 U.S. Route 1 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 US 1 highlighted in red | |||||||
| Route information | |||||||
| Length | 2,369.49 mi[1] (3,813.32 km) | ||||||
| Existed | November 11, 1926–present | ||||||
| Major junctions | |||||||
| South end | Fleming Street inKey West, FL | ||||||
| Major intersections | |||||||
| North end |   Route 161 /Route 205 at theFort Kent–Clair Border Crossing inFort Kent, ME | ||||||
| Location | |||||||
| Country | United States | ||||||
| States | Florida,Georgia,South Carolina,North Carolina,Virginia,District of Columbia,Maryland,Pennsylvania,New Jersey,New York,Connecticut,Rhode Island,Massachusetts,New Hampshire,Maine | ||||||
| Highway system | |||||||
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U.S. Route 1 orU.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–southUnited States Numbered Highway that serves theEast Coast of the United States. It runs 2,370 miles (3,810 km) fromKey West,Florida, north toFort Kent, Maine, at theCanadian border, making it the longest north–south road in the United States.[2] US 1 is generally paralleled byInterstate 95 (I-95), though US 1 is significantly farther west and inland betweenJacksonville, Florida, andPetersburg, Virginia, while I-95 is closer to the coastline. In contrast, US 1 in Maine is much closer to the coast than I-95, which runs farther inland than US 1. The route connects most of the major cities of theEast Coast from theSoutheastern United States toNew England, includingMiami,Jacksonville,Augusta,Columbia,Raleigh,Richmond,Washington, D.C.,Baltimore,Philadelphia,Newark,New York City,New Haven,Providence,Boston, andPortland.
While US 1 is generally the easternmost of the main north–south U.S. Routes, parts of several others occupy corridors closer to the ocean. When the road system was laid out in the 1920s, US 1 was mostly assigned to the existingAtlantic Highway, which followed theAtlantic Seaboard Fall Line between thePiedmont and theAtlantic Plain north ofAugusta, Georgia.[3] At the time, the highways farther east were of lower quality and did not serve the major population centers.[4] FromHenderson, North Carolina, toPetersburg, Virginia, it is paralleled byI-85. Construction of the Interstate Highway System gradually changed the use and character of US 1, and I-95 became the major north–south East Coast highway by the late 1960s.
| mi | km | |
|---|---|---|
| FL | 545 | 877 |
| GA | 223 | 359 |
| SC | 171 | 275 |
| NC | 174 | 280 |
| VA | 197 | 317 |
| DC | 7 | 11 |
| MD | 81 | 130 |
| PA | 81 | 130 |
| NJ | 66 | 106 |
| NY | 22 | 35 |
| CT | 117 | 188 |
| RI | 57 | 92 |
| MA | 86 | 138 |
| NH | 17 | 27 |
| ME | 526 | 847 |
| Total | 2,369 | 3,813 |
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US 1 travels along the east coast ofFlorida, beginning at 490 Whitehead Street inKey West[5] and passing throughMiami,Hollywood,Fort Lauderdale,Boca Raton,West Palm Beach,Jupiter,Fort Pierce,Melbourne,Cocoa,Titusville,Daytona Beach,Palm Coast,St. Augustine, andJacksonville. The southernmost piece through the chain islands of theFlorida Keys, about 100 miles (160 km) long, is the two-laneOverseas Highway, originally built in the late 1930s after railroad tycoonHenry Flagler'sFlorida East Coast Railway'sOverseas Railroad, which was built between 1905 and 1912 on stone pillars, was ruined by the1935 Labor Day hurricane. The rest of US 1 in Florida is generally a four-lanedivided highway, despite the existence of the newerI-95 not far away. Famous vacation scenic routeState Road A1A is a continuous oceanfront alternate to US 1 that runs along the beaches of theAtlantic Ocean, cut only by assorted unbridged inlets and theKennedy Space Center atCape Canaveral. North of Jacksonville, US 1 turns northwest towardAugusta, Georgia;US 17 becomes the coastal route intoVirginia, whereUS 13 takes over.[6] In Florida until the 1990s, US 1 used high-contrast markers (white text on a red background).[7]
The part of US 1 inGeorgia, as it shifts from the coastal alignment in Florida to the Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line alignment in South Carolina, is generally very rural, passing through marshes and formerplantations between the towns and cities ofFolkston,Waycross,Alma,Baxley,Lyons,Swainsboro, andAugusta. TheGeorgia Department of Transportation has an ongoing plan to widen all of US 1 to four lanes with bypasses, which is more than 50 percent complete.
