Future Interstate Highways

Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways
Interstate Highways in the 48 contiguous states
System information
Formed:	June 29, 1956
Highway names
Interstates:	Interstate X (I-X)
System links
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Business

Future Interstate Highways include various proposals to expand the Interstate Highway System in the United States. This does not include the numerous auxiliary Interstate Highways that are in various stages of planning and construction.

Congressionally designated future Interstates

Several Congressional High Priority Corridors have been designated as future parts of the Interstate System by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act and amendments. By law, they will become interstates when built to Interstate standards and connected to other interstates.

Interstate 9

Interstate 9
Location:	Wheeler Ridge – Stockton, Calif.

Main article: California State Route 99

Interstate 9 has been proposed by Caltrans for State Route 99 in central California. It would go from the split with I-5 at Wheeler Ridge (Wheeler Ridge Interchange) north through Fresno to Stockton, where the proposed route turns west via the State Route 4 freeway to a terminus at I-5 in the central part of that city. An alternate proposed terminus is located at the I-5/US 50/Capital City Freeway junction in Sacramento, where the future interstate, after continuing north from Stockton along Route 99, can turn west along the Capital City Freeway, already an Interstate route (unsigned I-305), to connect with I-5, which extends north toward the city of Redding. This also serves as a connector to the existing northern portion of Highway 99. The future Interstate's prospects for development to appropriate standards are tied to the Caltrans "Route 99 Corridor Enhancement Master Plan", which outlines improvements to that route, including capacity and physical improvements; this document posits that when and if Interstate status is conferred, the route will be designated I-7 or I-9. In August 2005, with the passage of that year's SAFETEA-LU federal transportation legislation, SR 99 from Wheeler Ridge to Stockton and beyond to Sacramento was designated as High Priority Corridor 54, the California Farm-to-Market Corridor.

Interstate 11

Interstate 11
Location:	Phoenix, Ariz. – Las Vegas, Nev.

Main article: Interstate 11

Interstate 11 is the congressionally designated route number for an interstate connecting Phoenix, Arizona, to Las Vegas. This concept was first explored in the contractor-trade publication "Roads and Bridges" in June 1997; the article outlining the I-11 route and rationale was titled "Interstate 2000: Improvement for the Next Millennium", written by Wendell Cox and Jean Love. Their rationale was that the Phoenix and Las Vegas metro areas were two of the largest (and, circa 1997, growing) urban regions in adjacent states not featuring direct Interstate connection. The corridor would be approximately 285 miles in length and would most likely subsume the existing I-515 freeway facility in the Las Vegas area. Plans to connect I-11 to the existing Interstate network in the Phoenix region have yet to be determined, but the most likely routing would extend west and southwest of the Phoenix metro complex via the proposed "Hassayampa" corridor. The proposed routing for I-11 is part of the Canamex high-priority corridor. The projects contained within this portion of the overall Canamex corridor include the recently completed Hoover Dam Bypass project. Note that there are not currently official plans to upgrade the highway to full freeway status between these cities, although the US 93 corridor is being presently upgraded to divided expressway status; along with a planned freeway bypass of the town of Wickenburg at the junction of US 60 and US 93.

In July 2009, the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada passed a resolution, coinciding with recent resolutions from the City of Las Vegas, and several Arizona transportation agencies, to support a future Interstate 11. The Boulder City bypass on US 93 will be built to interstate standards and is currently in the planning stages. Presently the text of the 2012 two-year highway reauthorization bill as passed by the Senate (S. 1813) includes a section that authorizes the sections of High Priority Corridor 26, the "Canamex" corridor, between Phoenix and Las Vegas as a future Interstate and further specifies the designation of I-11 to that routing.

