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115-770: Interstate 95 ( I-95 ) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States , running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida , north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadian province of New Brunswick . The highway largely parallels the Atlantic coast and US 1, except for the portion between Savannah, Georgia , and Washington, D.C. , and

230-522: A concurrency or overlap. For example, I‑75 and I‑85 share the same roadway in Atlanta ; this 7.4-mile (11.9 km) section, called the Downtown Connector , is labeled both I‑75 and I‑85. Concurrencies between Interstate and US Highway numbers are also allowed in accordance with AASHTO policy, as long as the length of the concurrency is reasonable. In rare instances, two highway designations sharing

345-714: A gap existed on I-95 within New Jersey. From Pennsylvania, I-95 entered the state on the Scudder Falls Bridge and continued east to US 1 in Lawrence Township . Here, I-95 abruptly ended and transitioned into I-295 . From New York, I-95 entered the state on the George Washington Bridge and followed the New Jersey Turnpike south to exit 6, ran along an extension of the turnpike, and ended on

460-637: A 28-year-old brevet lieutenant colonel, accompanied the trip "through darkest America with truck and tank," as he later described it. Some roads in the West were a "succession of dust, ruts, pits, and holes." As the landmark 1916 law expired, new legislation was passed—the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921 (Phipps Act). This new road construction initiative once again provided for federal matching funds for road construction and improvement, $ 75 million allocated annually. Moreover, this new legislation for

575-511: A 37-mile-long (60 km) concurrency with Route 128 , a beltway that traverses Boston's inner suburbs. At this point, I-93 has its southern terminus and provides access to the city of Boston itself. I-95 intersects the Massachusetts Turnpike /I-90 at the Weston – Newton line and I-93 a second time at the tripoint of Woburn , Reading , and Stoneham . North of Boston, I-95 leaves

690-476: A change in the numbering system as a result of a new policy adopted in 1973. Previously, letter-suffixed numbers were used for long spurs off primary routes; for example, western I‑84 was I‑80N, as it went north from I‑80 . The new policy stated, "No new divided numbers (such as I-35W and I-35E , etc.) shall be adopted." The new policy also recommended that existing divided numbers be eliminated as quickly as possible; however, an I-35W and I-35E still exist in

805-526: A final turn to the east, reaching the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing in Houlton . The road continues into the Canadian province of New Brunswick as Route 95 . Many parts of I-95 were made up of toll roads that had already been constructed or planned, particularly in the northeast. Many of these routes still exist today, but some have removed their tolls. All current I-95 toll facilities are compatible with

920-574: A locally significant port for imports and exports. The Intracoastal Waterway follows the Indian River as it passes through the Treasure Coast. The Okeechobee Waterway connects Stuart with Ft. Myers on the west coast, passing through Lake Okeechobee about halfway along the route. Despite its large population, the Treasure Coast has only two major north–south highways running through the area: Florida's Turnpike (a toll road) and Interstate 95 . In

1035-554: A more inland route to the west. I-95 does not go near any major cities in South Carolina, with the largest city along its route being Florence , the tenth largest in the state . The rest of South Carolina can be accessed via other Interstates that intersect I-95. It intersects I-26 near Harleyville , which provides access to Charleston , Columbia , and Upstate South Carolina . It also intersects I-20 at Florence, which also connects to Columbia and then on to Atlanta, Georgia . At

1150-576: A numbering scheme in which primary Interstates are assigned one- or two-digit numbers, and shorter routes which branch off of longer ones are assigned three-digit numbers where the last two digits match the parent route. The Interstate Highway System is partially financed through the Highway Trust Fund , which itself is funded by a combination of a federal fuel tax and transfers from the Treasury's general fund. Though federal legislation initially banned

1265-481: A proposal for an interstate highway system, eventually resulting in the enactment of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 . Unlike the earlier United States Numbered Highway System, the interstates were designed to be all freeways, with nationally unified standards for construction and signage. While some older freeways were adopted into the system, most of the routes were completely new. In dense urban areas,

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1380-540: A report called Toll Roads and Free Roads , "the first formal description of what became the Interstate Highway System" and, in 1944, the similarly themed Interregional Highways . The Interstate Highway System gained a champion in President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was influenced by his experiences as a young Army officer crossing the country in the 1919 Motor Transport Corps convoy that drove in part on

1495-409: A single digit prefixed to the two-digit number of its parent Interstate Highway. Spur routes deviate from their parent and do not return; these are given an odd first digit. Circumferential and radial loop routes return to the parent, and are given an even first digit. Unlike primary Interstates, three-digit Interstates are signed as either east–west or north–south, depending on the general orientation of

1610-769: A speed limit of 45 mph (70 km/h) because it is a parkway that consists of only one lane per side of the highway. On the other hand, Interstates 15, 80, 84, and 215 in Utah have speed limits as high as 70 mph (115 km/h) within the Wasatch Front , Cedar City , and St. George areas, and I-25 in New Mexico within the Santa Fe and Las Vegas areas along with I-20 in Texas along Odessa and Midland and I-29 in North Dakota along

