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Interstate 83

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Template:Infobox Interstate Interstate 83 (abbreviated I-83) is an interstate highway in the eastern United States. Its southern terminus is in Baltimore, Maryland at the Fayette Street exit; its northern terminus is in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at Interstate 81.

Most of the route south of Lemoyne, Pennsylvania is a direct replacement of US 111, a former spur of US 11.

Route description

Lengths
  mi[1] km
MD 34.5 55.5
PA 50.8 81.8
Total 85.3 137.3

Maryland

Jones Falls Expressway

Interstate 83 begins its northern trek at Fayette St. in downtown Baltimore, east of the central business district. Originally planned to continue south of Fayette St. to Interstate 95 north of the Fort McHenry Tunnel, the route was truncated in late 1982 and now ends at Fayette St., downgrading into President St. south of the intersection.

North of Fayette St., I-83 is an elevated four- and six-lane freeway, known locally as the Jones Falls Expressway or JFX, that parallels Maryland Route 25 Falls Road and its namesake river, the Jones Falls, which flows directly beneath the freeway. Both I-83 and MD 25 follow a circuitous path out of the city centre, passing beneath US 40 Orleans St with no access and interchanging with Maryland Route 2 and US 1 north of the CBD. Beyond US 1, the JFX is also paralleled by the Baltimore Light Rail system.

After exiting Baltimore, the JFX continues north and eventually reaches Interstate 695, the Baltimore Beltway. I-83 separates from the JFX, which runs beyond the Beltway and terminates at MD 25, and joins I-695 for 1.4 miles; recent construction work widened the concurrency between the two Interstates to ten lanes. I-83 and I-695 split off at the southern terminus of the Baltimore-Harrisburg Expressway, and I-695 continues its eastward trek towards Towson and Parkville.

Traveling south on I-83, looking at congested 83 going northbound

Baltimore-Harrisburg Expressway

Major cities
Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs

After separating from the Beltway, I-83 is now known as the Baltimore-Harrisburg Expressway. Running due north away from the Beltway, the route parallels Maryland Route 45 York Road, the former route of US 111. Passing to the west of Timonium and Cockeysville, I-83 leaves the suburban belt around Baltimore and enters rural Baltimore County just north of Hunt Valley at Shawan Road. I-83 and MD 45 continue to parallel one another through the northern portion of the county, with both crossing over each other repeatedly. This segment of I-83 has several sections with higher than usual gradients.

The only major settlement encountered by I-83 along this stretch is Monkton, reached via Maryland Route 137. To the west of I-83, MD 137 connects with the northern terminus of MD 25, I-83's former companion to the south.

The Interstate eventually crosses the Mason-Dixon Line into Pennsylvania 25 miles north of Baltimore, mere feet from a partial interchange with Freeland Road and parallel with MD 45; the latter route becomes the Susquehanna Trail on the other side of the line.

Pennsylvania

I-83 enters Pennsylvania southeast of New Freedom, passing to the east of Shrewsbury and running due north towards York. The route bypasses the towns of Loganville and Jacobus before entering the city of York.

Uniquely for an Interstate near the east coast, I-83 has a business route through downtown York, known as Interstate 83 Business. The business route follows the former path of US 111, while I-83 turns northeast and then north again to bypass the urban area. Near US 30 Lincoln Highway, the Interstate turns west for a short distance, then north again to interchange with the U.S. route. Beyond US 30, I-83 resumes its straight path, running due north out of York and passing to the west of Emigsville.

North of Pennsylvania Route 295, I-83 is known as the Susquehanna Expressway. It maintains this name as it passes to the south and west of Valley Green, continuing north towards Harrisburg. South of Harrisburg, I-83 interchanges with Interstate 76, the Pennsylvania Turnpike. North of I-76, I-83 continues due north, passing through New Cumberland, before merging with Pennsylvania Route 581 in Lemoyne.

After merging with PA 581, I-83 is known as the Harrisburg Expressway. The highway turns due east within the merge and crosses the Susquehanna River south of Harrisburg's central business district, passing through Paxtang before encountering Interstate 283 and US 322 at the Eisenhower Interchange. Within the interchange, I-83 exits from itself, with each direction of traffic following a one-lane ramp; I-83's former mainline carriageways become US 322, while I-283's former mainline carriageways become I-83. The interchanges includes ramps to local city streets as well. From this point northbound to exit 51 traffic is often congested during daylight hours.

Beyond this interchange, I-83 runs due north again through eastern Harrisburg, interchanging with US 22 northeast of the central business district, before terminating at a three-way semi-directional interchange with Interstate 81.

History

Interstate 83 (JFX) southbound in Baltimore

Jones Falls Expressway

The first Interstate to be built in Baltimore was the Jones Falls Expressway; it was the first to be constructed due to community opposition to the other planned freeways within the city. By the early 1960s, the JFX was completed as far as Guilford Ave, within the city limits. It was completed as far as Pleasant St. in the downtown area by 1983, with the cancellation of the remaining 4.4 miles to Interstate 95 being undertaken in September 1982. To compensate for the loss of the remainder of the JFX, the portion in situ was extended to Fayette St. by 1987, and the Jones Falls Boulevard project substantially rebuilt 3/4 of a mile of President St., across from the JFX at Fayette St., to allow the traffic to and from the Interstate to be collected and distributed from the surrounding city streets. By 1990, the project was completed.

