99-659: Interstate 10 ( I-10 ) is the major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States . In the U.S. state of Texas , it runs east from Anthony , at the border with New Mexico , through El Paso , San Antonio , and Houston to the border with Louisiana in Orange . At just under 880 mi (1,420 km), the Texas segment of I-10, maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation ,
198-535: A concurrency or overlap. For example, I‑75 and I‑85 share the same roadway in Atlanta ; this 7.4-mile (11.9 km) section, called the Downtown Connector , is labeled both I‑75 and I‑85. Concurrencies between Interstate and US Highway numbers are also allowed in accordance with AASHTO policy, as long as the length of the concurrency is reasonable. In rare instances, two highway designations sharing
297-651: A 28-year-old brevet lieutenant colonel, accompanied the trip "through darkest America with truck and tank," as he later described it. Some roads in the West were a "succession of dust, ruts, pits, and holes." As the landmark 1916 law expired, new legislation was passed—the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921 (Phipps Act). This new road construction initiative once again provided for federal matching funds for road construction and improvement, $ 75 million allocated annually. Moreover, this new legislation for
396-476: A change in the numbering system as a result of a new policy adopted in 1973. Previously, letter-suffixed numbers were used for long spurs off primary routes; for example, western I‑84 was I‑80N, as it went north from I‑80 . The new policy stated, "No new divided numbers (such as I-35W and I-35E , etc.) shall be adopted." The new policy also recommended that existing divided numbers be eliminated as quickly as possible; however, an I-35W and I-35E still exist in
495-545: A four-level interchange on the southwest side of downtown with the junction of US 90 from the west. I-35 continues to the south and I-10 and US 90 run concurrently to the east to form the south side of the downtown loop. This section of I-10 is known as the Jose Lopez Freeway, named after the Medal of Honor recipient. A four-level interchange with I-37 occurs approximately 2 mi (3.2 km) east of
594-408: A four-level interchange to accommodate the growing northwest side has been completed. Heavy commercial development dominates the landscape between I-410 and Loop 1604. Inside I-410, the route is lined with light industrial and residential areas. As I-10 heads south into downtown, it splits into an upper level with three lanes in each direction and a lower level with two lanes in each direction. It
693-482: A limited stretch in western Texas. The stretch from Kerr County to El Paso County has an 80 mph (129 km/h) speed limit , which was the highest in the nation until the opening of the 85 mph (137 km/h) southern section of Texas State Highway 130 (SH 130) on October 24, 2012. I-10 is the busiest freeway in San Antonio, with nearly 200,000 vehicles on an average day. On
792-595: A national road grid with the passage of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921 . In 1926, the United States Numbered Highway System was established, creating the first national road numbering system for cross-country travel. The roads were state-funded and maintained, and there were few national standards for road design. United States Numbered Highways ranged from two-lane country roads to multi-lane freeways. After Dwight D. Eisenhower became president in 1953, his administration developed
891-589: A numbering scheme in which primary Interstates are assigned one- or two-digit numbers, and shorter routes which branch off of longer ones are assigned three-digit numbers where the last two digits match the parent route. The Interstate Highway System is partially financed through the Highway Trust Fund , which itself is funded by a combination of a federal fuel tax and transfers from the Treasury's general fund. Though federal legislation initially banned
990-491: A proposal for an interstate highway system, eventually resulting in the enactment of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 . Unlike the earlier United States Numbered Highway System, the interstates were designed to be all freeways, with nationally unified standards for construction and signage. While some older freeways were adopted into the system, most of the routes were completely new. In dense urban areas,
1089-559: A report called Toll Roads and Free Roads , "the first formal description of what became the Interstate Highway System" and, in 1944, the similarly themed Interregional Highways . The Interstate Highway System gained a champion in President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was influenced by his experiences as a young Army officer crossing the country in the 1919 Motor Transport Corps convoy that drove in part on
