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Unless you have to be along the Southeastern CT coast or Rhode Island you are correct. That's what I call the tourista route for all the out of towners who don't travel this part of the country often.
The Hutch to the Merritt all the way up to Hartford and then 84 to 90 to Boston. That's how we locals have been doing it forever. Hope I didn't give away any secrets just now
That works sometimes, but even the Merritt now can be terrible. And CT with their "Friday night in the summer cosntruction" can make it brutal. I often take 684, which based on mileage can be 15 miles longer or so, but avoids the 2-lane Merritt.
The truth is, there's no great way, but everyone can agree that I-95 is the absolute worst. Truckers and tourists who don't know.
That works sometimes, but even the Merritt now can be terrible. And CT with their "Friday night in the summer cosntruction" can make it brutal. I often take 684, which based on mileage can be 15 miles longer or so, but avoids the 2-lane Merritt.
The truth is, there's no great way, but everyone can agree that I-95 is the absolute worst. Truckers and tourists who don't know.
True. 684 is a solid alternate. And yes you are screwed on the Merritt with the slightest road issue (accident, construction, roadwork) due to the tight 2 lane setup. I guess it's because I almost always make a point of driving to far away CT/Boston from NYC area in the late morning-early afternoon to avoid potential roadblocks like the "Friday night" one you mentioned.
70, btw, also originally had a split at its eastern end: 70N went to Baltimore while 70S headed to Washington. But as with all the others save the two 35E/W splits that remain (St. Paul/Minneapolis and Dallas/Fort Worth), one of the two kept the main number and the other was given a new route number. However, 70S was the only one that was renumbered as a three-digit Interstate, and it actually has the wrong first digit (270 isn't a loop route — it's a spur; it should have been 170 in that case. Either way, I'm surprised that the road to Washington got "demoted" below the one to Baltimore, given the attitude of Official Washingtonians).
Another bit of route-numbering trivia dating back to the days of suffixed main Interstates: Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Denver were all located along I-80 too, originally: both the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the connector to Denver from Grand Island, Neb., were numbered 80S in the original scheme. First the Turnpike, and later the Denver connector, were given a new number: the same one, 76, making I-76 the only disjointed Interstate in the country now that the gap in I-95 has been closed. And boy, is it disjointed; about 900 miles separate the western end of the eastern I-76 from the eastern end of the western one.
I'm not sure why Washington got the "demoted" interstate, but if I had to guess, I would say it's because they already got an east-west interstate, namely I-66. So maybe the planners decided that it wouldn't be fair to give Washington two and Baltimore none.
I-84, I-86, I-87, and I-88 are also disjointed, by the way. There are a few others that are temporarily disjointed (such as I-69 and I-74) but are intended to ultimately be connected; but the ones I named (plus I-76) are never intended to be joined.
I-84, I-86, I-87, and I-88 are also disjointed, by the way. There are a few others that are temporarily disjointed (such as I-69 and I-74) but are intended to ultimately be connected; but the ones I named (plus I-76) are never intended to be joined.
ISTR the easterly I-86, in Connecticut, got renumbered as I-84 once the interstate that would have connected Hartford and Providence (which would have carried 84's number) got scrubbed.
You haven’t lived until you get stuck for hours on 95 on Thanksgiving weekend.
Exactly. I remember coming home from Philly the Wednesday night before, and getting stuck at near-standstill for over 3 hours in Stamford. Normal time for that trip is about 4 hours, and that night it took almost 9.
Having spent my entire life living in the Northeast, I could drive the NEC/NJT section in my sleep. It's really a great trip to drive because of how much is along it, and there's nothing like seeing the skyline beast of NYC come into view as you near it.
ISTR the easterly I-86, in Connecticut, got renumbered as I-84 once the interstate that would have connected Hartford and Providence (which would have carried 84's number) got scrubbed.
The southerly I-87 is in Raleigh, NC. Right now, only about 12 miles are open. It's slated to extend eastward to Norfolk. Why it was given an odd number, for north-south interstates, when its alignment is more east-to-west, I don't know.
I-86's western portion runs about 60 miles, from Pocatello, ID west to its junction with I-84. Its eastern portion, over 200 miles in length, is an upgrade of NY 17 and it runs from Erie, PA to Binghamton, NY.
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