Clearview based signage replaces button copy signs throughout the Akron and Cleveland area Interstate system. This particular sign bridge resides along Interstate 77 north ahead of Interstate 277 west and U.S. 224. U.S. 224 follows all of Interstate 277 and much of Interstate 76 to the west. The highway continues the freeway east to Kelly Avenue near Akron Fulton International Airport.

Traveling virtually alone on the Innerbelt freeway of Ohio 59 north into downtown Akron. This 2.24-mile freeway spur connects Interstates 76 & 77 with the central business district of Akron at Main and Howard Streets. Connections at the south end only provide access to Interstates 76-77 west and from I-76-77 east to OH-59 north. Like other partially completed and underutilized freeways, the Innerbelt has been considered for partial or total removal to reclaim land lost by its construction.

Interstate 77 travels west and merges with Ohio 21 (former U.S. 21) southwest of Montrose. U.S. 21 joined Interstate 77 when the freeway opened between Ghent and a point one mile south of the Ohio Turnpike in 1964. U.S. 21 was downgraded to Ohio 21 in 1971.

Partial interchanges between Interstates in Cleveland are not that uncommon. There is no interchange between Interstate 271 and the Ohio Turnpike, the merge of Interstate 90 west onto Interstate 80 east includes no access to the turnpike east, and here on Interstate 77 north, a direct ramp to Interstate 271 south is not provided.

Work is underway from Brecksville along Interstate 77 north to junction Interstate 480 (Exit 156) to add a lane in each direction. The project entails the freeway between Oakes Road (south of Exit 149) to Rockside Road (Exit 155). Completion is expected by Fall 2011.

Interstate 77 draws to a close at the ramp split to Interstate 90 west, Interstate 90 east, and East 9th Street (a ramp to East 14th Street south to U.S. 422 / Orange Avenue).

Cleveland’s Public Square represents the nexus of U.S. and State highways radiating out from downtown. The four-block area surrounds the intersection of Ontario and Superior Streets within the central business district. Ending/beginning here are U.S. 42, U.S. 322, U.S. 422 and historically U.S. 21. State highways that begin/end here as well include Ohio 8 and Ohio 14 and historically Ohio 43 and Ohio 87.

Ontario Street southbound from Superior Avenue carries U.S. 20 one block to Euclid Avenue east from Public Square. The stretch doubles as the eastbound beginning of U.S. 422 and historically the southbound start of U.S. 21. The blacked out area on these hand painted signs once included U.S. 21.

U.S. 322 begins along Superior Street east with U.S. 6 after Ontario Street. The two travel in tandem to East 13th Street, where U.S. 322 dog legs to Chester Avenue east.

U.S. 42 begins and follows U.S. 6 & 20 west along Superior Avenue onto the Veterans Memorial Bridge, a steel arch bridge opened in 1917, across the Cuyahoga River. U.S. 42 turns southward from Superior Street onto West 25th Street opposite the U.S. 6 & 20 northward turn to the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway (Ohio 2).

Traveling high above the Cuyahoga River along Ohio 2 (Cleveland Memorial Shoreway) eastbound, with Cleveland Browns Stadium lurking. This stretch of freeway was originally slated to carry Interstate 90. Nowadays talks surround dismantling the elevated freeway to open the lakefront to downtown.

Beginning at Exit 184B, signs for Interstate 90 east coincide with Interstate 271 south… The two never overlap and their junction does not occur until Exit 188.

The Interstate 271 Local/Express roadway system begins at Exit 189 of Interstate 90 and leads southward to Interstate 480N and U.S. 422 (Exit 28B). Access to the express roadway for motorists emanating from Interstate 90 east is not available until midway between the tri-level stack interchange of I-271′s north end and Exit 36 (Wilson Mills Road). Travelers heading west on Interstate 90 may access both roadways.

Interstate 480N is the connector between the Interstate 480 mainline west of Interstate 271 at Maple Heights and the U.S. 422 freeway junction with Interstate 271 at North Randall. ITS markers display Interstate 480N shields and the ODOT straight line diagram also references the Interstate highway. The east-west connector otherwise is more or less U.S. 422 and does not include any exit numbers. Pictured here is the westbound end, a partial "Y" interchange.

