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Interstate 694
Interstate 694 is a spur route of Interstate 94 circling through the northern and northeastern portions of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. Along with the longer Interstate 494 to the south, the 31-mile (50 km) highway makes up part of the major beltway in the region. This is apparently the only interstate highway beltway in the United States that uses separate numbering in different sections (the Twin Cities area is also unusual for having an east/west-split in Interstate 35). The speed limit is 60 miles per hour (96.6 km/h).
There are a few intersections with other interstates:
- Interstate 94 and I-494 in Maple Grove, Minnesota. It stays joined with I-94 for eight miles until Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.
- Interstate 35W in New Brighton, Minnesota
- Interstate 35E in Little Canada, Minnesota
- Interstate 94 and I-494 in Woodbury/Oakdale
Mileposts are numbered to increase while traveling eastbound (clockwise). They are in sequence with the numbering of Interstate 494, where the numbering begins and ends at the Minnesota River. Between Maple Grove and Brooklyn Center, they correspond to the beltway numbering, not I-94 mileage.
The speed limit is 60 miles per hour (96.6 km/h). Interstate highways outside of the loop in Minnesota may be signed as high as 70 mph (112.7 km/h), but can only reach 55 mph (88.5 km/h) inside the loop (changes are proposed as of 2005, however).
I-694 has problems with "weave" interchanges. An "Unweave the Weave" project is set to begin in 2006 to disentangle I-694 and I-35E. Another project involving U.S. Highway 10 and Minnesota State Highway 51 is scheduled to begin around 2012.
References
- Steve Riner (December 27, 2004). [http://steve-riner.com/mnhighways/r288-694.htm#694 Details of Routes 288-694.] Unnoficial Minnesota Highways Page. Accessed May 17, 2005.
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Interstate 94:I-94 redirects here. For other uses, see I-94 (disambiguation).
I-94 (disambiguation)
Interstate 94 (abbreviated I-94) is a long interstate highway connecting the Great Lakes and Intermountain region of the United States. Its western terminus is in Billings, Montana at a junction with Interstate 90; its eastern terminus is the U.S. side of the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, Michigan, at the Ontario, Canada border.
Canada.]]
Length
Major cities along the route
Canada
Montana
- Billings
- Miles City
- Glendive
North Dakota
- Dickinson
- Mandan
- Bismarck
- Jamestown
- Valley City
- Fargo
Minnesota
- Moorhead
- Fergus Falls
- Alexandria
- St. Cloud
- Minneapolis
- Saint Paul
Wisconsin
- Eau Claire
- Madison
- Waukesha
- Milwaukee (East-West Freeway, North-South Freeway)
- Racine
- Kenosha
Illinois
Also known as the Tri-State Tollway, Edens Expressway, Kennedy Expressway, Dan Ryan Expressway, Bishop Ford Freeway and Kingery Expressway
- Waukegan
- Highland Park
- Skokie
- Chicago
- Calumet City
Indiana
Also known as the Borman Expressway
- Hammond
- Gary
- Portage
- Michigan City
Michigan
Also known as the Willow Run Freeway, Detroit Industrial Freeway and Edsel Ford Freeway
- Benton Harbor
- Kalamazoo
- Battle Creek
- Marshall
- Jackson
- Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Ypsilanti
- Dearborn
- Detroit
- Port Huron [http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/reports/routefinder/table1.htm]
Intersections with other Interstates
- Interstate 90 in Billings, Montana
- Interstate 29 in Fargo, North Dakota
- Interstate 35W in Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Interstate 35E in St. Paul, Minnesota; joined for .27 miles (.43 km)
- Interstate 90 in Tomah, Wisconsin; joined for 91.76 miles (147.67 km), until Madison, Wisconsin.
- Interstate 39 at Portage, Wisconsin. They stay joined for 30 miles (48 km).
- Interstate 43 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Interstate 90 in Chicago, Illinois; joined for 15.39 miles (24.77 km).
- Interstate 290 in Chicago, Illinois
- Interstate 55 in Chicago, Illinois
- Interstate 57 in Chicago, Illinois
- Interstate 80 in Lansing, Illinois; stay joined for 18.53 miles (29.82 km) until Lake Station, Indiana.
- Interstate 65 in Gary, Indiana
- Interstate 90 in Lake Station, Indiana
- Interstate 196 near Benton Harbor, Michigan
- Interstate 69 in Marshall, Michigan
- Interstate 275 in Romulus, Michigan
- Interstate 96 in Detroit, Michigan
- Interstate 75 in Detroit, Michigan
- Interstate 696 in Roseville, Michigan
- Interstate 69 in Port Huron, Michigan [http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/reports/routefinder/table1.htm]
Spur routes
- Bismarck, North Dakota - I-194 (unsigned)
- Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota - I-394, I-494, I-694
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin - I-794, I-894
- Chicago, Illinois - I-294 (Tri-State Tollway)
- Battle Creek, Michigan - I-194
Interchanges from west to east
Montana
Wisconsin
Lane configurations
- Between Port Huron, MI and Chesterfield Township, MI (2 lanes on each side)
- Between Chesterfield Township and US 23 (3+ lanes on each side)
- Between US 23 and Michigan State Highway 14 (2 lanes on each side)
- Between Michigan State Highway 14 and c. milepost 166 (3 lanes on each side)
- Between milepost 166 and Interstate 196 (2+ lanes on each side)
- Between Interstate 196 and Indiana state line (3 lanes on each side)
Interstate 94 in Indiana is a shorter stretch of highway that still maintains at least 6 through lanes from Illinois to Michigan.
- As part of the Borman Expressway -- 6 lanes as of 2005 (3x3). Construction is currently underway to expand this section to 8 lanes (4x4).
- East of the Interstate 80/Interstate 90 intersection to the Michigan state line -- 6 lanes (3x3)
Interstate 94 runs through downtown Chicago, resulting in some odd lane configurations:
From north to south:
- Wisconsin state line to Edens Spur -- 6 lanes (3x3) -- 8 by 2008/2010
- Tri-State Tollway (Interstate 294) to Skokie Highway (U.S. Highway 41), also known as the Edens Spur -- 4 lanes (2x2)
- Edens Spur Ramp to/from Edens Expressway -- 2 lanes westbound, 1 lane eastbound
- Skokie Highway to Kennedy Expressway (Interstate 90) -- 6 lanes (3x3)
- Kennedy Expressway at the Junction to Ohio Street -- 10 lanes (2 reversible, 4 westbound, 4 eastbound)
- Ohio Street to Eisenhower Expressway (Interstate 290) -- 10 lanes (5 westbound, 5 eastbound)
- At the Eisenhower Expressway -- 6 lanes (3 westbound, 3 eastbound)
- From the Eisenhower Expressway to the Stevenson Expressway (Interstate 55) -- 10 lanes (5 eastbound, 5 westbound)
The following sections are being expanded as of 2005 to make ramps safer and to have consistent amounts of lanes:
- From the Stevenson Expressway to the 47th Avenue Slip -- 14 lanes (4x4 express, 3x3 local)
- Between the 47th Avenue and 51st Avenue Slip Ramps -- 14 lanes (3x3 express, 4x4 local)
- 51st Avenue to the Chicago Skyway (Interstate 90) -- 12 lanes (4x4 express, 2x2 local), expanding to 14 by 2007.
