Interstate 781 is the number proposed for a new freeway spur from Interstate 81 to Fort Drum in Upstate New York. This route would enhance access to growing Fort Drum and bypass a current at-grade connection. A page for I-781 resides on the Interstate Guide as well.

Interstate 264 was mentioned as the planned number for the old section of Interstate 70 leading south to the Poplar Street Bridge from the new alignment on its envisioned Mississippi River Bridge at St. Louis.

Lastly, a short section of new Interstate 69 freeway opened between Interstates 64/164 and Indiana 68 as both Indiana 57 and I-69. This is the third section of Interstate 69, tallying just 1.77 miles, now in existance. Construction is underway to extend the road northward to Indiana 64.

Interstate 81 northbound along the viaduct over Harrison Street.

The Park Freeway removal galvanizes other freeway-removal proponents, such as the ’8664′ supporters of Interstate 64 along the Ohio River in Louisville. What that group and the Onondage Citizens League suggest is that through traffic interests can be supported on the various bypass routes that are also in place. In Syracuse, all through traffic would shift to Interstate 481, in Louisville through traffic would shift onto the future joined-Interstate 265. Studies indicate that 40% of the 100,000 vehicles per day (vpd) that travel Interstate 81 are just passing through.

So what about the other 60,000 vpd? Alternatives studied include replacing the viaduct with a new viaduct, replacing the viaduct with a depressed freeway, replacing the freeway with a tunnel, or replacing the freeway with a surface boulevard. These options are also being touted for the hated Alaskan Way viaduct in Seattle as well. However with a surface boulevard as an option, how does it go about addressing the need of traffic congestion?

A surface boulevard can enhance a neighborhood or city district, but does it address commuter needs the way a controlled-access route does? The Park Freeway example cites the new McKinley Avenue as its replacement. What news articles neglect to indicate when mentioning the Park Freeway project, is that it was an incomplete freeway spur, like the Embarcadero, that did not connect to any other high-speed route. What is different for Interstate 64 in Louisville and Interstate 81 in Syracuse, is that both routes play pivotal roles in long distance travel, not only joining the cities in question with surrounding areas, but also adjoining states and regions. Shoving all of the traffic to a bypass route is not necessarily the answer either, when a good portion of the daily traffic originates or ends within these cities.

Interstate 81 elevates over the street grid from the brief its partition with Interstate 690 southward.

Onondaga Citizens League will release the findings of its study in February 2009. It is unclear presently what government and transportation officials favor for these projects. In Seattle, the state Governor states that the Alaskan Way viaduct will come down in 2012 whether an alternative is decided upon or not, because of its age and damage sustained from earthquakes. Syracuse’s 1.4-mile viaduct will need to be similarly addressed before age and deteoration deplete funds and increase safety risks.

Sources:

• “Should we follow other cities’ lead and tear down I-81?” Central New York News, October 21, 2008.
• “Rethinking I-81″ – OCL’s Study Blog.

Decided on Interstate 89 south to check out the Barre Connectors first, both of which appear as freeways on maps sometimes, but really are expressway-like roads with no private driveways. Vermont 62 spurs east from Exit 7 into northern Barre, complete with a connector leading to U.S. 302. The connector splits with Vermont 62 via a partial interchange north of the signalized intersection with Fisher and Airport Roads. The road otherwise ends at a traffic light with the U.S. 302 junction at Vermont 14.

Vermont 14 follows Maple Avenue through Barre to junction U.S. 302 (Main Street) and the Barre Connector (Vermont 62). Sign bridges are posted in all four directions leading into the intersection. Vermont 14 south joins U.S. 302 east briefly before turning southwest to South Barre. Vermont 62 begins and ascends westward toward Edward J. Knapp State Airport and junction Interstate 89.

Further south, Vermont 63 spurs east from the Exit 6 trumpet interchange to Vermont 14 at South Barre. This connector carries less traffic and has only two at-grade intersections. Both connectors see end shields on the southbound Interstate 89 on-ramps.

