Everything about I-80 totally explained
Interstate 80 (abbreviated
I-80) is the second-longest
Interstate Highway in the
United States (after
I-90). It connects downtown
San Francisco, California to
Teaneck, New Jersey, a suburb of
New York City, just as the
Lincoln Highway did in the years before the Interstate Highway System. 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
Transcontinental Railroad from western Nebraska to San Francisco.
The highway from near
Chicago,
Illinois, east to near
Youngstown, Ohio, is a
toll road - the ticketed portion of the
Indiana Toll Road and the majority of the
Ohio Turnpike. At Youngstown I-80 leaves the tolled alignment, which continues toward
Pittsburgh and
Philadelphia, in favor of the
Keystone Shortway, a shortcut across northern Pennsylvania built as part of a new corridor for I-80. The tolled route to
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was originally designated
Interstate 80S, and is now
Interstate 76.
I-80 intersects I-90 near
Elyria, Ohio, and they share a route west 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. It is one of the most heavily traveled trans-continental interstates .
Route description
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CA
|199.24
|110.30
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|Total
|2902.51
|4671.13
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Major cities
Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs |
- San Francisco, California
- Oakland, California
- Berkeley, California
- Sacramento, California
- Reno, Nevada
- Battle Mountain, Nevada
- Elko, Nevada
- Salt Lake City, Utah
- Evanston, Wyoming
- Rock Springs, Wyoming
- Laramie, Wyoming
- Cheyenne, Wyoming
- Sidney, Nebraska
- North Platte, Nebraska
- Kearney, Nebraska
- Grand Island, Nebraska
- Lincoln, Nebraska
- Omaha, Nebraska
- Council Bluffs, Iowa
- Des Moines, Iowa
- Iowa City, Iowa
- Quad Cities, Iowa-Illinois (Eastbound Davenport, Iowa Westbound 'Moline-Rock Island, Illinois)
- Joliet, Illinois
- Chicago, Illinois (bypassed, via Interstate 55, Interstate 57, Interstate 90, or Interstate 94)
- South Bend, Indiana
- Toledo, Ohio
- Cleveland, Ohio (bypassed)
- Youngstown, Ohio (also signed as Youngstown-Niles)
- Sharon, Pennsylvania
- Clarion, Pennsylvania
- Du Bois, Pennsylvania
- Clearfield, Pennsylvania
- Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
- Williamsport, Pennsylvania (via Interstate 180 (Pennsylvania)
- Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania
- Hazleton, Pennsylvania
- Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
- Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania
- Netcong, New Jersey
- Paterson, New Jersey
- New York City, New York (via Interstate 95)
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California
A portion of the route through
Pinole, California involved the experimental transplantation of the
rare species Santa Cruz tarweed in the right-of-way.
Nevada
In the state of
Nevada, Interstate 80 runs northeast from the
Lake Tahoe region near
Reno to
Battle Mountain. At Battle Mountain, it turns east to the salt flats of Utah via
Elko. In Nevada, I-80 is routed along the
Truckee and
Humboldt rivers.
The stretch of I-80 through Nevada is largely desolate and mountainous. Services are limited compared to I-80 in other states.
Utah
After crossing
Utah's western border, I-80 crosses the desolate
Bonneville Salt Flats west of the
Great Salt Lake. The longest stretch between exits on an Interstate Highway is located between
Wendover and Knolls, with 37 miles (60 km) between those exits. This portion of I-80, crossing the
Great Salt Desert, is extremely flat and straight, dotted with large warning signs about driver fatigue and drowsiness.
East of the salt flats, I-80 passes through
Salt Lake City, where it merges with
I-15 for three miles (5 km) before entering the
Wasatch Mountains east of the city. It ascends
Parley's Canyon and passes within a few miles of
Park City as it follows a route through the mountains towards
Wyoming.
The route of the Utah section of I-80 is defined at Utah Code Annotated § 72-4-113(10).
(External Link
)
Wyoming
In the state of
Wyoming, I-80 reaches its maximum elevation of 8,640 feet (2,633 m) above
sea level between
Cheyenne and
Laramie, Wyoming. Farther west in Wyoming, the interstate passes through the
Red Desert and over the
Continental Divide. The roadway actually crosses the divide twice, as two ridges of the
Rocky Mountains form the
Great Divide Basin where water can't escape.
Nebraska
I-80 enters Nebraska west of
Bushnell. The western portion of I-80 in Nebraska runs very close to the state of
Colorado, without entering the state; the intersection of
Interstate 76 and I-80 is visible from the Colorado-Nebraska state line. From its intersection with I-76 to
Grand Island, I-80 lies in the valley of the
South Platte and
Platte Rivers. The longest straight stretch of interstate anywhere in the system is the approximately of I-80 occurring between Exit 318 in the Grand Island area and milemarker 390 near
Lincoln. Along this length the road doesn't vary from an ideally straight line by more than a few yards. After Lincoln, I-80 turns northeast towards
Omaha. It then crosses the
Missouri River in Omaha to go into Iowa.