- Chicago Skyway to Interstate 57 -- 8 lanes (4x4)
The following sections have no expansion plans:
- Ramps to/from Bishop Ford Expressway -- 4 lanes (2x2), with 6 lanes (3x3) between Michigan Avenue and Cottage Grove Avenue
- Cottage Grove Avenue to Tri-State Tollway and Interstate 80 -- 6 lanes (3x3)
The following sections are being expanded as of 2005 to widen ramps and through lanes, primarily for the Tri-State Tollway:
- Ramps to/from Kingery Expressway -- 4 lanes (2x2)
- Bishop Ford Expressway to Indiana state line -- 6 lanes (3x3), expanding to 8 by 2006.
- Three lanes each way from Minnesota border to Exit 4 (US 12)
- Two lanes each way from exit #4 to junction with Interstate 90
- Together with I-90, two lanes each way until junction with Interstate 39 (I-90/94 unified exit #108)
- Together with I-39/90, three lanes each way until suburban Madison
- 3+ lanes each way through suburban Madison
- Departs from I-39/90 at unified I-39/90 exit #138A as I-94 exit #240, thence two lanes each way east to exit #290 near Pewaukee
- 3 lanes each way from exit #290 to exit #294 near Pewaukee.
- 3+ lanes each way through suburbs and city of Milwaukee.
- South from suburban Milwaukee, 3 lanes each way to Illinois border
- 3 lanes in both directions from North Dakota border to US-75 (Moorhead).
- 2 lanes in both directions from US-75 to MN-101 (Rogers).
- 3 lanes in both directions from MN-101 to I-494 (Maple Grove).
- 4 lanes eastbound between I-494 and US 169, 4 lanes westbound between Boone Avenue and Hemlock Lane (Brooklyn Park).
- 3 lanes each direction from Boone Ave to Brooklyn Blvd.
- 4 lanes each direction between Brooklyn Blvd to I-94 split from I-694.
- 2 lanes each direction transitioning from I-694 mainline to I-94 mainline.
- 4 lanes in both directions from I-694/MN-252 to Dowling Avenue (Minneapolis).
- 5 lanes (with the exception of 4 under Broadway bridge) in both directions from Dowling Avenue to I-394/US-12/Lyndale/Hennepin Aves.
- 3 lanes westbound, 2 lanes eastbound until Lowry Hill Tunnel.
- 3 lanes each direction from Lowry Hill tunnel to MN-280 (Saint Paul).
- 4 lanes (with the exception of 3 under Snelling Avenue bridge) each direction from MN-280 to I-35E.
- 3 lanes each direction from I-35E to White Bear Avenue, with short segment of 5 lanes each direction between US 10/61 and Mounds Blvd.
- 2 lanes each direction from White Bear Avenue to MN-120 (being expanded to 3 lanes in each direction).
- 3 lanes each direction from MN-120 to Wisconsin border.
- 2 lanes in each direction through most of the state, 3 lanes in each direction in some urban sections.
- 2 lanes each direction from western terminus at I-90 to North Dakota border
Notes
- Interstate 94 is the only east-west interstate to form a direct connection into a foreign country (Canada). No such interstate ends at the U.S.-Mexico border. At Port Huron, I-94 crosses the Blue Water Bridge into Sarnia, Ontario and becomes Highway 402, which can be used by motorists going to Toronto.
- Through much of Michigan, Interstate 94 follows the route of Old U.S. Highway 12. In the 1990s Michigan set up an "emergency Interstate" system. This system is designed as a permanent set of detours for Interstates in case an impassable problem occurs on the Interstates (in the case of I-94 in this area, the problem is usually very heavy lake effect snow in the winter months and construction in the summer)
- Through North Dakota, Interstate 94 follows the route once taken by U.S. Highway 10 west from Fargo.
- Interstate 494 was originally planned to serve as a loop in Chicago, Illinois and follow Lake Shore Drive along Lake Michigan. After local opposition prevented I-494 from being completed, the number was completely dropped. Portions of the old I-494 exist as US 41/Lake Shore Drive.
- The I-494/I-694 loop in the Twin Cities has a speed limit of 60 mph (95 km/h) in most places. All highways within the loop are 55 mph (90 km/h), and Minnesota highways outside the loop can go up to 65 mph (100 km/h); 70 mph (110 km/h) if they are Interstate highways.
- 40 miles (64 km) north of the Twin Cities near Otsego, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) operates the Minnesota Road Research Facility, which studies the effect of traffic on various road surface types. Westbound traffic is redirected onto 3.5 miles (5.5 km) of pavement outfitted with thousands of sensors. There is a straight-through bypass (the original highway) that can be used when researchers are examining the road up close.
- The stretch from Portage, Wisconsin to Madison, Wisconsin in which I-94 runs concurrently with I-39 and I-90 is the longest such stretch of three interstates in the country.
- U.S. 52 follows I-94 from St. Paul, Minnesota to Bismarck, North Dakota. It is very poorly signed in Minnesota, but is signed very well on maps and in North Dakota.
- Some parts of I-94 in Illinois are still signed North and South, especially along the Tri-State Tollway. This is because Interstate 94's alignment between Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois is north-south. Most signs on the mainline have been replaced with East-West signage in recent years, as of 2005.
Recent news
- As of 2005; I-94 is undergoing rehabilitation in and around the Detroit area according to MDOT.
- Also as of 2005, the I-94 bridge over the Crow River near Saint Michael, Minnesota, about 35 miles northwest of Minneapolis, is being reconstructed. As well, I-94 in downtown St. Paul between Minnesota State Highway 120 and McKnight Road is being widened from two to four lanes.
References
- 2005 Rand McNally "The Road Atlas 2005"
External links
- [http://www.michiganhighways.org/listings/MichHwys90-99.html#I-094 Interstate 94] at Michigan Highways
- [http://www.wisconsinhighways.org/listings/WiscHwys90-99.html#I-094 Interstate 94] at Wisconsin Highways
- [http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/reports/routefinder/table1.htm Interstate highway distances] from the United States Department of Transportation
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Minneapolis-St. Paul:"Twin Cities" (note capitalization) redirects here. This article is about the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. For the generic term, see Twin cities.
Twin cities
The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul and the surrounding area is the most highly-populated area in Minnesota and the 15th-largest metropolitan area in the United States as of the 2000 census. Minneapolis is the largest city in the state, and nearby St. Paul is the second largest and also the capital of Minnesota. There are many other places around the world that are considered twin cities, but Minneapolis-St. Paul is one of the best known. Today, the two cities directly border each other, although this was not always true. The downtown districts are about 10 miles (16 km) apart.
