 Interstate 84 | |
|---|---|
 I-84 highlighted in red | |
| Route information | |
| Length | 232.71 mi[1] (374.51 km) |
| Existed | 1971 (1971)[2]–present |
| NHS | Entire route |
| Major junctions | |
| West end |    I-81 /I-380 /US 6 inDunmore, PA |
| Major intersections |
|
| East end |   I-90 Toll /Mass Pike inSturbridge, MA |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| States | Pennsylvania,New York,Connecticut,Massachusetts |
| Highway system | |
Interstate 84 (I-84) is anInterstate Highway in theNortheastern United States that extends almost 233 miles (375 km) fromDunmore, Pennsylvania, nearScranton at an interchange withI-81 east toSturbridge, Massachusetts, at an interchange with theMassachusetts Turnpike (I-90). Among the major cities that the road passes through isHartford, Connecticut, and the road provides a major portion of the primary route betweenNew York City andBoston.Another highway named I-84 is located in theNorthwestern United States.
| mi[1] | km | |
|---|---|---|
| PA | 54.87 | 88.30 |
| NY | 71.79 | 115.53 |
| CT | 97.90 | 157.55 |
| MA | 8.15 | 13.12 |
| Total | 232.71 | 374.51 |
I-84 starts in Pennsylvania atI-81 inDunmore, a suburb east ofScranton. After two miles (3.2 km), I-84 interchanges withI-380, with I-380 going southeast through thePocono Mountains and I-84 continuing almost due east intoWayne andPike counties. Pennsylvania began replacingsequential exit numbers withmile-based numbers in 2001.
This section of Pennsylvania is very lightly populated, and there are no major settlements on or near I-84, although it offers access to popular outdoor recreation areas such asLake Wallenpaupack andPromised Land State Park. Itsright-of-way is very wide, with a largemedian strip between the two roadways as it passes through densely wooded country, except for the swampy areas in southern Wayne County. The only development along Pennsylvania's section of I-84 is whereUS Route 6 (US 6) andUS 209 start to parallel closely and form a commercial strip just south ofMatamoras, just west of theDelaware River. I-84 reaches its highest elevation in Pennsylvania and in the east just west of exit 8 at 1,800 feet (550 m).[3]
I-84 enters New York by crossing both theDelaware andNeversink rivers on a long bridge south ofPort Jervis, the first large settlement near the highway. South of the road, at the confluence of the Delaware and Neversink rivers, is theTri-States Monument, whereNew Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania converge.[4] The first mile (1.6 km) of the road in New York runs along theNew Jersey state line, then curves to the north to climb theShawangunk Ridge and crossOrange County, where it intersectsNew York State Route 17 (NY 17; futureI-86) and later theNew York State Thruway (I-87). I-84 includes theNewburgh–Beacon Bridge across theHudson River atNewburgh.
East of the bridge and the city ofBeacon, I-84 continues to head east acrossDutchess County, beginning to turn south in the mountainous areas east of theTaconic State Parkway and intoPutnam County. AtBrewster, whereI-684 heads south toward New York City, the road resumes its eastern course into Connecticut, closely paralleled byUS 6 andUS 202. TheNew York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) completed the process of converting exits from sequential to mile-based numbering as part of a sign replacement project in 2021.
The Interstate's first exit is at the state line, where it enters the city ofDanbury. Here, it is designated the Yankee Expressway. Two miles (3.2 km) to the east, whereUS 7 comes in from the south nearDanbury Fair to join I-84, it turns to the north. At the next exit,US 6 andUS 202 join the highway.
The four-way concurrency ends after three miles (4.8 km), when US 7 and US 202 split off north towardNew Milford. US 6 leaves the Interstate at the next exit, and I-84 continues east across the countryside. At exit 11, it turns to the northeast and descends to cross theHousatonic River on the Rochambeau Bridge, intoNew Haven County. It then climbs onto higher ground to the city ofWaterbury, which it passes on an elevatedviaduct with the eastbound and westbound lanes on different levels. Here, theRoute 8 expressway intersects.
