I-95/Penna Turnpike Interchange

[PHLBOS]

There was a suggestion in a Facebook post that the currently scheduled date won't be hit. Does anyone have a news story to back this up?

Question:  does this project come close to setting a record for the most delayed, procrastinated, back-burnered, interjurisdictionally footballed, under-or-mis-funded, kick-it-down-the-road enterprise ever undertaken on or near the Interstate System?   

My nominee for that title is the widening of I-95 and I-93 between Wellesley (MA) and Randolph (MA) at 44 years and counting.  Initial design for that project began in 1974 (the work was a condition of the Feds allowing I-95 through Downtown Boston to be discontinued), and they're only just wrapping up construction on the final section.

Off-topic side bar: the widening of I-95 between Woburn (I-93) and S. Lynnfield/Peabody (US 1) still needs to be done.  I'm assuming a similar promise was made to compensate for not building the originally-planned I-95 through Lynn & Saugus.

If one rides along the stretch between I-93 and Walnut St. in S. Lynnfield; one notices that the overpasses/underpasses were originally built to accommodate a future widening (eight travel lanes plus right shoulders).  Why such wasn't done when that stretch was overhauled circa 1982 boggles the mind.  Yes, the I-95/MA 128 interchange was still a few years away at the time and the US 1 overpasses would've eventually needed to be rebuilt to accommodate the additional lanes; but such would've moved the current lane-drop bottleneck further north/east and softened the current pressure points at the I-93 cloverleaf.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Question:  does this project come close to setting a record for the most delayed, procrastinated, back-burnered, interjurisdictionally footballed, under-or-mis-funded, kick-it-down-the-road enterprise ever undertaken on or near the Interstate System?   

Well, there was the Blue Route (I-476) which took 37 years(?) to be completed (1956-1993).
Further west, it took ODOT almost 50 years(!) to get I-70/670 completed on the west side of Columbus (1956-2004)

[Gnutella]

Quite frankly, I can't wait until the new I-95 movements are opened just so non-Pennsylvanians will shut the fuck up.

[ekt8750]

Quite frankly, I can't wait until the new I-95 movements are opened just so non-Pennsylvanians will shut the fuck up.

[TheStranger]

There was a suggestion in a Facebook post that the currently scheduled date won't be hit. Does anyone have a news story to back this up?

Question:  does this project come close to setting a record for the most delayed, procrastinated, back-burnered, interjurisdictionally footballed, under-or-mis-funded, kick-it-down-the-road enterprise ever undertaken on or near the Interstate System?   

It's not (presently) in the Interstate system, but surely the slated-for-construction 132/99 split in Modesto counts if it was the originally planned 5W/5E junction right?   (At least for delays, not so much the other stuff)

[vdeane]

Quite frankly, I can't wait until the new I-95 movements are opened just so non-Pennsylvanians will shut the fuck up.

Is there something about having to go all the way around Trenton or take surface streets to get to/from the northeast that people in PA are OK with?

[jeffandnicole]

Quite frankly, I can't wait until the new I-95 movements are opened just so non-Pennsylvanians will shut the fuck up.

Is there something about having to go all the way around Trenton or take surface streets to get to/from the northeast that people in PA are OK with?

Yes. This.

I can see people in the Bensalem/Langhorne area not having any issues with it, but anyone coming up from Philly, PHL, and points south have a little work to do.

The easiest way with fewest traffic lights would be 95 North to 1 North to 29 South to 195 East to the NJ Turnpike (2 lights total on 29).

[theroadwayone]

Quite frankly, I can't wait until the new I-95 movements are opened just so non-Pennsylvanians will shut the fuck up.

Is there something about having to go all the way around Trenton or take surface streets to get to/from the northeast that people in PA are OK with?

Yes. This.

I can see people in the Bensalem/Langhorne area not having any issues with it, but anyone coming up from Philly, PHL, and points south have a little work to do.