The region
downtown
The U.S. Census Bureau defines the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington Metropolitan Statistical Area (locals do not consider Bloomington to be a major city but a very large suburb) as a region of thirteen counties in both Minnesota and neighboring Wisconsin, an area which had a population of nearly three million people (2,968,805) in 2000. It is a rapidly growing area, estimates guess the population will increase to four million in 20 years. However, many people refer to an older seven-county area entirely within Minnesota when talking about the Twin Cities region. Many government actions in the 7-county region are coordinated by the Metropolitan Council. It is common for out-state Minnesotans to refer to the area as the Cities or the metro. Three out of five state residents live in the Twin Cities region, although less than one in four people in the metro live in the two core cities.
Bloomington, Minnesota, home of the Mall of America, is the third-largest city in the metro area and is in close contention for third place in the entire state, coming in at just about the same size as Duluth and Rochester in the 2000 census.
There are multiple "rings" of suburbs extending outward from the core area, and having two central cities can make it difficult for visitors or new residents to learn the arrangement of cities and towns. There are 188 municipalities in the seven-county region alone, and there are 334 in the thirteen-county region.
Minneapolis and St. Paul have competed for attention ever since they were founded, sometimes resulting in a fair amount of duplication of effort (both have major league teams, though in differing sports -- this is a debatable point, however, as these sports teams are all named for Minnesota, not the cities that house their respective stadiums). The two cities have sometimes tried to outdo one another by building bigger or more extravagantly. While old rivalries have largely faded into the past, new sparring matches occasionally begin.
Culture
The Twin Cities area is considered a capital for the arts in the Upper Midwest, the lead region among others such as the Twin Ports (Duluth, Minnesota-Superior, Wisconsin), Madison, Wisconsin and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There is a very high per-capita attendance of theatrical, musical, and comedy events across the area, which some believe may be boosted by the cold winters but can be more realistically attributed to the large number of colleges, universities, and a generally strong economy, providing strong supply and demand for arts. In 2000, 2.3 million theater tickets were sold in the region.
Musicians from all genres have gained notoriety over the years, with the singing Andrews Sisters gaining worldwide prominence during World War II, followed most notably by Hibbing, MN native Bob Dylan (who launched his career playing free shows on the West Bank of the University of Minnesota Minneapolis campus), to the rise of punk rockers Hüsker Dü, Soul Asylum and the Replacements, and the rhythm and blues stylings of Morris Day and the Time and Prince in the 1980s.
These later sources brought the Minneapolis music scene to national attention; the period from about 1977 to 1987 was a period of incredible dynamism in the Minneapolis music scene, with offshoots in the punk scene including Soul Asylum, Babes in Toyland, the Clams and many other seminal favorites, while Prince's immense power in the industry (which peaked during this period) created a Rhythm and Blues mini-empire at his Paisley Park Studios, based in suburban Chanhassen.
While contemporary local artists continue to enjoy critical acclaim (such as hip-hop group Atmosphere and commercial success (pop-rockers Semisonic), things have slowed considerably - but the Twin Cities are still the region's musical hotbed. The area has also shown an unusual affinity for certain artists. For instance, in the 1990s the Twin Cities accounted for majority of national sales for Soul Coughing's second album Irresistible Bliss during its first eight weeks of release.
Minnesota and Wisconsin have also contributed significantly to comedy in its many different forms. Ole and Lena jokes can't be fully appreciated unless delivered in the sing-songy accent of Scandinavian-Americans, and Garrison Keillor is known around the country for resurrecting the old-style radio comedy with A Prairie Home Companion. Local television had the satirical show The Bedtime Nooz in the 1960s, while area natives Lizz Winstead and Craig Kilborn helped create the increasingly influential Daily Show decades later. Joel and Ethan Coen have produced many films featuring dark comedy, and numerous others brought the offbeat cult shows Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Let's Bowl to the national cable-waves from the Twin Cities.
There are a number of lakes in the region, and cities in the area have some very extensive park systems for recreation. Some studies have shown that area residents take advantage of this, and are among the most physically fit in the country, though others have disputed that. Nonetheless, medicine is a major industry in the region and the southeasterly city of Rochester, as the University of Minnesota has joined other colleges and hospitals in doing significant research, and major medical device manufacturers started in the region (the most prominent is Medtronic). Technical innovators have brought important advances in computing, including the Cray line of supercomputers.
It is common for residents of the Twin Cities area to own or share cabins and other properties along lakes and forested areas in the central and northern regions of the state, and weekend trips "up to the lakes" or "to the cabin" happen through the warmer months. Ice fishing is also a major pastime in the winter, although each year some overambitious fishermen find themselves in dangerous situations when they venture out onto the ice too early. Hunting, snowmobiling, and numerous other outdoor activities are also popular. This connectedness with the outdoors also brings a strong sense of environmentalism to many Minnesotans.
Minneapolis-Saint Paul is also a major center for religion in the state, especially Christianity. The headquarters of the missionary efforts of no fewer than three churches for the state are found here: The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota and the Presbyterian Synod of Lakes and Prairies find themselves in, respectively, Saint Paul and Minneapolis; Minneapolis; and Bloomington. In non-Christian traditions, the Twin Cities have always been home to several Jewish synogogues, with influxes of immigrants in recent years bringing many religions once thought foreign to find their home in the fertile soil of the Mississippi River Valley.
Six major-league professional sports teams make their home in Minneapolis-St. Paul: the Minnesota Twins (1961–present, named after the Twin Cities), Minnesota Vikings (1961–present, named in honor of the Scandinavian heritage of the area), Minnesota Timberwolves (1989–present, Minnesota being the only state in the Lower 48 that never lost its native timberwolf population), Minnesota Wild (2000–present, named for Minnesota's northern wilderness), and Minnesota Swarm (2005–present) . Some other sports teams gained their names from being in Minnesota. The Los Angeles Lakers get their name from once being based in Minneapolis, the "City of Lakes" (Minnesota is also known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes"). The Dallas Stars got their name from being a Minnesota team, the North Stars, as Minnesota is also known as "The North Star State". The Twin Cities Marathon is held in the fall.The Twin cities also has a WNBA team the Minnesota Lynx also named for a wild animal that lives in the northern part of the state.
It is also worth noting that Minnesota has among the largest populations of Hmong and Somali residents. More research is needed to fill out this paragraph, but these large segments of Twin City culture richly deserve to be mentioned.
History
The European settlement in the region was near Stillwater, Minnesota, although it is some distance from the core of the Twin Cities. It lies on the western bank of the St. Croix River, which forms the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin at that point. White settlements in the core area can largely be traced back to Fort Snelling, which was constructed from 1820 to 1825 at the confluence of the Minnesota River and the Mississippi River.
A series of settlements that were precursors to the cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis formed a few miles away from the fort along the Mississippi. The villages leading to the creation of St. Paul went by a number of different names, including Pig's Eye and Lambert's Landing.