1725-456: A speed limit of 80 mph (130 km/h). Other Interstates in Idaho, Montana, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming also have the same high speed limits. In some areas, speed limits on Interstates can be significantly lower in areas where they traverse significantly hazardous areas. The maximum speed limit on I-90 is 50 mph (80 km/h) in downtown Cleveland because of two sharp curves with

1840-467: A suggested limit of 35 mph (55 km/h) in a heavily congested area; I-70 through Wheeling, West Virginia , has a maximum speed limit of 45 mph (70 km/h) through the Wheeling Tunnel and most of downtown Wheeling; and I-68 has a maximum speed limit of 40 mph (65 km/h) through Cumberland, Maryland , because of multiple hazards including sharp curves and narrow lanes through

1955-456: 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 Washington metropolitan area. 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

2070-534: Is also commonly believed the Interstate Highway System was built for the sole purpose of evacuating cities in the event of nuclear warfare . While military motivations were present, the primary motivations were civilian. The numbering scheme for the Interstate Highway System was developed in 1957 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). The association's present numbering policy dates back to August 10, 1973. Within

2185-691: 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 high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes on the Capital Beltway (I-495/I-95), this project was completed in July 2007. 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,

2300-548: Is the only main north–south roadway passing through the cities. Along the western banks of the Indian River, and often on the barrier island for the region ( Hutchinson Island and Orchid Island ), is Florida State Road A1A . Beginning in Stuart, Florida State Road 76 runs west out of Stuart, passing Indiantown around halfway through before ending at an intersection with U.S. 98 / 441 in Port Mayaca . Shortly after leaving Stuart,

2415-533: Is the shortest section of the highway (excluding D.C.). In Maine , I-95 follows the Maine Turnpike , closely following the coast in a northeasterly direction until reaching Portland , the state's largest city. From there, it turns northward to Augusta , where the Maine Turnpike ends while I-95 continues north to Palmyra , where it turns east to Bangor . From Bangor, it turns north again to Smyrna and makes

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2530-525: Is to have the highway route extend from Tamaulipas , Mexico to Ontario , Canada. The planned I-11 will then bridge the Interstate gap between Phoenix, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada , and thus form part of the CANAMEX Corridor (along with I-19 , and portions of I-10 and I-15 ) between Sonora , Mexico and Alberta , Canada. Political opposition from residents canceled many freeway projects around

2645-493: The Connecticut Turnpike . I-95 enters New England in the state of Connecticut, where it closely follows the state's southern coast. The highway's direction through Connecticut is primarily east–west, and it passes through the most densely populated part of the state, including the cities of Stamford , Bridgeport (the state's most populous city), and New Haven . In New Haven, it intersects with I-91 as it passes into

2760-474: The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex in Texas, and an I-35W and I-35E that run through Minneapolis and Saint Paul , Minnesota, still exist. Additionally, due to Congressional requirements, three sections of I-69 in southern Texas will be divided into I-69W , I-69E , and I-69C (for Central). AASHTO policy allows dual numbering to provide continuity between major control points. This is referred to as

2875-564: The Delaware Turnpike east across Delaware until the large and complex I-495 / I-295 / US 202 / Delaware Route 141 interchange near Newport and turns northeast through Wilmington , skirting the west side of the downtown area before leaving Delaware in Claymont at the state's extreme northeastern corner. I-95 is the only two-digit interstate highway in Delaware, and it only passes through

2990-579: 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 (E-ZPass is now compatible with SunPass). 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). Additionally,

3105-538: The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 into law. Under the act, the federal government would pay for 90 percent of the cost of construction of Interstate Highways. Each Interstate Highway was required to be a freeway with at least four lanes and no at-grade crossings. The publication in 1955 of the General Location of National System of Interstate Highways , informally known as the Yellow Book , mapped out what became

3220-893: The Fuller Warren Bridge , spanning the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, was tolled until the 1980s. Today, tolls remain on Maryland's Fort McHenry Tunnel and John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway , the Delaware Turnpike , the Pennsylvania Turnpike , the New Jersey Turnpike , New York's George Washington Bridge and New England Thruway , the New Hampshire Turnpike , and the Maine Turnpike . By 1968, three states had completed their sections of I-95: Connecticut, using its existing turnpikes; New York; and Delaware. Until 2018,

3335-603: The Grand Forks area have higher speed limits of 75 mph (120 km/h). As one of the components of the National Highway System , Interstate Highways improve the mobility of military troops to and from airports, seaports, rail terminals, and other military bases. Interstate Highways also connect to other roads that are a part of the Strategic Highway Network , a system of roads identified as critical to

3450-515: The Lincoln Highway , the first road across America. He recalled that, "The old convoy had started me thinking about good two-lane highways... the wisdom of broader ribbons across our land." Eisenhower also gained an appreciation of the Reichsautobahn system, the first "national" implementation of modern Germany's Autobahn network, as a necessary component of a national defense system while he

3565-580: The Mid-Atlantic ; and New Haven , Providence , Boston , and Portland in New England . The Charleston , Wilmington , and Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan areas, the three major coastal metros bypassed by the highway's inland portion, are connected to I-95 by I-26 , I-40 , and I-64 , respectively. I-95 is one of the oldest routes of the Interstate Highway System. Many sections of I-95 incorporated preexisting sections of toll roads where they served

