This comes up in giving directions from DC to New England (and back).
In Maryland if you stay on 95 north you end up in near Princeton on 295 South. (One of my favorite signs is “295 North Ends 95 South Begins.”)
When heading south from New England on 95 you won’t notice anything unusual until you get to Delaware where you merge with 95 south!
So - somewhere on the NJ Turnpike 95 disappears - until Delaware.
What is going on?
Sorry, Mike. 95 was supposed to continue, but it didn’t. If you stay on 95, it will become 295, and take you back South around Trenton, and connect with 195, heading East towards Asbury Park.
If you’re coming from the South, avoid the whole mess, and get on the Jersey Turnpike, which will lead you back to the joy of 95 once you’ve experienced New York.
Should you come from coastal origins, the GSP meets the Jersey Pike around Perth Amboy.
Make sure your cell phone is fully charged, don’t pay anyone who wants to wash your windshield, and keep your doors locked. The Cross Bronx Expressway is not your friend.
Been there, done that, drive rentals.
Here’s the original plan. I scanned the maps a few years ago, and sent them to the person that owns the ihoz.com highway fan Web site.
1964 - http://www.ihoz.com/I95a.jpg
1968 - http://www.ihoz.com/I95b.jpg
The project was put on hold through the pressure of NIMBYists. I-95 would have run through some of the most affluent areas of New Jersey, and residents of the area were quite vocal in their opposition of the project.
From themisc.transport.road FAQ:
I know this has already been answered, but here’s an earlier thread on this question, if you’re interested:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=35432
This comes up in giving directions from DC to New England (and back).
Depending on where in New England you’re sending the travelers to, there are better roads than 95.
A suggestion for people from Maryland and south heading for New England who want to avoid NYC:
Take I-83 out of Baltimore, rather than staying on I-95 (you come to the exit on the Baltimore Beltline).
Take I-83 through Harrisburg, and follow I-81 north as they merge just northeast of Harrisburg. Continue on I-81 north to Scranton (note that I-78 forks off from I-81; you need to stay left to remain on I-81 as you approach the fork). At Scranton take I-84 east, across Eastern Pennsylvania and the Catskills of New York State. It enters Connecticut and goes to Hartford, from which you can take a variety of routes to wherever your destination in New England may be.
Alternately, if you’re starting adequately south and west, pick up I-81 anywhere in Eastern Tennessee or Virginia (it goes through the Great Valley, from Bristol to Winchester) and remain on it to Scranton PA. This gives you much lighter traffic, avoids the congestion associated with Washington, Baltimore, Phila., and NYC, and makes for an exceptionally beautiful scenic ride as well.
295 doesn’t have tolls, whereas NJ Turnpike does, right? Remember driving through Connecticut one day and noticing that the toll plazas were gone?
Except in the dead of winter, when some of the higher stretches of I-81 (like between Harrisburg and Scranton) are subjected to some really nasty driving weather. I’ve run into icing conditions up there that were hellacious. I-84 east of Scranton can be pretty exciting, too. There aren’t many services along that part of I-84 in the winter, either (lots of summer places), until you get down out of the mountains.
A pretty route, to be sure, but pick your season carefully!
Thank you all for the replies -
This question came up when I was working in West Chester PA and one of the crew wanted to visit a girlfirend in CT. He asked for directions to 95 North. When I told him he needed to take 95 South to 295 to the Delaware Mem Bridge and then to the NJT. He asked a waitress for directions who gave him directions to 95 North. “Fine,” I said “Go which ever way you want.” He didn’t go that weekend but did look on a map. Monday he told me I was right.
Polycarp -
From years of experience AVOID HARRISBURG like the plague on steroids!!! PA DOT seems always to be tearing up the roads. Your chances of getting through the mess are dicey at best. If you do know that there is a backup in Harrisburg take 72 south (right before 78 and 81 meet) to the PA Turnpike. It costs a little bit of $ but the traffic is nonexistant. I totally avoid Scranton since the 1998 incident. Thay also always seem to be working on the roads up there too.
Shoshana -
295 in NJ never had tolls. I’m sure there are threads on the Interstate numbering system if Cecil didn’t already touch on the subject.
Elmwood -
Mucho thanx - exactly what I was l@@king for.
My current favorite way from DC to New England is 95N to Del Mem Bridge - 295 North - 206 North - 287 North - and then either 87 North to Albany or over the Tappen Zee and etc. etc. so on and so forth.
I used to live right around there - exit 4 on 95 in New Jersey, route 31. This was way after they stopped 95.
206 sucks. I’d take 95 N until it turns into 295, then get off at Route 1 North, and take that about 18 miles until you get to the Turnpike entrance at New Brunswick. There is a closeer entrance at Hightstown also. 1 is crowded (or was) but it is a lot wider and a lot faster than 206.
If you really, really, want to get on 206, you can cut over to it on the Harrison street exit of Route 1, which is just past Princeton. This avoids the southern part of 206.
Sigh. I’m feeling nostaligic now.
If you want faster, and are willing to pay the toll:
From the DelMemBridge, take the NJ Turnpike (toll) to the Garden State Parkway North (toll) to the Tappan Zee. It definitely helps to have E-Z Pass.
Peace.
