Once I-95 becomes I-195 in NJ past Laurence Township, will exit 60 become redesigned? Will high speed ramps be built, instead of the current 35 mph ramps, to connect the future I-195 designation with the current one?
I also think I figured out the exit renumbering, milage based of course. All of the exits, from Ewing to Belmar will be renumbered. Start with exit 1 on the current I-95 in Ewing, and head up to 8, then exit 67 on 295 (future 195) will be exit 9, exit 65 will be 11 A-B, etc.....then onto the current 195 freeway, exit 1 will become exit 17, then....jumping to exit 16 which is Six Flags, this will be future exit 32 A-B, etc, all the way to exit 52, which is the GSP (current exit 36 in Wall Twp).
Post Merge: October 18, 2011, 18:54:52
Also, the northern terminus for 295 at exit 60...first I must say I hate the sign that has the control city of Princeton. Here is a pic: http://www.aaroads.com/northeast/new_jersey200/i-295_nb_exit_060_07.jpg
I-295 does not really travel to Princeton. I mean not directly. It kind of avoids it. A better location would be Ewing or Lawrenceville. Anyway, these signs will probably be replaced. I'm guessing it will read End I-295, begin I-195 West.
Exit 60 has no plans to be upgraded - keep in mind that 195-295 isn't going to magically grow in volume when it becomes 195-195. Most of the 195 traffic is headed to the Turnpike or Trenton, as opposed to continuing into PA, and those heading into PA are likely to go south on 295 anyway to not go out of their way. It's ridiculous that 195 is getting extended instead of 295 or even a new number like 895, but no matter what it would be called, same end result. Re: exit numbers, that ties in here - if 295 were extended, only a few mileposts and exits would change. If 895 were created, nothing in NJ would change except the shields. 195 is the most costly and least sensible of the possible numbers, and given how little money NJDOT has, I can't fathom why they'd accept it.
What I hate most at the northern terminus is that I-295 is signed Exit 60 from I-195 because NJ doesn't use Exit 0. Better off just not signing it at all, then. Most people not taking NJ 29 or I-195 at this point are likely going to either US 1 or... surprise... Princeton. Ewing and Lawrenceville make no sense because no one goes there (not literally no one, but comparatively). I'd rather see New Brunswick, if anything.
Personally (yes I do realize that the planned 195 designation is a done deal), what PA & NJDOT should've done with the 95/295 from the PA Turnpike to I-195 is redesignate that stretch as I-695 as a few have already stated. That would've been the least disruptive change in terms of route and exit number/mile marker changes and would not have the only through-route go through the 295/195/29 interchange via exit ramps... especially the cloverleaf ramp from 295 South (Future 195 East) to 195 East. Personally, I'm surprised a flyover 295 South/195 East ramp wasn't built with the interchange because prior to the 295 'gap' being filled and Route 29 being extended; 295S/195E did indeed resembled a potential fly-over layout/pattern. Maybe the Feds looked at an old aerial of this area (pre-interchange) when they decided go extend the 195 designation along 295/95.
Cardinally, the preferred 695 in PA would be north-south but east-west in NJ.
As far as the Princeton control city signage is concerned; two thoughts:
1. Although the sign was erected in the 1990s as part of the interchange and 295 completion project; the
Princeton control city selection likely dates back to when the Somerset County portion of I-95 still in the picture.
2. While 295 doesn't go to Princeton, it also doesn't go into Trenton either but yet all the 295 North signs south of this interchange have
Trenton as its control city. Playing devil's advocate here, Princeton is more familiar to most motorists than say, Ewing.
BTW, that entire exit sign in that pic was replaced after only 4-5 years with the legend reading
EAST 195 TO NJTP 29 NORTH 29 EAST 195 TO NJTP Trenton Belmar. IMHO, the route number signs (in terms of font) on the older sign looked better. They should've just repositioned the 195 & 29 signs and replaced the button-copy
Shore Points with
Belmar and left it at that. Granted, the
NORTH, EAST and the TO cardinals would've been tougher to fit on the old sign. I guess NJTP took precedence over NJ 129 in NJDOT's eyes.
With regards to EXIT 0; what states/roads actually use that designation? The closest I've seen is the un-numbered western terminus of I-195 at I-95 in Providence, RI.