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Interstate 90

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Template:Infobox Interstate Interstate 90 (abbreviated I-90) is the longest interstate highway in the United States at nearly 3,100 miles (5,000 kilometers). It is the northernmost east-to-west, coast-to-coast interstate. Its western terminus is in Seattle, Washington at 4th Avenue S. next to Qwest Field, and its eastern terminus is in Boston, Massachusetts at Logan International Airport and Route 1A. It crosses the Continental Divide just east of Butte, Montana.

History

I-90 made heavy use of existing roads. The Massachusetts Turnpike, New York State Thruway, Ohio Turnpike, Indiana Toll Road, and Northwest Tollway all predate I-90 and were used for parts of its route. This also means that substantial portions of the route are not precisely to interstate standards, but they are usually close.

Route description

Miles km state
296.92 477.85 Washington
73.55 118.37 Idaho
551.68 887.84 Montana
208.8 336.03 Wyoming
412.76 664.27 South Dakota
275.7 443.70 Minnesota
187.14 301.84 Wisconsin
123.89 199.38 Illinois
156.28 251.51 Indiana
244.75 393.89 Ohio
46.4 74.67 Pennsylvania
385.48 620.37 New York
135.72 218.42 Massachusetts
3,099.07 4958.51 Total[1]

Washington

File:I90.jpg

In 2003, the Seattle terminus was re-engineered to better accommodate traffic from the two nearby sports stadiums. I-90 westbound still ends at its previous location next to Qwest Field, but eastbound begins about 1/4 mile (0.4 km) south at Edgar Martinez Dr. near the roof shed of Safeco Field at an interchange with 4th Avenue S.

I-90 incorporates two of the longest floating bridges in the world, the Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge and the Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge, which cross Lake Washington from Seattle to Mercer Island, Washington. They are the second and fifth longest such bridges, respectively.

Since 1980, I-90 from Seattle to Thorp, WA, was designated the Mountains To Sound Greenway to protect its outstanding scenic and cultural resources.[2]

Idaho

The small town of Wallace, Idaho still prides itself on having what was the last stop light on I-90. Its downtown has many historical buildings, which would have been wiped out by the original planned route of the freeway, so in 1976, city leaders had the downtown placed on the National Register of Historic Places. As a result, the federal government was forced at great expense to reroute the freeway to the northern edge of downtown and elevate it. That section of I-90 opened in September 1991. A bicycle path is routed beneath part of that segment.

Montana

Until 1995 in Montana near the Idaho border, I-90 was not a divided highway for a few stretches, having only a narrow paved median. From 1995 until 1999, the speed limit in Montana was "reasonable and prudent"; it is now 75 mph (120 km/h).

Wyoming

At the Montana border I-90 is a four lane divided highway with a grass meridian. At Buffalo, Wyoming (if travailing eastward from the north) it diverges from I-25 with a more east west orientation.

South Dakota

Near Sturgis, South Dakota at the Wyoming border I-90 is a four lane divided highway with a grass meridian. In the Sioux Falls area I-90 intersects I-29 and continues east west a short distance to Minnesota

Minnesota

I-90 crosses southern Minnesota from the South Dakota border near Sioux Falls to the Mississippi River near LaCrosse, Wisconsin. On most of its length in the state, it is close to the Iowa border and fairly parallel with it. In southeast Minnesota, it curves north to Rochester.

Wisconsin

I-90 crosses Wisconsin from Minnesota to Illinois in a generally southeasterly direction. It joins I-94 in Tomah, and I-39 in Portage.

Illinois

See also: Northwest Tollway, Kennedy Expressway, Dan Ryan Expressway, and Chicago Skyway
Interstate 90 at the Belvidere oasis on the Northwest Tollway.

In the state of Illinois, Interstate 90 enters from Wisconsin with Interstate 39. At the U.S. Route 51 exit, I-39/90 becomes the Northwest Tollway. The two Interstates run south to Rockford, where I-39 continues south (as a freeway) to La Salle/Peru. I-90 continues southeast along the tollway to the Chicagoland area. In Schaumburg, I-90 meets the western end of Interstate 290, the only loop from I-90 in Illinois.

I-90 passes O'Hare International Airport, where Interstate 190, the only spur of I-90 in Illinois, branches west to the airport terminals. I-90 continues southeast as the Kennedy Expressway (a freeway) and joins with Interstate 94 - northbound, I-94 is the Edens Expressway at this point. I-90/94 then pass through the city, intersecting the eastern end of I-290 just west of the Chicago Loop. South of I-290, the highway is given the name of the Dan Ryan Expressway.

In Chicago's South Side, I-90 splits off from I-94 and becomes the Chicago Skyway, again becoming a toll road. I-90 then runs directly southeast to the Indiana state line, and becomes the Indiana Toll Road at the state line.

There is some dispute as to whether the Chicago Skyway is an official part of the Interstate highway system. The city of Chicago replaced many I-90 shields to "TO I-90" when it determined that the city may have never applied for Interstate designation for the skyway. However, the Federal Highway Administration considers the Skyway as being part of I-90, and the Illinois DOT has always and continues to report it as such [3]. See List of gaps in Interstate Highways for more information.

Indiana

See also: Indiana Toll Road

In the state of Indiana, Interstate 90 enters from Illinois at the Chicago Skyway. It then runs to the multiplexed Interstates 80/94 east of Interstate 65, where I-80 leaves I-94 and joins with I-90. The combined I-80/90 route runs east across northern Indiana and near the southern border of Michigan to the Ohio state line.

As part of the Toll Road, I-80/90 passes to the north of South Bend and Elkhart. It also passes north of Angola at Interstate 69.

