Interstate 90
Interstate 90 (abbreviated
I-90) is the longest
interstate highway in both the United States and world 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. It crosses the
Continental Divide just east of
Butte, Montana.
|
Austin, Minnesota Business Loop. |
Bolded cities are officially-designated
control cities for signs.
*
Seattle, Washington*
Ellensburg, Washington*
Spokane, Washington*
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho*
Missoula, Montana*
Butte, Montana*
Billings, Montana*
Sheridan, Wyoming*
Gillette, Wyoming*
Rapid City, South Dakota*
Sioux Falls, South Dakota*
Albert Lea, Minnesota*
La Crosse, Wisconsin*
Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin*
Madison, Wisconsin*
Janesville, Wisconsin*
Beloit, Wisconsin*
Rockford, Illinois*
Chicago, Illinois*
Gary, Indiana*
Toledo, Ohio*
Cleveland, Ohio*
Erie, Pennsylvania*
Buffalo, New York*
Rochester, New York (bypassed)
*
Syracuse, New York*
Utica, New York*
Schenectady, New York*
Albany, New York*
Pittsfield, Massachusetts (bypassed)
*
Springfield, Massachusetts (bypassed)
*
Worcester, Massachusetts (bypassed)
*
Boston, Massachusetts*
Interstate 5 in
Seattle, Washington*
Interstate 405 in
Bellevue, Washington*
Interstate 82 in
Ellensburg, Washington*
Interstate 15 in
Butte, Montana; joined for 7.65 miles (12.31 km)
*
Interstate 94 in
Billings, Montana*
Interstate 25 in
Buffalo, Wyoming*
Interstate 29 in
Sioux Falls, South Dakota*
Interstate 35 in
Albert Lea, Minnesota*
Interstate 94 in
Tomah, Wisconsin; joined for 91.76 miles (147.67 km) until
Madison, Wisconsin.
*
Interstate 39 in
Portage, Wisconsin; joined for about 95 miles (152 km) until
Rockford, Illinois.
*
Interstate 43 in
Beloit, Wisconsin*
Interstate 94 in
Chicago, Illinois; joined for 16.71 miles (26.89 km)
*
Interstate 55 in
Chicago, Illinois*
Interstate 65 in
Gary, Indiana*
Interstate 94 in
Lake Station, Indiana*
Interstate 80 in
Lake Station, Indiana; joined for 278.40 miles (448.04 km) until
Elyria, Ohio.
*
Interstate 69 in
Fremont, Indiana*
Interstate 75 in
Toledo, Ohio*
Interstate 71 in
Cleveland, Ohio *
Interstate 77 in
Cleveland, Ohio*
Interstate 271 in
Willoughby, Ohio*
Interstate 79 in
Erie, Pennsylvania*
Interstate 86 in
Erie, Pennsylvania*
Interstate 81 in
Syracuse, New York*
Interstate 88 in
Rotterdam, New York*
Interstate 87 in
Albany, New York*
Interstate 91 in
West Springfield, Massachusetts*
Interstate 84 in
Sturbridge, Massachusetts*
Interstate 95 in
Weston, Massachusetts ( Map)*
Interstate 93 in
Boston, Massachusetts (Map)*
Rapid City, South Dakota -
I-190*
Chicago, Illinois -
I-190 (provides a direct route to
O'Hare International Airport),
I-290*
Cleveland, Ohio -
I-490*
Buffalo, New York -
I-190,
I-290,
I-990*
Rochester, New York -
I-390,
I-490,
I-590 (not directly connected)
*
Syracuse, New York -
I-690*
Utica, New York -
I-790*
Schenectady, New York -
I-890*Spur to
Marlborough, Massachusetts -
I-290*Spur to
Leominster, Massachusetts -
I-190 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.)
|
I-90 at the Belvedere, Illinois Oasis |
*(It is free through northeastern
Ohio and
Pennsylvania, and through brief sections near
Buffalo and
Albany, New York.)
*Between
LaPorte, Indiana and
Toledo, Ohio, with Interstate 80, it is nowhere more than 10 miles (16 km) from the
Michigan state line, though it never enters the state.
*To add to the quirks about the longest interstate, it also has the longest distance twinned with another interstate (
I-80 in
Ohio and
Indiana,
I-94 and
I-39 in
Illinois and
Wisconsin,
I-15 in
Montana) in the most states (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Montana). It also intersects the same interstate six times (I-94 in
Lake Station, Indiana,
Chicago (southside), Chicago (northside),
Madison, Wisconsin,
Tomah, Wisconsin, and
Billings, Montana). Additionally, it is part of the longest interstate triplex in the country, as it is joined with
I-39 and I-94 from
Portage, Wisconsin to
Madison, Wisconsin.
Idaho
*The small town of
Wallace, Idaho still prides itself on having 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
1991. A bicycle path is routed beneath part of that segment.
Illinois
*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[
2]. See
List of gaps in Interstate Highways for more information.
Massachusetts
*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). A recent discovery of a covered "End I-90" sign hints that I-90 may be extended slightly further north along part of the Route 1A freeway.
*The Massachusetts stretch, also a toll road built in the mid-1950s, is known as the
Massachusetts Turnpike.
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).
New York
*
|
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.
*There used to be two -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.
*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.
Ohio
*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. [
3]
Pennsylvania
*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.
Washington
*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
Bellevue via
Mercer Island, Washington. They are the second and fifth longest such bridges, respectively.
Wisconsin
*From the
Wisconsin/
Illinois border east, the majority of I-90 is tolled, along the following
toll roads (several of which predate the Interstate system):
**
Northwest Tollway**
Chicago Skyway (currently signed as "TO I-90")
**
Indiana Toll Road**
Ohio Turnpike**
New York State Thruway**
Massachusetts Turnpike, including the
Ted Williams Tunnel*
Interstate lengths from the
United States Department of Transportation*
Illinois Highway Ends: I-90 *
Indiana Highway Ends: I-90 *
Interstate 90 Exit Listing (New York)