InSouth Carolina, US 1 generally serves mostly rural areas as it falls west ofI-95 while the coastal areas are served by routes east of it. Starting in South Carolina, US 1 is paralleled byI-20 along theAtlantic Seaboard Fall Line throughAiken,Lexington, andColumbia toCamden andLugoff. US 1 functions as a local two-lane road with occasional boulevard stretches. After Camden, US 1 continues northeast away from any Interstate towardBethune,Patrick,McBee, andCheraw with no bypasses or four-lane sections except around Cheraw through theUS 52 andSouth Carolina Highway 9 (SC 9) concurrencies. After SC 9, it continues northward into North Carolina as a two -lane highway. TheSouth Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) has no plans to widen or bypass any US 1 alignments northeast of Camden to the North Carolina line.
Between the South Carolina line and theUS 74 bypass, US 1 is a two-lane road but sees a considerable amount of truck and tourist traffic of people cutting through from the US 74/US 220 andI-73/I-74 corridor attempting to reach points south and east. US 1 goes through downtownRockingham, with a bypass in the future plans. North of theNorth Carolina Highway 177 (NC 177) junction, it becomes four lanes or greater, becoming asuperstreet with limited access and then becoming a limited access freeway. US 1 becomes a major artery for the state as it moves north of Rockingham. AfterRichmond County, it goes intoMoore County with two expressway bypasses inSouthern Pines,Vass, andCameron. US 1 continues with theJefferson Davis Highway label throughLee County andSanford, and on toCary andRaleigh. US 1 runs concurrently withUS 64 through most of Cary, where the freeway recently underwent a major renovation and improvements that added lanes in both directions.[8] North of Raleigh, US 1 (known as Capital Boulevard in northern Wake County) crossesI-540 and then again becomes a four-lane divided arterial toI-85 nearHenderson. TheNorth Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has begun a corridor study for this section of US 1[9] to determine the feasibility of transitioning the stretch of highway from I-540 to Wake Forest into a toll road.[10] Moreover, NCDOT is planning to finish four-laning US 1 in Richmond County past NC 177 with a Rockingham bypass to the east. There are no plans from SCDOT to widen US 1 from the state line. From Henderson into Virginia, US 1 runs parallel with I-85 as a two-lane local road until the state line, where Virginia hosts a continuous third center lane for alternate passing towardUS 58 beforeSouth Hill.
In theMid-Atlantic, US 1 generally serves some of themost populated areas of the east coast. ThroughVirginia, US 1 is paralleled by Interstates: the remainder ofI-85 toPetersburg,I-95 throughRichmond andFredericksburg toAlexandria, andI-395 intoArlington. In much of Virginia, US 1 was called theJefferson Davis Highway by state law, although there are exceptions. South of Petersburg, it is known as Boydton Plank Road. Through some ofFairfax County and Alexandria, it is called the Richmond Highway.[11] In February 2021, Virginia renamed all remaining portions of the Jefferson Davis Highway in the state to Emancipation Highway beginning on January 1, 2022.[12][13]
US 1 crosses thePotomac River with I-395 on the14th Street bridges and splits to follow mainly14th Street andRhode Island Avenue through theDistrict of Columbia. US 1 is at the minimum of three lanes (with alternate passing) from the North Carolina state line to Petersburg with occasional four-lane divided sections. North of Petersburg is a four-lane undivided roadway at the minimum to the DC line. The route of US 1 from Petersburg to the state line is parallel with theAtlantic Seaboard Fall Line. From Petersburg onward, it is parallel with I-95. After exiting DC intoMaryland, US 1 follows