Part of Interstate 80 in Nebraska is marked as a
Blue Star Memorial Highway.
Iowa
In the state of
Iowa, Interstate 80 runs from the I-80 bridge over the
Missouri River east to the
Quad Cities and the
Fred Schwengel Memorial Bridge over the
Mississippi River. It is the main east-west arterial freeway through south-central Iowa, and the main east-west Interstate in the state.
In Iowa I-80 serves the cities of
Council Bluffs,
Des Moines,
Iowa City, and the Iowa portion of the
Quad Cities - including
Davenport and
Bettendorf.
Interstate 80 holds a special place in the hearts of those at
Drake University (External Link) in
Des Moines, Iowa. In 1999, Andrew Classen (Associate Professor of Trumpet and Director of Jazz Studies) composed the big band chart,
"I-80 Shuffle", commemorating the great highway that passes through the university's hometown. The tune can be heard on the album
Rush Hour (External Link) by Classen's award-winning band, the Drake University Jazz Ensemble I
(External Link). "I-80 Shuffle"
(External Link) is currently in print and published by
C. L. Barnhouse Company (External Link) in
Oskaloosa, Iowa.
Illinois
In the state of
Illinois, I-80 runs from the Fred Schwengel Memorial Bridge across the
Mississippi River south to an intersection with
I-74. It then runs due east across north-central Illinois just north of the
Illinois River to
Joliet. I-80 continues east and joins
I-94 just before entering the state of Indiana.
The portion of I-80 that runs concurrent with
Interstate 294 is a part of the Tri-State Tollway.
Indiana
In the state of
Indiana, I-80 runs concurrent with another Interstate highway for its entire length. It runs with I-94 on the Borman Expressway before joining I-90 to Ohio on the Indiana Toll Road.
The portion of I-80 between
La Porte, Indiana and
Toledo, Ohio runs (with I-90) within ten miles (16 km) of the
Michigan state line. From the
State Route 9 and I-80 intersection, the sign marking the Indiana-Michigan state line is visible. At another point in northern Indiana, I-80 comes within about 200 yards (meters) from the Michigan border.
(External Link)
Ohio
In the state of
Ohio, I-80 enters with I-90 from the Indiana Toll Road and immediately becomes the "James W. Shocknessy Ohio Turnpike", more commonly referred to as simply the Ohio Turnpike. The two Interstates cross rural northwest Ohio and run just south of the metropolitan area of
Toledo. In
Rossford, Ohio it intersects with
Interstate 75 in an area known as the Crossroads of America. This intersection is one of the largest intersections of two interstate highways in the
United States.
In
Lorain, just west of
Cleveland, I-90 splits from I-80 and runs northeast as a freeway. I-80 runs east-southeast through the southern suburbs of Cleveland and retains the Ohio Turnpike designation. Just northwest of
Youngstown, the Ohio Turnpike continues southeast onto
Interstate 76, while I-80 runs east to the north of Youngstown, entering Pennsylvania south of
Sharon, Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania
In the state of
Pennsylvania, I-80 is the main east-west Interstate-standard highway through central Pennsylvania. It runs from the Ohio state line near
Sharon to the
Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge over the
Delaware River,and is called the Confair Memorial Highway.
I-80 serves no major metropolitan areas in Pennsylvania directly. Spurs from I-80 run to
State College,
Williamsport,
Scranton and
Wilkes-Barre. I-80 intersects
I-79 in Western Pennsylvania which connects with
Erie (about to the north) and
Pittsburgh (about to the south). Interstate 80's highest point (east of the Mississippi) is also located in Pennsylvania, near Exit 111 near Penfield, in
Clearfield County.
In 2007, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, combined with state legislature Act No. 44, initiated plans to enact a tolling system on the entire span of Interstate 80 throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. On October 15, 2007,
PennDOT and the
Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission signed a 50-year lease agreement, which will allow the Commission to maintain and, eventually, toll I-80.
New Jersey
The portion of 80 that goes through
New Jersey is sometimes called the
Bergen-Passaic Expressway.
I-80 doesn't go all the way to
New York City via the
George Washington Bridge. Its designated end is about four miles (6 km) short of New York City in
Teaneck, New Jersey. There, it joins and becomes designated as
I-95, which does cross the bridge. This has led to some confusion because this I-95 segment is also signed with "TO I-80" signs heading southbound from the George Washington Bridge, and many maps show this section as I-80/95. 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 numbering on I-80, which are 68A and 68B, respectively. (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're similar to what the exit numbers are on I-80 is just a coincidence.)
Auxiliary routes
Further Information
Get more info on 'I-80'.
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