Encyclopedia
| Interstate 75
Encyclopedia
|
| Tutorials | Encyclopedia | Dictionary | Directory |
|
Interstate 75
Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north-south Interstate Highway in the midwest and southeastern United States. It travels from State Road 826 (Palmetto Expressway) and State Road 924 (Gratigny Parkway) in Hialeah, Florida (northwest of Miami) to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, at the Ontario, Canada, border.
Route description|- |FL || 470.88 || 757.81 |- |GA || 355.11 || 571.49 |- |TN || 161.86 || 260.49 |- |KY || 191.78 || 308.64 |- |OH || 211.30 || 340.05 |- |MI || 395.54 || 636.56 |- |Total || 1786.47 || 2875.04 |}
FloridaInterstate 75 begins its northerly journey at an interchange with State Road 924 and State Road 826 in Hialeah, a suburb of Miami. After intersections with Interstate 595 and the Florida's Turnpike, the interstate leaves the Miami metropolitan area and turns westward to travel along Alligator Alley, which brings the freeway to the Gulf Coast and Naples, where it again heads north. Passing through Bonita Springs, Fort Myers, and Sarasota, Interstate 75 encounters a series of construction projects that will increase the lane count from two lanes in each direction to three. The freeway enters the Tampa Bay metropolitan area after an interchange with Interstate 275 northbound, which handles St. Petersburg-bound traffic. Within the Tampa metro are three more major junctions: One with the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway which carries traffic into downtown Tampa, one with Interstate 4 which carries traffic across the center of the state to the East Coast, and another as Interstate 275 traffic defaults back onto northbound. The freeway proceeds to enter rural portions of Pasco, Hernando, and Sumter counties on its way to Ocala and Gainesville. At Lake City, Florida the "Christopher Columbus Transcontinental Highway", Interstate 10, is crossed by Interstate 75, providing routes towards Tallahassee, Mobile, and Jacksonville, Florida. Afterwards the northmost stetch of Interstate 75, it exits the "Sunshine State" into southmost Georgia. GeorgiaInterstate 75 enters Georgia near Valdosta, and it continues northward through the towns of Tifton and Cordele until it reaches the Macon are, where it intersects with Interstate 16 eastbound towards Savannah. For northbound traffic wishing to avoid potential congestion in Macon, Interstate 475 provides a relatively straight bypass west of that city and Interstate 75's route. The freeway reaches no major junctions again until in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The first metropolitan freeway met is Interstate 675, then followed by the Atlanta "Perimeter" bypass, Interstate 285. This Interstate is duplexed with Interstate 85 through the central area of Atlanta. After the two Interstates split, Interstate 75 makes a beeline towards Interstate 285 and the major suburban city of Marietta. North of Marietta, the final major junction in the Atlanta metro area is with the Interstate 575 spur. Interstate 75 next traverses the hilly northwestern Georgia terrain as it travels towards Chattanooga, Tennessee. TennesseeThe freeway enters Tennessee directly in the Chattanooga metropolitan area, where it intersects with Interstate 24. Exiting Chattanooga to the northeast, Interstate 75 does not meet any other highways until it is multiplexed with Interstate 40 and heads eastbound. Together, they enter the outskirts of Knoxville, where Interstate 75 multiplexes itself with a different road, this time Interstate 640, but only for a short time. When the two meet Interstate 275, Interstate 75 becomes its own freeway and heads north towards the Kentucky border. On the journey northward from Knoxville to the Kentucky border, interstate 75 encounters some of its highest points of elevation through the Cumberland Mountains and Cumberland Plateau region, cutting through the uppermost peaks and ridges of the mountains. KentuckyInterstate 75 continues northbound through the hilly and rugged terrain of the Cumberland Plateau region of Kentucky without any major cities or junctions until reaching Lexington, where it briefly runs coterminiously with Interstate 64 before splitting off for Cincinnati, Ohio. Near