the Baltimore–Washington Boulevard, the first of several modern highways built along theWashington–Baltimore combined statistical area corridor; I-95 is the newest, after theBaltimore–Washington Parkway. US 1 runs through theUniversity of Maryland, College Park, campus inCollege Park, Maryland. The route bypassesDowntown Baltimore onNorth Avenue and exits the city to the northeast on Belair Road, gradually leaving the I-95 corridor, which passes throughWilmington, Delaware, for a straighter path towardPhiladelphia. Around and beyondBel Air, US 1 is a two-lane road, crossing theSusquehanna River over the top of theConowingo Dam before entering Pennsylvania. (Routed further north, US 1 bypasses the state ofDelaware, unlike I-95.)[6]
The two-lane US 1 becomes a four-laneexpressway, officially known as the John H. Ware III Memorial Highway, afterthe Pennsylvania representative, just after crossing intoPennsylvania. This bypass extends aroundOxford andKennett Square, merging into the four-lane dividedBaltimore Pike just beyond the latter. AtMedia, US 1 again becomes a freeway—the Media Bypass—ending just beyondI-476. After several name changes, the road becomesCity Avenue, the western city limits ofPhiladelphia, at the end of which a shortoverlap withI-76 leads to theRoosevelt Expressway and then the 12-laneRoosevelt Boulevard partly overlappingUS 13. US 1 again becomes a freeway after leaving the city, bypassingPenndel andMorrisville and crossing theDelaware River intoNew Jersey on theTrenton–Morrisville Toll Bridge.[6]
After crossing intoNew Jersey in Mercer County, US 1 continues on theTrenton Freeway through the state capital ofTrenton andLawrence Township as a four-lane freeway. As the freeway ends, the four-lanedivided highway upgrades to six lanes north ofI-295 passing through thePenns Neck section ofWest Windsor. Through Penns Neck is a series of traffic signals. TheNew Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is looking to revamp the highway through this area by replacing traffic signals with grade separations. The highway entersMiddlesex County throughPlainsboro Township andSouth Brunswick, where the highest point resides.[14] By Forrestal Village, the highway downgrades from six to four lanes until after Finnegans Lane inNorth Brunswick. Northward, it continues throughNew Brunswick as a short limited-access highway until theCounty Route 529 (CR 529)/Plainfield Avenue traffic signal inEdison. Through Edison andWoodbridge Township, US 1 has a mix of boulevard and limited-access segments and continues to do so after theUS 9 juncture in theAvenel section of Woodbridge. TheUS 1/9concurrency continues through the rest of the state. The six-lane divided highway remains throughRahway inUnion County andElizabeth, until it reachesNewark Liberty International Airport, where it becomes a dual carriageway freeway around downtownNewark inEssex County with a 2–2–2–2 configuration. The historicPulaski Skyway takes US 1/9 intoJersey City, and the route exits the freeway at theTonnele Circle to head north intoBergen County. US 1/9 turns ontoUS 46 as a limited-access highway, and the three routes run northeast to theGeorge Washington Bridge Plaza, where they merge into I-95. US 46 ends in the middle of the bridge, which crosses theHudson River intoNew York, andUS 9 exits just beyond ontoBroadway inManhattan, but US 1 stays with I-95 onto theCross Bronx Expressway, exiting inthe Bronx onto Webster Avenue. Two turns take US 1 viaFordham Road to Boston Road, which it follows northeast out of the city, becoming Boston Post Road inWestchester County, never straying far from I-95. From the Bronx to the state line, it is a local road with two lanes in each direction, except inRye where it has a single lane in each direction. As it entersGreenwich, Connecticut, it continues as a two-lane local road.
