 Interstate 80 | |
|---|---|
 I-80 highlighted in red | |
| Route information | |
| Length | 2,900.76 mi[1] (4,668.32 km) |
| Existed | 1956–present |
| History | Completed in 1986 |
| NHS | Entire route |
| Major junctions | |
| West end |  US 101 inSan Francisco, CA |
| Major intersections | |
| East end |  I-95 inTeaneck, NJ |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| States | California,Nevada,Utah,Wyoming,Nebraska,Iowa,Illinois,Indiana,Ohio,Pennsylvania,New Jersey |
| Highway system | |
Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinentalfreeway that crosses the United States fromSan Francisco, California, toTeaneck, New Jersey, in theNew York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the original routes of theInterstate Highway System; its final segment was opened in 1986. At a length of 2,900.76 miles (4,668.32 km), it is the second-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, afterI-90. It runs through many major cities, includingOakland,Sacramento,Reno,Salt Lake City,Cheyenne,Omaha,Des Moines, andToledo, and passes within 10 miles (16 km) ofChicago,Cleveland, andNew York City.
I-80 is the Interstate Highway that most closely approximates the route of the historicLincoln Highway, the first road across the United States. The highway roughly traces other historically significant travel routes in theWestern United States: theOregon Trail acrossWyoming andNebraska, theCalifornia Trail across most ofNevada andCalifornia, the first transcontinentalairmail route, and the route of thefirst transcontinental railroad, except for the vicinity of theGreat Salt Lake.
From near Chicago east to nearYoungstown, Ohio, I-80 is atoll road, containing most of both theIndiana Toll Road and theOhio Turnpike. I-80runs concurrently with I-90 from nearPortage, Indiana, toElyria, Ohio. InPennsylvania, I-80 is known as theKeystone Shortway, a non-tolled freeway that crosses rural north-central portions of the state on the way toNew Jersey and New York City.
| mi[1] | km | |
|---|---|---|
| CA | 199.24 | 320.65 |
| NV | 410.67 | 660.91 |
| UT | 197.51 | 317.86 |
| WY | 402.76 | 648.18 |
| NE | 455.32 | 732.77 |
| IA | 303.23 | 488.00 |
| IL | 163.52 | 263.16 |
| IN | 151.56 | 243.91 |
| OH | 237.48 | 382.19 |
| PA | 311.12 | 500.70 |
| NJ | 68.35 | 110.00 |
| Total | 2,900.76 | 4,668.32 |
_approaching_Exit_433B_(Interstate_80-Bay_Bridge)_in_San_Francisco%2c_California.jpg)
_just_east_of_Exit_111_in_Pine_Township%2c_Clearfield_County%2c_Pennsylvania.jpg)
_at_Exit_69_(Interstate_80_WEST%2c_To_Garden_State_Parkway%2c_Paterson)_in_Teaneck_Township%2c_Bergen_County%2c_New_Jersey.jpg)
I-80 begins at an interchange withUS Route 101 (US 101) inSan Francisco and then crosses theSan Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge intoOakland. It then heads northeast throughVallejo,Sacramento, and theSierra Nevada before crossing intoNevada.
A portion of the route throughPinole involved the experimental transplantation of the rare speciesSanta Cruz tarplant in theright-of-way.
InNevada, I-80 traverses the northern portion of the state. The freeway serves theReno metropolitan area, and it also goes through the towns ofFernley,Lovelock,Winnemucca,Battle Mountain,Elko,Wells, andWest Wendover on its way through the state.
The Nevada portion of I-80 follows the paths of theTruckee andHumboldt rivers, which have been used as a transportation corridor since theCalifornia Gold Rush of the 1840s. The Interstate also follows the historical routes of theCalifornia Trail,first transcontinental railroad, andFeather River Route throughout portions of the state. I-80 in Nevada closely follows, and at many points directly overlaps, the original route of theVictory Highway,State Route 1 (SR 1), andUS 40.
After crossingUtah's western border inWendover, I-80 crosses the desolateBonneville Salt Flats west of theGreat Salt Lake. The longest stretch between exits on an Interstate Highway is located between Wendover andKnolls, with 37.4 miles (60.2 km) between those exits.[2] This portion of I-80, crossing theGreat Salt Lake Desert, is extremely flat and straight, dotted with large warning signs aboutdriver fatigue and drowsiness.