The easiest way with fewest traffic lights would be 95 North to 1 North to 29 South to 195 East to the NJ Turnpike (2 lights total on 29).

Right now, the quickest way from the Mid-Atlantic region to NYC and New England (or vice versa) is still 95-295-Delaware Memorial Bridge-NJ Turnpike.

[PHLBOS]

Quite frankly, I can't wait until the new I-95 movements are opened just so non-Pennsylvanians will shut the fuck up.

Is there something about having to go all the way around Trenton or take surface streets to get to/from the northeast that people in PA are OK with?

Yes. This.

I can see people in the Bensalem/Langhorne area not having any issues with it, but anyone coming up from Philly, PHL, and points south have a little work to do.

The easiest way with fewest traffic lights would be 95 North to 1 North to 29 South to 195 East to the NJ Turnpike (2 lights total on 29).

Right now, the quickest way from the Mid-Atlantic region to NYC and New England (or vice versa) is still 95-295-Delaware Memorial Bridge-NJ Turnpike.

From Wilmington, DE and points south; yes. 

But from Philadelpha (which is considered to be part of the Mid-Atlantic region, although the northernmost part) and points to the immediate north; no.  Jeff's earlier-mentioned 95 (to now-295) to 1 in PA to 29 to 195 to NJTP is still the most direct route with the least amount of traffic lights (until the new connection opens).

[jeffandnicole]

Quite frankly, I can't wait until the new I-95 movements are opened just so non-Pennsylvanians will shut the fuck up.

Is there something about having to go all the way around Trenton or take surface streets to get to/from the northeast that people in PA are OK with?

Yes. This.

I can see people in the Bensalem/Langhorne area not having any issues with it, but anyone coming up from Philly, PHL, and points south have a little work to do.

The easiest way with fewest traffic lights would be 95 North to 1 North to 29 South to 195 East to the NJ Turnpike (2 lights total on 29).

Right now, the quickest way from the Mid-Atlantic region to NYC and New England (or vice versa) is still 95-295-Delaware Memorial Bridge-NJ Turnpike.

In the future, the quickest way from the Mid-Atlantic region to NYC and New England (or vice versa) is still 95-295-Delaware Memorial Bridge-NJ Turnpike.

[Beltway]

Quite frankly, I can't wait until the new I-95 movements are opened just so non-Pennsylvanians will shut the fuck up.

How about extending that sentiment to getting Breezewood resolved...

[theroadwayone]

Quite frankly, I can't wait until the new I-95 movements are opened just so non-Pennsylvanians will shut the fuck up.

Is there something about having to go all the way around Trenton or take surface streets to get to/from the northeast that people in PA are OK with?

Yes. This.

I can see people in the Bensalem/Langhorne area not having any issues with it, but anyone coming up from Philly, PHL, and points south have a little work to do.

The easiest way with fewest traffic lights would be 95 North to 1 North to 29 South to 195 East to the NJ Turnpike (2 lights total on 29).

Right now, the quickest way from the Mid-Atlantic region to NYC and New England (or vice versa) is still 95-295-Delaware Memorial Bridge-NJ Turnpike.

In the future, the quickest way from the Mid-Atlantic region to NYC and New England (or vice versa) is still 95-295-Delaware Memorial Bridge-NJ Turnpike.

And it will be, until the end of time.

Quite frankly, I can't wait until the new I-95 movements are opened just so non-Pennsylvanians will shut the fuck up.

How about extending that sentiment to getting Breezewood resolved...

That'll take maybe another 50 years or so, if someone doesn't pick up on my recommendation of installing EZ-Pass only ramps on the bit of I-70 heading out of town towards Maryland.

[Alps]

There was a suggestion in a Facebook post that the currently scheduled date won't be hit. Does anyone have a news story to back this up?

Question:  does this project come close to setting a record for the most delayed, procrastinated, back-burnered, interjurisdictionally footballed, under-or-mis-funded, kick-it-down-the-road enterprise ever undertaken on or near the Interstate System?   

