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Interstate 80

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File:Interstate80 map 1050.png
Location of Interstate 80
Interstate 80 as seen from an overpass in Davis, California
Interstate 80 is a major urban freeway though the East Bay, north of the Bay Bridge, in the San Francisco Bay Area (seen here in Berkeley, California)

Interstate 80 (abbreviated I-80) is the second-longest interstate highway in the United States. It connects San Francisco, California at U.S. Highway 101 in the west to Teaneck, New Jersey at Interstate 95 in the east, just outside New York City. The highway roughly traces some historically significant travel corridors, particularly in the western U.S. These include the Oregon Trail in Nebraska and westward, the California Trail in Nevada and California, and the Lincoln Highway along portions of the route in Utah, Nevada, and California.

Length

Miles km state
199 322 California
411 666 Nevada
196 318 Utah
403 653 Wyoming
455 737 Nebraska
303 491 Iowa
164 266 Illinois
157 254 Indiana
237 384 Ohio
311 504 Pennsylvania
68.54 110.3 New Jersey
2,904 4,704 Total

Major cities along the route

Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs.

Intersections with other Interstates

Spur routes

Notes

File:BlueStarHighwaySign.jpg
Blue Star Memorial Highway Sign in Nebraska

The highway reaches a maximum elevation of 8,640 feet (2,633 m) above sea level between Cheyenne and Laramie, Wyoming. Farther west in Wyoming, the interstate passes the Continental Divide twice because two lines of mountains form a closed-off basin.

Among many picturesque sections of I-80 are the crossing of San Francisco Bay over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge (toll paid westbound only), the traverse above Donner Pass and Donner Lake (near Lake Tahoe) in California, and its run along the Truckee River both west and east of Reno, Nevada. Interstate 80 crosses the southern end of Great Salt Lake west of Salt Lake City, Utah, providing views of various mountains, although it incorporates a very long stretch of straight roadway that can induce some drivers to fall asleep.

I-80 intersects I-90 near Elyria, Ohio and they share a route all the way to Portage, Indiana, where I-90 splits off but I-80 then runs concurrently with I-94 until the Chicago suburb of South Holland, Illinois. I-80 then runs concurrently with I-294 until Markham, Illinois.

All of I-80 in Indiana is duplexed with another interstate, such as I-90 or I-94.

Although Interstate 80 does not enter Colorado, it does manage to come within a mile of the border between Nebraska and Colorado at the junction of Interstates 80 and 76. This intersection is visible from Colorado as one approaches it from the west on I-76.

Although it never enters Michigan, Interstate 80 (with Interstate 90) lies within ten miles (16.1 km) of the Michigan state line between La Porte, Indiana and Toledo, Ohio. Looking north at the intersection of Indiana State Highway 9 and I-80, the "Welcome to Michigan" sign is visible in the distance.

I-80 does not go all the way to New York City via the George Washington Bridge. Its designated end is about four miles (6.4 km) short of New York City in Teaneck, New Jersey. There, it joins and becomes designated as I-95, which does cross the bridge. The tolled section of the New Jersey Turnpike ends at exit 18, which is actually just the toll plaza at the northern terminus. The next exit on I-95 is exit 68, which is consistent with the exit structure on I-80. (The truth is that the exit numbers on this section of I-95 match the mile markers on I-95 had the Somerset Freeway been built. The fact that they are similar to what the exit numbers are on I-80 is just a coincidence.)

Interstate 80 had five branches, the most of any interstate highway. However, because suffixes were not allowed on any Interstate (save for the I-35 freeways in Dallas-Fort Worth and Minneapolis-St. Paul), all five branches have since been renumbered. There were three branches called I-80N, and two of them were I-80S (both of which were renamed I-76). The most noticeable I-80N went from Portland, Oregon to Salt Lake City. In 1980, it was re-signed as the western half of I-84. The other two former I-80N routes were in western Iowa (near Omaha) (I-680) and Cleveland/Youngstown (incorporated by both I-480 and I-680).

Part of Interstate 80 in Nebraska is known as the Blue Star Memorial Highway.

Interstate 180, between San Rafael and Richmond, California, is now an extension of Interstate 580.

Interstate 180 in Cheyenne, Wyoming is an interstate with traffic lights.

