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Interstate 95
I-95 highlighted in red
Route information
Length	1,919.31 mi[2] (3,088.83 km)
Existed	1956–present
History	Completed September 22, 2018[1]
Major junctions
South end	US 1 in Miami, FL
	I‑4 in Daytona Beach, FL I‑10 / US 17 in Jacksonville, FL I‑20 in Florence, SC I‑40 in Benson, NC I‑85 / US 460 in Petersburg, VA I‑64 in Richmond, VA I-76 in Philadelphia, PA I‑80 in Teaneck, NJ I-87 in New York, NY I‑90 in Weston, MA
North end	Route 95 at the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing
Location
States	Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, District of Columbia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future

Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States,^[3] running largely parallel to the Atlantic Ocean coast and U.S. Highway 1, serving areas from Florida to Maine. In general, I-95 serves the major cities of the Eastern Seaboard and metropolitan areas such as Miami, Jacksonville, Savannah, and Fayetteville in the Southeast; and Richmond, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Wilmington, Philadelphia, and New York City in the Mid-Atlantic States up to New Haven, Providence, Boston, and Portland in New England. The route follows a more direct inland route between Savannah and Washington, D.C., notably bypassing the coastal metropolitan areas of Charleston and Norfolk-Virginia Beach, which require connections through other Interstate Highways.

I-95 is one of the oldest routes of the Interstate Highway System.^[1] Many sections of I-95 incorporated pre-existing sections of toll roads where they served the same right of way.^[4] The southern terminus of I-95 is at U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, while the northern terminus is at the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing with New Brunswick, Canada. Before I-95 was completed in September 2018, the last gap in I-95's route was in central New Jersey; the main through routes in the area had been I-295, I-195, and the New Jersey Turnpike.^[1]

With a length of 1,919 miles (3,088 km), I-95 is the longest north–south Interstate and the sixth-longest Interstate Highway overall.^[2] I-95 passes through more states than any other Interstate Highway at 15 states (as well as a very brief stretch in the District of Columbia while crossing the Potomac River), followed by I-90, which crosses 13 states. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, only five of the 96 counties (or equivalents) along the route are completely rural,^[5] while statistics provided by the I-95 Corridor Coalition suggest that the region served is "over three times more densely populated than the U.S. average and as densely settled as much of Western Europe".^[6] According to the Corridor Coalition, I-95 serves 110 million people and facilitates 40 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.^[7]

Route description

End of I-95 southbound at US 1 in Miami, FL

Interstate 95 express lane near Miami, FL

Northbound I-95 at the interchange with I-16 near Savannah, GA

Interstate 95 bridge over Lake Marion, Santee, SC; the old bridge (on the left) was abandoned and converted to a fishing pier, but is now closed even to pedestrian traffic)

Northbound I-95 at its interchange with I-40 near Benson, NC, c. 2009. This interchange has since been renovated.

Woodrow Wilson Bridge carrying I-95/I-495 across the Potomac River, Washington D.C.

I-95 northbound at Washington Boulevard, Baltimore, MD.

I-95 uses an elevated viaduct entering Wilmington, DE from the southwest.

I-95 southbound at the interchange with the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bristol Township, PA

I-95 splits into the Eastern and Western Spurs of the NJ Turnpike

A view of I-95 (Bruckner Expressway) from the overpass at Westchester Avenue, Bronx, NY

I-95 crossing the Connecticut River in Old Saybrook/Old Lyme, CT

End of I-95 northbound at US–Canadian border

1955 plans for the Interstate Highway System

Florida

I-95 begins at U.S. Route 1 just south of downtown Miami and heads north through Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, the Gold Coast, Treasure Coast, Space Coast, Daytona Beach, Port Orange, Saint Augustine, and then Jacksonville before entering the U.S. state of Georgia near Brunswick. This portion of the highway was notably featured in the film Flight of the Navigator when the spaceship flew along the highway towards Miami.^[8] In Miami and Ft. Lauderdale, SunPass Express lanes pass over the highway.