Fort Snelling held jurisdiction over the land south of Saint Anthony Falls, so a town known as Saint Anthony sprung up just north of the river. For several years, the only resident to live on the south bank of the river at that point was Colonel John H. Stevens, who operated a ferry service across the river. As soon as the land area controlled by Fort Snelling was reduced, new settlers began flocking across to a new village of Minneapolis. The town grew quickly, and Minneapolis and Saint Anthony eventually merged.
The Grand Excursion, a trip into the Upper Midwest sponsored by the Rock Island Railroad, brought more than a thousand curious travelers into the area by rail and steamboat in 1854. The next year, in 1855, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow published The Song of Hiawatha, an epic poem based on the Ojibway legends of Hiawatha. A number of natural area landmarks were included in the story, such as Lake Minnetonka and Minnehaha Falls. Tourists inspired by the coverage of the Grand Excursion in eastern newspapers and those who read Longfellow's story flocked to the area in the following decades.
Tourists
The area used to have a lot of passenger rail service, both interurban streetcar systems and fairly high speed interstate rail. For a time, the Minneapolis-St. Paul area was one of the few places where the Mississippi could be crossed by railroads, as the river was too wide to cross by bridge at points farther south. A great amount of rail traffic once rumbled through the area, often carrying grain to be processed at mills in Minneapolis or other goods to St. Paul to be transported along the Mississippi. St. Paul had long been at the head of navigation on the river, until new lock and dam facilities were added upriver.
Passenger travel hit an early peak—eight million people went through St. Paul Union Depot in 1888, a year when about 150 trains came and went daily. Before long, other crossings were built farther south, so travel through the region to the west declined. In an effort to combat the rise of the automobile, some of the earliest streamliners ran from Chicago, Illinois to Minneapolis and St. Paul, eventually running out to distant points in the Pacific Northwest. Today, the only vestige of this interstate service comes by Amtrak's Empire Builder service, running once daily in each direction. The line is named after James J. Hill, a railroad tycoon who settled on Summit Avenue in St. Paul at what is now known as the James J. Hill House.
Transportation
Roads and highways
In the 20th century, the Twin Cities area expanded outward significantly. Automobiles made it possible for suburbs to grow greatly. The area now has a number of freeways to transport people by car. The area incorporates a large number of traffic cameras and ramp meters to monitor and manage traffic congestion. There is some use of high-occupancy vehicle (carpool) lanes, though it is not as pervasive as in other regions. When the roads do become congested, buses are allowed to drive on road shoulders to bypass traffic jams.
Interstate 94 comes into the area from the east and heads northwest from Minneapolis. Two spur routes form the I-494/I-694 loop, and I-394 continues west when I-94 turns north. Additionally, Interstate 35 splits in the southern part of the Twin Cities region, bringing I-35E into St. Paul and I-35W into Minneapolis. They join together again to the north and continue to the highway's terminus in Duluth.
I-35W
Other major highways in the area include:
- Minnesota State Highway 5 (West 7th Street)
- Minnesota State Highway 13 (Sibley Memorial Highway)
- Minnesota State Highway 36
- Minnesota State Highway 47 (University Avenue)
- Minnesota State Highway 51 (Snelling Avenue)
- Minnesota State Highway 55 (Olson Memorial Highway / Hiawatha Avenue)
- Minnesota State Highway 62 (Crosstown Highway, usually referred to as "the Crosstown")
- Minnesota State Highway 65 (Central Avenue)
- Minnesota State Highway 77 (Cedar Freeway)
- Minnesota State Highway 95 (Stillwater to near Saint Cloud)
- Minnesota State Highway 100 (Belt Line Highway)
- Minnesota State Highway 110
- Minnesota State Highway 252
- Minnesota State Highway 280
- Minnesota State Highway 610 (North Crosstown)
- U.S. Highway 10
- U.S. Highway 12
- U.S. Highway 52 (Lafayette Freeway)
- U.S. Highway 61
- U.S. Highway 169 (Mendelson Highway)
- U.S. Highway 212
Air travel
U.S. Highway 212
The main airport in the region is Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP), which is the main hub for Northwest Airlines. A number of other smaller airports are also in the area, a number of which are owned and operated by the Metropolitan Airports Commission (the same organization operates the main MSP airport). Some people even commute by air to the Twin Cities from the northern part of the state.
Public transit
Metro Transit, by far the biggest bus service provider in the area, owes its existence to the old streetcar lines that ran in the area. Metro Transit provides about 95% of the public transit rides in the region, although some suburbs have other bus services. The Hiawatha Line light rail corridor began regular operations in June 2004, and is also run by Metro Transit. In many ways a return to what existed in the past, it is being used as a stepping-stone to other projects.
A variety of rail services are currently being pondered by state and local governments, including neighborhood streetcar systems, intercity light rail service, and commuter rail options out to exurban communities. In addition, Minnesota is one of several states in the Midwest examining the idea of setting up high-speed rail service using Chicago as a regional hub.
Media
Main article: Media in the Twin Cities
Print
The Twin Cities have two major newspapers: the Star Tribune and the Saint Paul Pioneer Press. Additionally, the Minnesota Daily serves the University of Minnesota's Twin Cities campus and surrounding neighborhoods. A number of other weekly papers (most of which are fully supported by advertising) are also available.
Television
The region is currently ranked as the 13th or 14th largest television market, depending on the source. Area broadcasters include the following; each analog station is also broadcast in ATSC digital television on the -1 subchannel, except where noted:
- KTCA Channel 2 (PBS) (KTCI-DT Channel 17-1)
- WCCO Channel 4 (CBS)
- KSTP Channel 5 (ABC)
- KMSP Channel 9 (Fox)
- KARE Channel 11 (NBC)
- KTCI Channel 17 (PBS) (KTCI-DT Channel 17-2)
- KMWB Channel 23 (WB)
- WFTC Channel 29 (UPN)
- KPXM Channel 41 (i)
- KSTC Channel 45 (Independent)
- KTCA-DT TPT-HD Channel 2-1 (PBS-HD)
- KSTP-DT News Channel 5-2
- KARE-DT Wx Channel 11-2
- KTCI-DT TPTyou Channel 17-3, TPT-Kids Channel 17-4, TPT-Wx Channel 17-5
Twin Cities Public Television operates both KTCA and KTCI. Hubbard Broadcasting Corporation owns KSTP and has a second TV station, KSTC, which is not affiliated with any network. KMSP and WFTC have now merged as well, and KARE currently has a marketing agreement with KPXM. The only station with its main studios in Minneapolis is WCCO, while St. Paul is host to KSTP/KSTC, KTCA/KTCI, and KMWB. Other stations are located in the suburbs. For much of the last two decades, KARE has had the most popular evening newscasts of the area channels. On the other end, KSTP has struggled to maintain ratings on its news programs. KMSP has had a 9 o'clock newscast since at least the early 1990s when it was an independent channel.
Communities in the region have their own public/educational/government-access cable television channels. One channel, the Metro Cable Network, is available on channel 6 on cable systems across the seven-county region.