East of the salt flats, I-80 passes the southern edge of Great Salt Lake and continues on throughSalt Lake City, where it merges withI-15 for three miles (4.8 km) before entering theWasatch Range east of the city. It ascendsParleys Canyon and passes within a few miles ofPark City as it follows a route through the mountains toward the junction with the eastern terminus of the western section ofI-84. From the junction it continues up Echo Canyon and on toward the border withWyoming, nearEvanston.
The route of the Utah section of I-80 is defined in Utah Code Annotated § 72-4-113(10).[3]
InWyoming, I-80 reaches its maximum elevation of 8,640 feet (2,630 m) abovesea level[4] atSherman Summit, nearBuford, which, at 8,000 feet (2,400 m), is the highest community on I-80. Farther west in Wyoming, the Interstate passes through the dryRed Desert and over theContinental Divide. In a way, the highway crosses the Divide twice, since two ridges of theRocky Mountains split in Wyoming, forming theendorheicGreat Divide Basin, from which surface water cannot drain but can only evaporate.
I-80 entersNebraska west ofBushnell. The western portion of I-80 in Nebraska runs very close to the state ofColorado, without entering the state. The intersection ofI-76 and I-80 is visible from the Colorado–Nebraska state line. From its intersection with I-76 toGrand Island, I-80 lies in the valley of theSouth Platte River and thePlatte River.
The longest straight stretch of Interstate anywhere in the Interstate Highway System is the approximately 72 miles (116 km) of I-80 occurring between exit 318 in the Grand Island area and milemarker 390 nearLincoln. Along this length, the road does not vary from an ideally straight line by more than a few yards. After Lincoln, I-80 turns northeast towardOmaha. It then crosses theMissouri River in Omaha to enter the state ofIowa. Part of I-80 in Nebraska is marked as aBlue Star Memorial Highway.
I-80 is the longest Interstate Highway inIowa. It extends from west to east across the central portion of the state through the population centers ofCouncil Bluffs, Des Moines, and theQuad Cities.[5] It enters the state at the Missouri River in Council Bluffs and heads east through thesouthern Iowa drift plain. In theDes Moines metropolitan area, I-80 meets up withI-35 and the two routes bypassDowntown Des Moines together whileI-235 proceeds straight through the metro and rejoins both on the far side. InAnkeny, the Interstates split and I-80 continues east. On the west edge of theIowa City metropolitan area, it intersectsI-380, a segment of theAvenue of the Saints. Northwest of the Quad Cities in Walcott isIowa 80, the world's largest truckstop. I-80 passes along the northern edge ofDavenport andBettendorf and leaves Iowa via theFred Schwengel Memorial Bridge over theMississippi River into Illinois. The majority of the highway runs through farmland,[5] yet roughly a third of Iowa's population live along the I-80 corridor.[6]
InIllinois, I-80 runs from the Fred Schwengel Memorial Bridge across the Mississippi River south to an intersection withI-74. It then runs east across north-central Illinois just north of theIllinois River toJoliet. I-80 continues east through thesouthern suburbs ofChicago and joinsI-94 just before entering Indiana.
InIndiana, I-80 runs concurrently with another Interstate Highway for its entire length. It runs with I-94 on theBorman Expressway from the Illinois state line toLake Station, Indiana, then withI-90 on theIndiana Toll Road from Lake Station to the Ohio state line.
BetweenLa Porte and theToledo metropolitan area, I-80/I-90 is located within 10 miles (16 km) of theMichigan state line but does not enter that state. From theState Road 9 (SR 9) and I-80/I-90 interchange, the sign marking the Indiana–Michigan state line is visible. I-80/I-90 passes through theSouth Bend–Mishawaka metropolitan area, passing theUniversity of Notre Dame and theUniversity Park Mall, intersecting with theSt. Joseph Valley Parkway. At another point in northern Indiana, I-80/I-90 comes within about 200 yards (180 m) of the Michigan border.[7]
InOhio, I-80/I-90 enters from the Indiana Toll Road and immediately becomes the Ohio Turnpike. The two Interstates cross rural northwest Ohio and run just south of theToledo metropolitan area. InRossford, the turnpike intersectsI-75 in an area known as the Crossroads of America. This intersection is one of the largest intersections of three Interstate Highways in the United States.[citation needed]
InElyria Township, just west ofCleveland, I-90 splits from I-80, leaving the turnpike and running northeast as a freeway. I-80 runs east-southeast through the southern suburbs of Cleveland. Just northwest ofYoungstown, the Ohio Turnpike continues southeast asI-76, while I-80 exits the turnpike and runs east to the north of Youngstown, entering Pennsylvania south ofSharon, Pennsylvania.