Vermont 63 travels a less busy route between Vermont 14 (South Barre Road) and Interstate 89 (Exit 6). Unlike Vermont 62 to the north, Vermont 63 sees no traffic signals (just a set of flashers at Miller Road). This shield assembly and Interstate 89 trailblazer lies west of that intersection.

Continuing southward, we took Interstate 91 to Brattleboro where we encountered a construction induced traffic jam prompting us to depart the freeway for parallel U.S. 5. While along the route, we discovered an original 18×24″ Interstate 91 Vermont trailblazer along northbound. Also the day we were there saw a parade or some sort in downtown, prompting yet another detour for Vermont 9 west to Bennington.

As mentioned before, Interstate 91 provides a scenic and rustic ride through Vermont’s Connecticut River Valley between Massachusetts and St. Johnsberry. Several high-level bridges pass above tributaries leading into the Connecticut, such as this span over the Williams River. Photo looks west from the parallel U.S. 5 Williams River bridge.

U.S. 5 and Vermont 9 merge at a roundabout east of the Exit 3 trumpet interchange with Interstate 91. Vermont 9 enters the Brattleboro area as New Hampshire 9 from Keene. A large steel arch bridge spans the Connecticut River along Multi-state Route 9. Parallel to the bridge is a smaller abandoned steel arch bridge.

Vermont 9 carried us westward across the mountains into the southwest Vermont town of Bennington. The state highway travels a narrow and slow moving corridor through town, intersect U.S. 7 in the process. U.S. 7 travels a freeway that dumps traffic right into downtown. A bypass for one or both of the routes is needed too.

A recent addition to the U.S. 7 freeway is the Vermont 279 super-two expressway leading southwest to New York state. The completion of Vermont 279 orphaned the trumpet interchange with the North East Road connector, leaving abandoned ramps at the U.S. 7 freeway’s south end. Instead a new trumpet interchange joins the east end with Vermont 279 nearby. Vermont 279 otherwise provides a north bypass route of Vermont 9 between New York 7 and U.S. 7. New York 7 joins southern Vermont with Albany’s Capital District.

U.S. 7 southbound at the Exit 1 trumpet interchange with Vermont 279. Vermont 279 spurs westward, meeting Vermont 67A via a folded-diamond interchange nearby. Historic Vermont 7A also travels nearby on a parallel alignment to U.S. 7. Access to that route is provided directly at U.S. 7 across from Kocher Drive or from U.S. 7 Exit 2. The shield includes the banner “Historic”.

Our next stop was Albany and a tour of the area freeways. Albany is represents several opportunities for road exploration with many partially built freeways and cancelled projects. First on our list of things to investigate was the South Mall Arterial, a freeway joining the Dunn Memorial Bridge with the Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza. A portion of the freeway actually passes underneath the capital complex through a set of tunnels. This freeway otherwise links with Interstate 787 and the town of Rensselaer east of the Hudson River. Planned extensions were never built on both ends. Westward, the South Mall Arterial was to join the unconstructed Mid-Crosstown Arterial (U.S. 9) freeway from the north; eastward, the Dunn Memorial Bridge was to join the unconstructed South Mall Expressway southeast to Interstate 90.

Traveling northbound on the South Mall Arterial from the massive “Circle stack” interchange with Interstate 787. U.S. 20 travels the freeway initially before departing via the Pearl Street off-ramp onto New York 32. The freeway otherwise continues on its own to the capital complex.

One heck of a drop off the south end of the Dunn Memorial Bridge! These stubs were built prematurely as the South Mall Expressway never reached fruition.

We poked around for an increasingly rare Interstate 787 New York shield and found two entries underneath the “circle stack” interchange complex. With that accomplished, we ventured northward and explored what was built of the Mid-Crosstown Arterial, a short freeway carrying U.S. 9 north and south from Interstate 90. That section was all that was constructed of a planned north-south freeway between the New York Thruway (Interstate 87) and Interstate 90. A four-level symmetrical stack joins the Mid-Crosstown Arterial with Interstate 90 at Exit 6.

