| Interstate 90 | |
|---|---|
| Route information | |
| Length: | 3,099.07 mi[1] (4,987.47 km) |
| Existed: | 1956 – present |
| Major junctions | |
| West end: | I-5 / SR 519 or 4th St S in Seattle, WA |
| I-15 near Butte, MT I-25 near Buffalo, WY I-29 in Sioux Falls, SD I-35 in Albert Lea, MN I-55 in Chicago, IL I-65 in Gary, IN I-80 near Gary, IN I-75 near Toledo, OH I-80 near Cleveland, OH I-87 in Albany, NY I-95 in Weston, MA |
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| East end: | Route 1A in Boston, MA |
| Highway system | |
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Main route of the Interstate Highway System |
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Interstate 90 (I-90) is the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at 3,099.07 miles (4,987.47 km). It is the northernmost coast-to-coast interstate, and parallels US 20 for the most part. Its western terminus is in Seattle, at Edgar Martinez Drive S. near Safeco Field and CenturyLink Field, and its eastern terminus is in Boston, at Route 1A near Logan International Airport. Interstate 90 also goes through Spokane and crosses the Continental Divide over Homestake Pass just east of Butte, Montana.
East of the Wisconsin-Illinois border, much of I-90 is tolled, along the following toll roads (several of which predate the Interstate system): the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway, Chicago Skyway, Indiana Toll Road, Ohio Turnpike, New York State Thruway, and the Massachusetts Turnpike, including the Ted Williams Tunnel. It is free through downtown Chicago; Greater Cleveland and the rest of northeastern Ohio; Pennsylvania; and through brief sections near Buffalo, Albany, and Boston.
Contents |
| mi | km | |
|---|---|---|
| WA | 299.62 | 477.85 |
| ID | 73.55 | 118.37 |
| MT | 551.68 | 887.84 |
| WY | 208.8 | 336.03 |
| SD | 412.76 | 664.27 |
| MN | 275.7 | 443.70 |
| WI | 187.14 | 301.84 |
| IL | 123.89 | 199.38 |
| IN | 156.28 | 251.51 |
| OH | 244.75 | 393.89 |
| PA | 46.4 | 74.67 |
| NY | 385.48 | 620.37 |
| MA | 135.72 | 218.42 |
| Total | 3101.77 | 4988.14 |
The western I-90 terminus is in the SoDo neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. I-90 eastbound begins at exit 2B, Edgar Martínez Drive S and 4th Avenue S. I-90 westbound exit 2B ends at Edgar Martínez Dr and 4th Ave near Safeco Field, as well as 4th Ave just north of S. Royal Broughman Way near CenturyLink Field.
The tunnel that carries Interstate 90 under the Mount Baker Ridge is on the National Register of Historic Places. The east portal of the tunnel (visible when entering Seattle from the east) is constructed as a bas relief concrete sculpture.
I-90 incorporates two of the longest floating bridges in the world, the Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge and the Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge, which cross Lake Washington from Seattle to Mercer Island, Washington. They are the second and fifth longest such bridges, respectively.
Forty miles east of Bellevue I-90 traverses the Cascade Range's Snoqualmie Pass, elevation 3,022 feet (921 m). At mile post 137, it crosses the Columbia River on the Vantage Bridge, and after entering Spokane, Washington near mile post 279, enters Idaho 20 miles (32 km) later.
Since 1980, I-90 from Seattle to Thorp, Washington, was designated the Mountains to Sound Greenway to protect its outstanding scenic and cultural resources.[2]
Washington Law Defining Route
The Washington section of I-90 is defined in the Revised Code of Washington (RCW 47.17.140).[3]
The small town of Wallace, Idaho still prides itself on having what was the last stop light on I-90. Its downtown has many historical buildings, which would have been wiped out by the original planned route of the freeway, so in 1976, city leaders had the downtown placed on the National Register of Historic Places. As a result, the federal government was forced, at great expense, to reroute the freeway to the northern edge of downtown and elevate it. That section of I-90 opened in September 1991. A bicycle path is routed beneath part of that segment.
From 1995 until 1999, there was no numbered speed limit on I-90 in Montana. The speed limit was simply defined as "reasonable and prudent" as determined on a case by case basis by the Montana Highway Patrol. The speed limit in Montana is now 75 mph (120 km/h). From the west I-90 enters Montana on the summit of Lookout Pass. It passes next to Missoula and runs through Butte before crossing the continental divide just east of Butte where it goes over Homestake Pass. It passes between the Gallatin and Bridger mountain ranges over Bozeman Pass between Bozeman and Livingston. It follows the Yellowstone River from Livingston to Billings where it connects the suburbs of Laurel and Lockwood with the rest of the Billings. In Lockwood it intersects with I-94's western terminus and turns south. South of Hardin it passes the site of the Battle of the Little Bighorn (Custer's Last Stand) at Crow Agency on the Crow Indian Reservation. Montana boasts the longest stretch of I-90, ranging just over 551 miles (887 km).