Several television programs originating in the Twin Cities have been aired nationally on terrestrial and cable TV networks. KTCA created the science program Newton's Apple and distributes a children's program today. A few unusual comedic shows also originated in the area. In the 1980s, KTMA (predecessor to KMWB) created a number of low-budget shows, including cult classic Mystery Science Theater 3000. The shortlived Let's Bowl started on KARE, and PBS series Mental Engineering originated on the St. Paul cable access network.
Radio
The radio market in the Twin Cities is considered to be somewhat smaller than for TV, ranked 16th. The area lineup includes:
- KUOM 770 AM/106.5 FM ("Radio K", college rock)
- WCCO 830 AM ("The Good Neighbor", talk)
- KFAN 1130 AM (sports)
- WWTC 1280 AM (talk) - conservative talk.
- KSTP 1500 AM (talk)
- KBEM 88.5 FM ("Jazz 88", jazz)
- Minnesota Public Radio KNOW 91.1 FM (talk), KSJN 99.5 FM (classical), and KCMP 89.3 ("The Current", freeform)
- KFAI 90.3 FM Minneapolis, 106.7 FM St. Paul ("Fresh Air Radio", community radio / freeform)
- KQRS 92.5 FM ("KQ92", classic rock)
- KXXR 93.7 FM ("93X", rock, heavy metal)
- KSTP 94.5 FM ("KS95", 80s, 90s, contemporary)
- KTTB 96.3 FM ("B96", hip hop)
- KTCZ 97.1 FM ("Cities 97", adult alternative)
- KTIS 98.5 FM (Contemporary Christian)
- KJZI 100.3 FM ("Smooth Jazz 100.3", smooth jazz). In Autumn, 2005, station owner Clear Channel Communications plans to convert KJZI to a talk format.
- KEEY 102.1 FM (K102, country)
- KDWB 101.3 FM (Top 40)
- WLTE 102.9 FM ("102.9 Lite FM", adult contemporary)
- KZJK 104.1 FM ("JACK" FM, adult contemporary)
- WGVX 105.1/WGVY 105.3/WGVZ 105.7 FM ("Drive 105", adult alternative)
- KQQL 107.9 ("Kool 108", oldies)
- KTNF - Liberal talk
For decades, WCCO radio was the most well-known and most popular broadcaster in the region, with an all-day talk format. WCCO was eventually pushed out of the top spot by KQRS, a classic rock station with a popular morning show.
KSTP also has some fairly popular radio stations, with pop music format on FM and a talk format on AM. KSTP-AM and FM are owned by Hubbard Broadcasting. It's a sign of the amalgamating, deregulated times that in 1985, Hubbard - valued at $400 million - was one of the big corporate media companies in the United States; in 2005, valued at US $1.2 billion, Hubbard is a fairly small major-market media operation.
Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) is also a major force in the state and across the country, best known across the U.S. for the variety show A Prairie Home Companion. Based in St. Paul, MPR is reportedly the nation's second-most powerful public radio organization behind National Public Radio (of which MPR is an affiliate).
Geography and geology
National Public Radio (IR photo)]]
Along with much of Minnesota, the Twin Cities area was shaped by water and ice over the course of millions of years. The land of the area sits on top of thick layers of sandstone and limestone laid down as seas encroached upon and receded from the region. Erosion caused natural caves to develop, which were expanded into mines when white settlers came to the area. In the time of Prohibition, at least one speakeasy was built into these hidden spaces—eventually refurbished as the Wabasha Street Caves in St. Paul.
While a few of the caverns have been cleaned up and are safe places, most are not. Over the decades, many people have been injured and killed while exploring them. A number of these incidents involved asphyxiation, sometimes caused by smoldering fires which used up much of the oxygen in the caves and left deadly levels of noxious gases behind.
Because it is comparatively easy to dig through limestone and there are many natural and man-made open spaces, it has often been proposed that the area should examine the idea of building subways for public transportation. In theory, it could be less expensive in the Twin Cities than in many other places, but the cost would still be much greater than surface projects. Additionally, a number of existing utility lines would have to be moved. There are extensive networks under the cities, particularly St. Paul where at least seven distinct tunnel systems have been built since the 1840s. Most are still used today.
Lakes across the area were formed and altered by the movement of glaciers. This left many bodies of water in the region, and unusual shapes may appear. For example, Lake Minnetonka out toward the western side of the Twin Cities consists of a complex arrangement of channels and large bays.
Of the major U.S. metropolitan areas, Minneapolis-St. Paul is farther north than all but Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon.
Climate
Owing to its northerly latitude and inland location, the Twin Cities experience a relatively harsh climate, though not as much so as in most other parts of the state, partially due to the urban heat island effect.
The average annual temperature at the Minneapolis International Airport is 45.4° F. Monthly average daily high temperatures range from 21.9° F in January to 83.3° in July; the average daily minimum temperatures for the two months are 4.3° and 63.0° respectively.
Minimum temperatures of 0° F (-18° C) or lower are seen on an average of 29.7 days per year; 76.2 days do not have a maximum temperature exceeding the freezing point. Temperatures above 90° F (32° F) are reported on 15, according to the same climatic threshold normals. Those above 100° F have been rare in recent years, the last occurring in 1995. The lowest temperature ever reported at the station was -34° F on January 22, 1936; the highest, 108°, was reported on July 14 of the same year.[http://mcc.sws.uiuc.edu/climate_midwest/historical/temp/mn/215435_tsum.html]
Precipitation averages 29.41" a year, and is most plentiful in June (4.34") and February (0.79") the least so.
The greatest one-day rainfall amount was 9.15", reported on July 23, 1987. The city's record for lowest annual precipitation was set in 1910, when 11.54" fell throughout the year; interestingly, the opposite record was set the following year, which observed a total 40.15".[http://mcc.sws.uiuc.edu/climate_midwest/historical/precip/mn/215435_psum.html]
At an average of 56.3 inches per year, snowfall is generally abundant (though some recent years have proved an exception).[http://mcc.sws.uiuc.edu/climate_midwest/historical/snow/mn/215435_ssum.html]
A normal growing season in the metro extends from late April or early May through the month of October.[http://mcc.sws.uiuc.edu/climate_midwest/historical/grow/mn/215435_gsum.html] The USDA places the area in the 4a plant hardiness zone. [http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/hzm-nm1.html]
Buildings and structures
The tallest buildings in the area are located in downtown Minneapolis. The first skyscraper built west of the Mississippi in 1929 was the Foshay Tower. Today there is some contention over exactly which building is the tallest—most Minnesotans would immediately think of the IDS Center if queried on the point, although most sources seem to agree that 225 South Sixth is slightly taller. But in early 2005, it was found that the IDS Center is taller by a 16-foot washroom garage on top, which brings its total height to 792 feet (241 m). 225 South Sixth and the Wells Fargo Center only differ in height by a foot or two, a rather negligible amount when considering all of the factors that can throw off the measurement of large structures. The IDS has communications towers that definitely are the highest points in Minneapolis, though some suburban broadcast towers in the region reach a much greater height.