A grassy swath lies west of the Exit 169 split diamond interchange along Interstate 90 eastbound, a leftover from the unconstructed Parma Freeway. Had the Parma Freeway been constructed as envisioned, the freeway would have started at State Road near the Ohio Turnpike and proposed Cleveland Bypass (predecessor to today’s I-271) and ran northward to parallel West 65th Street to the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway. The Exit 244 partial "Y" interchange of Interstate 71 and roadway stubs from the freeway spur north of Interstate 71 to Denison Avenue are also remnants from the cancelled freeway.

Traveling through "Dead Man’s Curve", where Interstate 90 merges with Ohio 2 and the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway. This tight trumpet interchange remains from the 1959 design of the freeway network here and involves a 90 degree turn for motorists remaining along the Interstate 90 mainline.

Interstate 490 connects East 55th Street and adjacent Interstate 77 with Interstates 71 & 90 in central Cleveland. The freeway doubles as the mandatory truck route for Interstate 90 through traffic between Interstates 71 and 77. Pictured here is the westbound beginning of the 2.43-mile route. Completed in 1990, Interstate 490 was the only portion of the Interstate 290 / Clark Avenue Freeway proposal between central Cleveland and Interstate 271 at Shaker Heights to be built.

Interstate 71 begins at the nearly symmetrical stack interchange with Interstate 90 and Interstate 490. A short distance south of its beginning, Interstate 71 splits with the southbound beginning of Ohio 176 (Jennings Freeway). The Jennings Freeway connects I-71 with Interstate 480 at Brooklyn Heights while Interstate 71 turns west from Ohio 176 to Linndale. The stretch between Interstate 90 and Exit 244 (unconstructed Parma Freeway) is known as the Innerbelt Freeway.

Interstate 71 expands at Exit 244 for the Parma Freeway. A wide median was intended to carry the Parma Freeway mainline in tandem with Interstate 71 until its southerly turn through Brooklyn.

A partial "Y" interchange provides access to the Interstate 271 northbound beginning only from Interstate 71 north. Early proposals for Interstate 271 saw the route turn west along what is currently Interstate 480 to Interstate 71.

Like all of the other Cuyahoga River freeway bridges, Interstate 271 spans the waterway high above. Separate bridges carry the north and southbound carriageways of the rural freeway. The northbound and original span opened in 1968. The higher southbound bridge was completed in 2006.

A new partial "Y" interchange was added to Interstate 271 at Exit 18 to bring Ohio 8 travelers onto the northbound freeway. It was constructed ahead of a project to upgrade Ohio 8 to limited access standards from Interstate 271 south to a $47.5-million interchange between Ohio 8 and the Ohio Turnpike (Interstate 80).

Interstate 480 absorbs Ohio 14 east from its split with Interstate 271 south at Oakwood to its eastern conclusion at Streetsboro. The trumpet interchange and access road to Interstate 80 (Ohio Turnpike) represents the end of I-480 as Ohio 14 downgrades from a freeway to an at-grade arterial.

Poorly designed Clearview-fonted signs abound along Interstate 79 in and near Erie. These panels see the lower case letters vertically centered with respect to the Capitalized first letter…

The first southbound shield of U.S. 19, posted along Peach Street south at Myrtle Street in Erie, Pennsylvania.

More Clearview spacing nonsense along Interstate 79 south ahead of Interstate 90.

Interstate 376 begins where Pennsylvania 760 ends at the cloverleaf interchange with Interstate 80 near Sharon. Extended initially in June 2009 to Interstate 79 over the previously signed east-west portion of Interstate 279, Interstate 376 grew to 85 miles in length by November 6, 2009. The north-south route overtook Pennsylvania 60 and Pennsylvania 60 Toll between Interstate 80 and Interstate 79 west of Pittsburgh. This left a segment of Pennsylvania 60 north of Interstate 80 into Sharon, which was redesignated at Pennsylvania 760.