Prior to 1987, a notable gap used to exist between West Palm Beach and Fort Pierce where I-95 traffic was diverted to Florida's Turnpike. Today, that routing runs parallel with the turnpike.^[9]

In the year 2010, the Florida section of I-95 had the most fatalities of all Interstate Highways.^[10]

Georgia

The Georgia section of Interstate 95 travels through the marshlands closely following the coastline but bypassing the cities of Brunswick and Savannah. It intersects Interstate 16 and then crosses into South Carolina.^{[citation needed]} The exit numbers were converted from a sequential system to a mileage based system around the year 2000.^[11]

The Carolinas

In the Carolinas, I-95 travels west of the coastal sections and indirectly serves popular destinations such as the Outer Banks, Myrtle Beach, and Hilton Head via various side routes. I-95 notably bypasses the major cities of Charleston and Raleigh while intersecting major Interstate highways at Florence and Benson. I-95 also passes the South of the Border attraction immediately before crossing into North Carolina.

In North Carolina, I-95 informally serves as the separation between the state's western piedmont and eastern coastal plain regions. Rocky Mount and Fayetteville are the largest cities along I-95 in North Carolina. After Gaston, I-95 crosses into Virginia.

Mid-Atlantic Region

I-95 enters the Mid-Atlantic region in Virginia and travels through some of the most populated areas along the east coast. I-95 is concurrent briefly with I-64 in the middle of Richmond before heading toward Northern Virginia. In the Washington Metropolitan Area, it is concurrent with the Capital Beltway, passing through the southernmost corner of the District of Columbia for about 0.11 miles (0.18 km) via the Woodrow Wilson Bridge^[12] before entering Maryland where it bends away from the Beltway toward Baltimore. From the tunnels of Baltimore to the bridges of New York, I-95 is mostly a tolled road. I-95 connects to an unsigned portion of the New Jersey Turnpike via I-295 near Wilmington, DE where drivers can bypass Philadelphia through South Jersey between exits 1 and 6. I-95 itself passes through Philadelphia and formerly ran along present-day I-295 into New Jersey on the Scudder Falls Bridge, where it ended at a notable gap in Lawrence Township. This was remedied when an interchange with the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bristol Township, PA opened in late 2018. I-95 currently enters New Jersey on the Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge and runs concurrently with the New Jersey Turnpike north of exit 6.^[13] I-95 connects to New York via the George Washington Bridge.

New York

I-95 in New York comprises several named expressways, the Trans-Manhattan Expressway, the Cross Bronx Expressway, the Bruckner Expressway, and the New England Thruway. From New Jersey, it is briefly co-signed with U.S. 1 and U.S. 9 (U.S. 9 quickly exits in NY and heads toward Broadway and U.S. 1 stays on I-95 to the Webster Ave exit). There are many interchanges within this 23-mile (37 km) stretch that connects New York City to Albany, Upstate New York, and Long Island. I-95 then becomes the New England Thruway to Connecticut, where it continues as the Connecticut Turnpike.^[14]

New England

I-95 enters New England in the state of Connecticut, and follows along the southern part of the state within miles of the coast in a more east–west direction. In New Haven, I-95 intersects the south end of I-91. It then gradually curves back northward, passing through Rhode Island's capital of Providence. The highway then enters Massachusetts heading around Boston via Route 128 before turning north and passing briefly into and through New Hampshire, and then into Maine, following the Maine Turnpike to Augusta and continuing as a free highway to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing. It intersects US 1 and the east end of US 2 before entering the province of New Brunswick as Route 95.^[15]

History

Many parts of I-95 were made up of toll roads that had already been constructed or planned, particularly in the northeast.^[16] Many of these routes still exist today, but some have removed their tolls. Outside of Florida, current I-95 toll facilities are compatible with the E-ZPass electronic payment system; in Florida, while I-95 can be driven toll-free, use of the '95 Express Managed Toll Lanes' requires a SunPass transponder.