At the Montana border I-90 is a four-lane divided highway with a grass median. At Buffalo, Wyoming (if traveling eastward from the north), it diverges from I-25 with a more east–west orientation.
Near Rapid City, South Dakota at the Wyoming border I-90 is a four lane divided highway with a grass median. In the Sioux Falls area, I-90 intersects I-29 and continues east a short distance to Minnesota. I-90 is the longest east–west thoroughfare in South Dakota. This interstate goes through Mitchell, Sioux Falls, and Rapid City. It does not go through the state capital of Pierre.
The South Dakota section of I-90 is defined at South Dakota Codified Laws § 31-4-184.[4]
The Minnesota section of I-90 is defined as Route 391 in Minnesota Statutes § 161.12(3).[5]
I-90 crosses southern Minnesota from the South Dakota border near Beaver Creek, Minnesota, to the Mississippi River near La Crosse, Wisconsin. On most of its length in the state, it is close to the Iowa border and fairly parallel with it. In southeast Minnesota, it curves north to Rochester and Winona.
The wayside rest area near Blue Earth, Minnesota, is where the east-building I-90 and west-building I-90 teams linked up in 1978, thus completing the final mile and joining the 3,099.07 miles (4,987.47 km) of the interstate.[6] Since being overlaid with bituminous paving in 2006,[7] the original 4-foot-wide (1.2 m) gold colored cement concert line marking the completion of I-90 has been replaced with gold paint on just the shoulder portions of the roadway at the same location; plaques dedicating and describing this special segment of I-90 pavement can be found at the Blue Earth rest areas.
I-90 crosses Wisconsin from Minnesota to Illinois in a generally southeasterly direction. It joins I-94 in Tomah and I-39 in Portage. I-94 separates from I-90 at Madison.
I-39/90/94 from just south of Portage to Madison is the longest concurrency of three Interstate Highways in the United States.
In the state of Illinois, Interstate 90 enters Illinois north of Rockford oriented north–south joined with Interstate 39. It then runs east-southeast directly to the city of Chicago. From Rockford to Interstate 294 the road is tolled and called the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway. Prior to 2007 the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway was called the Northwest Tollway. In the Chicago metropolitan area, I-90 is known by three names from O'Hare International Airport to the Indiana state line. The Kennedy Expressway runs from O'Hare to Interstate 290 and the Chicago Loop. I-90 continues running south of the Loop on part of the Dan Ryan Expressway, and then southeast onto the tolled Chicago Skyway into Indiana.
In the state of Indiana, the entirety of Interstate 90 is concurrent with the Indiana Toll Road. Interstate 90 enters from Illinois at the Chicago Skyway. It then runs to the concurrency of Interstates 80/94 east of Interstate 65, where I-80 leaves I-94 and joins with I-90. The combined I-80/90 route runs east across northern Indiana and near the southern border of Michigan to the Ohio state line.
As part of the Toll Road, I-80/90 passes to the north of South Bend and Elkhart. It also passes north of Angola at Interstate 69.
The Indiana Toll Road turns into the Ohio Turnpike as it crosses the border. I-90 follows the Ohio Turnpike until Lorain (west of Cleveland), where it turns north to follow a route near the shores of Lake Erie. Originally, it was going to be parallel to, and north of, I-80/Ohio Turnpike further west to Toledo. Parts were built with an interim assignment of State Route 2. Later; that plan was abandoned, and the I-90/I-80 exit/connector was built instead; those existing parts retain the Rt. 2 designation.
In Cleveland, Interstate 90 serves as the Innerbelt at the confluence of the northern termini of Interstates 71 and 77. One of the most peculiar and hazardous stretches of Interstate 90 is the section of highway passing through downtown, known locally as Dead Man's Curve. Here, the road takes a nearly 90-degree turn.[8] While there are plenty of large signs, flashing lights, and rumble strips alerting motorists to this turn, there have still been a large number of accidents resulting from inattentive motorists. There are plans to realign the freeway along a shallower curve within the next decade, as part of a larger project to improve the highway system in Cleveland.[9]
The Innerbelt in Cleveland also utilizes a steel-gusset bridge of the same design as the I-35W bridge that failed in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Since September 30, 2008, two lanes in each direction of the 8-lane bridge were closed to reduce the weight load on the structure. The bridge is currently under close inspection as it has deteriorated greatly over the last few years. On October 8, 2008, the bridge was closed entirely to undergo a stress test. In May and June 2009, the bridge was closed while engineers lifted it with hydraulic jacks and moved it approximately six inches to realign it. It is largely believed that the bridge will be replaced within the next five years by a new span. Many in the Cleveland area are beginning to question the safety of the bridge, and the Ohio Department of Transportation continues to stress that the bridge is safe and if there was any imminent danger it would be permanently closed. There are plans to build a new bridge which will carry I-90 west and I-71 south. The old bridge will carry I-71 north and I-90 east. Construction is now underway on the new bridge trusses. The project started in late 2010 and will wrap up in about 3 to 4 years. as stated by ODOT.
I-90 goes from the Ohio state line through Erie, Pennsylvania, and then leaves Pennsylvania for New York. At 46.4 miles (74.67 km), it is Interstate 90's shortest intrastate length.
