The View From Wisconsin

Instead of my prognostications about the Super Bowl, I figured I'd share a few things I managed to dig up about... the Interstate Highway System.

The five state capitols that do not have an Interstate running through their city limits: Juneau, AK; Dover, DE; Jefferson City, MO; Carson City, NV; and Pierre, SD.

There are 46,773 miles in the Interstate Highway System; the longest interstate is I-90 (3,020.54 miles from Seattle, WA to Boston, MA); the shortest two-digit Interstate is I-73 (12.27 miles, from Emery to Greensboro, NC); the longest North-South interstate is I-95 (1,919.74 miles, from Miami, FL to Houlton, ME; goes through the most states – 16, including Washington DC).

The longest three-digit Interstate is I-476, running from Philadelphia to Scranton, PA (as the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike), a length of 129.61 miles. The shortest "signed" three-digit Interstate is I-375 in downtown Detroit, MI. The spur goes from I-75 to Jefferson Avenue, along Chrysler Drive.The entire length of the "tail end" of the Chrysler Freeway is 1.06 miles.

The shortest "unsigned" three-digit Interstate is I-878, a short "connector" ramp between I-678 (The Van Wyck Expressway) and the JFK Expressway, which is the beginning of the Nassau Expressway. The Nassau Expressway runs from Cross Bay Boulevard near the Aqueduct Racetrack to Rockaway Boulevard, running essentially parallel to the Belt Parkway; the entire length is about 3.9 miles.

The largest metropolitan areas that are not served by an Interstate highway are Fresno, CA and Mesa, AZ. I-5 runs Southwest of Fresno, about 30 miles away; the city is serviced by CA Route 99 (old US highway 99). Mesa, AZ has the Superstition Freeway (US 60) and the AZ Loop 101 and 202 in its environs, but the nearest Interstate is the I-10, three miles West of the 101 on the Superstition.

Four Interstates are not "continguous" – that is, they have sections that are separated by non-Interstate highways. They are: I-76 (OH to NJ/CO to NE), I-84 (OR to UT/PA to MA), I-86 (ID/PA to NY) and I-88 (IL/NY). The primary reason for the "gaps" are due to the re-numbering of lettered freeways (I-80S, for example) in the 1980's. The Western portion of I-88 in Illinois was recommissioned from Illiniois Route 5 (also known as the East-West Tollway) in 1988. In 2004, it was renamed the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway for the former President (whose hometown of Dixon, IL is located off of the Interstate).

Interstate 238, connecting I-880 (the Nimitz Freeway) to the I-580 (the Arthur H. Breed Freway) in San Lorenzo/Hayward, CA is the only three-digit interstate without a "parent" interstate (there is no I-38). The freeway actually continues South as CA Route 238 (Foothill Boulevard) in Hayward. The section was named Interstate 238 out of convenience, due to the extension of CA-238.

Interstate 99, completely located inside the state of Pennsylvania, is the only Interstate Highway that is located "incorrectly". The highway, which extends from Bedford, PA several miles south of I-70 to US-220 in Tyrone, PA, is actually located between I-79 and I-81, but was given the designation I-99 by an act of Congress (hence the unofficial term "Bud Shuster Highway", since he was the primary congressman involved in getting the freeway built). The freeway is currently scheduled to connect North to State College, PA and Interstate 80 at Bellefonte, PA. In the future, I-99 will connect I-80 via Williamsport and US-15 to I-86 outside of Corning, NY.

In my home state of Wisconsin, there are actually seven signed Interstates within the state, including I-43 (which is completely within the state of Wisconsin). They are, from Southeast to Northwest: I-94, I-894, I-43, I-794, I-90, I-39, and... I-535 in Superior.

And finally, there is the unincorporated town of Breezewood, PA. It is the location of the Northern terminus of the Eastern section of Interstate 70, before it joins Interstate 76 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Due to a conflict between the Pennsylvania Turnpike commission and the Federal Government, I-70 ends at US 30 in Breezewood, and there is a separate entrance to the Pennsylvania Turnpike located a quarter-mile East of the terminus on US 30. Due to this little quirk of three main highways connecting, the "strip" of US 30 from the turnpike entrance to a mile West consists of numerous hotels and motels. The village of Breezewood has a grand total population of about 100.