) north-south along the east coast of the United States. The southern terminus is in the city of Miami, Florida at a junction with U.S. Route 1; the northern terminus is at the Canadian border at Houlton, Maine where it becomes New Brunswick Route 95. The approximated center is located north of Richmond, Virginia (Mile 83) near where I-95 intersects Interstate 295. The highway's route generally parallels that of its older federal highway counterpart, U.S. Route 1.

Interstate 95 is one of the best-known, most important, and most heavily traveled highways in the Interstate Highway System. It serves and connects the major cities along the Northeast corridor, and it is the major north-south highway along the east coast. It is the longest north-south Interstate highway (five east-west routes are longer), and it passes through more states - fifteen - than any other Interstate.

I-95 is the only long-distance Interstate in the original plans that is not yet completed. A discontinuity exists between two separate sections in New Jersey, thus it is not possible to directly travel the entire length of I-95 without interruption.

Major cities
Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs

Contents

[edit] Route description

Lengths
mi km
FL 382.17[1] 615.04
GA 112.03[2] 180.29
SC 198.76[3] 319.87
NC 181.71[3] 292.43
VA 178.73[3] 287.64
DC 0.11[3] 0.18
MD 109.05[4] 175.50
DE 23.43[3] 37.71
PA 51.08[3] 82.21
NJ 77.96 (main route)
8.77 (Trenton area)
11.03 (west spur)
97.76 (total)[5]		 125.46
14.11
17.75
157.33
NY 23.50[3] 37.82
CT 111.57[6] 179.55
RI 43.3[7] 69.7
MA 91.95[3] 147.98
NH 16.20[8] 26.08
ME 305 491

[edit] Florida to South Carolina

Main articles: Interstate 95 in: Florida | Georgia | South Carolina

Interstate 95 begins at U.S. Route 1 just south of downtown Miami, Florida (Map), and follows a path north along the Atlantic coast of Florida, passing near such locations as Daytona Beach and Florida's Space Coast before continuing north past Jacksonville and entering Georgia. Interstate 95 in Georgia travels through the marshlands of eastern Georgia, closely following the coast to Savannah, where it crosses into South Carolina. In South Carolina, I-95 travels further inland than its paths to the south, and passes the infamous South of the Border immediately before crossing into North Carolina.

[edit] North Carolina and Virginia

Main articles: Interstate 95 in: North Carolina | Virginia

Interstate 95 in North Carolina is one of four major north-south corridors through the state (the others being U.S. Route 220 (Interstate 73)/U.S. Route 29, Interstate 77, and Interstate 26). I-95 informally serves as separation between the piedmont and coastal plain regions of North Carolina. In Virginia, Interstate 95 roughly follows the same line between the regions, and passes by its first state capital, Richmond, Virginia, before entering into Northern Virginia and the Washington, DC area, and crossing over the Woodrow Wilson Bridge into Maryland.

[edit] Maryland to Pennsylvania

Main articles: Interstate 95 in: Maryland | Delaware | Pennsylvania

In Maryland, I-95 follows the Capital Beltway around Washington, DC. Once leaving the Beltway north of the city, I-95 travels diagnoally through the middle of the state, through Baltimore and into Delaware, passing through Wilmington. I-95 is the most heavily traveled route in Delaware, linking Washington and south with Philadelphia and north. Interstate 95 enters Pennsylvania along the Delaware River, travelling along its western bank through the city of Philadelphia, and heading north where it currently enters New Jersey in Trenton.

[edit] New Jersey and New York

Main articles: Interstate 95 in: New Jersey | New York
See also: List of gaps in Interstate Highways

There is currently a gap in I-95 that is in the process of being filled. I-95 ends north of Trenton, but begins on the New Jersey Turnpike south of Trenton. I-95 follows the New Jersey Turnpike north through Newark and into New York on the George Washington Bridge. I-95 travels through Upper Manhattan and The Bronx before crossing into the state of Connecticut.

[edit] New England

Main articles: Interstate 95 in: Connecticut | Rhode Island | Massachusetts | New Hampshire | Maine

Interstate 95 enters New England in Connecticut, and follows along the southern part of the state within miles of the coast in an more east-west direction. It then curves back northward, passing into Rhode Island, and traveling through its capital of Providence. Interstate 95 then enters Massachusetts, heading north to and around Boston before passing briefly into and through New Hampshire, and then into Maine, following the Maine Turnpike to the Canadian border and entering the province of New Brunswick (Map).

[edit] Intersections with other interstates

Interstate 95 bridge over Lake Marion, Santee, SC; old bridge is fishing pier
Interstate 95 bridge over Lake Marion, Santee, SC; old bridge is fishing pier

From south to north:

[edit] Auxiliary routes

Interstate 95 has many auxiliary routes.

Defunct: I-595; I-795
Defunct: I-195
Defunct: I-595 (Baltimore)
Defunct: I-895
Defunct: I-695; I-895
Defunct: I-695
Defunct: I-895
Defunct: I-695
v • d • e
Auxiliary routes of Interstate 95

[edit] History

[edit] Tolls

Portions of the highway have or used to have tolls. An interesting aspect of the highway is that every current toll facility utilizes the E-Z Pass electronic payment system.