The language of the 2-year transportation bill as passed by both House and Senate as of June 28, 2012 retained the addition of the Canamex corridor as Future Interstate 11, including its actual numerical designation; this will write Interstate 11 into law with the expected signature of the President. It is unclear if interim I-11 signage will be applied to this corridor, as only the portion presently designated as I-515 in the Las Vegas area, the O'Callaghan-Tillman Bridge (adjacent to Hoover Dam) and its approaches, and a brief segment of US 93 north of Kingman, AZ, at the Arizona State Route 68 junction, currently meet Interstate standards.

Interstate 41

Interstate 41
Location:	Milwaukee – Green Bay, Wis.

Main article: U.S. Route 41 in Wisconsin

A yet-to-be-determined Interstate designation is being planned for assignment to portions of the present U.S. Route 41, I-894, and a portion of U.S. Route 45 between Milwaukee and Green Bay, Wisconsin. The route parallels the west shore of Lake Winnebago and the west bank of the Fox River, as part of the 2005 highway funding bill (Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users).

Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) officials are studying what improvements need to be made to U.S. Route 41 as it is being prepared for Interstate status. Necessary upgrades must be made before any signage changes can happen, but the entire length from Milwaukee to Green Bay is expected to become an Interstate. It is unknown which Interstate number will be selected and whether the existing route numbers will remain posted as concurrent routes when the Interstate signs are erected in the future. WisDOT says, "It is anticipated that AASHTO will make a [route number] designation recommendation in 2012." The new Interstate route would roughly parallel Interstate 43, which runs north–south along Lake Michigan from Milwaukee to Green Bay, where the two interstates would meet. The designation would extend from the Mitchell Interchange on Milwaukee's southeast side to the existing 41/43 interchange near Green Bay's northwest side.

However, at the spring meeting of the Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbers of AASHTO on May 18, 2012, the number discussed by the committee was I-55, not I-41. The committee's secretary will coordinate with FHWA and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) on the designation, focusing on using I-55 as the number.

Although the designation of I-55 was suggested during the aforementioned Special Committee spring meeting, one of the state agencies whose initiation of such a designation—or at least approval—IDOT declined to cooperate in any such designation effort. IDOT's support would have been necessary as the northern terminus of the existing portion of I-55 is in downtown Chicago, and the proposed designation would need to be extended and signed concurrently with either I-94 or I-294 from greater Chicago north to the Wisconsin state line. This is an action which IDOT is reluctant to undertake.^{[citation needed]} As a result, WisDOT elected to pursue designations not requiring cooperation with IDOT. Four designations were proposed by WiscDOT and put up for public review: two new designations: I-41 and I-47, and two auxiliary designations: I-594 and I-643. At the end of October 2012, WisDOT submitted I-41 to AASHTO for consideration at their fall Special Committee meeting. The description of the route within the application showed it extending from the merge point of US 41 and I-94 0.9 miles (1.4 km) south of the Illinois–Wisconsin state line north along present I-94/US 41 to the Mitchell Interchange south of Milwaukee, where it would turn follow I-43/I-894 and I-894/US 45 to the Zoo Interchange with I-94. Once it traversed that interchange, I-41 would continue north along the existing US 45 and US 41 freeways north via Oshkosh and Appleton to a northern terminus at the present I-43 interchange northwest of Green Bay. WisDOT's application was conditionally approved as I-41 by the Special Committee at their meeting on November 16, 2012, pending FHWA concurrence. If FHWA accepts the AASHTO recommendation, WisDOT may deploy Interstate 41 signage when the full route meets Interstate standards.