I-95 and the Penn Turnpike cross but there is no direct exit from 1 to the other - that sounds very weird but it’s not unique. Unless it’s been changed , the NJ Turnpike crosses the Atlantic City Expressway but there is no exit there either. A friend of mine swears that the reason is there is a diner right near there that was owned by a powerful guy in NJ politics. Since there is no direct exit, you need to drive right by the diner to get from one highway to the other.
95 doesn’t “become” 295. 295 is its own road, an exit off 95 heading north. 95 itself continues north into PA until just north of Philadelphia, then it crosses over into NJ at around Ewing, joining up with (I believe) the turnpike itself, all the way up to NY.
I make fairly frequent trips from MD to south central NJ, and I take 95 to 295 all the time. Lot quicker to get to my eventual destination than the turnpike (not to mention cheaper!).
Coming north this is true in Delaware. There is a split with 95 and 495 to the left and 295 and DMB to the right. However, if you stay on 295 in NJ past route 1 (IIRC) the same roadway becomes 95 south. The route you are thinking of would 95 North then becomes 295 South and exit at 195 (exit 50 something) which takes you to the NJT.
Coming south on the NJT you would exit on 195 to 295 North which would then become 95 south. Why you would want to travel through Philly I don’t really know.
Well, you see, what happens is 95 zips up the side of PA, then slips over into NJ in the dark of night, then goes southward to meet up with 295 north.
This might be what you mean when you say 95 north becomes 295 south, but one doesn’t become the other. 95 here behaves sort of as a beltway to Trenton, and on the other end (i.e., the eastern side) it joins up with 295 and then goes northward to 195.
Ok, let’s summarize.
You’re heading North through MD into DE.
As you approach the nexus of DE, PA, and NJ you have three choices on how to continue North:
[ol][li]Stay on 95 and go into PA along the Western bank of the Delaware River. On this route, you go through Philadelphia. You cross over the Delaware river into NJ on the north side of Trenton. Then, at the Northern tip of the Trenton city limits, 95 will become 295 heading back South(west). Honest. This is where 95 ends in NJ… or does it? More later.[/li]
[li]Go over the DelMemBridge (toll) and pick up 295 North. 295 runs parallel to 95 only this hiway is on the NJ side of the Delaware River. As it nears Trenton, 295 hooks around to the Eastern side of Trenton and travel around counterclockwise until it comes to the Northern tip of Trenton and becomes… get this… 295 South. Honest. So basically these two hiways run parallel to each other, go past Trenton on opposite sides and then curve around to meet each other.[/li]
[li]Go over the DelMemBridge (toll) and pick up the NJ Turnpike (toll). The NJT runs parallel to 295 until it starts getting close to Trenton. Then the NJT goes Northeast toward NYC (the NJ Turnpike eventually merges with 80 and crosses the George Washington Bridge (toll)). [/ol][/li]
Of course, the GWBridge is the ultimate goal of anyone who wants to travel 95 all the way up the Eastern seaboard. Because, once you cross that and Manhattan and go into the Bronx, you can then pick up 95 where it resumes heading into CT. The NJ Turnpike, therefore, is the easiest and most direct route.
Funny thing is that the NJT North of Trenton is labeled 95 on maps.
The second easiest route is to take DelMemBridge to 295 to 195 East to the NJ Turnpike North (which, at this point, is route 95). It reduces the Turnpike Toll somewhat.
Taking 95 through Philly is just a lengthier route (and often congested in Philly itself).
And, as I mentioned in my previous post. If you’re not wed to the 95 experience. Avoid going through NYC (which is often congested), and take the Garden State Parkway North (exit 11 off the NJT) to 87 South(East) in NY to 287 South(East) to 95 North. This is the semi-official Northern bypass of NYC.
Born in NYC, raised in Jersey.
If you’re coming from Virginia, you have no good way to go through Pennsylvania. Either take I-95 past Philly (yeah, there’s a great idea), or come north from Baltimore on I-83, where there are daily accidents and monthly fatalities, or if you’re feeling really brave, come straight up I-81. Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, now has the inglorious honor of being the deadliest stretch of I-81, having had accidents totaling 10 dead in the last four months, and numerous other minor accidents.
Where 81 and 83 meet is a mess every single day. Where 83, 422, and I-283 meet is called the Eisenhower Interchange. It generally takes about a half hour on a good day to get to Harrisburg from there, a mere 5 or so miles. And where 83 meets Rt. 581 is a traffic jam, too.
The roads were designed for much less traffic than they carry currently, folks. Travel them at your own risk. I do, every day. And I get stressed out. Every day.
Take the train.
moriah: “Of course, the GWBridge is the ultimate goal of anyone who wants to travel 95 all the way up the Eastern seaboard.” Not “of course” at all. I’ve done this so many times over the years that I get a headache just thinking about it. If your journey does not begin or end in NYC, it is much faster to take the Del Mem to the NJTP to Woodbridge, then the GSP up to I-287 (potty break at the median-strip rest stop just before the NY state line), cross the Tappan Zee Bridge, and reconnect with I-95 in White Plains. Reverse for southbound. The only bad section trafficwise is the GSP through the Oranges at rush hour, but that doesn’t last long. The route does cost a few bucks extra in tolls, but it’s worth it. Plus, the road is much smoother than on the GW Bridge and the always-under-construction Cross-Bronx.
It’s a lot better, crime-wise at least. Of course, the tradeoff for that is more traffic since people will drive on it now. But still. Just hadda defend my city. Sometimes cars which break down there even survive long enough for a tow truck to pick them up!