The eastern heading continues past Waterbury toMilldale, whereI-691 splits off to the east. This section has many left-hand exits and entrances and sharp curves, which were built for a planned network of freeways. I-84 heads northeast towardNew Britain andHartford, the state capital and the largest community along its eastern length. After intersectingI-91, the road crosses theConnecticut River on theBulkeley Bridge, the oldest on the Interstate System, then becomes theWilbur Cross Highway and continues toward the northeast. I-84 services the greater student body commuting to theUniversity of Connecticut through exit 68 located in ruralTolland.
The last exit in Connecticut is exit 74, an exit forRoute 171. I-84 crosses the Massachusetts border in the town ofUnion.
The Wilbur Cross Highway continues on I-84 after the highway crosses the state line. For a short distance (approximately 90 yards (82 m) eastbound and 200 yards (180 m) westbound), the Interstate passes through the town ofHolland inHampden County before crossing intoSturbridge inWorcester County for the remainder of its length. I-84 has only three exits in Massachusetts, before ending atI-90, theMassachusetts Turnpike. I-84 ends at exit 78 (formerly exit 9) of I-90, which is located in Sturbridge, 7.7 miles (12.4 km) into the state, making the Massachusetts section of the highway the shortest distance within any of the four states it traverses.
I-84 was originally to head east fromHartford, Connecticut, toProvidence, Rhode Island.
The original route of I-84 would have used present-dayI-384 toBolton, Connecticut, then along a never-built section of freeway that would have connected to theUS 6 bypass aroundWillimantic, Connecticut. Another never-built freeway section would have connected it to I-395 and extended I-84 ontoState Road 695 (SR 695) in Connecticut, the easternmost portion of theConnecticut Turnpike inPlainfield, Connecticut. From there, it would have roughly followed US 6 through westernRhode Island to connect to the present-day US 6 freeway inJohnston. From there, a freeway fromOlneyville Square to theI-95/I-195 interchange was briefly considered but abandoned in favor of what later became theRoute 6-10 Connector.
Sections of I-84 in Connecticut were reconstructed and widened in the 1980s. The former I-86 portion from East Hartford to the Massachusetts state line was completely rebuilt from a narrow four-lane freeway to a much wider profile ranging from six lanes at the Massachusetts state line, expanding to eight lanes in Vernon, to 12 lanes withhigh-occupancy vehicle lanes (HOV lanes) in East Hartford. Another section through Danbury was widened from four lanes to six lanes in 1985 and 1986. Widening of the highway through Danbury was funded byUnion Carbide as part of building its world headquarters in Danbury.[5]
Though the route was confirmed inConnecticut, many issues remained in Rhode Island, the biggest of which were major environmental concerns about how the freeway would affect theScituate Reservoir, which is the main drinking water supply for Providence. In an attempt to ease environmental concerns, an alternate route was briefly studied in Rhode Island that would have connected I-84 to the present-dayRoute 37 freeway. This would have allowed construction of I-84 south of the Scituate Reservoir. Major community opposition caused this plan, as well as all plans for a Hartford–Providence expressway, to be scrapped in the 1980s.
In the 1992 long-range transportation plan released by theRhode Island Department of Transportation, a freeway was added along the original route of I-84 that will connect to theSR 695 freeway on the Rhode Island–Connecticut border.
 Interstate 86 | |
|---|---|
| Location | East Hartford, Connecticut–Sturbridge, Massachusetts |
| Length | 38.97 mi (62.72 km) |
| Existed | 1968–1984 |
| History |
|
The section of I-84 betweenEast Hartford, Connecticut, (at the present-day junction withI-384) andSturbridge, Massachusetts, (I-90) was signed in the late 1970s and early 1980s as I-86 (unrelated to present-dayI-86 inNew York andPennsylvania). Signs stating "I-84 Ends, I-86 toBoston" (eastbound) and "I-86 Ends, I-84 to Hartford" (westbound) were posted where the change took place. Exit numbering on I-86 was that of the road's predecessor,Route 15, in a sequence beginning on New York'sHutchinson River Parkway. Exits were renumbered to correspond with the rest of I-84 in Connecticut when the road was redesignated in 1984. The present I-384 as well as the present US 6 bypass near Willimantic, both of which were a part of what was then I-84's planned easterly continuation, were also numbered I-84 prior to 1984 even though they lacked any direct connection to the rest of I-84 at that time. (Drivers had to use Silver Lane in East Hartford to travel between the two stretches of the highway.) These two sections were re-numbered I-384 and US 6 when what was then I-86 numbering reverted to I-84, with signs reading "I-84 is now I-384", "I-84 is now US 6", and "I-86 is now I-84" being erected on their respective segments.