Buildings have gone up and been torn down rapidly across the region. Some city blocks have been demolished six or seven times since the mid-19th century, and will undoubtedly reach an eighth or ninth cycle in short order. No single architectural style dominates the region. Instead, the cities have a mish-mash of different designs, although structures from a few eras stand out. There were once a great many stone buildings constructed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style (or at least Romanesque-inspired variants). Minneapolis City Hall is one big example of this, though buildings of all types—including personal residences such as that of James J. Hill—were similarly designed. A few decades later, Art Deco brought several structures that survive today, including St. Paul City Hall, the Foshay Tower, and the Minneapolis Post Office.
St. Paul and Minneapolis in particular went through some massive urban renewal projects in the post-World War II era, so a vast number of buildings are now lost to history. Some of the larger and harder to demolish structures have survived. In fact, the area might be signified more by bridges than buildings. A series of reinforced concrete arch spans crossing the Mississippi River were built in the 1920s and 1930s. They still carry daily traffic, but remain pleasing to the eye despite their age (a number have undergone major repair work, but retain the original design). Several of the bridges are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. They include the Cedar Avenue Bridge, Intercity Bridge (Ford Parkway), Robert Street Bridge, and the longest, the 4119 ft (1255 m) Mendota Bridge next to Fort Snelling. The area is also noted for having the first known permanent crossing of the Mississippi. That structure is long gone, but a series of Hennepin Avenue Bridges have been built since then at the site.
Both downtowns have extensive networks of enclosed pedestrian bridges known as skyways. Individually, the cities appear to have the largest such networks outside of Canada. However, the combination of the two cities' networks is believed to make the largest system in the world. Skyways have their drawbacks however. Most prominently, they reduce the amount of foot traffic at street level, so the cities appear to have little activity. An additional problem is that the skyways tend to be closed fairly early—especially in St. Paul—but they are hives of activity on weekdays.
Honors
The United States Navy currently has one ship named for the region, the USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul, a Los Angeles-class submarine launched in 1983. Previously, two sets of two ships each had carried the names USS Minneapolis and USS Saint Paul.
External links
- [http://www.mnplan.state.mn.us/demography/FactSheets/MSACompare/ Fact sheet about Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Area Comparison]
- [http://www.crh.noaa.gov/mpx/history/index.php History of the National Weather Service in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota]
Category:Cities in Minnesota
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Category:Twin cities
Category:Metropolitan areas of the United States
Interstate 494
Interstate 494 is part of a beltway of Interstate 94, circling through the southern and western portions of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area in Minnesota. The 43-mile (69 km) road is coupled with Interstate 694 (which goes to the north) at each end, and composes more than half of the major beltway of the region. This is apparently the only interstate highway loop in the United States that has separately-numbered sections (the Twin Cities region is also unusual for having an east/west-split in Interstate 35). I-494 and I-694 also act as loop routes for Interstate 35E and Interstate 35W.
The highway has a few intersections with other interstates:
- Interstate 94 and I-694 in Woodbury/Oakdale
- Interstate 35E in Mendota Heights, Minnesota
- Interstate 35W in Bloomington, Minnesota
- Interstate 394 in Minnetonka, Minnesota
- Interstate 94/I-694 (twinned) in Maple Grove, Minnesota
Exit numbering is unusual in that it begins at the Minnesota River heading westbound (between Bloomington and Mendota Heights), and continues clockwise around the entire beltway. The last exit is #71 to Pilot Knob Road. The most significant landmark on the length of I-494 is the Mall of America, just south of the intersection of I-494 and Minnesota State Highway 77.
For the most part, the speed limit is 60 miles per hour (96.6 km/h). Interstate highways outside of the loop in Minnesota may be signed as high as 70 mph (112.7 km/h). Within the loop, most highways are signed at speeds of 55 mph or lower, though a few exceptions were added in September 2005, allowing speeds of up to 60 mph in some places. Those roads had been signed at 60 mph or higher up until the gasoline crises of the 1970s.
Construction on the road first began in the late 1950s, and it was finally completed by about 1985. Upgrades continue to be made to widen the road to at least three lanes in each direction, including construction of the Wakota Bridge (named because it connects Washington County and Dakota County) over the Mississippi River. Also a major reconstruction/widening project is underway between Minnesota State Highway 5 West/U.S. Highway 212 East (Exits 11B and C) and Carlson Parkway (Exit 20).
References
- Adam Froehlig (November 22, 2003). [http://www.ajfroggie.com/roadpics/mn-ends/i494.htm Interstate Highway 494.] Minnesota State Highway Endings. Accessed May 17, 2005.
- Steve Riner (December 27, 2004). [http://steve-riner.com/mnhighways/r288-694.htm#494 Details of Routes 288-694.] Accessed May 17, 2005.
- [http://www.interstate-guide.com/i-494_mn.html Interstate 494 Minnesota.] Interstate-Guide.com. Accessed May 17, 2005.
94-4
94-4
KilometerA kilometre (American spelling: kilometer), symbol: km is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words χίλια (khilia) = thousand and μέτρο (metro) = count/measure). It is approximately equal to 0.621 miles, 1094 yards or 3281 feet.
Slang terms for kilometre include "klick" (sometimes spelt "click" or "klik") and "kay" (or "k"). All these slang terms can also refer to kilometres per hour.
Metric system
:Main articles: Metric system and Metre
Like the kilometre, all units of length in the metric system are based on the metre, by adding an SI prefix that stands for a power of ten, such as hecto for one hundred to form hectometre (= 0.1 kilometre) or mega for one million to form megametre (= 1,000 kilometre).
The metre is not only the basis for all units of length in the metric system, but also of units of area (the square metre) and volume (the cubic metre). This extends to the kilometre, so one can have square and cubic kilometres.
Unicode has symbols for "km" (㎞), for square kilometre (㎢) and for cubic kilometre (㎦); however, they are useful only in CJK texts, where they are equal in size to one Chinese character.
Pronunciation
In theory, the pronunciation of the word kilometre should have the stress placed on the first syllable, in line with other metric prefixes (as in kilogram, kilojoule and, analogous, kilobyte). However, pronunciation with the stress on the second syllable is usual in English.
See also
hectometre << kilometre << megametre
- Orders of magnitude, 1 E3 m
- SI, SI prefix
- mile, verst
Category:Units of length
ja:キロメートル
zh-min-nan:Kong-lí
simple:Kilometre
th:กิโลเมตร
BeltwayA beltway (American English), ring road or orbital motorway (British English) is a circumferential highway found around or within many cities.
Beltway, orbital motorway and similar terms refer to an expressway/motorway/freeway style standard road that often originally enclosed the built up area and was later encroached upon by developed areas.