The toll roads utilized as part of I-95 formerly included Florida's Turnpike, the Richmond–Petersburg Turnpike (tolled until 1992), and the Connecticut Turnpike (tolled until 1985). Today, I-95 utilizes the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway, the Delaware Turnpike, the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the New Jersey Turnpike, the New England Thruway, the New Hampshire Turnpike, and the Maine Turnpike.

In Florida, the missing link was filled in 1987.^[17][18] On September 22, 2018, the first components of the Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 95 Interchange Project were completed, thus filling the final gap in New Jersey and making the route continuous from Florida to Canada.

Many notable bridges and tunnels along I-95 were also tolled. The Fuller Warren Bridge, spanning the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida, was tolled until the 1980s and was replaced in 2002. The Fort McHenry Tunnel is underneath the harbor of Baltimore, Maryland and was opened in 1985. The George Washington Bridge, opened in 1931, carries I-95, US 1, US 9, and US 46 (latter is officially considered to end at the NY state line) across the Hudson River between New Jersey and Upper Manhattan.

Between Richmond, Virginia, and New Jersey a few large projects were undertaken that are helping to ease traffic along the corridor. The reconstruction of the Springfield Interchange in Northern Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C., helped to ease traffic at the intersection of I-95, I-495, and I-395, and surrounding interchanges. The Springfield Interchange is one of the busiest highway junctions on the East Coast, serving between 400,000 and 500,000 vehicles per day. With the exception of HOT lanes on the Capital Beltway (I-495/I-95), this project was completed in July 2007.^[19]
A few miles to the east was another major project: the Woodrow Wilson Bridge replacement. The bridge carries I-95/I-495 over the Potomac River. The former Woodrow Wilson Bridge, which has since been demolished, was a six-lane bridge that was severely over-capacity. The new bridge is actually two bridges with a total of 12 lanes; five in each direction, with an additional lane in each direction for future use (rapid-bus or train). This project was completed with the 10 lanes opened on December 13, 2008, greatly reducing the traffic delays on the beltway. The lanes are divided into two thru-lanes and three local lanes in each direction. About 30 miles (48 km) north of the Wilson Bridge, and about 20 miles (32 km) south of Baltimore near Laurel, Maryland, construction on a large new interchange began in 2008, was scheduled for completion in late 2011, and opened to traffic on November 9, 2014, which connects I-95 to Maryland Route 200.

Farther north in Pennsylvania, an interchange was constructed between I-95 and I-276 (Pennsylvania Turnpike). I-295 was extended to this interchange, replacing the section of I-95 through the Trenton, New Jersey area. This project resulted in another toll being added to the route, that of the Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge over the Delaware River.^[20] The toll, much like the other crossings of the river, is for traffic leaving New Jersey only (I-95 southbound). More critically, completion of this project closed the remaining gap in the route. The ramps connecting I-95 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike opened on September 22, 2018.^[1] Ramps supplying the remaining six movements between I-95, I-295, and I-276 will be constructed in the future.

In 2006, the Virginia General Assembly passed SJ184, a resolution calling for an interstate compact to build a toll highway between Dover, Delaware, and Charleston, South Carolina, as an alternative to I-95 that would allow long-distance traffic to avoid the D.C. Metropolitan area.^[21]

Federal legislation has identified I-95 through Connecticut as High Priority Corridor 65. A long-term multibillion-dollar program to upgrade the entire length of I-95 through Connecticut has been underway since the mid-1990s and is expected to continue through at least 2020. Several miles of the Connecticut Turnpike through Bridgeport were widened and brought up to Interstate standards. Work has shifted to reconstructing and widening 12 miles (19 km) of I-95 through New Haven, which includes replacing the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge. Environmental studies for reconstructing and widening 60 miles (97 km) of I-95 from New Haven to the Rhode Island state line are also progressing.