InPennsylvania, I-80 is the main east–west freeway through the central part of the state. It runs from the Ohio state line near Sharon to theDelaware Water Gap Toll Bridge over theDelaware River and is called the "Z.H. Confair Memorial Highway".
It traverses the extreme northern section ofGreater Pittsburgh. I-80 serves as the western terminus forI-376 which connects it toPittsburgh International Airport and on toDowntown Pittsburgh and suburban Pittsburgh. I-80 intersectsI-79, which connects withErie (about 75 miles (121 km) to the north) and Pittsburgh (about 55 miles (89 km) to the south). Further east,I-99 connects withState College andAltoona. A spur from I-80 (I-180) runs toWilliamsport. Upon entering thePocono Mountains region, I-80 meetsI-81, connectingSyracuse, New York, andHarrisburg, andI-476 which connects withScranton,Wilkes-Barre,Allentown, andPhiladelphia. Another spur (I-380) runs to Scranton.
InClearfield County, I-80 reaches its highest elevation east of the Mississippi River, 2,250 feet (690 m), although other Interstate Highways east of the Mississippi, includingI-26 in North Carolina and Tennessee, reach higher elevations.
In 2007, thePennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC), combined with state legislature Act No. 44, initiated plans to enact a tolling system on the entire span of I-80 throughout the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. On October 15, 2007, thePennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and the PTC signed a 50-year lease agreement, which would allow the PTC to maintain and, eventually, toll I-80.[8] However, the application for a toll was rejected by theFederal Highway Administration (FHWA).[9]
I-80 does not enterNew York City. Once theI-95/New Jersey Turnpike was extended in 1971 from its former terminus atUS 46 inRidgefield to I-80 inTeaneck, the section from Teaneck to Fort Lee was resigned as I-95, and it is the latter roadway that enters New York City via theGeorge Washington Bridge. I-80's designated end (as per signage andNew Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) documents) is four miles (6.4 km)[10] short of New York City in Teaneck, before the Degraw Avenue overpass. There, signs designate the end of I-80 and the beginning of I-95/New Jersey Turnpike northbound.
One section of I-80 running fromNetcong toDenville was constructed in 1958.
I-80 was included in the original plan for theInterstate Highway System as approved in 1956. The highway was built in segments, with the final piece of I-80 completed in 1986 on the western edge ofSalt Lake City. This piece was coincidentally dedicated close to the 30th birthday of the Interstate Highway System, which was noted at the dedication and considered to be a milestone in the history of highway construction in the United States.[11] It was also noted at the dedication that this was only 50 miles (80 km) south ofPromontory Summit, where another first in a transcontinental artery was completed—thegolden spike of the US'sfirst transcontinental railroad.[12]
John McPhee described the geology revealed by the building of I-80 in a series of books on the formation of the continent ofNorth America, books that were published between 1981 and 1993 and collected in a one-volume edition in 1998Annals of the Former World which won aPulitzer Prize in 1999. In "Basin and Range" (1981), he described how the idea emerged in a conversation with Princeton geologistKenneth S. Deffeyes:[13]
What about Interstate 80, I asked him. It goes the distance. How would it be? "Absorbing," he said. And he mused aloud: After 80 crosses the Border Fault, it pussyfoots along on morainal till that levelled up the fingers of the foldbelt hills. It does a similar dance with glacial debris in parts of Pennsylvania. It needs no assistance on the craton. It climbs a ramp to the Rockies and a fault-block staircase up the front of the Sierra. It is geologically shrewd. It was the route of animal migrations, and of human history that followed. It avoids melodrama, avoids the Grand Canyons, the Jackson Holes, the geologic operas of the country, but it would surely be a sound experience of the big picture, of the history, the construction, the components of the continent.
US 101 inSan Francisco
I-880 inOakland
I-580 on the Oakland–Emeryville city line. The highways travel concurrently toAlbany.
I-780 inVallejo
I-680 inFairfield
I-505 inVacaville
I-80 BL /I-305 /US 50 inWest Sacramento
I-5 inSacramento
I-580 /US 395 inReno
US 95 south-southwest ofLovelock. The highways travel concurrently toWinnemucca.
US 93 inWells
I-215 inSalt Lake City
I-15 in Salt Lake City. The highways travel concurrently toSouth Salt Lake.
US 89 in South Salt LakeI-215 southeast of Salt Lake City
US 40 /US 189 inSilver Creek Junction. I-80/US 189 travels concurrently to east-northeast ofEvanston, Wyoming.
I-84 inEcho
US 30 inLittle America. The highways travel concurrently to south-southeast ofWalcott.
