Interstate 80

Interstate 80 is the second-longest interstate highway in the United States. It connects San Francisco, California at United States 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, and the Donner Pass in Nevada and California.

Contents

1 Length 2 Major cities along the route 3 Intersections with other Interstates 4 Spur routes 5 Notes 5.1 Related highways 5.2 Major bridges on I-80 5.2.1 Des Plaines River, Illinois 6 Sources

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

• San Francisco, California
• Oakland, California
• Sacramento, California
• Reno, Nevada
• Salt Lake City, Utah
• Cheyenne, Wyoming
• North Platte, Nebraska
• Lincoln, Nebraska
• Omaha, Nebraska
• Des Moines, Iowa
• Quad Cities, Iowa-Illinois (Davenport)
• Joliet, Illinois
• Chicago, Illinois (through the south suburbs)
• Gary, Indiana
• South Bend, Indiana
• Toledo, Ohio
• Cleveland, Ohio
• Youngstown, Ohio
• State College, Pennsylvania
• Paterson, New Jersey

Intersections with other Interstates

• Interstate 5 in Sacramento, California
• Interstate 15 in Salt Lake City, Utah
• Interstate 84 in Echo, Utah (near Coalville, Utah)
• Interstate 25 in Cheyenne, Wyoming
• Interstate 76 near Big Springs, Nebraska
• Interstate 29 in Council Bluffs, Iowa
• Interstate 35 in Des Moines, Iowa
• Interstate 74 in Bettendorf, Iowa
• Interstate 88 near Moline, Illinois
• Interstate 74 near Moline, Illinois
• Interstate 39 in La Salle, Illinois
• Interstate 55 in Joliet, Illinois
• Interstate 57 in Tinley Park, Illinois
• Interstate 94 in South Holland, Illinois. They stay joined until Portage, Indiana. Known as the Robert Kingery Expressway in Illinois and the Frank Borman Expressway in Indiana.
• Interstate 90 in Portage, Indiana. They stay joined until Elyria, Ohio. Known as the Indiana Toll Road in Indiana and the Ohio Turnpike in Ohio.
• Interstate 65 in Gary, Indiana
• Interstate 69 near Fremont, Indiana
• Interstate 75 in Toledo, Ohio
• Interstate 71 in Strongsville, Ohio
• Interstate 77 in Brecksville, Ohio
• Interstate 76 in Niles, Ohio
• Interstate 79 in Pardoe, Pennsylvania (near Mercer, Pennsylvania)
• Interstate 99 in State College, Pennsylvania
• Interstate 81 in St. Johns, Pennsylvania (near Hazleton, Pennsylvania)
• Interstate 95 in Teaneck, New Jersey

Spur routes

• San Francisco Bay Area - I-280, I-380, I-580, I-680, I-780, I-880, I-980
  • Oakland, California - the intersection with I-580 and I-880 is known as the MacArthur Maze
• Cheyenne, Wyoming - I-180
• Lincoln, Nebraska - I-180
• Omaha, Nebraska - I-480, I-680
• Spur to Waterloo, Iowa - I-380
• The Quad Cities - I-280
• Spur to Hennepin, Illinois - I-180
• Toledo, Ohio - I-280
• Cleveland, Ohio - I-480
• Youngstown, Ohio - I-680
• Spur to Williamsport, Pennsylvania - I-180
• Spur to Scranton, Pennsylvania - I-380
• Spur to Newark, New Jersey - I-280

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Notes

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.

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.

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.)

Related highways

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. It is now 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 480 was a double-decker freeway that parallelled the Embarcadero in San Francisco. Despised by San Franciscans because they felt it had destroyed their city, the freeway was damaged when a major earthquake shook the Bay Area in 1989. It was completely demolished a short time later, and the waterfront area opened to further development.

Interstate 880 was a double-decker freeway in Oakland, California. Like the now-demolished I-480, it was severely damaged in the 1989 earthquake. In the following years, the freeway was rebuilt so that the decks carrying its northbound and southbound lanes were built at the same level (the double-decker freeway no longer exists).

Interstate 880 was also used at one time for the current I-80 freeway around Sacramento, California, while the original I-80 went directly through the city. I-80 now goes onto the original I-880, while the old I-80 is currently the Business I-80/US 50/Secret I-305 freeway in Sacramento.

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

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

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

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

Interstate 280 in New Jersey connects Northern New Jersey with New York city.

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

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

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.

Major bridges on I-80

• San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge
• Fred Schwengel Memorial Bridge
• Al Zampa Bridge; the newest suspension bridge in the United States

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.

Sources

• 2005 Rand McNally Road Atlas
• NJDOT (http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/sldiag/) Straight Line Diagrams

Template:Ed divPrimary Interstate Highways							Missing image Interstate_blank.png Interstate Highway marker
4	5	8	10	12	15	16	17
19	20	22	24	25	26	27	29
30	35	37	39	40	43	44	45
49	55	57	59	64	65	66	68
69	70	71	72	73	74	75	76 (W)
76 (E)	77	78	79	80	81	82	83
84 (W)	84 (E)	85	86 (W)	86 (E)	87	88 (W)	88 (E)
89	90	91	93	94	95	96	97
99	238	H-1	H-2	H-3
Unsigned Interstate Highways
A-1	A-2	A-3	A-4	PRI-1	PRI-2	PRI-3
Lists Two-digit Interstates - Three-digit Interstates Gaps in Interstates - Intrastate Interstates Interstate standards - Proposed Interstates