These text-button copy signs are still kicking along Interstate 376 eastbound at U.S. 422 (Exit 12A). This stretch of roadway dates back to 1975.

New sign bridges and guide signs are replacing the originals (this particular sign bridge should be replaced soon) along the New Castle Bypass at the junction with the Beaver Valley Expressway. Interstate 376 overtakes Pennsylvania 60 Toll here.

The ticketed system of the Pennsylvania Turnpike begins after the Exit 28 junction with Interstate 79. Current construction commences at the Warrendale main line Toll Plaza on widening of the four-lane roadway to six overall lanes from the toll plaza to Exit 38 (Pennsylvania 8). Work began on June 9, 2009 and is expected to be completed by late fall of 2012.

Work nearing completion involves the replacement of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Allegheny River Bridge near Exit 48 with Pennsylvania 28. Construction focuses on expanding Interstate 76 between mileposts 46.56 and 49.54 to six overall lanes and improving ramps at the Allegheny Valley Interchange. The original Allegheny River bridges opened on December 26, 1951 and were removed from service by June 2010.

The cloud deck associated with Tropical Storm Nicole’s remnants and a strong cold front gave way to a brilliant sunset west of Pittsburgh. Exit 72B departs in this scene for parallel Boulevard of the Allies to provide access to Interstate 579 north and the Liberty Bridge south.

What was originally the west end of Interstate 376 is now the south end of Interstate 279.

Interstate 279 begins and crosses the Fort Duquesne Bridge and quickly meets the northbound beginning of Pennsylvania 65 (Ohio River Boulevard) north to junction U.S. 19 (West End Bridge).

Night fell soon after wards and after shooting some video in the Steel City, we headed west to Business Loop Interstate 376, the Findlay Connector (Pennsylvania Turnpike 576) and Interstate 376 west to Interstate 76 and Youngstown, Ohio. Sadly while on the drive, we passed by a fatal accident on the eastbound lanes just minutes after it occurred on the Beaver Valley Expressway.

Sources:

• Ohio State Route 59 @ Wikipedia.org.
• The Unofficial Ohio State Highways Web Site.
• "Independence, Broadiew Heights, Brecksville: Interstate 77 North goes to one lane tonight." Sun Courier, March 24, 2009.
• Interstate 490 (Ohio) @ Wikipedia.org.
• Beechwood: The Book – Chapter 6: The Clark Avenue Freeway & I-271.
• "Construction season kicks off." The Suburbanite, April 19, 2010.

The acid rock removal affects the Interstate 99 interchange with U.S. 322 at Port Matilda, where Interstate 99 north merges with U.S. 322 east. All northbound traffic will be squeezed to one through lane via a temporary configuration until the completion of the acid rock removal process. Interstate 99 south will begin at the High Street diamond interchange west of Port Matilda.

U.S. 220 south & 322 (Eagle Valley Road) west at the Interstate 99 bridge over Bald Eagle Creek and Eagle Valley Road northeast of Port Matilda during construction. Interstate 99 bypasses Port Matilda to the north before crossing over U.S. 220 & 322 onto Eagle Mountain to the east. Photo taken 04/30/05.

Opening of the highway project, despite the acid rock removal, was advocated by State Rep. Rick Geist (R-Altoona) in effort to improve access to State College, its economic development, and safety along the previous two-lane U.S. 220 corridor.

A diamond interchange lies west of Port Matilda, joining Interstate 99 with High Street (U.S. 322). Just north of there is the Laurel Run bridge and merge with the U.S. 322 eastbound freeway. The acid rock removal site lies along the freeway between the U.S. 322 interchange and the Eagle Valley Road under crossing. Photo taken 04/30/05.

The acid rock resulted from an unearthing of sandstone laced with pyrite in 2003. Large amounts of the pyrite-laced sandstone were found at the project site near Port Matilda (Skytop), which when exposed to air and water created sulfuric acid. A now $79-million project began to remove the acid rock from the construction area, causing delays in overall completion and escalation of construction costs.