Interstate 180 in Illinois runs south from I-80 to serve the town of Hennepin.

Interstate 180 in Pennsylvania, connecting Milton, Pennsylvania with Williamsport, Pennsylvania originally had no exit numbers on its exits. Since 2002, exit numbers have been added, and the highway will eventually connect with Interstate 99 when U.S. Highway 15 is constructed to Interstate Highway standards.

Interstate 280 in New Jersey connects Northern New Jersey to the New Jersey Turnpike.

Interstate 280 in Toledo, Ohio serves traffic from the Ohio Turnpike to downtown Toledo, as well as traffic from points east heading toward Detroit.

Interstate 280 in Iowa and Illinois, which makes up the western and southern edges of the Quad Cities. Interstate 80 makes up the northern and eastern borders; both interstates connect at the northwestern and southeastern edges (in Davenport and Colona, Illinois, respectively).

Interstate 280 in California connects San Jose, California with San Francisco, California.

Interstate 380 in Iowa, connecting the highway to Cedar Rapids and Waterloo.

Interstate 380 in California begins at Interstate 280 in San Bruno, California and ends at the San Francisco International Airport.

Interstate 380 in Pennsylvania originally was signed as Interstate 81E before 1976, and became an east-west Interstate after suffixed Interstates were dropped in the mid-1970's. In 2002, it became a north-south Interstate when Pennsylvania changed its exit numbers from a sequential system to the milepost system. In addition, the original east-west configuration began in Scranton along with Interstate 84, but has since been truncated at the I-84/I-380 interchange.

Interstate 480 was a double-decker freeway that parallelled the Embarcadero in San Francisco. The freeway was damaged when the Loma Prieta Earthquake shook the San Francisco Bay Area in 1989 and was completely demolished a short time later.

Interstate 480 in Nebraska and Iowa, an interstate route through Omaha and Council Bluffs to Interstate 29.

Interstate 480 in Ohio serves the southern suburbs of Cleveland. The section that I-480 shares with I-271 is the only road in the United States to carry two 3-digit Interstates simultaneously.

Interstate 580 is the secret name for the US 395 freeway in Reno, Nevada.

Interstate 580 in Omaha, Nebraska shared a freeway with US 75.

Interstate 580 in California runs from San Rafael, California across the San Francisco Bay on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge until it reaches Interstate 5 southeast of Tracy, California.

Interstate 680 in Nebraska and Iowa, which runs through western and northern Omaha before crossing the Missouri River and continuing to its connection with Interstate 80 in eastern Pottawattamie County, Iowa.

Interstate 680 in California travels from Fairfield, California, to San Jose, California.

Interstate 680 in Youngstown, Ohio connects I-80 to the Ohio Turnpike (I-76).

Interstate 780 in California is a 6.5-mile connection from I-80 in Vallejo, California to I-680 in Benicia, California.

Interstate 880 in California runs from the MacArthur Maze in Oakland to its junction with I-280 in San Jose. The road is also known in Alameda County as the Nimitz Freeway. The Cypress Structure, a two-level portion of I-880 in West Oakland, was severely damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. This damaged section has since been replaced by a one-level roadway in a different location.

Interstate 880 was also used at one time for the current I-80 freeway passing to the west and north of Sacramento, California. I-80 once passed directly through the city along present-day freeway segments of US 50, unsigned I-305, and unsigned California 51. That route is now signed as Business Loop Interstate 80 (Sacramento).

Interstate 980 in California is a short Interstate that connects I-580 and California State Highway 24 with I-880.

Major bridges on I-80

Des Plaines River, Illinois

The I-80 bridge over the Des Plaines River is a cantilever bridge that is six lanes wide -- three lanes traveling eastbound and westbound. It is actually a fairly dangerous section of road, as the bridge is thirty feet (9.1 m) below the surrounding elevation of the highway. A pair of downhill s-curves approach the bridge, and the speed is reduced to 45 mph (70 km/h) from 65 mph (100 km/h). This catches many drivers by surprise, since for at least a hundred miles (161 km) on either side of the bridge, the road is mainly flat and straight.

The bridge is located on the south side of Joliet, Illinois and connects U.S. Highway 6 and U.S. Highway 52/Illinois State Route 53.

See also

Sources

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