Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 95 Interchange Project
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| Route information | |
| Maintained by PennDOT | |
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| Country | United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| Highway system | |
The Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 95 Interchange Project is a project to build an interchange where Interstate 95 crosses the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bristol Township, Pennsylvania. This will fill the gap that exists on I-95 through New Jersey due to the cancellation of the Somerset Freeway. The project also includes widening the Turnpike east of U.S. Route 1 and rebuilding the Delaware River-Turnpike Toll Bridge, which connects Bristol Township, Pennsylvania and Burlington Township, New Jersey.
Construction is expected to start in early 2008 and will cost approximately 650 million dollars. When completed, this will allow I-95 to be a continuous route between Philadelphia and New York City and finally complete the highway from Maine to Florida.
Background
The Somerset Freeway was planned to run from existing I-95 north of Trenton northeast to Interstate 287 west of Perth Amboy, and was to carry I-95 towards the New Jersey Turnpike. Due to local opposition, it was cancelled in 1982, and I-95 was later rerouted south on the Turnpike and its Pennsylvania Extension to end at the state line. The section of I-95 north of the interchange (extended several miles in 1995) will become an extension of Interstate 195 when the interchange is completed,[1] and the part of Interstate 276 east of the interchange will become part of Interstate 95.
Design and construction
The approved design calls for a multi-phased construction. The first two phases, scheduled to begin in the first half of 2008 and end some time in 2014, consists of the development of a single-loop interchange at the point where the PA Turnpike (I-276) and I-95 meet in Bristol Township. In order to accommodate the projected high traffic volume, a new tollbooth will be built approximately 2 miles west of the interchange, terminating the toll ticket part of the turnpike system. The current tollbooth at the Delaware River bridge will still exist, but its purpose will be to collect a flat-rate toll for westbound traffic only. This phase also calls for the widening of the Turnpike between Exits 351 (U.S. Route 1) and 358 (U.S. Route 13) from 4 lanes to 6. The third and final phase will consist of the building of a second bridge across the Delaware River, adjacent to the current one, that will allow eastbound and westbound traffic to solely utilize separate bridge spans. In this respect, the design is similar to that of the Delaware Memorial Bridge.
Changes in route designation
Once construction is completed, signage will be changed for impacted highways. The changes are outlined as follows:
| Highway Section | Current Designation | Proposed Designation |
|---|---|---|
| I-95 from PA Turnpike, across the Scudder Falls Bridge into Mercer County, NJ, and continuing to Exit 67 in Lawrenceville | I-95 | I-195 |
| I-295 from Exit 67 in Lawrenceville to Exit 60 east of Trenton | I-295 | I-195 |
| PA Turnpike from new interchange in Bristol Township to the Delaware River Turnpike Bridge | I-276 | I-95 |
| NJ Turnpike Extension from Delaware River Turnpike Bridge to the mainline NJ Turnpike | NJ 700-P | I-95 |