Interstate 269

Interstate 269
Location:	Lebanon– Pendleton, IN

Main article: Indiana State Road 32

Interstate 269 has been proposed by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) in 2010. This Interstate would serve one of the most rapid growth areas in the United States. I-269 was planned to start in Lebanon, and end in Pendleton. INDOT is predicting I-269 to be finished around 2029. If Indianapolis decides to wrap this auxiliary route completely around the city, it will be called Interstate 470, but this is unlikely. The I-269 project will cost about $440 million. If Indianapolis decides to wrap construct I-470, it will cost nearly $1.51 billion.^{[citation needed]}

Others

Proposed routes:

• Extension of Interstate 20 by upgrading U.S. Highway 76 to Wilmington, North Carolina.
• Extensions of Interstate 49 from Shreveport, Louisiana, to Pineville, Missouri, and from Lafayette to New Orleans, Louisiana. This upgrade, completed in portions in both Arkansas and Missouri (but only the Missouri portion is signed as I-49 from Pineville to Kansas City), is being completed under the auspices of both the 1991 ISTEA legislation, which designated the corridor as "High Priority Corridor 1" and the subsequent 2005 SAFETEA-LU legislation, which reiterated the designation as High Priority Corridor 72 and, in the language of the following year's highway funding authorization bill, added language making HPC 72 an northern extension of Louisiana's I-49. In 2010 Missouri initiated the idea of converting US 71 between I-44 south of Carthage and I-435 south of Kansas City to a northerly section of I-49, which would involve converting several at-grade crossings to bridges and/or interchanges.
• Extension of Interstate 66 westward, through West Virginia, southern Kentucky, southern Missouri, and southeastern Kansas to Wichita.^{[citation needed]}
• Interstate 73 is a new highway that currently consists just of a few disconnected sections in the Winston-Salem and Greensboro area. When complete, it will have many concurrencies with I-74 alongside other existing segments of Interstate and pre-built freeways with Interstate-standards even if it didn't have an Interstate designation. It will eventually run from Grayling, Michigan to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Its route will be Myrtle Beach to Hamlet, North Carolina; following I-74 to Greensboro; north to Roanoke, Virginia; following I-81 to Christiansburg; via Blacksburg to I-77 to Huntingdon; following I-74 to Piketon, Ohio; north to Columbus and Toledo; northwest to Jackson, Michigan; and north to Lansing before finally joining with I-75 south of Grayling. It is not expected that much of this highway will be built within the next 20–30 years.^{[citation needed]}
• Extension of Interstate 74 from Cincinnati, Ohio to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I-74 currently runs from Davenport, Iowa to Cincinnati. Work is progressing on the part running through the Winston-Salem and Greensboro areas of North Carolina as far as I-95. However there is little progress on the central section from Cincinnati to I-77 and the final southern extension from I-95 to south of Myrtle Beach, which is not expected to be constructed within 20–30 years.^{[citation needed]}
• Interstate 99 from Bedford, Pennsylvania, to Corning, New York, and Bedford to Cumberland, Maryland (partially complete). This is part of High Priority Corridor #9 and, through the efforts of former area congressman Bud Shuster, was designated in the 1995 NHS legislation as I-99. The portion from I-70/76 (PA Turnpike) near Bedford to I-80 is substantially complete (pending upgrades of the I-80/I-99 interchange), while the portion from I-80 north to I-86 west of Corning, NY is being steadily upgraded to Interstate standards and is sporadically signed as "Future I-99". Some local Rochester, New York, area supporters have suggested that I-390, which extends north from I-86 several miles west of the planned I-86/I-99 junction near Corning and which crosses I-90 and terminates in the greater Rochester metro area, be redesignated as I-99 once the I-80 to I-86 portion of that route is completed, positing that it is a logical extension of the I-99 corridor (I-99's predecessor, U.S. Route 15, originally extended to Rochester); no official moves to accomplish this have been forwarded, however.^{[citation needed]}

Proposed conversions of existing highways into Interstate Highways:

• Conversion of New York State Route 17 into Interstate 86 from just east of Erie, Pennsylvania, to Harriman, New York (partially complete); legislatively designated as I-86 and, in its entirety, High Priority Corridor #36.^{[citation needed]}
• Conversion of U.S. Highway 101 in California from Los Angeles to San Francisco to the interstate freeway system.^{[citation needed]}
• Conversion of California State Route 58 to an extension of Interstate 40 from Barstow to Interstate 5 near Bakersfield.^{[citation needed]}
• Conversion of U.S. Highway 71 from Fort Smith, Arkansas, to Texarkana, supposedly to be marked as an extension of Interstate 540, and ultimately, Interstate 49.^{[citation needed]}