Big Dig still says hello.

[roadman]

There was a suggestion in a Facebook post that the currently scheduled date won't be hit. Does anyone have a news story to back this up?

Question:  does this project come close to setting a record for the most delayed, procrastinated, back-burnered, interjurisdictionally footballed, under-or-mis-funded, kick-it-down-the-road enterprise ever undertaken on or near the Interstate System?   

Big Dig still says hello.

For total duration from inception to completion, Big Dig doesn't even come close to the other projects mentioned.  Sure, it had much controversy and issues (especially with management changes and funding).  But it was designed and completed in a relatively short period of time.

[Rothman]

Big Dig was in the planning phases very early on.  Took years just to get it to a green light for actual design.

[Roadwarriors79]

So what's the possibility of a partial opening in September? Say the northbound ramp for I-95 opens to the public before the southbound ramp? From pics and videos I've seen, it looks like the northbound (eastbound) side (at least on the Turnpike) looks like its farther along.

[Beltway]

Big Dig was in the planning phases very early on.  Took years just to get it to a green light for actual design.

Planning began in 1982 and the construction work was carried out between 1991 and 2006.
[Wikipedia]

That was my recollection as to when the concept was first adopted.

The Central Artery/Tunnel Project (CA/T), known unofficially as the Big Dig, was a megaproject in Boston that rerouted the Central Artery of Interstate 93, the chief highway through the heart of the city, into the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Tunnel.  The project also included the construction of the Ted Williams Tunnel (extending Interstate 90 to Logan International Airport), the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge over the Charles River, and the Rose Kennedy Greenway in the space vacated by the previous I-93 elevated roadway.

[PHLBOS]

^^Actually, talk of the depression of the Central Artery dates back to the early 70s; right around the time then-Gov. Sargent imposed a moratorium on all highway construction within then-just-128 except for a short stretch of I-93 (that opened circa 1973).  The cancellation of the proposed I-695/Inner Belt triggered discussing the need for a wider Central Artery so officials thought, at the time, they could kill two birds with one stone; build a wider Artery underground.

During the first term of the Dukakis Administration ('75-'79), plans were taking shape for just the Central Artery replacement (a tunneled version) but not what was then called the Third Harbor Tunnel (such was proposed as far back as 1969 and would've ran along the Fort Point Channel). 

However, Gov. King, who served '79-'83, placed the emphasis on the Third Tunnel and the depressed Artery concept was put on the back-burner.  Some say that had he been re-elected for a second term (he lost in a primary rematch to Dukakis circa 1982); ground would've probably been broken for the Third Tunnel prior to him leaving office.

When Dukakis became governor again in 1983; planning for the tunneled Artery resumed, this time including a re-aligned Third Harbor Tunnel (that became the Ted Williams Tunnel when it initially opened to commercial traffic circa 1995).  Funding to build such didn't happen until 1987 when a highway bill containing such passed via an over-ride of a Presidential veto and the rest is history.

[Beltway]

So the question would be when did the Central Artery / Third Harbor Tunnel Project (CA/THT) become an officially approved Interstate highway project by the state transportation board and the FHWA.

The fact that it was being discussed in 1972 likely doesn't meet that level.

[Alps]

So the question would be when did the Central Artery / Third Harbor Tunnel Project (CA/THT) become an officially approved Interstate highway project by the state transportation board and the FHWA.

The fact that it was being discussed in 1972 likely doesn't meet that level.

You're overthinking something exactly 4 people probably care about, and may not even be the definitive answer to the original question of which project has taken the longest. (I-287 in northern NJ might win that one for example.)

[sparker]

There was a suggestion in a Facebook post that the currently scheduled date won't be hit. Does anyone have a news story to back this up?

Question:  does this project come close to setting a record for the most delayed, procrastinated, back-burnered, interjurisdictionally footballed, under-or-mis-funded, kick-it-down-the-road enterprise ever undertaken on or near the Interstate System?   