There are plans to expand the 1,054-mile (1,696 km) I-95 corridor from Petersburg, Virginia, to Florida through a U.S. multi-state agreement to study how to improve the corridor through widening and reconstruction, with the goal of reducing congestion and improving overall safety for years to come.^[22]

I-95 from the South Carolina–Georgia line to the freeway's southern terminus in South Florida has been widened to a minimum of six lanes. The section from Jacksonville to the I-4 junction in Daytona Beach was expanded to six lanes in 2005. Projects begun in 2009, widening the roadbed in Brevard County from the SR 528 junction in Cocoa to Palm Bay, as well as in northern Palm Beach County. The last segments of I-95 in Florida to remain at only four lanes have now been upgraded, providing motorists with about five-hundred miles of continuous six-lane roadbed.

In 2009, state legislators representing Maine's Aroostook County proposed using federal economic stimulus funds to extend I-95 north to Maine's northernmost border community of Fort Kent via Caribou and Presque Isle.^[23] The proposed route would parallel New Brunswick's four-lane, limited access Trans-Canada Highway on the U.S. side of the Canada–United States border. Legislators argued that extension of the Interstate would promote economic growth in the region.

Major intersections

Florida

US 1 in Miami

US 41 in Miami

Florida's Turnpike in Golden Glades

I-595 in Fort Lauderdale

US 98 in West Palm Beach

I‑4 in Daytona Beach

US 92 in Daytona Beach

I-295 in Jacksonville

US 90 in Jacksonville

I‑10 / US 17 in Jacksonville

US 23 in Jacksonville

Georgia

US 17 / US 82 in Brunswick

US 84 near Midway

I‑16 in Savannah

US 80 in Pooler

South Carolina

I‑26 near Harleyville

I‑20 in Florence

US 52 near Florence

North Carolina

I-74 / US 74 near Lumberton

I‑40 in Benson

US 70 in Selma

I-795 / US 264 in Eastover

US 64 in Rocky Mount

Virginia

I‑85 / US 460 in Petersburg

I-295 near Petersburg

I‑64 in Richmond

I-195 in Richmond

I-395 / I-495 in Springfield

Maryland

I-295 near Forest Heights

US 50 near Glenarden

I-895 near Baltimore

I-195 near Baltimore

I-695 near Baltimore

I-395 in Baltimore

US 40 in Baltimore

Delaware

I-295 / I-495 / US 202 in Newport

DE 1 / DE 7 in Cristiana

Pennsylvania

I-476 in Ridley Township

I‑76 in Philadelphia

I-676 / US 30 in Philadelphia

I-295 / I-276 / Penna Turnpike in Bristol

New Jersey

N.J. Turnpike in Mansfield Township

I‑287 in Edison Township

G.S. Parkway in Woodbridge Township

I‑278 in Elizabeth

I‑78 in Newark

I-280 in Kearny

I‑80 in Teaneck

New York

I-87 in The Bronx

I-695 in Throggs Neck

Connecticut

US 7 in Norwalk

I‑91 in New Haven

I-395 in East Lyme

Rhode Island

I‑295 in Warwick

I‑195 / US 6 in Providence

Massachusetts

I‑295 in Attleboro

I‑495 in Mansfield

I‑93 in Canton

I‑90 in Newton

US 20 in Waltham

US 3 in Burlington

I‑93 in Woburn

New Hampshire

US 4 in Portsmouth

Maine

I‑195 in Saco

I‑295 near Portland

I‑495 in Portland

I‑395 in Bangor

US 1 in Houlton

US 2 in Houlton

Route 95 in Houlton

Auxiliary routes

Interstate 95 has many auxiliary routes. They can be found in most states the route runs through; with exceptions being Georgia, South Carolina, and New Hampshire. Business Routes also exist in both Georgia and North Carolina.