InNew England, US 1 generally serves large cities in a side street capacity. InConnecticut, US 1 serves the shore ofLong Island Sound parallel toI-95. BeyondNew Haven, the highway travels east–west, and some signs in the state indicate this rather than the standard north–south. While I-95 inRhode Island takes a diagonal path toProvidence, US 1 continues east along the coast throughWesterly toWakefield-Peacedale, where it turns north and followsNarragansett Bay. Most of this part is a four-lanelimited-access highway, providing access toRoute 138 towardNewport. AfterRoute 4 splits as a mostly-freeway connection to I-95, US 1 becomes a lower-speed surface road, passing throughWarwick, Providence, andPawtucket. The route parallels I-95 again through Providence and Pawtucket and intoMassachusetts, traveling towardBoston as a four-lane road. When it reachesDedham, US 1 turns east and becomes a freeway through metropolitan Boston,concurrent with I-95 andI-93 east toBraintree and north throughDowntown Boston. TheTobin Bridge andNortheast Expressway take US 1 out of Boston, after which it again parallels I-95 as a high-speed surface road throughNewburyport to the New Hampshire state line.[6]
The short portion of US 1 inNew Hampshire follows the historic Lafayette Road, staying close to I-95, passing throughPortsmouth before crossing thePiscataqua River onMemorial Bridge, which was demolished and replaced during 2012–2013, leaving a temporary gap in US 1. During construction, drivers had to detour to one of two other nearby bridges carryingUS 1 Bypass or I-95. WithinMaine, US 1 begins as a parallel route to I-95 near theAtlantic Ocean. AtPortland, I-95 splits off to the north, andI-295 heads northeast paralleling US 1 toBrunswick. There US 1 turns east as a mostly two-lane road along the coast toCalais; much of this portion is advertised as the "Coastal Route" on signs. North from Calais, US 1 follows theCanadian border, crossing I-95 in Houlton and eventually turning west and southwest to its "north" end at theClair–Fort Kent Bridge inFort Kent. On theNew Brunswick (Canada) side of the bridge,Route 205 extends south and west toSaint-François-de-Madawaska, while the shortRoute 161 extends north toRoute 120, a secondary east–west route fromEdmundston,New Brunswick, west toQuebec Route 289 towardSaint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska,Quebec.[6]
The direct predecessor to US 1 was theAtlantic Highway, anauto trail established in 1911 as the Quebec–Miami International Highway. In 1915, it was renamed the Atlantic Highway,[15] and the northern terminus was changed toCalais, Maine.[16] Due to the overlapping of auto trail designations, portions of the route had other names that remain in common use, such as theBoston Post Road betweenBoston andNew York City, theLincoln Highway between New York andPhiladelphia, the Baltimore Pike between Philadelphia andBaltimore, and theDixie Highway in and south of easternGeorgia. North ofAugusta, Georgia, the highway generally followed theAtlantic Seaboard Fall Line, rather than a more easterly route through theswamps of theAtlantic Plain.[17]Brickell Avenue is the name given to the two-mile (3.2 km) stretch of US 1 inMiami, Florida, just south of theMiami River until theRickenbacker Causeway.
When theNew England road marking system was established in 1922, the Atlantic Highway withinNew England was signed asRoute 1, with aRoute 24 continuing north toMadawaska;[18]New York extended the number toNew York City in 1924 with its ownRoute 1.[19] Other states adopted their own systems of numbering; by 1926 all states butMaryland had signed the Atlantic Highway as various routes, usually changing numbers at the state line. In 1925, theJoint Board on Interstate Highways created a preliminary list of interstate routes to be marked by the states,[20] including US 1 along the Atlantic. This highway began atFort Kent, Maine, and followed the existing Route 24 toHoulton, as well asRoute 15 toBangor, beyond which it generally followed the Atlantic Highway to Miami.[21] In all states butGeorgia that had numbered theirstate highways, Route 1 followed only one or two numbers across the state.[22] The only significant deviation from the Atlantic Highway was betweenAugusta, Georgia, andJacksonville, Florida, where Route 1 was assigned to a more inland route, rather than following the Atlantic Highway viaSavannah.[4]