It's not (presently) in the Interstate system, but surely the slated-for-construction 132/99 split in Modesto counts if it was the originally planned 5W/5E junction right?   (At least for delays, not so much the other stuff)

Well, seeing as it's been off the Interstate system for 60 years and counting, the short-term pressure was removed from this project.  But with the rapid population increase in Modesto and environs, one would have thought that upgrading 132 west of town might have gotten a bit of interest.  Perhaps the much shorter CA 120 Manteca bypass to the north provided a viable alternative; but now that that facility is increasingly clogged with commuter traffic, perhaps CA 132 -- possibly all the way to the beginning of the freeway between I-580 and I-5 -- might yet be in line for at least a 4-lane expressway.  But, I know, with Caltrans these days it's all "baby steps" in the beginning of a corridor concept; I suppose we all should consider it fortunate that even a mile-or-two stub is even in the queue!   

[TheStranger]

There was a suggestion in a Facebook post that the currently scheduled date won't be hit. Does anyone have a news story to back this up?

Question:  does this project come close to setting a record for the most delayed, procrastinated, back-burnered, interjurisdictionally footballed, under-or-mis-funded, kick-it-down-the-road enterprise ever undertaken on or near the Interstate System?   

It's not (presently) in the Interstate system, but surely the slated-for-construction 132/99 split in Modesto counts if it was the originally planned 5W/5E junction right?   (At least for delays, not so much the other stuff)

Well, seeing as it's been off the Interstate system for 60 years and counting, the short-term pressure was removed from this project.  But with the rapid population increase in Modesto and environs, one would have thought that upgrading 132 west of town might have gotten a bit of interest.  Perhaps the much shorter CA 120 Manteca bypass to the north provided a viable alternative; but now that that facility is increasingly clogged with commuter traffic, perhaps CA 132 -- possibly all the way to the beginning of the freeway between I-580 and I-5 -- might yet be in line for at least a 4-lane expressway.  But, I know, with Caltrans these days it's all "baby steps" in the beginning of a corridor concept; I suppose we all should consider it fortunate that even a mile-or-two stub is even in the queue!   

I'm surprised that the right of way was maintained for over 53 years, even when Modesto has become a bedroom community for Silicon Valley jobs!  (Even considering the realities of how sentiment towards road construction in California changed significantly in the 1960s, it is amazing how prescient much of the 1950s freeway/expressway planning was, in retrospect)

[PHLBOS]

...the original question of which project has taken the longest. (I-287 in northern NJ might win that one for example.)

Looking through a couple of websites; the short piece of I-295 in NJ between Exits 57 (US 130) & 60 (I-195/NJ 29) was completed December of 1994 whereas I-287 was completed August of that same year.

[ixnay]

When Dukakis became governor again in 1983; planning for the tunneled Artery resumed, this time including a re-aligned Third Harbor Tunnel (that became the Ted Williams Tunnel when it initially opened to commercial traffic circa 1995).  Funding to build such didn't happen until 1987 when a highway bill containing such passed via an over-ride of a Presidential veto and the rest is history.

And not just funding for the tunneled Artery, but the raising of the speed limit on rural Interstates to 65 mph IIRC.  Also IIRC, the bill was overridden in the Senate with exactly the 67 votes needed, and only because Terry Sanford (D-NC) changed his mind and voted to override.  (All I remember about the bill was the speed limit rising and Reagan calling it a "budget buster" as he vetoed it.  I didn't know that the Big Dig was included until I saw a Modern Marvels ep about the project years later.)

I always called that vote "the 65 mph override".

ixnay

[Alps]

...the original question of which project has taken the longest. (I-287 in northern NJ might win that one for example.)

Looking through a couple of websites; the short piece of I-295 in NJ between Exits 57 (US 130) & 60 (I-195/NJ 29) was completed December of 1994 whereas I-287 was completed August of that same year.

Well the question is, when did they first start designing the gap completion in I-295? I-287 was pretty much set in stone from the late 60s - designed and everything.