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3680-643: The National Highway System in the United States . The system extends throughout the contiguous United States and has routes in Hawaii , Alaska , and Puerto Rico . In the 20th century, the United States Congress began funding roadways through the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 , and started an effort to construct a national road grid with the passage of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921 . In 1926,

3795-653: The Office of Management and Budget and used for statistical purposes by the Census Bureau and other agencies: the Port St. Lucie MSA (comprising St. Lucie and Martin counties) and the Sebastian–Vero Beach, Florida MSA (comprising Indian River County). The area has long been inhabited, but like other of Florida's vernacular regions, a popular identity for the area did not emerge until the area had its initial population boom in

3910-690: The Pennsylvania Turnpike near Bristol before entering New Jersey on the Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge . In New Jersey, I-95 follows the Pearl Harbor Memorial Turnpike Extension of the New Jersey Turnpike , crossing the Delaware River on the Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge , joining the mainline turnpike at exit 6. I-95 has interchanges with I-78 in Newark and I-80 in southern Teaneck . At

4025-655: The Richmond–Petersburg Turnpike into downtown Richmond (where it is concurrent briefly with I-64 ), and, from there, it turns northeast as it enters Northern Virginia . In the Washington metropolitan area , it is concurrent with the Capital Beltway from the Springfield Interchange along with I-495 , before passing through the southernmost corner of the District of Columbia for about 0.11 miles (0.18 km) along

4140-593: The Twelve-Mile Circle , the northernmost part of the state. Entering southeastern Pennsylvania near Marcus Hook , I-95 crosses Delaware County and the city of Chester , closely following the Delaware River . Entering Philadelphia near Philadelphia International Airport , the freeway has an interchange with I-76 before it follows a large viaduct along the extreme eastern edge of Center City Philadelphia . Northeast of Philadelphia in Bucks County , I-95 joins

4255-499: The US Department of Defense . The system has also been used to facilitate evacuations in the face of hurricanes and other natural disasters. An option for maximizing traffic throughput on a highway is to reverse the flow of traffic on one side of a divider so that all lanes become outbound lanes. This procedure, known as contraflow lane reversal , has been employed several times for hurricane evacuations. After public outcry regarding

4370-464: The US Highways , which increase from east to west and north to south). This numbering system usually holds true even if the local direction of the route does not match the compass directions. Numbers divisible by five are intended to be major arteries among the primary routes, carrying traffic long distances. Primary north–south Interstates increase in number from I-5 between Canada and Mexico along

4485-491: The United States Numbered Highway System was established, creating the first national road numbering system for cross-country travel. The roads were state-funded and maintained, and there were few national standards for road design. United States Numbered Highways ranged from two-lane country roads to multi-lane freeways. After Dwight D. Eisenhower became president in 1953, his administration developed

4600-489: The West Coast to I‑95 between Canada and Miami, Florida along the East Coast . Major west–east arterial Interstates increase in number from I-10 between Santa Monica, California , and Jacksonville, Florida , to I-90 between Seattle, Washington , and Boston, Massachusetts , with two exceptions. There are no I-50 and I-60, as routes with those numbers would likely pass through states that currently have US Highways with

4715-549: The Woodrow Wilson Bridge before entering Maryland near National Harbor, Maryland . In Maryland, I-95 goes northeast toward Baltimore, paralleling the older Baltimore–Washington Parkway . I-95 uses the Fort McHenry Tunnel to travel under Baltimore's Inner Harbor and travels through northeast Maryland along the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway, crossing into Delaware near Elkton . Entering Delaware at Newark , I-95 follows

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4830-641: The 20th century. It is one of several "coast" regions in Florida, such as the Gold Coast and the First Coast . The term was coined by John J. Schumann Jr. and Harry J. Schultz of the Vero Beach Press Journal newspaper shortly after salvagers began recovering Spanish treasure off the coast in 1961. The discovery of treasure from the 1715 Treasure Fleet , lost in a hurricane near the Sebastian Inlet ,

4945-559: The Congress Hotel in Chicago. In the plan, Mehren proposed a 50,000-mile (80,000 km) system, consisting of five east–west routes and 10 north–south routes. The system would include two percent of all roads and would pass through every state at a cost of $ 25,000 per mile ($ 16,000/km), providing commercial as well as military transport benefits. In 1919, the US Army sent an expedition across

5060-405: The Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge at the Pennsylvania state line, where the route transitioned into I-276 . This discontinuity was caused by the 1983 cancelation of the Somerset Freeway , a planned alignment of I-95 further inland from the turnpike. In order to close the gap, an interchange was constructed where I-95 crosses the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bristol Township, Pennsylvania . After

5175-414: The Florida East Coast by 1958. Amtrak and the Florida Department of Transportation had been discussing returning passenger service to the coast. In 2023, Brightline , an inter-city rail route that currently runs between Miami and Orlando , announced that it was looking for sites for a new station on the Treasure Coast. On March 4, 2024, Brightline officially announced that an infill station on

