INTERSTATE 78

'Interstate 78' (abbreviated 'I-78') is an Interstate Highway in the Northeast United States, running 144 miles (231 km) from Interstate 81 northeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, through Allentown, Pennsylvania, and northern New Jersey to the Holland Tunnel and downtown New York City.

Major cities 'Bolded cities' are officially-designated control cities for signs
★ 'Harrisburg, Pennsylvania' (via I-81) ★ 'Allentown, Pennsylvania' ★ 'Bethlehem, Pennsylvania' ★ 'Easton, Pennsylvania' ★ Phillipsburg, New Jersey ★ 'Newark, New Jersey' ★ Jersey City, New Jersey ★ 'New York City, New York'

Contents

Route description

Pennsylvania

New Jersey

New York City

History

New Jersey

Exit list

Pennsylvania

New Jersey

New York

Auxiliary routes

References

Route description

Pennsylvania

Main articles: Interstate 78 in Pennsylvania


I-78 begins at a directional-T interchange with Interstate 81 in Union Township, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, about 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Harrisburg. Near the east end of the county, at exit 8, U.S. Route 22 merges with I-78.^[1]
At exit 51, in Upper Macungie Township, US 22 leaves the freeway. Passengers traveling on I-78 eastbound must use this exit to access I-476 (Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike) and westbound travelers must use exit 53. From exits 53 to 60, I-78 is concurrent with Pennsylvania Route 309. The six lane overlap bypasses the City of Allentown to south and crosses South Mountain.^[1][1]
At exit 60 (A-B going westbound), PA 309 south leaves for the vilage of Quakertown.^[4] Six miles later, Pennsylvania Route 412 interchanges with I-78 in Hellertown. 412 also takes you to Bethlehem and Lehigh University. At mile marker 71.04, Pennsylvania Route 33 intersects at Exit 71. Route 33 takes you to the Pocono Mountains, Bangor and Interstate 80. The final exit on Interstate 78 in Pennsylvania is for Morgan Hill Road, which takes you to Pennsylvania Route 611 and Easton. Interstate 78 then crosses the Interstate 78 Toll Bridge and enters New Jersey.

New Jersey

Main articles: Interstate 78 in New Jersey

After the Interstate 78 Toll Bridge, I-78 enters New Jersey as the ''Phillipsburg-Newark Expressway''.^[5] The road begins by parallelling County Route 642 in the town of Alpha. At 3.94 miles, Exit 3, a partial cloverleaf interchange brings together U.S. Route 22, New Jersey Route 122 and New Jersey Route 173 with Interstate 78 in Phillipsburg.^[6] U.S. Route 22 now becomes concurrent with 78 for the next 15 miles. Going westbound, exit 4 leaves to the right for County Route 637 and Warren Glen. The next exit, Exit 6, is for County Route 632 in Bloomsbury. However the route number is not signed on Interstate 78. Exit 7 is the first of several eastbounde exits for NJ 173. This one is located in Bloomsbury as 173 begins to parallel the interstate. Four miles later, Exit 11 leaves to the right as another Exit for NJ 173. Warren County 614 also is located off the exit. Exit 12, westbound is for NJ 173 again. However, Exit 12 eastbound is for a frontage road parallelling Interstate 78.

Exit 13 is only westbound and is another exit for NJ 173. Nearby the exit, going eastbound, the frontage road merges in. Exit 15 is for NJ 173 and County Route 513 in Franklin Township. Exit 17 is for NJ 31 in Clinton. In the town of Annandale, US 22 leaves Interstate 78 at exit 18. Route 22 continues towards Bound Brook and Union County. At exit 20, Hunterdon CR 639 intersects. Hunterdon 639 brings you to the Round Valley Recreational Area. Exit 24 is for County Route 523 towards Oldwick. At exit 29, Interstate 287, U.S. Route 202 and U.S. Route 206 interchange with 78 in Bedminster. At this point, in Somerset County, Exits 33, 36 and 40 are for county routes in Warren Township. At exit 41, I-78 enters Union County. At exit 45, County Route 527 intersects after parallelling for some time. West of exit 48, I-78 splits into express and local carriageways. Exit 48 is for New Jersey Route 24 in Springfield. Exit 49A is for one of route 24's spur routes, New Jersey Route 124. Going westbound, Exit 52 is for the Garden State Parkway in Irvington. At Exits 57 and 58, New Jersey Route 21, U.S. Route 1, U.S. Route 9 and U.S. Route 22 intersect Interstate 78. The exit will take you to Newark Airport.

I-78 eastbound at the Newark Bay Bridge.

East of exit 58 at the eastern tip of Newark, I-78 becomes the 'Newark Bay Extension' of the New Jersey Turnpike. Past the first toll plaza, I-78 interchanges Interstate 95 (New Jersey Turnpike) and crosses the Newark Bay via the Newark Bay Bridge. The first exit, 14A, is for New Jersey Route 440 in Bayonne. Exit 14B takes you to Liberty State Park and the Liberty Science Center. Exit 14C is the final numbered exit, taking you to the New Jersey Turnpike. New Jersey Route 139 becomes concurrent with 78 as it approaches the Holland Tunnel and enters New York.