Toll: Cars- $2.00
  • John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway north of Baltimore. The highway opened in 1963, and it and the Delaware Turnpike were both dedicated by President John F. Kennedy. The highway extended from the northern Baltimore city limits to the Delaware state line. After his assassination, the highway and the Delaware Turnpike were named the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway. It was tolled both directions until 1991, when southbound tolls were removed. It is currently tolled only northbound.
Toll: Cars- $5.00
Toll: Cars- $3.00
Toll: Cars- Varies by mileage
Toll: Cars- $6.00 (peak), $4.00 (off-peak)
  • New England Thruway in New York. The Thruway extends from the Pelham Parkway interchange in the Bronx, just north of I-695 to the Connecticut state line. Construction of the NET began in 1951, but the 16 miles of highway were not completed until 1961. In 1956, the Thruway was designated as part of I-95. Tolls were originally levied in both directions, but were removed from the southbound direction in the late 1980s during reconstruction of the NET. Currently, tolls are levied northbound only.
Toll: Cars- $1.25
  • Connecticut Turnpike (defunct). The Connecticut Turnpike was completed in 1958 and designated as part of I-95. I-95 follows the turnpike for all of about 25 miles through Connecticut from the New York state line to its intersection with I-395 west of New London. Tolls were removed from the turnpike in 1985.
  • New Hampshire Turnpike. All of I-95 except approximately the northernmost one mile in New Hampshire is designated the Blue Star Turnpike, part of the New Hampshire Turnpike System. The Turnpike System diverges from I-95 in Portsmouth at the interchange with U.S. Route 4. Tolls are collected once at a mainline plaza in Hampton.
Toll: Cars- $1.00
  • Maine Turnpike. The Maine Turnpike was built in two sections, completed in 1947 and 1955[10]. Beginning in 2004, the entirety of the Maine Turnpike was designated as Interstate 95. The Turnpike extends from the New Hampshire line north 102 miles to just south of Augusta. Tolls are collected at almost each entrance and three times at barrier toll plazas.
Tolls: Cars- $.60 at entrances; Plazas: $1.75 at York, $1.25 at New Gloucester, $1.00 at West Gardiner

[edit] Unique disasters

In 1993, an illegal tire dump in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia caught fire, destroying 22 spans of the Port Richmond viaduct. Although the fire occurred during the overnight hours, it caused major traffic delays within Philadelphia itself, along with paralleling I-295 and the New Jersey Turnpike in New Jersey. The entire span and its support columns were replaced in an emergency repair project that took nearly 3 months to complete. The property owners were later convicted in both federal and state court.

In May 1996, a tractor-trailer carrying gasoline from a Texaco refinery in Delaware City, Delaware, crashed through the Jersey barrier in Chester, Pennsylvania, crossed into the oncoming southbound lanes and crashed into a small pickup truck, killing both the tractor-trailer and pickup truck drivers and causing a massive fire that destroyed the southbound span (luckily, the supports were undamaged). The span was replaced and reopened by the 4th of July holiday by, coincidentally, the same contractors that rebuilt the Port Richmond viaduct in 1993.

On January 13, 2004, a tanker truck fell onto the northbound lanes of I-95 as it was entering the southbound side from the Harbor Tunnel Thruway in Howard County, Maryland, just south of Baltimore. The truck driver was killed, along with the occupants in additional vehicles traveling north on I-95 (including a pickup truck). The northbound lanes of I-95 were closed to traffic overnight, as cleanup crews cleared the highway of debris from the crash.

On March 26, 2004, a bridge on I-95 in Bridgeport, Connecticut was partly melted by the explosion of a tanker truck carrying over 11,900 gallons (45,000 liters) of fuel oil. Repairs were estimated to take at least two weeks, but the highway was opened to northbound traffic in only a few days. Southbound traffic resumed about a week later.

On the morning of November 23, 2005, a tanker truck exploded on southbound I-95 just north of the Capital Beltway (I-495) near Beltsville, Maryland. The highway was damaged and was closed for several hours on the day before Thanksgiving, one of the busiest travel days of the year.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ FDOT GIS data
  2. ^ Georgia Department of Transportation, Office of Transportation Data (2003). "Interstate Mileage Report (438 Report)". (PDF)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Federal Highway Administration Route Log and Finder List, Main Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways as of October 31, 2002
  4. ^ Maryland State Highway Administration, December 31, 2004 Highway Location Reference
  5. ^ New Jersey Department of Transportation, 2005 Straight Line Diagrams
  6. ^ Connecticut State Numbered Routes and Roads as of December 31, 2004 (PDF)
  7. ^ RIGIS data - "Roads - Primary" and "Roads - State"
  8. ^ GRANIT GIS data - NH Public Roads
  9. ^ Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 95 Interchange Project
  10. ^ http://www.maineturnpike.com/html/about/history.html Maine Turnpike Authority
edit
Main Interstate Highways (multiples of 5 in pink)		 Interstate Highway marker
4 5 8 10 12 15 16 17 19 20 22 24 25 26 27 29 30
35 37 39 40 43 44 45 49 55 57 59 64 65 66 68 69
70 71 72 73 74 75 76 (W) 76 (E) 77 78 79 80 81 82
83 84 (W) 84 (E) 85 86 (W) 86 (E) 87 88 (W) 88 (E) 89 90
91 93 94 95 96 97 99 (238) H-1 H-2 H-3
Unsigned  A-1 A-2 A-3 A-4 PRI-1 PRI-2 PRI-3
Lists  Primary  Main - Intrastate - Suffixed - Future - Gaps
Auxiliary  Main - Future - Unsigned
Other  Standards - Business - Bypassed