5290-401: 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". According to the Corridor Coalition, I-95 serves 110 million people and facilitates 40 percent of the country's gross domestic product . I-95 begins at US 1 just south of downtown Miami and travels along

5405-407: The Interstate Highway System. Assisting in the planning was Charles Erwin Wilson , who was still head of General Motors when President Eisenhower selected him as Secretary of Defense in January 1953. Some sections of highways that became part of the Interstate Highway System actually began construction earlier. Three states have claimed the title of first Interstate Highway. Missouri claims that

5520-424: The Interstate Highway program. The Interstates of Alaska and Puerto Rico are numbered sequentially in order of funding without regard to the rules on odd and even numbers. They also carry the prefixes A and PR , respectively. However, these highways are signed according to their local designations, not their Interstate Highway numbers. Furthermore, these routes were neither planned according to nor constructed to

5635-403: The Mid-Atlantic region is tolled, following the course of several turnpikes that predate the Interstate Highway System, as well as several other toll roads and toll bridges. I-95 enters the Mid-Atlantic region in Virginia and travels through the center of the densest and most populous urban region in the US . I-95 travels north–south through Virginia, passing through Petersburg , and follows

5750-669: The North Carolina border, I-95 passes the South of the Border roadside attraction . In North Carolina, I-95 informally serves as the separation between the state's central Piedmont and eastern Atlantic Plain regions. Much like its route in South Carolina, I-95 runs through mostly rural areas, avoiding major cities like Raleigh and Durham . The route intersects I-74 near Lumberton , I-40 near Benson , and Future I-87 / US 64 near Rocky Mount . Several medium-sized cities lie along I-95 in North Carolina, including (from south to north) Fayetteville , Wilson , and Rocky Mount. At Gaston , I-95 crosses into Virginia. Much of I-95 in

5865-402: 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 US multistate 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. I-95 from the South Carolina–Georgia line to

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5980-572: The Treasure Coast's population is made up of census-designated places (CDPs), with almost all of these in Martin and Indian River counties. Only one city on the Treasure Coast has a population greater than 100,000 inhabitants, which is Port St. Lucie in St. Lucie County. Here is the classification of the places of the Treasure Coast. C for city, T for town, and V for village. Vero Beach Regional Airport offers commercial passenger service on Breeze Airways . Other commercial airports nearby include Melbourne's Melbourne Orlando International Airport to

6095-412: The Treasure Coast, notably the Indian River , a part of the Indian River Lagoon system. At certain seasons of the year, bridges may impede the red drift-algal flow, causing a "rotten egg" hydrogen sulfide odor in the area. The Treasure Coast is also bordered by the Atlantic portion of the Intracoastal Waterway , a stretch of closed water from Brownsville, Texas , to Boston, Massachusetts . Much of

6210-457: The US side of the Canadian border . Legislators argued that extension of the Interstate would promote economic growth in the region. On June 11, 2023, a portion of the northbound section of I-95 collapsed in Philadelphia . This was due to a gasoline tanker catching fire after a crash. A temporary roadway opened at the site of the collapsed bridge ten days later, on June 23, 2023. I-95 has many auxiliary routes. They can be found in most states

6325-506: The US to determine the difficulties that military vehicles would have on a cross-country trip. Leaving from the Ellipse near the White House on July 7, the Motor Transport Corps convoy needed 62 days to drive 3,200 miles (5,100 km) on the Lincoln Highway to the Presidio of San Francisco along the Golden Gate . The convoy suffered many setbacks and problems on the route, such as poor-quality bridges, broken crankshafts, and engines clogged with desert sand. Dwight Eisenhower , then

6440-631: The United States, including: In addition to cancellations, removals of freeways are planned: The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has defined a set of standards that all new Interstates must meet unless a waiver from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is obtained. One almost absolute standard is the controlled access nature of the roads. With few exceptions , traffic lights (and cross traffic in general) are limited to toll booths and ramp meters (metered flow control for lane merging during rush hour ). Being freeways , Interstate Highways usually have

6555-409: The Wilson Bridge, and about 20 miles (32 km) south of Baltimore near Laurel, Maryland , construction on a large new interchange began in 2008, was scheduled for completion in late 2011, and opened to traffic on November 9, 2014, which connects I-95 to Maryland Route 200 (MD 200). In 2006, the Virginia General Assembly passed SJ184, a resolution calling for an interstate compact to build

6670-413: The act was signed, and paving started September 26, 1956. The state marked its portion of I-70 as the first project in the United States completed under the provisions of the new Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. The Pennsylvania Turnpike could also be considered one of the first Interstate Highways, and is nicknamed "Grandfather of the Interstate System". On October 1, 1940, 162 miles (261 km) of

6785-399: The beltway and heads northward in Peabody , while Route 128 continues east to Cape Ann . I-95 leaves Massachusetts in Salisbury . I-95 enters New Hampshire in the town of Seabrook , following the pre-Interstate New Hampshire Turnpike and traversing the 18-mile-long (29 km) Seacoast Region and the historic city of Portsmouth where it leaves the state. I-95 in New Hampshire