Driving south on U.S. 9, the Mid-Crosstown Arterial near the Northern Boulevard overpass. A concrete stub exists ahead for the unconstructed southward extension to the equally unbuilt North Mall Expressway (Mall Arterial). U.S. 9 continues south along Johnson Boulevard and Clinton Avenue, surface streets through Albany’s working class neighborhoods.

Traveling west along Interstate 90, next on our agenda was New York 85, the Crosstown Arterial. New York 85 represents a full freeway leading south from Interstate 90 Exit 2 to Blessing Road south of the Interstate 87 underpass. Like the Mid-Crosstown Arterial and South Mall Expressway, the current Crosstown Aerial represents only part of what was originally envisioned. The north end of the route ties into Interstate 90 at a trumpet interchange. A planned extension would have continued the route northward to the unconstructed Interstate 687, had Interstate 687 been built. With that project scrapped, so was the New York 85 connection.

Entering the trumpet interchange with Interstate 90 along New York 85 (Crosstown Arterial) northbound. An end shield resides at the eastbound off-ramp.

Southward, road work is underway to extend the four-lane section of New York 85 across the New York Thruway onto a new bypass of the Slingerlands community. A $15.3 million project, work entails the upgrading or building of new roadway along a 1.5-mile long corridor from New York 85 west at Blessing Road to the Cherry Avenue Extension (New York 140). That is the first of two projects expected to be completed during summer 2008. A second project will extend the new four-lane New York 85 west to an existing four-lane New York 85 to the west. That project is unfunded at this time. Design elements of the initial project involves the construction of roundabouts at Blessing Road, Maher Road, and New York 140.

Speaking of Interstate 687, that route represents an unbuilt connector between Interstate 90 Exit 5A and Interstate 87 (Adirondack Northway) Exit 4. A trumpet interchange was built at the planned south end before funding dried up on the remainder of the route. Albany Shaker Road (Albany County 151) roughly parallels the Interstate 687 route today.

Another exploration stop took us to the south end of the Adirondack Northway, the unnumbered freeway spur leading south from the congested Interstate 87 & 90 directional cloverleaf interchange. The route provides ramps to Crossgates Road and a partially used interchange with U.S. 20 (Western Avenue). All I can find on the planned continuation of this freeway is a reference to the South Albany Expressway in the New York 910F (Fuller Road) article. It mentions a planned freeway paralleling Interstate 87 south from the Northway to the south end of Interstate 787.

What a great place to go roadding, Albany! See Chris Jordan’s Capital Highways for more on the Albany area roads and bridges. Much of the historical information cited here was derived from his web site.

Driving south, Interstate 87 took us to Kingston where stopped to drive Interstate 587 again and explore a few other local roads such as the U.S. 209 freeway. The work present in 2005 along Interstate 587 is done, and now construction barrels are no more along the short route. Otherwise U.S. 209 follows a freeway northeast from its junction with New York 28 west of I-587. The connection between New York 28 and Interstate 87/587 is not a full freeway however, as a traffic light with a shopping center resides between the two junctions.

Further south, construction is underway at the toll plaza adjacent to the Interstate 87 and New York 17/Future Interstate 86 interchange (Exit 16). It appears that a toll plaza expansion to accommodate open road tolling may be underway, but no project information is available online. A nearby project involves the reconstruction and upgrading of New York 17 into full freeway standards between Hancock and the Sullivan County line. Completion of that is planned for 2010.

A few other notes from the rest of the drive: Several of the older button copy signs along Interstate 78 leading west toward Pennsylvania have been replaced. Most of Pennsylvania 309′s non-freeway portions are targeted enforcement zones. It appears that PennDOT is finally upgrading the Fort Washington Expressway (Pennsylvania 309) to modern standards. For years on-ramps to the freeway greeted motorists with stop signs at the end of the ramps! Additionally the interchange between Pennsylvania 309 and Interstate 276 (Pennsylvania Turnpike) is receiving much needed upgrades!