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#17327830059521188-409: A single digit prefixed to the two-digit number of its parent Interstate Highway. Spur routes deviate from their parent and do not return; these are given an odd first digit. Circumferential and radial loop routes return to the parent, and are given an even first digit. Unlike primary Interstates, three-digit Interstates are signed as either east–west or north–south, depending on the general orientation of
1287-749: A speed limit of 45 mph (70 km/h) because it is a parkway that consists of only one lane per side of the highway. On the other hand, Interstates 15, 80, 84, and 215 in Utah have speed limits as high as 70 mph (115 km/h) within the Wasatch Front , Cedar City , and St. George areas, and I-25 in New Mexico within the Santa Fe and Las Vegas areas along with I-20 in Texas along Odessa and Midland and I-29 in North Dakota along
1386-460: A speed limit of 80 mph (130 km/h). Other Interstates in Idaho, Montana, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming also have the same high speed limits. In some areas, speed limits on Interstates can be significantly lower in areas where they traverse significantly hazardous areas. The maximum speed limit on I-90 is 50 mph (80 km/h) in downtown Cleveland because of two sharp curves with
1485-531: A stretch; La Entrada al Pacifico trade corridor is a part of this stretch of I-10. Near Junction , I-10 begins a more southeastwardly course as it runs toward the San Antonio metropolitan area . Near Comfort , I-10 and US 87 begin to run alongside each other until they reach San Antonio . Because I-10 crosses some of the most rural and sparsely inhabited parts of the United States , notably
1584-474: A suggested limit of 35 mph (55 km/h) in a heavily congested area; I-70 through Wheeling, West Virginia , has a maximum speed limit of 45 mph (70 km/h) through the Wheeling Tunnel and most of downtown Wheeling; and I-68 has a maximum speed limit of 40 mph (65 km/h) through Cumberland, Maryland , because of multiple hazards including sharp curves and narrow lanes through
1683-543: Is also commonly believed the Interstate Highway System was built for the sole purpose of evacuating cities in the event of nuclear warfare . While military motivations were present, the primary motivations were civilian. The numbering scheme for the Interstate Highway System was developed in 1957 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). The association's present numbering policy dates back to August 10, 1973. Within
1782-576: Is called Desert Boulevard where it runs through West El Paso, and Gateway Boulevard where it runs through Central and East El Paso. Among these stretches of the highway. Gateway East Boulevard is the longest, extending continuously for roughly 22 mi (35 km). Continuing towards Tornillo and Fabens , I-10 turns to the southeast and runs alongside the Rio Grande and the Mexican border for approximately 60 mi (97 km). Where I-10 leaves
1881-482: Is one of the widest sections of undivided highway in a single direction in the world. The widest right-of-way, 556 ft (169 m), occurs at the Katy Freeway's intersection with Bunker Hill; at that point, the expansion plans called for six main lanes plus two toll lanes in each direction along with 10 lanes on the feeder/frontage roads. While this section still features 14 through continuous lanes through
1980-586: Is the longest continuous untolled freeway in North America that is operated by a single authority. It is also the longest stretch of Interstate Highway with a single designation within a single state. Mile marker 880 and its corresponding exit number in Orange, Texas, are the highest-numbered mile marker and exit on any freeway in North America. Since widening was completed in 2008, a portion of
2079-539: Is to have the highway route extend from Tamaulipas , Mexico to Ontario , Canada. The planned I-11 will then bridge the Interstate gap between Phoenix, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada , and thus form part of the CANAMEX Corridor (along with I-19 , and portions of I-10 and I-15 ) between Sonora , Mexico and Alberta , Canada. Political opposition from residents canceled many freeway projects around
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#17327830059522178-474: The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex in Texas, and an I-35W and I-35E that run through Minneapolis and Saint Paul , Minnesota, still exist. Additionally, due to Congressional requirements, three sections of I-69 in southern Texas will be divided into I-69W , I-69E , and I-69C (for Central). AASHTO policy allows dual numbering to provide continuity between major control points. This is referred to as