Florida

• 
  Interstate 195, a spur into Miami; Northern of the 2 spurs (Other is I-395)


• 
  Interstate 295, a beltway around Jacksonville


• 
  Interstate 395, a spur into Miami; Southern of the two Spurs into Miami (other is I-195)


• 
  Interstate 595, a spur West of I-95 to I-75 and East of I-95 to Fort Lauderdale


• 
  Interstate 795, future Designation along Florida Route 9B

North Carolina

• 
  Interstate 95 Business, a business loop in Fayetteville
  


• 
  Interstate 295, a partially completed beltway around Fayetteville


• 
  Interstate 795, a spur running to Goldsboro
  

Virginia

• 
  Interstate 195 is a short spur from north of downtown Richmond south into downtown.


• 
  Interstate 295 is a bypass to the east of Richmond, from I-95 south of Petersburg, across Interstate 64 east of Richmond and I-95 north of Richmond to I-64 west of Richmond.


• 
  Interstate 395 is a branch from Springfield north into downtown Washington, D.C. It was part of I-95 until 1977.


• 
  Interstate 495 is the Capital Beltway, a full loop around Washington, D.C. Since 1977, I-95 has run along its east half.

Maryland

• 
  Interstate 195, a spur into Baltimore-Washington International Airport
  


• 
  Interstate 295, a southern route into Washington D.C.
  


• 
  Interstate 395, a spur into downtown Baltimore


• 
  Interstate 495, the Capital Beltway


• 
  Interstate 595, an unsigned segment of US 50 between the Capital Beltway and Annapolis
  


• 
  Interstate 695, the Baltimore Beltway


• 
  Interstate 795, a bypass of MD 140 in Reisterstown and Owings Mills
  


• 
  Interstate 895, the Harbor Tunnel Thruway

Delaware, Pennsylvania, & New Jersey

• 
  Interstate 195, a freeway through Central Jersey
  


• 
  Interstate 295, an eastern bypass of Philadelphia
  


• 
  Interstate 495, a bypass of Wilmington, Delaware
  

New York

• 
  Interstate 295 runs southeast from the Bruckner Interchange along the Cross Bronx Expressway, then south over the Throgs Neck Bridge and Clearview Expressway to its terminus at Hillside Avenue, just south of the Grand Central Parkway.^[24] It was once signed as part of I-78^[25][26] and was planned to terminate at the John F. Kennedy International Airport.^[27][28][25]
  


• 
  Interstate 495 runs from the Queens–Midtown Tunnel east along the Long Island Expressway to Riverhead, crossing I-295 in Queens.^[24] It was once planned to continue west to I-95 in New Jersey; that part is now Lincoln Tunnel and New Jersey Route 495. It was also to go east and meet I-95 again in either Connecticut or in Rhode Island. This would have made I-495 a bypass road for I-95.^[29]
  


• 
  Interstate 695 is a short route along the Throgs Neck Expressway, connecting I-295 to I-95 in the Bronx.^[24] It was once signed as part of I-78.^[30] The number had been used for other plans, including a route parallel to Woodhaven Boulevard and an upgrade of the West Side Highway and Henry Hudson Parkway.

Connecticut, Rhode Island, & Massachusetts

• 
  Interstate 195, a spur east of Providence, Rhode Island
  


• 
  Interstate 295, a partial beltway around Providence


• 
  Interstate 395 runs from the junction with I-95 in Waterford north to the Massachusetts state line where it meets Interstate 90 / Massachusetts Turnpike and Interstate 290 south of Worcester, Massachusetts.


• 
  Interstate 495, an outer beltway around Boston
  

Maine

• 
  Interstate 195, the Saco Industrial Spur


• 
  Interstate 295, connects with I-95 in Portland and Gardiner
  


• 
  Interstate 395, a spur to the east of Bangor
  


• 
  Interstate 495, the Falmouth Spur

See also

Book: Interstate 95

• 
  U.S. Roads portal
  

References

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Interstate 95.

Route map:

• 
  Geographic data related to Interstate 95 at OpenStreetMap
  


• 
  I-95: The Road Most Traveled (special series). National Public Radio. 2010.