Ring road may sometimes refer to a beltway-style road, but more commonly indicates a road or series of roads within a city or town that have been joined together by town planners to form an orbital distributor style road, but where the standard of road could be anything from an ordinary city street up to an expressway level. The principal difference is that a ring road is an orbital distributor road system designed from already existing roads, as opposed to a beltway which is designed from new as such a road system. A ring road designation also implies a more inner-city road designed to route traffic around a city centre, as opposed to routing traffic around a larger conurbation.
Some cities have proposed or built multiple concentric beltways and/or ring roads.
Many beltway-style roads are part of a wider highway system, for example in the United States beltways are commonly a part of an interstate highway system.
In the US, the slang word Beltway occasionally refers to politics conducted inside the Beltway in Washington, DC.
World List
South Africa has the most advanced road system of any African country. Most of the major cities' ring roads were built in the 1970s. Well constructed, they are on par with the best in the Western world.
- Johannesburg Ring Road
- Durban Outer Ring Road
- Peninsula Expressway, Cape Town
- Pretoria Bypass
- Alberta Highway 201, Calgary, Alberta
- Alberta Highway 216, Edmonton, Alberta
- Perimeter Highway, Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Nova Scotia Highway 111, Halifax, Nova Scotia/Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
- Nova Scotia Highway 125, Sydney, Nova Scotia
- Ring Road, Regina, Saskatchewan
- Circle Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
- Interstate 405, Los Angeles
- Interstate 225, Aurora
- E-470, Aurora
- Interstate 285 (The Perimeter), Atlanta
- Georgia Loop 120 (S./N. Marietta Parkway), Marietta
- Interstate 264 (Henry Watterson Expressway), Louisville
- Interstate 265 (Gene Snyder Freeway), Louisville
- Man o' War Road, Lexington
- Interstate 294, Chicago
- Interstate 465, Indianapolis
- Interstate 695 (Baltimore Beltway), Baltimore
- Massachusetts State Highway 128, Boston
- Interstate 495, Boston
- Interstate 494/Interstate 694, Minneapolis-St. Paul
- Interstate 435, Kansas City
- Interstate 255/Interstate 270, St. Louis
- Interstate 215 (Bruce Woodbury Expressway), Las Vegas
- Interstate 287, New York City
- Interstate 440, Raleigh
- Interstate 485, Charlotte (under construction)
- Interstate 540, Wake County (unfinished)
- Interstate 840, Greensboro (under construction)
- Interstate 270, Columbus
- Interstate 275, Cincinnati
- Pittsburgh/Allegheny County Belt System, Pittsburgh (set of six color-coded non-highway beltways)
- Interstate 576 (proposed), a proposed toll beltway route around Pittsburgh.
- Interstate 295, Providence
- Downtown Ring Roads, Providence
- Downtown Circulator, Pawtucket
- I-526, (Mark Clark Expressway), Charleston (unfinshed)
- Tennessee State Route 840, Nashville (unfinished)
- Interstate 410 (Loop 410), San Antonio
- Interstate 610 (The 610 Loop), Houston
- Interstate 820 (Loop 820), Fort Worth
- Texas State Highway Beltway 8 (Sam Houston Tollway), Houston
- Texas State Highway 99 (Grand Parkway), Houston(unfinished)
- Texas State Highway Loop 336, Conroe
- Texas State Highway Loop 1604, San Antonio
- Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway)
- 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Ring Roads, Beijing
- 1st, 2nd and 3rd Ring Roads, Chengdu
- Shenyang Round City Expressway, Shenyang
- Tangshan Round City Expressway, Tangshan
- Inner, Middle and Outer Ring Roads, Tianjin
Major Roads in Metro Manila
- C-1, Metro Manila
- C-2, Metro Manila
- C-3, Metro Manila
- EDSA(C-4), Metro Manila
- C-5, Metro Manila
- Proposed C-6, Metro Manila
- Inner Ring Road, Chennai
- Outer Ring Road, Chennai
- CRR, Bangalore Intermediate, and Bangalore Outer Ring Roads, Bangalore
- Delhi Ring Road and Delhi Outer Ring Road, New Delhi
- Mumbai Ring Road, comprising:
- Mumbai Western Freeway (western peripheral expressway)
- Calcutta Ring Road, comprising:
- Rajarhat Expressway (feeds the ring road)
- Barasat Bypass (northwestern orbital)
- Johor Bahru Inner Ring Road
- Johor Bahru Middle Ring Road, comprising:
- Pasir Gudang Highway
- Johor Bahru Parkway
- Tuas Second Link
- Kuala Lumpur Inner Ring Road
- Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 1
- Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 2
- Sydney Orbital Motorway, Sydney
- Brisbane Orbital, comprising:
- Gateway Motorway (eastern orbital)
- Logan Motorway (southern orbital)
- Western Bypass Motorway (proposed western orbital)
- Inner City Bypass (inner north ring road)
- Metropolitan Ring Road, Melbourne
- Geelong Ring Road, Geelong
- Perth Inner Orbital:
- Reid Highway (northern)
- Tonkin Highway (eastern)
- Leach Highway (southern)
- Perth Outer Orbital:
- Roe Highway (eastern)
- Roe Freeway (southern)
- Bunbury Ring Road (proposed outer bypass), Bunbury
- Gürtel (Outer Ring), Vienna
- Ringstrasse (Inner Ring), Vienna
- R0 (Brussels Ring), Brussels
- R1 (Antwerpse Ring), Antwerp
- Kehä I (Ring 1), encircling Helsinki through Espoo and Vantaa, for local traffic
- Kehä II (Ring 2), traffic loadout highway through Espoo, for local traffic
- Kehä III (Ring 3), bybass of Helsinki, part of E18, encircling Helsinki through Vantaa, Espoo and Kirkkonummi, for local traffic and long distance traffic
- Périphérique, Paris
- Berliner Ring (A 10), Berlin
- Kölner Ring, Cologne
- Attiki Odos, Athens
- Greece Interstate 4 (Thessalonike Beltway), Thessaloníke
- Greece Interstate 8A (Patras Beltway), Patras (Roitika to near University of Patras)
- Grande Raccordo Anulare, Rome
- Tangenziale, Milan
- Ring A10 Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Ring A20 Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands
- Obwodnica Trójmiejska, Tricity
- M50 motorway, Dublin
- MKAD, Moscow
- M30 motorway, Madrid, Spain
- M25 motorway, London, England
- M60 motorway, Manchester, England
source: http://kartta.hel.fi/opas/en/
See also
- Downtown circulator
Category:Road infrastructure
Category:Road transport
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Interstate Highway
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly called the Interstate Highway System, is a network of highways in the United States. The Interstate Highway System is a separate system within the larger National Highway System. With very few exceptions, Interstate highways are controlled-access freeways, allowing for safe high-speed driving when traffic permits. They are assigned a special level of funding at the federal level. Despite this federal funding, these highways are owned, designed, built and maintained by the state in which they are located, with the only exception being the federally-owned Woodrow Wilson Bridge on the Capital Beltway (I-95/I-495).