2277-552: The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 into law. Under the act, the federal government would pay for 90 percent of the cost of construction of Interstate Highways. Each Interstate Highway was required to be a freeway with at least four lanes and no at-grade crossings. The publication in 1955 of the General Location of National System of Interstate Highways , informally known as the Yellow Book , mapped out what became
2376-656: The Fort Bend – Harris county line opened in late June 2006. Two intersections were rebuilt ( Beltway 8 and I-610 ), toll booths were added, together with landscaping as part of Houston's Highway Beautification Project. Most of the section between Beltway 8 and SH 6 had been laid by September 2006 and work was completed in October ;2008. Tolls on the managed lanes vary by vehicle occupancy, axle count and time of day. High occupancy vehicles may travel for free at certain times. Severe flooding of
2475-630: The Grand Forks area have higher speed limits of 75 mph (120 km/h). As one of the components of the National Highway System , Interstate Highways improve the mobility of military troops to and from airports, seaports, rail terminals, and other military bases. Interstate Highways also connect to other roads that are a part of the Strategic Highway Network , a system of roads identified as critical to
2574-803: The Houston Astros , and also runs through the campus of the University of Houston–Downtown . The section east of downtown Houston is officially known as the "East Freeway", although it is widely known by locals as the Baytown East Freeway or colloquially shortened to the Beast, due to a marketing push by Baytown , one of the largest cities in the Greater Houston Area . I-10 reaches Beaumont at an interchange with US 69/US 96/US 287 and it runs concurrently with
2673-818: The Interstate Highway System , or the Eisenhower Interstate System , is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States . The system extends throughout the contiguous United States and has routes in Hawaii , Alaska , and Puerto Rico . In the 20th century, the United States Congress began funding roadways through the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 , and started an effort to construct
2772-529: The Lincoln Highway , the first road across America. He recalled that, "The old convoy had started me thinking about good two-lane highways... the wisdom of broader ribbons across our land." Eisenhower also gained an appreciation of the Reichsautobahn system, the first "national" implementation of modern Germany's Autobahn network, as a necessary component of a national defense system while he
2871-642: The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LaDOTD) to close I-10 for four days near Orange . Much of I-10 between Houston and Beaumont was shut down in late August 2017 as Hurricane Harvey inundated the Houston and East Texas area with record rainfall. In 2020, I-10 between Beaumont and the Louisiana state line was shut down due to debris and heavy rain caused by Hurricanes Delta and Laura . I-10 has four business loops within
2970-658: The Sabine River occurred in March ;2016. Days of continuous heavy rains, coupled with the controversial opening of the Toledo Bend Dam and the release of 207,000 to 208,000 cu ft/s (5,900 to 5,900 m/s) into the river, caused the closing of I-10. The water level in Deweyville rose to 130-year record heights, prompting a joint decision by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and
3069-544: The Stanton Street Bridge and the border with Mexico via local streets. As of the summer of 2016, the stretch of I-10 that runs through El Paso was in the midst of a major construction project, which sought to link North/South Desert Boulevard (the westside frontage roads) with Gateway East and Gateway West (the central and eastside frontage roads). Several miles of frontage road were being built where none previously existed. I-10/US 180 continues turning to
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3168-596: The Trans-Pecos Region , it has several unique features that differentiate it from other interstate highways. I-10 is one of the very few interstates that has exceptions in Interstate Highway Standards where there are at-grade intersections (roads that intersect it at a 90-degree angle, rather than crossing via an overpass or underpass with on and off ramps). These are private-access roads (mostly from large ranches), and are found over
3267-506: The US Department of Defense . The system has also been used to facilitate evacuations in the face of hurricanes and other natural disasters. An option for maximizing traffic throughput on a highway is to reverse the flow of traffic on one side of a divider so that all lanes become outbound lanes. This procedure, known as contraflow lane reversal , has been employed several times for hurricane evacuations. After public outcry regarding