US 191 inPurple Sage. The highways travel concurrently toRock Springs.
US 287 east ofRawlins. The highways travel concurrently to south-southeast of Walcott.US 30 /US 287 inLaramie. I-80 / US 30 travel concurrently to southwest ofCheyenne.
I-25 /US 87 southwest of Cheyenne
I-180 /US 85 on theFox Farm–Cheyenne lineUS 30 east-northeast of Cheyenne. The highways travel concurrently toPine Bluffs.
US 138 southwest ofBig Springs
I-76 southwest ofBig Springs
US 26 inOgallala
US 83 inNorth Platte
US 283 south ofLexington
US 183 south ofElm Creek
US 34 /US 281 south ofGrand Island
US 81 inYork
US 6 inLincoln
US 77 in Lincoln. The highways travel concurrently to north-northeast of Lincoln.I-180 /US 34 in LincolnUS 6 inWaverly
US 275 inOmahaI-680 in Omaha
I-480 /US 75 in Omaha
I-29 inCouncil Bluffs. The highways travel concurrently through Council Bluffs.US 6 in Council BluffsI-880 northwest ofMinden
US 59 inAvoca
US 6 /US 71 north-northeast ofLorah. I-80/US 6 travel concurrently toDe Soto.
US 6 /US 169 in De Soto
I-35 /I-235 inWest Des Moines. I-35/I-80 travels concurrently toAnkeny.US 6 on theClive–Urbandale city line
US 69 inDes MoinesI-35 /I-235 in Ankeny
US 65 inAltoona. The highways travel concurrently through Altoona.US 6 /US 65 in Altoona. I-80/US 6 travels concurrently toNewton.
US 63 south ofMalcom
US 151 east-northeast ofWilliamsburg
I-380 /US 218 on theTiffin–Coralville city lineUS 6 north-northwest ofWilton. The highways travel concurrently toDavenport.
I-280 /US 6 /US 61 in Davenport. I-80/US 61 travels concurrently through Davenport.
I-74 in Davenport
US 67 inLe Claire
I-88 inEast MolineUS 6 inColonaI-74 /I-280 in ColonaI-180 northeast ofPrinceton
I-39 /US 51 inLaSalle
I-55 inChannahon
US 52 inJolietUS 30 inNew Lenox
I-355 in New Lenox
US 45 on theMokena–Orland Park–Tinley Park city line
I-57 inCountry Club Hills
I-294 inHazel Crest. The highways travel concurrently to theSouth Holland–Lansing village line.
I-94 /I-294 on the South Holland–Lansing village line. I-80/I-94 travels concurrently toLake Station, Indiana.US 6 in Lansing. The highways travel concurrently to Lake Station, Indiana.
US 41 inHammond. The highways travel concurrently through Hammond.
I-65 inGary
I-90 /I-94 in Lake Station. I-80/I-90 travels concurrently to northwest ofElyria, Ohio.
US 421 southeast ofOtis
US 31 inSouth Bend
US 131 north-northeast ofMiddlebury
I-69 west-northwest ofFremont
US 20 inMaumee
I-75 inPerrysburgI-280 northeast ofStony Ridge
US 250 north-northwest ofMilanI-480 inNorth Ridgeville
I-71 /US 42 inStrongsville
I-77 on theRichfield–Brecksville lineI-480 inStreetsboroI-76 east-southeast ofNorth JacksonI-680 inMineral Ridge
US 422 inGirard
US 62 north ofHubbard
I-376 south ofHermitage
US 19 south ofMercer
I-79 northwest ofGrove City
US 322 west ofCorsica
US 219 east-northeast ofFalls Creek
I-99 /US 220 northwest ofZion. I-80/US 220 travels concurrently to east ofMackeyville.
US 15 north ofNew ColumbiaI-180 northeast of New Columbia
US 11 inLime Ridge
I-81 north-northwest ofDrums
I-476 east ofEast SideI-380 south-southwest ofPocono Summit
US 209 inArlington Heights. The highways travel concurrently to east ofEast Stroudsburg.
US 46 inColumbia
US 206 west ofStanhope. The highways travel concurrently to south-southeast ofNetcong.US 46 in NetcongUS 46 east ofRockaway
US 202 inParsippany-Troy Hills
I-287 in Parsippany-Troy HillsI-280 in Parsippany-Troy HillsUS 46 in Parsippany-Troy HillsUS 46 inWayneI-95 inTeaneck
Geographic data related toInterstate 80 atOpenStreetMap | ||
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