Interstate 99 turns southward from west of Port Matilda back onto Eagle Mountain. Pictured here are bridge supports for the Interstate 99 span over U.S. 220 (Eagle Valley Road), Bald Eagle Creek, and the Nittany & Bald Eagle Railroad. Photo taken 04/30/05.

More information on Interstate 99 is available at Interstate 99 @ Interstate-Guide.

Sources:

“Interstate 99 opening delayed.” The Altoona Mirror, December 1, 2007.

“Cost of Interstate 99 acid cleanup rises to $50.5 million.) Wilkes Barre Times-Leader, December 5, 2007.

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.

The new Comcast Center skyscraper stands out from the Philadelphia skyline from all directions. This view is afforded along the Walt Whitman Bridge westbound (Interstate 76) on the approach to the main line toll plaza and Front Street/Interstate 95 off-ramps.

Broad Street (Pennsylvania 611) carries six lanes through the heart of Philadelphia northward to suburbs such as Willow Grove. Pennsylvania 611 follows all of the boulevard in either direction of the square at Philadelphia City Hall and the Broad Street Subway line travels below along the same alignment. Broad Street was once a part of U.S. 611 (north of Market Street) and Pennsylvania 291 (south of Market Street). This view looks north from City Hall.

While U.S. 611 was terminated in 1972, many new street signs along Broad Street still recognize the decades old deceased U.S. highway. A pair of such signs line the mast arms at Spring Garden and Broad Streets north of downtown.

Pennsylvania 611 encircles City Hall between 15th and Juniper Streets. The square also represents the end/beginning of Pennsylvania 3 via Market Street east and JFK Boulevard west. JFK Plaza lies kitty corner from City Hall to the northwest and beyond that is the beginning of Ben Franklin Parkway, a scenic boulevard traveling northwest to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Pictured here is a Pennsylvania 611 shield directing traffic onto 15th Street south with the new Comcast Center high rise under construction in the background.

An earlier look at the same set of buildings at 15th Street and JFK Boulevard with the Comcast Center skyscraper rising high above.

Pennsylvania’s tallest skyscraper, the Comcast Center, rises to 975 feet!

One of Philadelphia’s happening places is South Street. South Street offers a variety of shops, bars, eateries, and clubs to suit many tastes. In addition to being a night spot, the street was once the setting of a freeway battle in the 1960s. When planners envisioned Philadelphia’s freeway network, their ideas consisted of an inner belt freeway network. Three of the four legs were built: Interstate 76 (Schuylkill Expressway), Interstate 95 (Delaware Expressway), Interstate 676 (Vine Street Expressway). The missing leg, dubbed the South Street Expressway, was successfully challenged by local residents and business leaders along the South Street corridor. Those individuals were also successful in turning South Street from a decaying neighborhood into the vibrant night spot and attraction that it is today. If you have never had a Philly Cheesesteak before, South Street is a good place to try one!

Ok so my navigational skills of Philadelphia’s on-ramps to Interstate 95 are a bit rusty. Thanks to a wrong turn onto Interstate 95 north beyond the split with Interstate 676, we were able to find two sets of original signs at the Aramingo Avenue interchange with the Delaware Expressway and Girard Avenue. These date from the freeway’s construction and are located where Aramingo Avenue name changes to Delaware Avenue (Christopher Columbus Boulevard through Penn’s Landing further south) at Exit 23 of Interstate 95.

Interstate 395 appears over what is the North-South Freeway (Interstate 76) on the Northeast Regional Map. We are aware that Interstate 76 was originally designated Interstate 80S through Philadelphia and Camden, but have never seen Interstate 395 on any stretch of the New Jersey freeway.

The reverse side of the map indicates the North-South Freeway as both Interstate 395 and New Jersey 42. New Jersey 42 is the North-South Freeway south of Interstate 295 and 76 still to this day. Interstate 395 was never signed as far as we know.

A look at the Interstate 76 westbound split with Interstate 295 northbound today (Photo taken May 20, 2007). Imagine Interstate 395 north – Walt Whitman Bridge / Philadelphia.