One of the many changes made to the system before the final numbering was adopted in 1926 involved US 1 in Maine. The 1925 plan had assigned US 1 to the shorter inland route (Route 15) between Houlton and Bangor, whileUS 2 followed the longer coastal route via Calais. In the system as adopted in 1926, US 2 instead took the inland route, while US 1 followed the coast, absorbing all of the former Route 24 and Route 1 in New England.[23][24] Many local and regional relocations, often onto parallelsuperhighways, were made in the early days of US 1; this included the four-lane dividedRoute 25 inNew Jersey, completed in 1932 with the opening of thePulaski Skyway,[25] and a bypass of Bangor involving theWaldo–Hancock Bridge, opened in 1931.[26] TheOverseas Highway from Miami toKey West was completed in 1938 and soon became a southern extension of US 1.[27]
With the construction of theInterstate Highway System in and after the 1950s, much of US 1 from Houlton to Miami was bypassed byI-95. Between Houlton andBrunswick, Maine, I-95 took a shorter inland route, much of it paralleling US 2 on the alignment proposed for US 1 in 1925. BetweenPhiladelphia andBaltimore, I-95 leaves US 1 to pass throughWilmington. Most notably, I-95 and US 1 follow different corridors betweenPetersburg, Virginia, andJacksonville, Florida; while US 1 followed the Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line west of the coastal plain, I-95 takes a more direct route through the plain and its swamps. Although some of this part of US 1 was followed by other Interstates—I-85 between Petersburg andHenderson, North Carolina, andI-20 betweenCamden, South Carolina, andAugusta, Georgia—the rest remains an independent route with four lanes in many places. By the late 1970s, most of I-95 had been completed, replacing US 1 as the main corridor of the east coast and relegating most of it to local road status.[28]
Florida's Turnpike Extension inFlorida City
I-95 inMiami
US 41 in Miami
I-395 in Miami
US 27 in Miami
I-195 in Miami
I-595 on theDania Beach–Fort Lauderdale, Florida city line
US 98 inWest Palm Beach
US 192 inMelbourne
US 92 inDaytona BeachI-95 inOrmond BeachI-95 nearPalm Coast
I-295 inJacksonvilleI-95 in JacksonvilleI-95 in Jacksonville. The highways travel concurrently through the city.
US 90 in Jacksonville. The highways travel concurrently through the city.
US 17 in Jacksonville. The highways travel concurrently through the city.
US 23 in JacksonvilleI-95 in JacksonvilleUS 23 in Jacksonville. The highways travel concurrently to north ofAlma, Georgia.I-295 in Jacksonville
US 301 inCallahan. The highways travel concurrently toHomeland, Georgia.
US 82 inWaycross. US 1/US 82/SR 520 travels concurrently to west ofDeenwood.
US 84 in Waycross. The highways travel concurrently through the city.
US 341 inBaxley
US 280 inLyons
I-16 inOak Park
US 80 inSwainsboro
US 319 inWadley
US 221 inLouisville. US 1/US 221 travels concurrently toWrens.
I-520 inAugusta
US 78 /US 278 in Augusta. US 1/US 78 travels concurrently toAiken, South Carolina. US 1/US 278 travels concurrently toClearwater, South Carolina. US 1/SR 10 travels concurrently to theSouth Carolina state line.
US 25 in Augusta. US 1/US 25 travels concurrently toNorth Augusta, South Carolina. US 1/SR 121 travels concurrently to the South Carolina state line.I-520 inNorth Augusta
I-20 north-northeast of Aiken
US 178 inBatesburg-Leesville
US 378 inLexington. The highways travel concurrently through the city.I-20 east of Lexington
I-26 inOak GroveUS 378 inWest Columbia. The highways travel concurrently toColumbia.
US 21 /US 176 /US 321 inColumbia
US 76 in Columbia. The highways travel concurrently through the city.I-20 inDentsville
I-77 in Dentsville
US 601 inLugoff. The highways travel concurrently toCamden.
US 521 /US 601 inCamden
US 52 south-southwest ofCheraw. The highways travel concurrently to Cheraw.
Future I-74 /US 74 west-southwest ofEast Rockingham
US 220 inRockingham
US 15 /US 501 inAberdeen. The highways travel concurrently through the city.US 15 /US 501 north-northeast ofCameron. The highways travel concurrently toSanford.
US 421 inSanford
US 64 inCary. The highways travel concurrently toRaleigh.
I-40 /I-440 /US 64 inRaleigh. I-440/US 1 travels concurrently through the city.
US 70 in Raleigh
I-440 /US 401 in Raleigh. US 1/US 401 travels concurrently through the city.
I-540 near Raleigh
US 158 northeast ofHenderson. The highways travel concurrently toNorlina.
I-85 southwest ofMiddleburgUS 158 /US 401 in Middleburg. US 1/US 401 travels concurrently to north-northwest ofWise.I-85 /US 401 north-northwest ofWise
US 58 southwest ofSouth Hill. The highways travel concurrently to just southwest of the city.I-85 in South HillI-85 south ofAlberta
I-85 /US 460 southwest ofPetersburg. US 1/US 460 Bus. travels concurrently to Petersburg.US 301 in Petersburg. The highways travel concurrently toRichmond.