As I-84 was built with federal funds, there are generally no highway tolls. The exception is I-84'sHudson River crossing, theNewburgh–Beacon Bridge. Since the bridge is under theNew York State Bridge Authority, it carries an eastbound-only toll of $2.15 for passenger vehicles (EZ Pass $1.65).[6]
From 1992 through 2006, I-84 inNew York was a toll-free component of theNew York State Thruway system. It was transferred by NYSDOT to theNew York State Thruway Authority (NYSTA) in order to capitalize on that agency's steady revenue stream from upstate sources.
In 1992, maintenance responsibility for I-84 in New York was transferred to the NYSTA and the monies for that purpose came from existing tolls onI-190 in downtownBuffalo, more than 300 miles (480 km) away. On October 30, 2006, the NYSTA began the process of returning maintenance and operation responsibilities to NYSDOT and the tolls in Buffalo were discontinued. The I-190 tolls were considered to be one of the principal causes of highway congestion in Buffalo.[7] From 2006 to 2010, maintenance was performed by the NYSTA with funding provided by the state legislature. On October 11, 2010, NYSDOT resumed full control of I-84.[8]
A widening project along the congested stretch of I-84 throughWaterbury andCheshire, Connecticut, was beset by cost overruns, delays, and construction defects involving storm drains,[9] as state and federal officials have launched criminal investigations stemming from this project. This episode diminished local enthusiasm for a proposed $2-billion reconstruction of the "Mixmaster" interchange in downtown Waterbury between Route 8 and I-84.[10] Cost estimates for the Mixmaster replacement have increased to $3 billion.[11] Former Connecticut Attorney-GeneralRichard Blumenthal began a lawsuit against the contractor and an engineering firm in response to threats from USDOT to withhold funds from the project.[12] On May 18, 2007, theRepublican-American reported this area had defective light poles,[13] while GovernorJodi Rell released an audit report of the construction disaster.[14] A number of USDOT personnel were either fired or reprimanded following the scandal. Additionally,[when?] theFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and a federal grand jury investigated the now-defunct construction company and the same USDOT officials, although none of these investigations have yet to result in criminal charges.
I-81 /US 6 inDunmoreI-380 inRoaring Brook TownshipUS 6 nearMilford
US 6 /US 209 nearMatamoras
US 6 /Route 23 inPort Jervis
US 6 /NY 17M inMiddletown
NY 17 in Middletown
I-87 Toll /New York Thruway /NY 300 inNewburgh
US 9W /NY 32 in Newburgh
US 9 inFishkill
Taconic State Parkway inEast Fishkill
I-684 /NY 22 /US 6 /US 202 inBrewster
US 6 /US 7 /US 202 inDanbury
Route 8 inWaterbury
I-691 /Route 322 inSouthington
Route 72 inNew BritainUS 6 inFarmington
Route 9 in Farmington
I-91 /US 44 inHartford
Route 2 /US 5 /US 44 inEast Hartford
Route 15 in East Hartford
I-384 inManchesterUS 6 /US 44 in Manchester
I-291 in Manchester
US 20 inSturbridgeI-90 /Mass Pike in SturbridgeI-84 has two current and two formerauxiliary routes.I-384 is a spur of I-84 inManchester, Connecticut.I-684 connects I-84 inBrewster, New York, withI-287 inHarrison, New York.I-284 was a planned but never built expressway relocation ofUS 5 to bypassEast Hartford, Connecticut, along the eastern shore of theConnecticut River.I-484 was slated to be built south of downtownHartford, Connecticut, (connecting withI-91), but that highway was never completed.
Geographic data related toInterstate 84 (Pennsylvania–Massachusetts) atOpenStreetMap PrimaryInterstate Highways | |
|---|---|
| Signed | |
| Unsigned | |
| Lists | |
| Other | |
Routes initalics are no longer a part of the system. Major Interstates are highlighted. | |
Auxiliary routes of highways designated as Interstate 84 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Oregon–Utah segment | | |
| Pennsylvania–Massachusetts segment | ||
1Former | ||