Walton, Interstate 71 merges with Interstate 75, making for yet another multiplexed portion of freeway. Interstate 275, which is the Cincinnati beltway, is then intersected by Interstate 71/75. After passing through Covington, the freeway crosses the Ohio River via the lower level of the Brent Spence Bridge and continues into Cincinnati. OhioImmediately after entering Cincinnati, Interstate 71 separates from Interstate 75, taking a more easterly routing through the city, while Interstate 75 remains generally northbound throughout the metropolitan area. Interstate 74 westbound, Ohio State Route 562 eastbound, and Ohio State Route 126 all intersect the freeway as it makes its way northward. In the Arlington Heights neighborhood of Cincinnati, Interstate 75 sees a carriageway split for a few miles. After another interchange with the Interstate 275 beltway, the freeway leaves the metropolitan area and heads towards Dayton, where Interstate 675 and Interstate 70 have interchanges. After exiting Dayton, Interstate 75 makes its way northbound through Ohio -- managing to miss many of the state's major cities until Toledo, which is located very close to the Michigan border. Interstate 475 is met first in that city, and then the cross-country Interstate 90/Interstate 80 toll road duplex. Interstate 280 is the last major junction in Ohio; the freeway crosses into Michigan soon afterwards. 
Mackinac Bridge MichiganInterstate 75 hugs the western shore of Lake Erie upon entering Michigan -- until about Monroe, when it heads westward and prepares to enter Detroit and its surrounding suburbs. Yet another Interstate 275 is met as the freeway goes deeper into the Detroit metropolitan area, and no other major junctions are present until downtown. Once downtown, Interstate 75 meets the Ambassador Bridge to Windsor, Ontario, Interstate 375 (Chrysler Freeway), Interstate 94, and M-8 (Davison Freeway). Interstate 696 also intersects I-75 in the northern metro area. When the freeway reaches Pontiac, there is a junction with M-59; and further north in Flint, the interstate meets Interstate 475 and Interstate 69. The freeway then heads north towards Saginaw, where Interstate 675 acts as a spur route into the city. Further north in Bay City, the major junction of US 10 exists, providing access to Midland as well as downtown Bay City. At Mackinaw City, I-75 crosses the Mackinac Bridge to reach the Upper Peninsula. It is the only Interstate located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and it continues to where the road terminates at the Canadian border in Sault Ste. Marie. On the Canadian side, drivers must use a series of city streets in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario to reach Highway 17, the local route of the Trans-Canada Highway. HistoryThis limited access highway that was planned in the 1950s roughly follows the general route of many older at-grade highways, including U.S. Route 2, U.S. Route 27, U.S. Route 25, and U.S. Route 41, among others. Some of these older U.S. Routes (several of which are still in existence) previously had replaced the eastern route of the old Dixie Highway. For many years, Interstate 75 was intended to end at St. Petersburg. However, vast population growth in southwestern Florida (e.g. Ft. Myers, Naples, etc.) called for a new Interstate artery through that area. Accordingly, Interstate 75 as continued southwards. Next, it was decided to link I-75 with the private toll road, the Alligator Alley, upgrade that highway, and then connect it with Interstate 95. Thus, everything from the Tampa-St. Petersburg area south is a newer concept. The final stretch of Interstate 75 was completed in 1986 in Dade (present Miami-Dade) and Broward Counties in Florida, but the last stretch to receive the I-75 signage was a reconstructed (rebuilt with more lanes) Alligator Alley in 1993. Major intersections
Interstate 75 ends at this interchange with State Road 826 (Florida).
Auxiliary routes
References
External links
de:Interstate 75 fr:Interstate 75 ja:??????75?? pl:Autostrada mi?dzystanowa nr 75 simple:Interstate 75 zh:75????? Source: Wikipedia | The above article is available under the GNU FDL. | Edit this article
|
|
top
©2008-2009 TutorGig.com. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Statement