US 360 inRichmond
US 60 in Richmond
US 33 /US 250 in Richmond
I-64 /I-95 in RichmondI-95 inLakesideI-295 inGlen AllenUS 17 east-northeast ofSpotsylvania. The highways travel concurrently to south ofFredericksburg.I-95 /US 17 south ofFredericksburgI-95 inLorton
I-95 /I-495 inAlexandriaI-395 inArlington. The highways travel concurrently toWashington, D.C.
US 50 inWashington. The highways travel concurrently through part of the city.
US 29 inWashington. The two highways bump into each other at the intersection of 6th Street NW andRhode Island Avenue NW.I-95 /I-495 inCollege Park
I-895 inElkridgeI-195 inArbutus
US 40 inBaltimore
I-83 in Baltimore
I-695 inOverlea
US 222 inConowingo
US 202 /US 322 inConcordville. US 1/US 322 travels concurrently through the community.
I-476 inMarple Township
US 30 on theWynnewood–Philadelphia city line
I-76 on theBala Cynwyd–Philadelphia city line. The highways travel concurrently into Philadelphia proper.
US 13 in Philadelphia. The highways travel concurrently through part of the city.
I-276 inBensalem TownshipI-295 inWoodbourneUS 13 southwest ofMorrisvilleI-295 inLawrence Township
US 130 inNorth Brunswick
I-287 on theEdison–Metuchen city line
US 9 in Woodbridge Township. The highways travel concurrently toNew York City.
I-278 inLinden
I-78 /I-95 inNewark
US 22 in NewarkI-78 /I-95 in NewarkI-95 in Newark
US 46 inPalisades Park. The highways travel concurrently to theNew Jersey-New York state line at theGeorge Washington Bridge.
US 9W inFort LeeI-95 in Fort Lee. The highways travel concurrently toThe Bronx,New York City.US 46 at the New Jersey–New York state lineUS 9 inManhattan,New York City
I-87 inThe Bronx, New York CityI-95 in The Bronx, New York CityI-95 inNew RochelleI-95 inRyeI-287 on the Rye–Port Chester city lineI-95 inStamfordI-95 inDarien
US 7 inNorwalkI-95 inFairfieldI-95 inStratfordI-95 inMilford
I-91 inNew HavenI-95 inEast HavenI-95 inBranfordI-95 inGuilfordI-95 inOld Saybrook. The highways travel concurrently toOld Lyme.I-95 inEast LymeI-95 inNew London. The highways travel concurrently toGroton.
US 6 inProvidence
US 44 inProvidence. The highways travel concurrently for one block.I-95 inPawtucket. The highways travel concurrently for less than 1 mile (1.6 km).I-95 inAttleboroI-295 inNorth AttleboroughI-495 inPlainvilleI-95 inSharonI-95 on theWestwood–Dedham city line. The highways travel concurrently toCanton.
I-93 /I-95 inCanton. I-93/US 1 travel concurrently toBoston.
US 3 in Boston
I-90 in BostonI-95 inPeabodyI-95 in PeabodyI-95 inDanvers
US 4 inPortsmouthI-95 inKitteryI-195 inSacoI-295 inSouth Portland. The highways travel concurrently toPortland.
US 302 in PortlandI-495 inFalmouthI-295 inYarmouthI-295 in YarmouthI-295 inFreeportI-295 inBrunswick
US 201 in Brunswick
US 2 inHoulton. The highways travel concurrently through the city.I-95 in HoultonRoute 161 /Route 205 at theFort Kent–Clair Border Crossing inFort KentUS 1 has six three-digit auxiliary routes. In numerical order, these are:
US 101, despite its number, is not an auxiliary route, but rather considered a primary U.S. Route in its own right as major highway west of the formerUS 99 on the west coast of the U.S. (In the numbering scheme, its first "digit" is "10".)
Drivers know they're in Florida when they notice the U.S. Highway signs are color-coded for easy recognition. The US 17 signs, for example, are yellow, while those of US 1 are red, US 90 blue. and US 27 green[full citation needed]
Routes initalics are no longer a part of the system. Highlighted routes are considered main routes of the system. |
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