Ohio

See also: Ohio Turnpike

The Indiana Toll Road turns into the Ohio Turnpike as it crosses the border. I-90 follows the Ohio Turnpike until Elyria (west of Cleveland), where it turns north to follow a route near the shores of Lake Erie.

In Cleveland, Interstate 90 serves as the Innerbelt at the confluence of the northern termini of Interstates 71 and 77. One of the most peculiar and hazardous stretches of Interstate 90 is the section of highway passing through downtown, known locally as Dead Man's Curve. Here, the road takes a nearly 90-degree turn (Google Maps satellite view). While there are plenty of large signs and flashing lights alerting motorists to this turn, there have still been a large number of accidents due to inattentive motorists. There are plans to realign the freeway along a shallower curve within the next decade, as part of a larger project to improve the highway system in Cleveland. [4]

Pennsylvania

I-90 goes from the Ohio state line through Erie, Pennsylvania, and then leaves Pennyslvania for New York.

While not an interstate, a portion of Pennsylvania Route 5 in Erie, Pa., has recently been named Pennsylvania Route 290. The purpose is to encourage travelers to use this stretch of Erie's 12th Street as a loop, connecting Interstate 79 and 90 to the Bayfront Connector and downtown Erie.

New York

See also: New York State Thruway

I-90 becomes the New York State Thruway upon entering New York. It follows the Lake Erie coast until Buffalo, where it joins the old Water Level Route until Albany. There it takes a short detour before joining the New York State Thruway Berkshire Connector.

I-90 metric sign for NY Thruway Exit 35

Almost all of the New York portion of the road is a toll road, comprising the east-west portion of the New York State Thruway mainline and part of the Berkshire Connector, operated by the New York State Thruway Authority. It was originally constructed as part of the Thruway project in the middle 1950s and received its current designation as Interstate 90 in 1958. "I-90" (operated by NYSDOT) carries Interstate 90 between the two; however, the Berkshire Section directly connects to the mainline (at Thruway interchange 21A) 6.5 miles (10.5 km) west of the point where I-90 joins it (at Thruway interchange B1).

The mileposts and exit numbers on the New York State Thruway mainline originate at the New York City line and increase northward along Interstate 87 and westward along Interstate 90. As a result, mileposts and exit numbers on the I-90 section of the Thruway mainline increase from east to west, contrary to modern practices where numbers increase from the west or south. The NYSDOT-maintained portion in between, known to locals as "Freebie 90," does number its mileage and exits in the traditional west-to-east method. It starts over again when the Berkshire Section of the Thruway begins, with exit and mile numbers preceded by the letter B (Exit B1, Exit B2, Mile B1, Mile B2, and so on).

There used to be two metric-only signs on the westbound New York State Thruway. They were around Syracuse, which is about 100 miles (161 km) from Canada. The NYS Thruway Authority decided to test metric signage, which may have included (briefly) an 88 km/h speed limit sign, on the Thruway. There was also a sign displaying the distance to the Interstate 81 interchange in kilometers in Dewitt. These signs are now displayed in just miles.

I-90 is the only Interstate having a complete set of nine spur routes (190, 290, 390...890, 990) within one state, which is in New York. (Interstate 80 has a complete set in different states.) In addition, I-990, a short spur route near Buffalo, New York not directly connected to I-90, is the highest number given to an Interstate.

I-790 in Utica used to have a completely direct connection with the I-90 at Thruway interchange 31. Various road redesign projects over the years have eventually lead to this direct connection being partially severed. Traffic exiting the Thruway must use two different surface streets to reach I-790. However, it is still possible to travel from I-790 directly onto the Thruway. I-790 has some other oddities: no exit numbers, no reassurance shields, and it runs concurrent with New York State Route 5 for its entire length.

Massachusetts

I-90 is entirely contained within the Massachusetts Turnpike.

I-90 terminated at I-93 in Boston until it was connected through to the Ted Williams Tunnel in January 2003 as part of the Big Dig, extending I-90 to Boston's Logan International Airport, an additional 1.3 miles (2.1 km) and ending at Route 1A.

The Massachusetts stretch, also a toll road built in the mid-1950s, is known as the Massachusetts Turnpike.

Turnpike Doubles are permitted to travel between exit 11 and through the New York state border.

Major cities

Austin, Minnesota Business Loop.

Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs.

Intersections with other interstates

Interstate 5 and Interstate 90 intersecting in Seattle, Washington.

Spur routes

It is arguable that Interstate 280 (Ohio) is as much a spur of Interstate 90 as it is of Interstate 80 because Interstate 80 and 90 designate the same highway (the Ohio Turnpike) in northwestern Ohio. It links to Toledo, Ohio and, with Interstate 75 to Detroit, Michigan.

Interstate 115 in Butte, Montana could make the same claim as well. In fact, the spur is cosigned with Interstate 15 Business and Interstate 90 Business for its entire length. (The two Business Loops continue eastbound through the city.)

Notes

References

  1. ^ U.S. Department of Transportation - Federal Highway Administration (2002-10-31). "Route Log: Main Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways as of October 31, 2002". Retrieved 2006-08-28.
  2. ^ "Mountains To Sound Greenway (Washington)".
  3. ^ "Toll Road News, Chicago Skyway".
  4. ^ "Inner Belt (Ohio)".
Browse numbered routes
← Error: Invalid type: InterstateWA→ Error: Invalid type: U.S.
← Error: Invalid type: StateIL→ Error: Invalid type: State
← WIS 89WI→ WIS 90
← Error: Invalid type: StateNY→ Error: Invalid type: State
 MA→ Error: Invalid type: Interstate
← PA 89PA→ PA 90

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