Changing Interstate Route Number Designation - Twice

[vdeane]

Queens  I-78 to I-878 to NY 878

1. Technically the last one isn't an interstate (and it's the same number, so nobody outside of roadgeeks would notice).
2. I-878 actually still exists (between I-678 and the JFK Expressway), it's just not signed (actually, NYSDOT prefers to pretend it doesn't exist, but that that section of road does indeed have a functional classification of Principal Arterial Interstate).

[bulldog1979]

In Michigan:

Grand Rapids to Muskegon: I-94N then I-196 now I-96
Benton Harbor to Grand Rapids: I-94 then I-96 now I-196

[GaryV]

In Michigan:

Grand Rapids to Muskegon: I-94N then I-196 now I-96
Benton Harbor to Grand Rapids: I-94 then I-96 now I-196

Well kind of.  While I-92 and I-94 were the planned numbers for the two E/W interstates in MI, they were never signed that way.  By the time they were signed, the routes were I-94 (as is today) and I-96 (Benton Harbor / Holland / GR / Lansing / Detroit routing). 

It was later changed to have I-96 go to Muskegon as the current I-196 wasn't finished yet, and there was confusion changing numbers on the east side of GR.

[briantroutman]

Is there a map somewhere showing how I-70 was originally supposed to go from Ohio through Pittsburgh and on east?

I-79 - I-376 - I-76 in today's numbering (hopefully link should work). I-70 between Washington and New Stanton was I-70S, as can be seen here.

The New Stanton-Washington route can also be seen marked as I-70S on the 1960 PDH state map. The Pittsburgh inset on the reverse of that map shows the then-completed sections of the Penn-Lincoln Parkway as I-70. I can only assume that the plan was to follow the I-79 alignment to Washington and then continue westward to Wheeling.

Was I-276 in eastern PA ever signed as I-280 or did it not make it out of proposal stage? If it was, then the impending I-95 interchange will mark the third change for the PA Turnpike east of that interchange, to I-95.

Even if I-280 shields ever appeared on the present I-276, where I-280 had been described in AASHTO documentation, it was carefully worded to indicate that the designation ended at I-95, not at the NJ Turnpike. Take this route description from a June 1958 route numbering subcommittee meeting:

I-280 From a junction with I-80S at King of Prussia to a junction with I-95 near Bristol.

So officially speaking, it would appear that the PA Turnpike east of I-95 was never I-280, but even if it was, I have doubts it was ever signed.

Along the same lines, I've often wondered whether I-80S shields ever went up on the PA Turnpike. Neither the PDH nor the PTC maps from 1960 show any route numbers on the Turnpike, and I wouldn't be surprised if the road had largely kept its original guide signage well into the '60s.

[froggie]

I-95/I-495, 1989-now

Signed for continuity, but FHWA officially considers this to be just I-95.  And considering that it's still part of I-95, I wouldn't consider it a changed designation twice.

[noelbotevera]

PA Turnpike went from unnumbered to I-80S -> I-76 -> I-280 -> I-276 -> I-95. Six times.

[Kacie Jane]

PA Turnpike went from unnumbered to I-80S -> I-76 -> I-280 -> I-276 -> I-95. Six times.

No, I'm pretty sure you're talking about two different sections of highway here.  A section of 276 is going to become I-95 (at some point, presumably), and it used to be 280 long long ago, but it was never I-76 or I-80S.  I-76 (and I-80S before it) has always gone into Philadelphia, never along the rest of the Turnpike.

(I'm a little fuzzy on some of the details above, but there was certainly never a section of highway that went from I-76 -> I-280 as you have written.)

[noelbotevera]

PA Turnpike went from unnumbered to I-80S -> I-76 -> I-280 -> I-276 -> I-95. Six times.

No, I'm pretty sure you're talking about two different sections of highway here.  A section of 276 is going to become I-95 (at some point, presumably), and it used to be 280 long long ago, but it was never I-76 or I-80S.  I-76 (and I-80S before it) has always gone into Philadelphia, never along the rest of the Turnpike.

(I'm a little fuzzy on some of the details above, but there was certainly never a section of highway that went from I-76 -> I-280 as you have written.)