The highways in the system are typically known as Interstate XX or I-XX; sometimes Interstate Highway XX (IH XX) or Interstate Route XX (IR XX) is used. In some areas the more generic Route XX or Highway XX is used. The system serves all major U.S. cities, and unlike its counterparts in most industrialized countries, often goes right through downtown areas rather than bypassing them. This facilitated the emergence of automobile-oriented postwar suburban development patterns, often pejoratively referred to as "urban sprawl".
The system is prominent in the daily lives of most Americans. Virtually all goods and services are delivered via the Interstate Highways at some point. Many residents of American cities use the urban segments of the system to go to and from their jobs. Most long-distance journeys (for vacation or business) of less than 300 miles (500 km) use the interstate highway system at some point.
Hawaii has several signed Interstates, but Alaska and Puerto Rico do not. The latter two do have roads designated as Interstates for funding purposes, but they are not currently or planned to be built to Interstate standards. The public controlled-access highways of Puerto Rico are the Autopistas (PR-22, PR-52, and PR-53).
History
Autopistas
The interstate system was authorized by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, popularly known as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1956. It was lobbied for by major U.S. automobile manufacturers and championed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and was influenced by both his experiences as a young soldier crossing the country in 1919 following the route of the Lincoln Highway, and by his appreciation of the German autobahn network.
Planning for a system of new superhighways began in the late 1930s, even before federal commitment to build the Interstate highway system came in the 1950s. Construction on the world's first public limited-access highway, the Bronx River Parkway, had begun in New York as early as 1907. By the 1920s, longer highways such as the New York City parkway system had been built as part of local or state highway systems. As automotive traffic increased, planners saw a need for such an interconnected national system to supplement the existing, largely non-freeway, U.S. Highway system.The General location of national system of interstate highways, including all additional routes at urban areas designated in September, 1955 maps what became the interstate system, and is informally known as the Yellow Book.
Although construction on the Interstate Highway system continues, it was officially regarded as complete in 1991 (though 1.5 miles of the original planned system remain unconstructed as of 2005 [http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/programadmin/interstate.html]). The initial cost estimate for the system was $25 billion over twelve years; it ended up costing $114 billion, taking 35 years to complete. As of 2004, the system contains over 42,700 miles (68,500 km) of roads, all at least four lanes wide.
Standards
:Main article: Interstate Highway standards
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has defined a set of standards that all new Interstates must meet unless a waiver from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is obtained. These standards have become stricter over the years. One almost absolute standard is the controlled access nature of the roads. Except for a few exceptions, traffic lights (and cross traffic in general) are limited to toll booths and ramp meters (metered flow control for lane merging during rush hours).
Speed limits
Speed limits vary according to location. By initial planning, the Interstate system was designed to provide reasonable road safety at speeds of 75 to 80 miles per hour (120 to 130 km/h) except in limited stretches (such as steep mountain passes or urban cores) where many vehicles cannot maintain such speeds. Many western states had high speed limits. Kansas, for example, had a posted limit of 80 mph (130 km/h)[http://people.smu.edu/acambre/blog/PermaLink,guid,5575625c-bbd4-47a3-be9f-9d5517d3a06f.aspx]. Some states, such as Oregon, defined the limit as whatever was "reasonable and proper", which would not be allowed today (see Montana reference below).
In 1974, the federal government enacted 55 mph (90 km/h) as a gasoline conservation measure in response to the 1973 energy crisis. After the end of the embargo this restriction was continued as a safety measure. It was very unpopular, especially in western states. The 55 mph cap was relaxed in 1987 to allow 65 mph (105 km/h) speeds on rural Interstates if the states so chose. During this interim period, some roads (such as I-335 in Kansas) were specifically designated as Interstates to take advantage of this higher speed limit. Shortly thereafter, 65 mph limits were allowed on roads not numbered as interstates but which were built to interstate standards.
The 55/65 mph caps were eliminated in late 1995, fully returning speed limit control to the states.
Many states maintain several different limits. For example, in California, most interstates are limited to 55 mph within a major city, 65 mph (105 km/h) for most of the suburban highway stretches, and up to 70 mph (115 km/h) throughout the desert and rural stretches of the state. In some states, commercial trucks have a lower speed limit than passenger automobiles. In some mountainous regions, the condition of the roadway mandates a lower speed limit than would otherwise have applied.
While some states have maintained the 65 mph limit, other states have increased the limits to 70 or 75 mph (110 or 120 km/h). Generally, the highest speed limits are found in the South and Southwest, while the lowest are found in the Northeast. Soon after the end of the National Maximum Speed Limit, the state of Montana ended daytime speed limits for automobile traffic on Interstate Highways in the state, instead instructing motorists to maintain a "reasonable and prudent" speed. A few years later, the "reasonable and prudent" law was declared unconstitutional for being too vague and a limit of 75 mph (120 km/h) was enacted in its place.
Texas recently enacted a law allowing 80 MPH speed limits on certain portions of Interstates 10 and 20 in far west Texas. However, these limits are on hold pending further study by the Texas Department of Transportation.
Dual-purpose design
In addition to being designed to support automobile and heavy truck traffic, interstate highways are also designed for use in military and civil defense operations within the United States, particularly troop movements.
One potential civil defense use of the Interstate Highway System is for the emergency evacuation of cities in the event of a potential nuclear war. Although this use has never happened, the Interstate Highway System has been used to facilitate evacuations in the face of hurricanes and other natural disasters. An option for maximizing throughput is to reverse the flow of traffic on one side so that all lanes become outbound lanes. This procedure is known as Contraflow, and could be seen in the evacuations of New Orleans, Louisiana and Houston, Texas prior to hurricanes Katrina and Rita, respectively. Several Interstates in the South, including I-16 in Georgia, I-40 in North Carolina, I-65 in Alabama, I-10 & I-59 in Louisiana, and I-59 in Mississippi, are equipped and signed specifically for contraflow, with crossovers inland after major interchanges to distribute much of the traffic. This is however not limited to Interstates; US 49 from Gulfport to Jackson and State Road 528, in Central Florida, have the same setup.
A widespread but false urban legend states that one out of every five miles of the Interstate highway system must be built straight and flat, so as to be usable by aircraft during times of war.[http://www.tfhrc.gov/pubrds/mayjun00/onemileinfive.htm] However, the Germans in World War II used the Autobahns for just such a purpose.
Terminology
While the name implies that these highways cross state lines, many Interstates do not. Rather, it is the system of interstates that connects states. There are interstate highways in Hawaii, funded in the same way as in the other states, but entirely within the populous island of Oahu. They have the designation of H-X, and connect military bases. Similarly, both Alaska and Puerto Rico have public roads that receive funding from the Interstate program, though these routes are not signed as Interstate Highways.
Primary routes
The numbering scheme for the Interstate Highway System (as well as the U.S. Highway System) is coordinated by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), though their authority is occasionally trumped by a number written into Federal law. Within the continental United States, primary Interstates (also called main l | | |