6900-461: The boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx . Within this 15-mile (24 km) stretch, I-95 intersects I-87 in the South Bronx , which connects to Albany and Upstate New York , as well as several auxiliary Interstates that provide access to other New York City boroughs and to Long Island . Entering Westchester County in Pelham , I-95 then follows the New England Thruway northeast to the Connecticut border at Port Chester , where it continues as

7015-399: The cancellation of the Somerset Freeway . This situation was remedied when the construction of the Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 95 Interchange Project started in 2010 and partially opened on September 22, 2018, which was already enough to fill the gap. However, I-70 remains discontinuous in Pennsylvania , because of the lack of a direct interchange with the Pennsylvania Turnpike at

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7130-406: The choice of routing destroyed many well-established neighborhoods, often intentionally as part of a program of " urban renewal ". In the two decades following the 1956 Highway Act, the construction of the freeways displaced one million people, and as a result of the many freeway revolts during this era, several planned Interstates were abandoned or re-routed to avoid urban cores. Construction of

7245-538: The city. In some locations, low speed limits are the result of lawsuits and resident demands; after holding up the completion of I-35E in St. Paul, Minnesota , for nearly 30 years in the courts, residents along the stretch of the freeway from the southern city limit to downtown successfully lobbied for a 45 mph (70 km/h) speed limit in addition to a prohibition on any vehicle weighing more than 9,000 pounds (4,100 kg) gross vehicle weight . I-93 in Franconia Notch State Park in northern New Hampshire has

7360-500: The coast throughout the region. It also operates a rail yard just south of downtown Fort Pierce. U.S. Sugar 's South Central Florida Express, Inc. (SCXF) leases tracks between Pahokee and Fort Pierce from the FEC, known as the Lake Harbor Branch (K Branch) . Along with trackage rights into FEC's Fort Pierce Yard, they also have a car haulage arrangement with FEC to Jacksonville to interchange with CSX and Norfolk Southern. Up until 1963, long-distance passenger trains operated along

7475-401: The collection of tolls, some Interstate routes are toll roads , either because they were grandfathered into the system or because subsequent legislation has allowed for tolling of Interstates in some cases. As of 2022 , about one quarter of all vehicle miles driven in the country used the Interstate Highway System, which has a total length of 48,890 miles (78,680 km). In 2022 and 2023,

7590-472: The community. The Treasure Coast includes two metropolitan statistical areas designated by the Office of Management and Budget and used for statistical purposes by the Census Bureau and other agencies. These are: All of the Treasure Coast is shielded from the Atlantic Ocean by narrow sandbars and barrier islands that protect the shallow lagoons, rivers, and bays. Immediately inland, pine and palmetto flatlands are abundant. Numerous lakes and rivers run through

7705-431: The construction and improvement of highways. The nation's revenue needs associated with World War I prevented any significant implementation of this policy, which expired in 1921. In December 1918, E. J. Mehren, a civil engineer and the editor of Engineering News-Record , presented his "A Suggested National Highway Policy and Plan" during a gathering of the State Highway Officials and Highway Industries Association at

7820-407: The contiguous United States, primary Interstates—also called main line Interstates or two-digit Interstates—are assigned numbers less than 100. While numerous exceptions do exist, there is a general scheme for numbering Interstates. Primary Interstates are assigned one- or two-digit numbers, while shorter routes (such as spurs, loops, and short connecting roads) are assigned three-digit numbers where

7935-567: The discontinuity, but they have been blocked by local opposition, fearing a loss of business. The Interstate Highway System has been expanded numerous times. The expansions have both created new designations and extended existing designations. For example, I-49 , added to the system in the 1980s as a freeway in Louisiana , was designated as an expansion corridor, and FHWA approved the expanded route north from Lafayette, Louisiana , to Kansas City, Missouri . The freeway exists today as separate completed segments, with segments under construction or in

8050-448: The dissemination of public information. As a result, the 2005 evacuation of New Orleans, Louisiana, prior to Hurricane Katrina ran much more smoothly. According to urban legend , early regulations required that one out of every five miles of the Interstate Highway System must be built straight and flat, so as to be usable by aircraft during times of war. There is no evidence of this rule being included in any Interstate legislation. It

8165-445: The eastern end of the concurrency near Breezewood . Traveling in either direction, I-70 traffic must exit the freeway and use a short stretch of US 30 (which includes a number of roadside services) to rejoin I-70. The interchange was not originally built because of a legacy federal funding rule, since relaxed, which restricted the use of federal funds to improve roads financed with tolls. Solutions have been proposed to eliminate

8280-450: The economy. Not just as a public works measure, but for future growth. Clay's committee proposed a 10-year, $ 100 billion program ($ 1.13 trillion in 2023), which would build 40,000 miles (64,000 km) of divided highways linking all American cities with a population of greater than 50,000. Eisenhower initially preferred a system consisting of toll roads , but Clay convinced Eisenhower that toll roads were not feasible outside of

8395-683: The end of the turnpike in Fort Lee , I-95 turns east along its own freeway alignment and connects to New York City (and crosses into New York state) over the Hudson River via the George Washington Bridge . I-95 in New York City comprises all or part of several named expressways, including the Trans-Manhattan , Cross Bronx , and Bruckner expressways, as it crosses east-northeast across