Sources:

1. “NYSDOT Awards Contract For Slingerlands Bypass Construction.” NYSDOT Press Release, February 21, 2007.
2. Capital Highways – The highways and bridges of New York’s Capital Region

We started our journey just south of the Pennsylvania state line, beginning first with a visit to the Pennsylvania Welcome Center to obtain the latest copy of the Pennsylvania State Highway Map. Construction is present along all of Interstate 95 in Delaware County between the state line and junction Interstate 476. PennDOT is in the process of again resurfacing the highway with asphalt. At the time, the previous coat of asphalt was milled down to the original concrete roadway. This project would hamper us a over a week later with a 30-minute back-up at 11 pm on a Saturday night…

Continuing east into New Jersey, we entered the New Jersey Turnpike by way of New Jersey 168, the only connection between the toll road and parallel Interstate 295 close enough to act as the junction between the Turnpike and Interstate 76/New Jersey 42 (North South Freeway). New Jersey 168 offers two lanes laden with traffic lights on the short drive between the respective interchanges. There are no plans to provide a direct connection between the two pivotal roads in South Jersey…

Northward, Turnpike travelers heading southbound this day (Friday July 27) were greeted with what seemed to be a 15-20 mile back-up between the Pennsylvania Turnpike Extension and New Brunswick. It was unclear as to what caused the congestion, but the Turnpike does reduce from a four-carriageway configuration into a six-lane freeway on this stretch.

Garden State Parkway northbound at the Metrowest trumpet interchange (Exit 131B) near Iselin. The Parkway is untolled between the New Jersey Turnpike and a point just south of junction Interstate 78. Several button copy signs remain in use along this stretch of freeway.

Eastward, we opted for the Holland Tunnel into Lower Manhattan and Canal Street southeast to the Manhattan Bridge. The Manhattan Bridge is historical in nature as far as Interstates are concerned as it was one time planned to be a part of Interstate 478 between the unconstructed Lower Manhattan Expressway (Interstate 78) and Interstate 278 (Brooklyn-Queens Expressway). As it exists, the Manhattan Bridge carries seven lanes of traffic and four Metro tracks; vehicles partition between separate two lane upper carriageways on the outside of the suspension bridge span and a three-lane lower carriageway on the inside of the bridge. Since Interstate 78 was never built east of the Holland Tunnel, Interstate 478 was removed from the Manhattan Bridge and reapplied on the nearby Brooklyn Battery Tunnel in an unsigned fashion. The Manhattan Bridge along with the Brooklyn and Queensboro Bridges are the only three untolled spans across the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn/Queens.

Southbound on the upper carriageway or the Manhattan Bridge. Like other Manhattan area bridges, no shoulders or break-down lanes are provided. The span ends at Tillary Street in Brooklyn on the south side with connections provided to Interstate 278 (Brooklyn-Queens Expressway) via surface streets (Jay Street north / Sand Street east).

A brief jaunt southward took us to the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel northbound onto FDR Drive. FDR Drive represents a north-south freeway along the eastern periphery of Manhattan Island between Battery Park at the south and junction Interstate 95 (George Washington Bridge) and the Washington Bridge (West 181st Street) to the north. This freeway passes under several high-rises along its journey, including a portion of the United Nations Building. As with many Manhattan and New York City freeways, the northernmost two miles were accompanied with a 20-minute back-up caused by congestion on the George Washington Bridge to New Jersey.

FDR (Franklin Delano Roosevelt) Drive northbound initially travels southbound from West Street and the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel portal southward underneath Battery Park. The configuration allows for an usual situation where two subterranean roadways pass over one another.