New York City

Its length in New York is only 1/2 mile (1 km) - half of the Holland Tunnel and the plaza immediately beyond. The route once ran east and north through New York City to end at Interstate 95 in the Bronx, but sections of the planned route, including the Lower Manhattan Expressway, were cancelled.

I-78 at the Holland Tunnel.

In New York City, I-78 continues through the Holland Tunnel plaza. The five separate exits from the tunnel are assigned numbers - exits 1 to 5 - in counterclockwise order. The last one - and the logical continuation east - is Exit 5, Canal Street. Under the original plans, I-78 was to continue across Manhattan as the Lower Manhattan Expressway onto the Williamsburg Bridge, and then beyond I-278 on the never-built Bushwick Expressway through Brooklyn into Queens near the JFK Airport. A section of I-78 at the airport was built as the Nassau Expressway, now Interstate 878, though most of the westbound side was never built. East of the airport, I-78 would have turned north on the Clearview Expressway (built north of Hillside Avenue in Queens and now I-295), run across the Throgs Neck Bridge, and forked into two spurs, ending at I-95 via the Throgs Neck Expressway (now I-695) and the Bruckner Interchange via the Cross Bronx Expressway (now part of I-295).^[7]

History

New Jersey

In July 1963, New Jersey Governor Richard J. Hughes approved a plan to build Interstate 78 through the city of Newark at a cost of $204,696,637.^[8]
A section of Interstate 78 in New Jersey was closed off in August 1989 when a debris pile under a bridge caught fire and damage the elevated highway. The road was opened nine days after the fire occurred.^[9]

Exit list

Pennsylvania

See Interstate 78 in Pennsylvania.

New Jersey

See Interstate 78 in New Jersey.

New York

County	Location	Mile	#	Destinations	Notes
New York	Manhattan	New Jersey state line. I-78 west continues into New Jersey through the Holland Tunnel (toll eastbound $6.00 cars).
		1.1	1	NY 9A - Hudson Pkwy/Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel	Eastbound only. Access to World Financial Center and Battery Park City
			2	Hudson Street - Uptown	Eastbound only. Access to Manhattan Community College.
			3	Walker Street - Brooklyn	Eastbound only. Access to Brooklyn Bridge.
			4	Varick Street - Downtown	Eastbound only. Access to New York City Hall, Federal Plaza, and Pace University.
			5	Canal Street - East	Eastbound only. Access to Manhattan Bridge and Williamsburg Bridge.
		I-78 merges with Canal Street. Eastern terminus of I-78.

Auxiliary routes

1955 map of I-178 and I-378

This 1955 plan shows the full proposed route of I-78, running east to Kennedy Airport and then north to the Bruckner Interchange.

All of I-78's auxiliary routes serve New York City. However, none of these routes actually intersect I-78, following the route's truncation to the east end of the Holland Tunnel.

★ Interstate 278 runs from U.S. Route 1/9 near Elizabeth, New Jersey over the Goethals Bridge, through Staten Island, over the Verrazano Narrows Bridge and through Brooklyn and Queens, and across the Triborough Bridge into the Bronx to end at I-95 at the Bruckner Interchange. I-278 was planned to extend west from Elizabeth to I-78 in Union Township, Union County, New Jersey, and was to intersect I-78 at the east end of the Williamsburg Bridge in Brooklyn. Until 1972, I-278 ran along Interstate 895 and a proposed extension to I-95, while I-278 east of I-895 was I-878.

★ Interstate 478 is an unsigned designation for the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, a spur from I-278 into lower Manhattan. Plans were made to continue it north along the West Side Highway (Route 9A) to I-78 at the Holland Tunnel, but have been canceled. Older plans would have given it the same purpose - connecting I-78 with I-278 - but along the Manhattan Bridge.

★ Interstate 678 runs from I-278 at the Bruckner Interchange south over the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge to John F. Kennedy International Airport. It was to intersect I-78 at its south end. Original plans took I-678 west on the Grand Central Parkway to I-278.

★ Interstate 878 is an unsigned designation for part of New York State Route 878, a short east-west freeway on the north edge of JFK Airport. It was once planned as part of I-78, and now intersects I-678. The number was assigned in 1989.

★ A former Interstate 878 existed from 1959 to 1972 along present I-278 east of Interstate 895. (I-895 was part of I-278.)
In eastern Pennsylvania, Route 378 into downtown Bethlehem was once Interstate 378, but was redesignated as a state route after I-78 was rerouted to a new southerly alignment. and An Interstate 178 was also planned into downtown Allentown, but cancelled due to local opposition.

References

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2.
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4. Interstate 78 in Pennsylvania Google Maps
5. Interstate 78 straight line diagram New Jersey Department of Transportation
6. I-78, New Jersey, United States Google Maps
7. NYSDOT - Traffic Count Information
8. Hughes Approves a Huge Road Plan; 4,696,637 Spending in Fiscal '63 Cleared--Route 78 to Cross Newark George Cable Wright
9. " Section of Interstate 78 To Reopen to Traffic