8510-488: The existing, largely non-freeway, United States Numbered Highways system. By the late 1930s, planning had expanded to a system of new superhighways. In 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave Thomas MacDonald , chief at the Bureau of Public Roads, a hand-drawn map of the United States marked with eight superhighway corridors for study. In 1939, Bureau of Public Roads Division of Information chief Herbert S. Fairbank wrote

8625-426: The federal government, Interstate Highways are owned by the state in which they were built. With few exceptions , all Interstates must meet specific standards , such as having controlled access, physical barriers or median strips between lanes of oncoming traffic, breakdown lanes , avoiding at-grade intersections , no traffic lights , and complying with federal traffic sign specifications. Interstate Highways use

8740-538: The first components of the interchange opened on September 22, 2018, I-95 was rerouted onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike, meeting up with where I-95 previously ended at the state line. This project closed the last remaining gap in the route. The former section of I-95 between the Pennsylvania Turnpike and US 1 in Lawrence became an extension of I-295. The interchange with the Pennsylvania Turnpike will be expanded in

8855-507: The first three contracts under the new program were signed in Missouri on August 2, 1956. The first contract signed was for upgrading a section of US Route 66 to what is now designated Interstate 44 . On August 13, 1956, work began on US 40 (now I-70) in St. Charles County. Kansas claims that it was the first to start paving after the act was signed. Preliminary construction had taken place before

8970-594: The first time sought to target these funds to the construction of a national road grid of interconnected "primary highways", setting up cooperation among the various state highway planning boards. The Bureau of Public Roads asked the Army to provide a list of roads that it considered necessary for national defense. In 1922, General John J. Pershing , former head of the American Expeditionary Force in Europe during

9085-590: The first time. With a length of 1,924 miles (3,096 km), I-95 is the longest north–south Interstate and the sixth-longest Interstate Highway overall . I-95 passes through 15 states (as well as a brief stretch in the District of Columbia while crossing the Potomac River ), more than any other Interstate. According to the US Census Bureau , only five of the 96 counties or county equivalents along its route are completely rural, while statistics provided by

9200-1197: The freeway's southern terminus in South Florida has been widened to a minimum of six lanes. The section from Jacksonville to the I-4 junction in Daytona Beach was expanded to six lanes in 2005. Projects begun in 2009, widening the roadbed in Brevard County from the State Route ;528 junction in Cocoa to Palm Bay , as well as in northern Palm Beach County . The last segments of I-95 in Florida to remain at only four lanes have now been upgraded, providing motorists with about 500 miles (800 km) of continuous six-lane roadbed. 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 . The proposed route would parallel New Brunswick's four-lane, limited-access Trans-Canada Highway on

9315-560: The future, connecting northbound I-95 with the westbound turnpike and the eastbound turnpike with southbound I-95. In the 21st century, several large projects between Richmond, Virginia , and New Jersey have aimed to decrease congestion 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

9430-542: The highest speed limits in a given area. Speed limits are determined by individual states. From 1975 to 1986, the maximum speed limit on any highway in the United States was 55 miles per hour (90 km/h), in accordance with federal law. Typically, lower limits are established in Northeastern and coastal states, while higher speed limits are established in inland states west of the Mississippi River . For example,

9545-542: The highly populated coastal regions. In February 1955, Eisenhower forwarded Clay's proposal to Congress. The bill quickly won approval in the Senate, but House Democrats objected to the use of public bonds as the means to finance construction. Eisenhower and the House Democrats agreed to instead finance the system through the Highway Trust Fund , which itself would be funded by a gasoline tax. In June 1956, Eisenhower signed

9660-607: The highway now designated I‑70 and I‑76 opened between Irwin and Carlisle . The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania refers to the turnpike as the Granddaddy of the Pikes, a reference to turnpikes . Milestones in the construction of the Interstate Highway System include: The initial cost estimate for the system was $ 25 billion over 12 years; it ended up costing $ 114 billion (equivalent to $ 425 billion in 2006 or $ 618 billion in 2023 ) and took 35 years. The system

9775-454: The inefficiency of evacuating from southern Louisiana prior to Hurricane Georges ' landfall in September 1998, government officials looked towards contraflow to improve evacuation times. In Savannah, Georgia , and Charleston, South Carolina , in 1999, lanes of I-16 and I-26 were used in a contraflow configuration in anticipation of Hurricane Floyd with mixed results. In 2004, contraflow

9890-431: The last two digits match the parent route (thus, I-294 is a loop that connects at both ends to I-94 , while I-787 is a short spur route attached to I-87 ). In the numbering scheme for the primary routes, east–west highways are assigned even numbers and north–south highways are assigned odd numbers. Odd route numbers increase from west to east, and even-numbered routes increase from south to north (to avoid confusion with

10005-450: The mainline. Some auxiliary highways do not follow these guidelines, however. The Interstate Highway System also extends to Alaska , Hawaii , and Puerto Rico , even though they have no direct land connections to any other states or territories. However, their residents still pay federal fuel and tire taxes. The Interstates in Hawaii, all located on the most populous island of Oahu , carry