After a few turns in the Bronx, including a short stretch along the poorly signed U.S. 1, we ended up on Interstate 87 (Major Deegan Expressway / New York Thruway) north to Interstate 287. Interstate 87 was clogged northbound leading to its interchange with Interstate 95 (because of the GWB again), but was free flowing north to Interstate 287 (Cross Westchester Expressway). At this point it was after 3 pm, and traffic volume showed it. All of westbound Interstate 287 between Interstate 87 and Interstate 95 was jammed and Interstate 95 northbound from the Connecticut line was similarly slow-moving. VMS along the former toll road indicated “Delay Next 25 miles to Exit 24 ” and later “Delay Six Miles Exits 41 – 48″. It was simply amazing to encounter more or less 50 miles of traffic delays, a sad accepted situation on a pivotal stretch of road. Total time to traverse 50 miles of I-95 in CT, 1 hour and 45 minutes…

U.S. 1 (Webster Avenue) southbound at its turn onto Interstate 95 (Cross Bronx Expressway) southbound. U.S. 1 follows Interstate 95 across the George Washington Bridge into Fort Lee, New Jersey. An original state-named shield joins a weathered U.S. 1 trailblazer at the Webster Avenue intersection with Ittner Place and the on-ramp.

Construction is a factor and will be for several more years at the south end of Interstate 91 and the Q Bridge (Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge) at New Haven, Connecticut. Work focuses on the east side of the Q Bridge at present in preparation for the bridge replacement project. Work to upgrade the Interstate 91 and 95 interchange is schedule to commence in 2009. Fortunately however the widening of Interstate 95 through Bridgeport is complete, and the brief eight-lane segment there (Exit 26 to 27A) allowed for a brief reprieve from the otherwise congested ride.

Interstate 395 northbound nearing the split with the Connecticut Turnpike (Exit 90). Interstate 395 continues north to Putnam and Worcester, Massachusetts. The Turnpike spurs east as unsigned Connecticut 395 to junction U.S. 6 near the Rhode Island state line. Had Interstate 84 been construction between Hartford, Connecticut and Providence, Rhode Island as envisioned, it would have utilized the east-west Turnpike spur between Interstate 395 and the state line.

Once east of New Haven, traffic flow increased dramatically, though volumes remained somewhat high. We opted for Interstate 395 northeast to Worcester, Massachusetts. As mentioned in Justin’s May 10, 2007 blog post, MassHighway is presently upgrading the Massachusetts 146 roadway into an expressway connection with Interstate 290 in Worcester, a $300-million project begun in 2004.

Heading northbound on Interstate 290 east at the Massachusetts 146 interchange in Worcester. Massachusetts 146 northbound drivers will be provided a direct ramp onto Interstate 290 east and drivers bound for Massachusetts 146 south to Interstate 90 will be provided a direct southbound off-ramp via I-290 west.

The direct connection (via a partial “Y” interchange) replaces a traffic rotary previously located under Interstate 290 at Massachusetts 146. Massachusetts 146 subsequently will continue north along Quinsigamond Avenue to an end at Southbridge Street.

That project is one element of the Massachusetts 146/Massachusetts Turnpike interchange project, work that will upgrade four miles of Massachusetts 146 between Interstate 290 and Interstate 90. See the map below for additional elements of the project.

Massachusetts 146 reconstruction and upgrade map, courtesy of Worcester Regional Research Bureau.

After nightfall, our routing took us east via Interstate 290, Interstate 495, Interstate 90 (Massachusetts Turnpike) and Interstate 93 to Quincy, our destination for the weekend.

Sources:

1. “Riveting work.” Worcester Telegram & Gazette Online, January 25, 2004.
2. Worcester’s Link to the Masspike: An Update on the Route 146 Connector. Worcester Regional Research Bureau, March 2003.

This bridge lies just north of the Pennsylvania state line along U.S. 15. I remember it fondly from trips to my grandparents house in upstate New York, and was elated to see it still in place in 2005! The new Interstate 99 freeway is under construction just to the west, so ideally the bridge will be spared along old U.S. 15.