Encyclopedia
| Interstate 287
Encyclopedia
|
| Tutorials | Encyclopedia | Dictionary | Directory |
|
Interstate 287
Interstate 287 (abbreviated I-287) is a major interstate highway in New Jersey and New York. It is a partial beltway around New York City, serving the northern half of New Jersey as well as the counties of Rockland and Westchester in New York. I-287 follows a roughly horseshoe-shaped route. The route through New Jersey is sometimes referred to as the Middlesex Freeway. It is the third longest auxiliary interstate highway in the country; only Interstate 476 in Pennsylvania and Interstate 495 in Massachusetts are longer. Similar to what still exists today with the New Jersey portion of Interstate 95, I-287 was long disjointed due to community opposition. The New York stretch effectively ended at Suffern, and the New Jersey portion at U.S. Route 202 in Montville, only about 5 miles from the Interstate 80 interchange, with a gap in between. In the late 1980s, construction finally commenced, with the missing section opening in November 1993.
Route description|- |NJ || 67.54 || 108.70 |- |NY || 31.18 || 50.18 |- |Total || 98.72 || 158.87 |}
Although I-287 is an auxiliary route of Interstate 87, both of its termini are located at Interstate 95. It is the only three-digit interstate which goes through more states than its parent route; I-87 is an intrastate interstate. New Jersey
I-287 in Wanaque, New Jersey illustrating one of many cuts needed for the highway. Beginning at the New York-New Jersey state line in Mahwah Township, it receives a North/South designation like its parent I-87 and begins its run south, cutting through hills and mountains. Between Mahwah Township and the Boro of Oakland/Boro of Franklin Lakes, the freeway has two lanes in each direction. South of Exit 58, the freeway has three lanes in each direction, and goes through a steep valley on a bridge over the Wanaque River. Due to the high elevations, the freeway (at some points) has an extra 4th lane to accommodate for slower automobile traffic. 
Map of New Jersey One of the most heavily-traveled sections of the freeway is between South Plainfield and Edison. This segment has not been repaved in years, and is in need of dire repair (since about 150,000 vehicles use this segment everyday). The NJDOT is addressing this problem, and has started the Interstate 287 (Middlesex Freeway) Rehabilitation Project, in which the DOT will resurface the terrible pavement between Exit 5 in the Boro of South Plainfield and (Exit 0) Interstate 95/New Jersey Turnpike in Edison Township. In addition, the NJDOT stated that some of the bridges/overpasses have deteriorated to such a state that they need to be replaced completely. The project started in August 2007 and is supposed to end in November 2008. New York
I-287 at I-95 in Rye, NY Legally, the New York section of I-287 is defined as Interstate Route Connections 520 and 525 in New York Highway Law § 340-a. HistoryI-287 was to continue past I-95 in Port Chester and was to cross Long Island Sound via the (unbuilt) Oyster Bay-Rye Bridge and absorb the Seaford Oyster Bay Expressway (NY 135). Then, I-287 was again to be extended into Jones Beach by merging with the Wantagh State Parkway in Merrick. These plans were dropped as a result of community opposition and environmental concerns. Evidence of this exists at the northern end of NY 135 at exit 14 (NY 25) where there is an incomplete cloverleaf interchange and the southern end at exit 1 where there is a non-conventional interchange with Merrick Road.[1] Missing linkI-287's uncompleted section between Montville and Suffern, NY was the source of a great deal of controversy dating back at least to 1965, and continuing on through its opening in 1993. Property owners along the proposed route fought its completion as part of the freeway revolts of the 1960s and 1970s. Eventually, a route was agreed upon and permits allowing construction to begin were issued in 1988. However, officials in Rockland County, New York, filed a lawsuit on November 19, 1993, hours before the highway's official ribbon-cutting, seeking to block its opening, claiming the incomplete interchange with the New York State Thruway was inadequate to handle the additional traffic. That interchange was not completed until January 1994, but the highway nevertheless opened as planned. FutureTappan Zee replacementDue to the congestion along I-287 and the aging and decay of the over fifty-year old Tappan Zee Bridge, talks have begun regarding the possibility of replacing the bridge. A variety of transportation improvements are currently being considered, including a commuter rail system that would link the western shore of the Hudson River with Westchester County and New York City. Several alternatives are being considered to replace the bridge.[2] Currently, the favored alternative is a cable-stayed span. MiscellaneaI-287 is known, even after rush hour, to have congestion problems (in New Jersey), namely the portion that traverses through Bedminster and Bridgewater. In due time, the freeway is expected to see some improvements in the Bridgewater area. The exit for US 202-206 is expected to be upgraded in the future. 
New Jersey state line along Interstate 287 south 
I-287 interchange with I-87 in Suffern, New York. The New Jersey state line is about halfway up the photo. In New York, Thruway exits 8 and 8A and Cross-Westchester Expressway exit 1 are now combined in one interchange. Formerly, there were two separate interchanges: Thruway interchange 8, to the Cross-Westchester, and Cross-Westchester exit 1 (Saw Mill River Parkway to/from north only (use Thruway interchange 7A for to/from south), with access only to/from west (use interchange 3 for access to/from the east)). Due to the recent rebuilding of interchange 8, traffic from I-287 east that remains on the Thruway beyond the point where I-287 leaves it can exit at 8A, which leads to what appears to be a service road for the CWX, but ends up leading to the Saw Mill. However, to reach I-287 west from the Saw Mill south, one must merge with I-287 before merging with the Thruway (no 8A). In New Jersey, I-287 is an important interstate that links Mahwah Township, New Jersey to the New Jersey Turnpike in Edison Township. The freeway is one of the most heavily-traveled freeways to be utilized by tractor-trailers (in the state of New Jersey (besides the Turnpike)), as it connects Interstate 87/New York State Thruway in Suffern, New York to Interstate 95/New Jersey Turnpike in Edison Township, New Jersey. This is due in part to the tractor-trailer restrictions on the Garden State Parkway. Exit listNew Jersey
New York
References
External links
Source: Wikipedia | The above article is available under the GNU FDL. | Edit this article
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
top
©2008-2009 TutorGig.com. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Statement