10120-630: The maximum speed limit is 75 mph (120 km/h) in northern Maine, varies between 50 and 70 mph (80 and 115 km/h) from southern Maine to New Jersey, and is 50 mph (80 km/h) in New York City and the District of Columbia. Currently, rural speed limits elsewhere generally range from 65 to 80 miles per hour (105 to 130 km/h). Several portions of various highways such as I-10 and I-20 in rural western Texas, I-80 in Nevada between Fernley and Winnemucca (except around Lovelock) and portions of I-15 , I-70 , I-80 , and I-84 in Utah have

10235-577: The mid-1990s and is expected to continue through at least 2020. Several miles of the Connecticut Turnpike through Bridgeport were 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

10350-525: The more rural areas of the Lower Connecticut River Valley . I-95 leaves the Connecticut Turnpike at I-395 at the East Lyme – Waterford town line. I-95 next passes New London and Groton , before the route curves northeast and leaving its close connection to the coast. It leaves Connecticut in the town of North Stonington . I-95 enters Rhode Island in the town of Hopkinton and connects

10465-633: The north (40 miles from Vero Beach), and West Palm Beach's Palm Beach International Airport to the south (30 miles from Hobe Sound). Other small regional airports in the area include Treasure Coast International Airport in Fort Pierce, and Witham Field in Stuart . The Port of Fort Pierce , in Ft. Pierce, located along the Indian River across from the Fort Pierce Inlet , is one of Florida’s 14 deepwater ports and

10580-404: The number of fatalities on the Interstate Highway System amounted to more than 5,000 people annually, with nearly 5,600 fatalities in 2022. The United States government's efforts to construct a national network of highways began on an ad hoc basis with the passage of the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 , which provided $ 75 million over a five-year period for matching funds to the states for

10695-503: The official Interstate Highway standards . On one- or two-digit Interstates, the mile marker numbering almost always begins at the southern or western state line. If an Interstate originates within a state, the numbering begins from the location where the road begins in the south or west. As with all guidelines for Interstate routes, however, numerous exceptions exist. Treasure Coast The Treasure Coast area includes parts of two metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) designated by

10810-561: The original Interstate Highway System was proclaimed complete in 1992, despite deviations from the original 1956 plan and several stretches that did not fully conform with federal standards . The construction of the Interstate Highway System cost approximately $ 114 billion (equivalent to $ 618 billion in 2023). The system has continued to expand and grow as additional federal funding has provided for new routes to be added, and many future Interstate Highways are currently either being planned or under construction. Though heavily funded by

10925-633: The planning phase between them. In 1966, the FHWA designated the entire Interstate Highway System as part of the larger Pan-American Highway System, and at least two proposed Interstate expansions were initiated to help trade with Canada and Mexico spurred by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Long-term plans for I-69 , which currently exists in several separate completed segments (the largest of which are in Indiana and Texas ),

11040-561: The portion between Portland and Houlton in Maine, both of which follow a more direct inland route. I-95 serves as the principal road link between the major cities of the Eastern Seaboard . Major metropolitan areas along its route include Miami , Jacksonville , Savannah , and Richmond in the Southeast ; Washington , Baltimore , Wilmington–Philadelphia , Newark , and New York City in

11155-411: The prefix H . There are three one-digit routes in the state ( H-1 , H-2 , and H-3 ) and one auxiliary route ( H-201 ). These Interstates connect several military and naval bases together, as well as the important communities spread across Oahu, and especially within the urban core of Honolulu . Both Alaska and Puerto Rico also have public highways that receive 90 percent of their funding from

11270-543: The road parallels the St. Lucie Canal along its southern edge until both terminate along the eastern shore of Lake Okeechobee. Florida State Road 70 runs east-west, beginning in Ft. Pierce, passing through Okeechobee before terminating in Bradenton , 148 miles (238 km) from Ft. Pierce. Florida State Road 60 connects Vero Beach in the east with Clearwater to the west, 161 miles (259 km) away. The Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) operates freight service along

11385-574: The route runs through, with exceptions being Georgia, South Carolina, and New Hampshire. Business routes also exist in both Georgia and North Carolina. Interstate Highway [REDACTED] The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways , commonly known as the Interstate Highway System , or the Eisenhower Interstate System , is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of

11500-471: The route, without regard to the route number. For instance, I-190 in Massachusetts is labeled north–south, while I-195 in New Jersey is labeled east–west. Some looped Interstate routes use inner–outer directions instead of compass directions, when the use of compass directions would create ambiguity. Due to the large number of these routes, auxiliary route numbers may be repeated in different states along

11615-634: The route. Among the most notable passenger trains were (main sponsors and destinations) the East Coast Champion ( Atlantic Coast Line , New York City ); City of Miami ( Illinois Central , Chicago ); Dixie Flyer ( Louisville & Nashville , Chicago); Florida Special (winter season only; Florida East Coast Railway, New York City); Havana Special (Florida East Coast Railway, New York City); South Wind (Louisville & Nashville, Chicago). The Southern Railway 's Royal Palm from Cincinnati ended its service south of Jacksonville, along