While not an interstate, a portion of Pennsylvania Route 5 in Erie has recently been named Pennsylvania Route 290. The purpose is to encourage travelers to use this stretch of Erie's 12th Street as a loop, connecting Interstate 79 and 90 to the Bayfront Connector and downtown Erie.
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I-90 becomes the New York State Thruway upon entering New York. It follows the Lake Erie coast until Buffalo, where it joins the old Water Level Route until Albany. There, it takes a short detour before joining the New York State Thruway Berkshire Connector.
Almost all of the New York portion of the road is a toll road, comprising the east–west portion of the New York State Thruway mainline and part of the Berkshire Connector, operated by the New York State Thruway Authority. It was originally constructed as part of the Thruway project in the middle 1950s and received its current designation as Interstate 90 in 1958. The road roughly follows the course of the 19th-century Erie Canal for much of its length in New York State. "I-90" (operated by NYSDOT) carries Interstate 90 between the two; however, the Berkshire Section directly connects to the mainline (at Thruway interchange 21A) 6.5 miles (10.5 km) west of the point where I-90 joins it (at Thruway interchange B1).
The mileposts and exit numbers on the New York State Thruway mainline originate at the New York City line and increase northward along Interstate 87 and westward along Interstate 90. As a result, mileposts and exit numbers on the I-90 section of the Thruway mainline increase from east to west, contrary to modern practices where numbers increase from the west or south. The NYSDOT-maintained portion in between, known to locals as "I-90," does number its mileage and exits in the traditional west-to-east method. (Ironically, the NYSDOT maintained portion of I-90 is oriented geographically north–south for most of its length, so the exit numbers seem to increase from north to south.) Exit and milepost numbering starts over again when the Berkshire Section of the Thruway begins, with exit and mile numbers preceded by the letter B (Exit B1, Exit B2, Mile B1, Mile B2, and so on).
There once were two metric-only signs on the westbound New York State Thruway around Syracuse, which is about 100 miles (161 km) from Ontario. The NYS Thruway Authority decided to test metric signage, which may have briefly included an 88 km/h speed limit sign, on the Thruway. There was also a sign displaying the distance to the Interstate 81 interchange in kilometers in Dewitt. These signs are now displayed in just miles.
I-90 is one of two Interstates having a complete set of nine spur routes (190, 290, 390...890, 990) within one state, in New York, with the other being Interstate 5, in California. In addition, I-990, a short spur route near Buffalo, New York not directly connected to I-90, is the highest number given to an Interstate.
I-790 in Utica used to have a completely direct connection with I-90 at Thruway interchange 31. Various road redesign projects over the years have eventually led to this direct connection being partially severed. Traffic exiting the Thruway must use two different surface streets to reach I-790. However, it is still possible to travel from I-790 directly onto the Thruway. I-790 has some other oddities: no exit numbers, no reassurance markers, and it runs concurrent with New York State Route 5 for its entire length.
The New York section of I-90 west of the Berkshire Section of the New York Thruway is defined as Interstate Route 504 in New York Highway Law § 340-a.[10]
I-90 in Massachusetts runs along the pre-Interstate era Massachusetts Turnpike, which opened on May 15, 1957, from West Stockbridge at the New York state border to Route 128.
The first section of the Boston Extension opened in September 1964 from the original terminus at Route 128 to the Allston/Brighton Tolls. The entire Boston Extension opened on February 18, 1965 continuing from the Allston/Brighton Tolls to I-93 in Downtown Boston. The new extension added 12 miles (19 km) to the MassPike's original 123.
I-90 was extended again as part of the Big Dig from its terminus at I-93 to Boston's Logan International Airport and a terminus of Route 1A in January 2003 via tunnels under the Fort Point Channel and the Ted Williams Tunnel under Boston Harbor. This extended I-90 by an additional 1.3 miles (2.1 km), shifting the eastern terminus to Route 1A.
Turnpike Doubles are permitted to travel between exit 11 and through the New York state border.
I-90 made heavy use of existing roads. The Massachusetts Turnpike, New York State Thruway, Ohio Turnpike, Indiana Toll Road, Chicago Skyway, and the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway all predate I-90 and were used for parts of its route. This also means that substantial portions of the route are not precisely to Interstate Highway standards, but they are usually close.
The popular TV sitcom Cheers was set in Boston, on the east end of I-90. When the spin-off Frasier was being developed, it was decided to set that series as far from Boston as possible, so Seattle, on the west end of I-90, was chosen as the setting.
I-90 is the only interstate to have a complete set of auxiliary routes (i.e., all nine possible three-digit route numbers) within a single state, that being New York.
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| OpenStreetMap has geographic data related to: Interstate 90 |
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Main Interstate Highways (major interstates highlighted) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 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 - Temporary - Future - Gaps | |||||||||||||||||
| Auxiliary | Main - Future - Unsigned | ||||||||||||||||||
| Other | Standards - Business - Bypassed - Tolled | ||||||||||||||||||