Other proposals

Interstate 2

Interstate 2
Location:	Harlingen – Mission, Texas

Main article: Interstate 2

On May 24, 2013, FHWA Administrator Victor M. Mendez announced that three highways in the Rio Grande Valley in south Texas are to be designated as Interstate Highways; this was followed on May 30, 2013, by the approval by the Texas Transportation Commission. US 83 from Harlingen to Mission, Texas, will be designated I-2 and signed in the summer of 2013 since the 47-mile (76 km) stretch of road meets Interstate Highway standards. Combined with approvals at the same time for I-69E and I-69C, this will add over 100 miles (160 km) of Interstate Highway which will connect the east and west sides of the valley.

Interstate 3

Interstate 3
Location:	Savannah, Ga. – Knoxville, Tenn.

Main article: Interstate 3

The 3rd Infantry Division Highway was proposed in the 2005 highway funding bill (Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users) to run from Savannah, Georgia, north via Augusta, to Knoxville, Tennessee. Although the corridor has not been designated by law or any official body as a proposed Interstate, Interstate 3 is its popular name. This number does not fit into the Interstate Highway numbering system, but matches the name chosen to honor the US Army Third Infantry Division.

Interstate 14

Interstate 14
Location:	Alexandria, La. – Augusta, Ga. or Natchez, Miss. – Augusta, Ga.

Main article: Interstate 14

The 14th Amendment Highway was proposed in the 2005 highway funding bill (Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users) to run from Augusta, Georgia, through Macon, Columbus, Montgomery, Meridian, Jackson, to end in Natchez, Mississippi, or Alexandria, Louisiana. Although the corridor has not been designated by law or any official body as a proposed Interstate, Interstate 14 is its popular name. This number fits into the Interstate Highway numbering system, and matches the name chosen to honor the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.

Interstate 67

Interstate 67
Location:	Indianapolis, IN – Grand Rapids, MI; South Bend, IN –Kalamazoo, MI; Bowling Green, KY – Crane, IN

Main article: U.S. Route 31 in Indiana

Interstate 67 is a proposed number for at least three highways.

The first proposal would be an upgrade of US 31 in Indiana between Indianapolis and South Bend, continuing northward via the US 31 freeway north to Benton Harbor, Michigan, and going northward from there along existing Interstate 196. The Indiana Senate unanimously passed a resolution calling for federal funding for this proposal. Meanwhile Indiana is expediting the upgrade of US-31 between Indianapolis and South Bend using funds received through the 2006 Major Moves deal (see U.S. Route 31 in Indiana). Such a proposal would put I-67 in the proper place in the grid (it is the only number available for that route). This number in fact was officially proposed by the Michigan State Highway Department, but denied by AASHO, to follow what became Interstate 196 in 1963 as part of the switch with Interstate 96 west of their junction near Grand Rapids.

Interstate 67 was also the designation given to a never-built highway connecting Kalamazoo, Michigan, to the east side of Elkhart, Indiana, in the original Interstate numbering plan. A planning map shows a freeway along this routing intersecting the Indiana Toll Road just west of the State Road 19 interchange.

A third, much shorter, but more likely proposal involves building a highway parallel to US 231 from Crane, Indiana, to Bowling Green, Kentucky. Much of the proposed route already exists and is close to Interstate grade. Only the northern third from Dale, Indiana, to Crane as remains unfinished. It would use the Natcher Bridge to cross the Ohio River and Kentucky's Interstate-grade Natcher Parkway and Indiana's Interstate-grade Lincoln Parkway. It would go around the cities of Jasper, Indiana, Huntingburg, Indiana, Owensboro, Kentucky, Hartford, Kentucky, and end at Bowling Green, Kentucky. It could also be linked to the first proposal by overlapping I-67 with the currently under construction I-69 from Indianapolis to Crane.