11730-453: The rural areas of the southwestern corner of the state with the more metropolitan region around the state capital, Providence , in the state's northeastern corner. It leaves Rhode Island in the city of Pawtucket . Entering Massachusetts in Attleboro , I-95 heads northeast toward Boston . In Canton , roughly a mile (1.6 km) south of Boston's city limits, it turns to the west and begins

11845-619: The same right-of-way . Until 2018, there was a gap in I-95's original routing in Central New Jersey caused by the cancelation of the Somerset Freeway . An interchange between the Pennsylvania Turnpike and I-95 was completed September 22, 2018; this allowed I-95 to be rerouted along the Pearl Harbor Memorial Turnpike Extension of the New Jersey Turnpike into Pennsylvania , creating a continuous Interstate route from Maine to Florida for

11960-419: The same numbers, which is generally disallowed under highway administration guidelines. Several two-digit numbers are shared between unconnected road segments at opposite ends of the country for various reasons. Some such highways are incomplete Interstates (such as I-69 and I-74 ) and some just happen to share route designations (such as I-76 , I-84 , I‑86 , I-87 , and I-88 ). Some of these were due to

12075-503: The same roadway are signed as traveling in opposite directions; one such wrong-way concurrency is found between Wytheville and Fort Chiswell , Virginia, where I‑81 north and I‑77 south are equivalent (with that section of road traveling almost due east), as are I‑81 south and I‑77 north. Auxiliary Interstate Highways are circumferential, radial, or spur highways that principally serve urban areas . These types of Interstate Highways are given three-digit route numbers, which consist of

12190-416: The southern half of the Treasure Coast, both routes run generally parallel to each other (twice crossing each other), but are mostly located along the extreme western edges of the cities lining the coast. North of Ft. Pierce, the turnpike leaves the Treasure Coast, heading northwest towards Orlando , leaving 95 as the only north-south highway in the northern half of the area. Much closer to the coast, U.S. 1

12305-634: The state's east coast, passing through Fort Lauderdale , West Palm Beach , the Gold Coast , the Treasure Coast , the Space Coast , Daytona Beach , Port Orange , St. Augustine , and Jacksonville before entering the US state of Georgia near the city of Kingsland . In Miami and Fort Lauderdale, SunPass express lanes pass over the highway. Before 1987, a notable gap in the highway existed between West Palm Beach and Fort Pierce ; I-95 traffic between those cities

12420-490: The war, complied by submitting a detailed network of 20,000 miles (32,000 km) of interconnected primary highways—the so-called Pershing Map . A boom in road construction followed throughout the decade of the 1920s, with such projects as the New York parkway system constructed as part of a new national highway system. As automobile traffic increased, planners saw a need for such an interconnected national system to supplement

12535-451: The western sides of both cities' metro areas; it connects to the latter city by an intersection with I-16 before crossing into South Carolina. The exit numbers were converted from a sequential system to a mileage-based system around 2000. I-95 in Georgia has the unsigned designation of State Route 405 (SR 405). Entering South Carolina , I-95 diverts from its coastal route to

12650-480: Was a six-lane bridge that was severely overcapacity. 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 through lanes and three local lanes in each direction. About 30 miles (48 km) north of

12765-443: Was diverted to Florida's Turnpike . Today, I-95 runs along a routing parallel to the turnpike. In 2010, more fatalities occurred along the Florida section of I-95 than on any other Interstate Highway in the country. In Georgia, I-95 closely parallels the coastline, traveling primarily through marshlands a few miles from the shore. The route bypasses the cores of major coastal cities Brunswick and Savannah , routing traffic through

12880-541: Was employed ahead of Hurricane Charley in the Tampa, Florida area and on the Gulf Coast before the landfall of Hurricane Ivan ; however, evacuation times there were no better than previous evacuation operations. Engineers began to apply lessons learned from the analysis of prior contraflow operations, including limiting exits, removing troopers (to keep traffic flowing instead of having drivers stop for directions), and improving

12995-427: Was of major local importance and brought international attention to the area. Press Journal publisher Shumann and editor Schultz noted that there was no name for their area, which was between the well-known Gold Coast to the south (From Palm Beach County to Miami) and the Space Coast to the north ( Brevard County ). They started referring to their region as the "Treasure Coast" in the newspaper, and this use spread to

13110-422: Was proclaimed complete in 1992, but two of the original Interstates— I-95 and I-70 —were not continuous: both of these discontinuities were due to local opposition, which blocked efforts to build the necessary connections to fully complete the system. I-95 was made a continuous freeway in 2018, and thus I-70 remains the only original Interstate with a discontinuity. I-95 was discontinuous in New Jersey because of

13225-494: Was serving as Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe during World War II . In 1954, Eisenhower appointed General Lucius D. Clay to head a committee charged with proposing an interstate highway system plan. Summing up motivations for the construction of such a system, Clay stated, It was evident we needed better highways. We needed them for safety, to accommodate more automobiles. We needed them for defense purposes, if that should ever be necessary. And we needed them for

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