I'm consolidating the I-76 and I-276 segments as one segment, considering the fact that the PA Turnpike designation continues onto I-276. I'm also including the future I-95 designation.

[Kacie Jane]

PA Turnpike went from unnumbered to I-80S -> I-76 -> I-280 -> I-276 -> I-95. Six times.

No, I'm pretty sure you're talking about two different sections of highway here.  A section of 276 is going to become I-95 (at some point, presumably), and it used to be 280 long long ago, but it was never I-76 or I-80S.  I-76 (and I-80S before it) has always gone into Philadelphia, never along the rest of the Turnpike.

(I'm a little fuzzy on some of the details above, but there was certainly never a section of highway that went from I-76 -> I-280 as you have written.)

I'm consolidating the I-76 and I-276 segments as one segment, considering the fact that the PA Turnpike designation continues onto I-276. I'm also including the future I-95 designation.

Then you don't understand what the thread is about.  There isn't a segment where the number changed six times.

[Duke87]

I'll give you 280-276-95. But the section that will become 95 was never part of 76 or 80S. Doesn't matter that those numbers were on a different part of the PA Turnpike, that's not how this works.

[mrsman]

that's weird, why doesn't 70 go through Pittsburgh anymore?

Same reason I-79 doesn't. Same reason I-75 doesn't go through Tampa or St Petersburg. There should be more examples of this, IMO.

Agreed, by using creative numbering, Pittsburgh is able to keep most long distance traffic away from its central expressways. 

And don't think that other areas can't do this as well. There are some routings out there where the 2di is routed along the LONGER route between two points, just so that it can go through the city center.  The two biggest examples that I can think of are:

New Orleans -  I-10 should be routed over I-12's routing, a shorter routing betweeen Baton Rouge and Slidell.

St Louis - I-70 should be routed over I-270 along the north side of town.  A more direct connection from I-70/270 to I-70/55 than going through the Stan Musial bridge.

(It is true that in most other examples the bypass route is longer than the in-city route.)

[theline]

Along the same lines, I've often wondered whether I-80S shields ever went up on the PA Turnpike. Neither the PDH nor the PTC maps from 1960 show any route numbers on the Turnpike, and I wouldn't be surprised if the road had largely kept its original guide signage well into the '60s.

My recollection, admittedly a little hazy after nearly 60 years, would support your contention. As a child, I traveled the Turnpike frequently with the family. I remember the Turnpike trailblazers as the only markings into the late 50s. Seeing the I-76 markers was a big event for this little road geek. I don't remember ever seeing I-80S markers, though I think I may have seen it marked on some oil company map.

[Desert Man]

Hey, it can happen: an interstate goes through reincarnations twice in numbering plans, like to change outfits until they found the right size. TheStranger taught me in this thread I-215 in the San Bernardino-Riverside CA was one of those highways renumbered twice in its history (thanx).

[cheungd]

Devore, CA to Colton, CA:

I-15 (1956 to 1969)
I-15E (1969 to 1982)
I-215 (1982 to present)

---

Smaller examples in California:

Sacramento:
Beltline Freeway through Natomas - I-880 1968-1982, I-80 1982-present
downtown/midtown/Arden route (Capital City Freeway) - I-80 approximately 1968-1982, unsigned I-305 between US 50/I-80 junction in West Sacramento and E Street from 1982-present

San Francisco Bay Area:
Nimitz Freeway between US 101 in San Jose and Route 262 in Fremont: I-680 mid-1960s, I-880 1984-present
former Route 17 south of US 101 in San Jose: I-280 mid-1960s, I-880 1984-present

MacArthur Freeway (former US 50) in Oakland: I-5W 1956-1964, I-580 1964-present

Vallejo to Benicia: I-680 from 1956-1976, I-780 1976-present

Wasn't I-215 also previously as I-215 before it became I-15E?

[TheStranger]

Wasn't I-215 also previously as I-215 before it became I-15E?

Not as far as I know (Cahighways put that down on the I-15 page there, but I have never seen maps or photos showing I-215 existing prior to 1982 - and the 215 page supports it being a 1980s route as well, http://cahighways.org/209-216.html#215 ).  In the 1964 renumbering, a former segment of Route 71 north of Pomona to Claremont/La Verne became Route 215 for a year or so, but may have never been signed in the field. 