Interstate 92

Interstate 92
Location:	Albany, NY – Portsmouth, NH or Glen Falls, NY – Calais, ME

Main article: East–West Highway (New England)

Interstate 92 is a proposed number for at least three highways.

Low population and natural barriers like the White Mountains have impeded economic development in northern New England. Proposals for an east–west highway date back to the 1940s.^{[citation needed]} In the early 1970s, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York proposed two new Interstate Highway corridors:

• From Albany, New York, to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, incorporating the current route whose easternmost segment is New Hampshire Route 101.
• From Glens Falls, New York, to Calais, Maine (designated as I-92), tracing US Route 4 eastward through Vermont and New Hampshire.

The Federal Highway Administration ultimately did not approve these plans.

Maine Senator Olympia Snowe said in 2004 that the region is disadvantaged by the fact that it was the only region in the US for which a federal High Priority Corridor was not designated in the 1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act. In 2012, the east–west highway was again proposed, this time as a privately financed toll road.

Location

Current backers of the highway propose an east–west axis through northern and central Maine. One portion of the new highway would run from Interstate 395 in Brewer, Maine, to the Canada-U.S. border near Calais, with a direct link to New Brunswick Route 1, a major transportation corridor serving the Maritimes. A second would travel northwest from Interstate 95 near Waterville, Maine, to the Canada-U.S. border at Coburn Gore, with a connection to a proposed extension of Quebec Autoroute 10 toward Montreal. A third would travel due west from I-95 near Waterville, following the U.S. Route 2 corridor through Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and northern New York.

Northern New England is served by three north–south freeways radiating from Boston, and by Interstate 91, which follows the Connecticut River. However, the northernmost complete east–west freeway in the region, Interstate 90 in Massachusetts, does not enter northern New England. East–west travel through northern New England is facilitated by three freeway segments:

• Interstate 89 between Montpelier, Vermont and Burlington.
• US-4 west of Rutland, Vermont.
• New Hampshire Route 101 from Manchester, New Hampshire eastward to the ocean.

Interstate 98

Interstate 98
Location:	Adams, NY – Champlain, NY

Main article: U.S. Route 11 in New York

Plans for the Rooftop Highway, a proposed limited-access highway that would extend for 175 miles (282 km) from Watertown to Champlain, first surfaced in the 1950s. If built, the highway would likely follow the US 11 corridor across the northern part of North Country, connecting I-81 to I-87. The project is expected to create more than 27,000 jobs throughout the North Country and is expected to take as many as 15 years to complete.

A study called the North Country Transportation Study Action Plan and Final Technical Report suggests that the road would likely be built to Interstate Highway standards in order to improve constrained transit systems due to a lack of infrastructure throughout the area. Backers of the project have called for the highway to be designated as I-98; however, this designation has not been recognized by any government agencies, such as NYSDOT or the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). The number does fit into AASHTO's numbering system, though, as the highest even numbers are designated for highways running along the Canada–United States border, such as the proposed highway.

The Northern Corridor Transportation Group (NCTG) was formed in December 2008 as a means of refocusing the fifty-year discussion on the project. Since that time, more than 100 municipal and civic resolutions from the five northern counties of New York have been passed in support of the construction of the project. On July 16, 2009, the NCTG submitted a request to U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to direct $800 million toward the project as part of the reauthorization of a federal highway transportation bill. In a historic move, the six northern legislators representing the North Country in the New York State Legislature (Senators Aubertine, Griffo and Little and Assembly Members Scozzafava, Russell and Duprey) signed an official letter of request to the same end.

External links

• Future Interstates and Potential Interstate Corridors at Interstate-Guide.com