Future

The possibility of extending I-83 north to Rochester, New York instead of I-99 was discussed at the October 2002 I-99 Task Force meeting. However, part of the proposed route on US 11/US 15 has been recently rebuilt as a four lane surface road, which does not meet Interstate standards.[2] Expensive additional reconstruction, including new interchanges, service roads and realignments, would be necessary. The farthest north that I-83 could be extended currently would be Benvenue, Pennsylvania on a bridge over the Susquehanna River, where a recently-built freeway section of US 22/US 322 (the Dauphin Bypass) downgrades to an undivided four-lane road.

Exit list

Maryland

For exits south of I-695, see Jones Falls Expressway. The entire route north of I-695 is in Baltimore County.

Location Mile # Destinations Notes
9.7 MD 25 (Falls Road)
9.7
I-695 west – Pikesville, Washington
South end of I-695 overlap
11.3
I-695 east – Towson, New York
North end of I-695 overlap
12.6 16 Timonium Road - Timonium Signed as exits 16A (east) and 16B (west) northbound
14.0 17 Padonia Road
15.4 18 MD 943 east (Warren Road) - Cockeysville Northbound exit and southbound entrance
17.2 20 Shawan Road - Cockeysville Signed as exits 20A (east) and 20B (west)
21.0 24 Belfast Road - Butler, Sparks, Reisterstown
24.3 27 MD 137 (Mount Carmel Road) – Hereford
27.6 31 Middletown Road - Parkton
29.6 32 MD 45 – Parkton
33.2 36 MD 439 – Maryland Line, Bel Air
34.4 37 Freeland Road Southbound entrance and northbound exit

Pennsylvania

County Location # Destinations Notes
York Shrewsbury Township 4 PA 851 – Shrewsbury
Springfield Township 8 PA 216 – Glen Rock
10 PA 214 – Loganville
Spring Garden Township 14 PA 182 – Leader Heights
15
I-83 BL north (George Street)
16 PA 74 (Queen Street) Signed as exits 16A (south) and 16B (north)
18 PA 124 (Prospect Street)
Springettsbury Township 19 PA 462 (Market Street) Signed as exits 19A (east) and 19B (west)
Manchester Township 21A
US 30 east (Arsenal Road)
Signed as exit 21 southbound
21B
US 30 west (Arsenal Road)
Northbound exit and southbound entrance
22


I-83 BL south / PA 181 (North George Street) to US 30 west
24 PA 238 – Emigsville
28 PA 295 – Strinestown
Newberry Township 32 PA 382 – Newberrytown
33 PA 392 – Yocumtown
Fairview Township 34 Valley Green Northbound exit and entrance
35 PA 177 – Lewisberry
36 PA 262 – Fishing Creek
38 Reesers Summit
39A PA 114 (Lewisberry Road)
39B I-76 (Pennsylvania Turnpike) – Philadelphia, Pittsburgh
40A Limekiln Road
Cumberland Lower Allen Township 40B New Cumberland
Lemoyne
41A
PA 581 west – Camp Hill, Gettysburg
41B Highland Park
42 Lemoyne No southbound entrance
Dauphin Harrisburg 43 2nd Street - State Capitol
44A
To PA 230Module:Jct warning: "road" parameter is deprecated
44B 19th Street, 17th Street
45 Paxtang Northbound exit and entrance
45 Paxton Street, Bass Pro Drive Southbound exit and entrance
Swatara Township 46A

I-283 south (Pennsylvania Turnpike) to I-76 - Airport, Lancaster
46B
US 322 east – Hershey
Northbound exit and southbound entrance
47
US 322 east – HersheyModule:Jct warning: "road" parameter is deprecated
South end of US 322 overlap; southbound exit and northbound entrance
Lower Paxton Township 48 Union Deposit Road
50 US 22 – Colonial Park, Progress Signed as exits 50A (east) and 50B (west)
51

I-81 / US 322 west to I-78 – Hazleton, Allentown, Carlisle, Lewistown
Northbound exit and southbound entrance; signed as exits 51A (south/west) and 51B (north)

Auxiliary routes

I-83 has only one spur route: Interstate 283, a connector to Interstate 76 southeast of Harrisburg.

Template:I-83 aux

Business routes

York, Pennsylvania business loop

Template:Ibus Interstate 83 Business is a short Interstate business loop in York, Pennsylvania. Its northern terminus is at I-83 and Pennsylvania Route 181 north of York. Its southern terminus is at I-83, south of York. The road is known as George Street for much of its length.

I-83 Business is the only business route of I-83 and is currently the only Interstate business route in the entire state of Pennsylvania, although this will change when Pennsylvania Route 60 Business becomes signed as I-376 Business.[citation needed] The route was constructed in 1958 but signed in 1957. I-83 Business goes through downtown York on George Street, the main north-south arterial in the city.

References

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference fhwa was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Aaroads - Corridor 9

Template:Roads in Baltimore area Template:Susquehanna Valley Roads

Browse numbered routes
MD 81MD MD 83
PA 82PA PA 83