The 15/395/215 saga is itself interesting because of how much of it occurred years after the statewide renumbering project:

1964: I-15 runs concurrent with US 395 to Colton (and with the soon-to-be-truncated US 66 and US 91), where it ends.  395 continues south to San Diego along today's 215, 15 south of Temecula, and 163.  In San Diego, the Wabash Boulevard/40th Street/Murphy Canyon corridor (some of which had been built as a locally maintained freeway) was given the Route 103 number.  In the Inland Empire, Route 71 continued to follow the Corona-Temecula corridor (which at one point included a segment of US 395 from Lake Elsinore to Temecula), with Route 31 being designated on the north-south corridor from Corona to Ontario (with an unbuilt segment north from Ontario to Devore).

1969: US 395 decommissioned south of Hesperia.  Route 103 in San Diego transferred to Route 15, and US 395 from downtown San Diego to Route 103 in Miramar becomes Route 163.  Route 15 thus is assigned on all of former US 395 between Route 163 at Miramar NAS and I-15's original southern terminus in Colton.

1974: Interstate 15 in the Inland Empire is rerouted onto the Route 31 and Route 71 corridors (with a freeway under construction on what had been Route 31); former I-15/US 395 between Devore and Temecula receives the signed designation of I-15E (or Temp I-15E) and the hidden state route designation of Route 194, similar to today's Route 51/Business 80 setup.

1982: Though I-15E (due to being a loop route) was one of three suffixed routes to survive AASHTO's edict on suffixed Interstates, it was renumbered again to I-215 (with the TEMP I-15E sections becoming State Route 215).  The bypass I-15 along former Route 31 was completed by the mid-80s.

1994: Route 215 upgraded to Interstate 215 with the full completion of the freeway route south of Moreno Valley.

The end result of this is that the segment of freeway between Devore and 5th Street in San Bernardino has had an incredible amount of designations over its history: I-15/US 66/US 91/US 395, I-15E/unsigned Route 194, and presently I-215.

[Alex]

Had the Center Leg Freeway proposal to renumber I-395 through central DC as I-195 gone through, that would have been another candidate for this discussion. Until 1977, the Center Leg Freeway was a part of I-95, when it was renumbered to I-395.

From the AASHTO Notes for May 23, 1984:

Redesignation of I-395 as I-195
Approved

Redesignate as I-195 presently designated I-395 between the intersection of present I-695 in Washington, D.C. and the present terminus at the intersection of New York Avenue.

The I-195 appeared on several 1980s editions of the Rand McNally North American Road Atlas as well, including the 1987 edition here:

[vtk]

that's weird, why doesn't 70 go through Pittsburgh anymore?

Same reason I-79 doesn't. Same reason I-75 doesn't go through Tampa or St Petersburg. There should be more examples of this, IMO.

Agreed, by using creative numbering, Pittsburgh is able to keep most long distance traffic away from its central expressways. 

And don't think that other areas can't do this as well. There are some routings out there where the 2di is routed along the LONGER route between two points, just so that it can go through the city center.  The two biggest examples that I can think of are:

New Orleans -  I-10 should be routed over I-12's routing, a shorter routing betweeen Baton Rouge and Slidell.

St Louis - I-70 should be routed over I-270 along the north side of town.  A more direct connection from I-70/270 to I-70/55 than going through the Stan Musial bridge.

(It is true that in most other examples the bypass route is longer than the in-city route.)

It's not creative numbering that keeps the long range traffic out of the city center. That will happen if there's a good shortcut, whether the 2dI follows that shortcut or not – at least, with good navigators.

By the way, you forgot Detroit, Macon, and Rochester NY.  (Wait, doesn't I-90 bypass Rochester?)

[BakoCondors]

The one that came to my mind right away violates the basic parameters of the thread but I'll throw it out anyway: the Long Beach Freeway in suburban Los Angeles went from CA-15 to CA-7 to I-710 in the span of 18 years.

[machias]

A possibility of I-81 in Syracuse gets ripped down: I-281 > I-481 > I-81

[roadman65]

Was not I-40 in Greensboro, NC changed to I-40 Business and then back?