3366-470: The US Highways , which increase from east to west and north to south). This numbering system usually holds true even if the local direction of the route does not match the compass directions. Numbers divisible by five are intended to be major arteries among the primary routes, carrying traffic long distances. Primary north–south Interstates increase in number from I-5 between Canada and Mexico along
3465-556: The West Beltway and the West Loop, the Katy Freeway features a basic configuration of 14 lanes, featuring seven lanes each direction. This cross-section swells with auxiliary lanes, ramp lanes, and the inclusion of the frontage access roads, although those lanes are controlled by traffic signals. Including auxiliary lanes, ramp lanes, and the access frontage roads, the minimum lane count is 22 total lanes. In this section,
3564-553: The West Coast to I‑95 between Canada and Miami, Florida along the East Coast . Major west–east arterial Interstates increase in number from I-10 between Santa Monica, California , and Jacksonville, Florida , to I-90 between Seattle, Washington , and Boston, Massachusetts , with two exceptions. There are no I-50 and I-60, as routes with those numbers would likely pass through states that currently have US Highways with
3663-558: The Bunker Hill interchange, when auxiliary lanes, ramp lanes, and the frontage access roads are included, the actual striping after construction delineates 29 lanes, including all 26 of the planned lanes plus an additional lane in each direction to enter or exit the toll lanes and one more turn lane on the eastbound feeder road. Between I-610 and I-45 west of downtown, the interstate contains at least five main lanes in each direction. Before 2008, this section had traditionally been
3762-576: The Congress Hotel in Chicago. In the plan, Mehren proposed a 50,000-mile (80,000 km) system, consisting of five east–west routes and 10 north–south routes. The system would include two percent of all roads and would pass through every state at a cost of $ 25,000 per mile ($ 16,000/km), providing commercial as well as military transport benefits. In 1919, the US Army sent an expedition across
3861-515: The Interstate Highway System. Assisting in the planning was Charles Erwin Wilson , who was still head of General Motors when President Eisenhower selected him as Secretary of Defense in January 1953. Some sections of highways that became part of the Interstate Highway System actually began construction earlier. Three states have claimed the title of first Interstate Highway. Missouri claims that
3960-493: The Interstate Highway program. The Interstates of Alaska and Puerto Rico are numbered sequentially in order of funding without regard to the rules on odd and even numbers. They also carry the prefixes A and PR , respectively. However, these highways are signed according to their local designations, not their Interstate Highway numbers. Furthermore, these routes were neither planned according to nor constructed to
4059-574: The Louisiana state line. Likewise, Orange is only 789 mi (1,270 km) from the eastern terminus of I-10 in Jacksonville, Florida . I-10 enters Texas northwest of El Paso near Anthony and runs southward, alongside US Route 85 (US 85) and US 180 . US 85 splits off in West El Paso at exit 13 (Sunland Park Drive, Paisano Drive), where US 85 heads south on Paisano Drive, through downtown El Paso, and ends at
Interstate 10 in Texas - Misplaced Pages Continue
4158-609: The Rio Grande, it runs primarily eastward. Just before entering the city of Van Horn, at the border of Hudspeth and Culberson counties, I-10 leaves the Mountain Time Zone and enters the Central Time Zone . Just east of Kent , the western terminus of I-20 intersects with I-10. I-20 heads northeast towards the Dallas–Fort Worth area , and I-10 continues to run eastward. US 67 runs alongside I-10 for
4257-522: The US Highways for 2.63 mi (4.23 km) and curves to the east again at a second interchange. At College Street (US 90), I-10 expands to eight lanes. I-10 meets US 90 again near the recently reconstructed Purple Heart Memorial Bridge over the Neches River ; these highways travel concurrently the remainder of the way across the state. I-10 reaches Orange County and passes through
4356-854: The US to determine the difficulties that military vehicles would have on a cross-country trip. Leaving from the Ellipse near the White House on July 7, the Motor Transport Corps convoy needed 62 days to drive 3,200 miles (5,100 km) on the Lincoln Highway to the Presidio of San Francisco along the Golden Gate . The convoy suffered many setbacks and problems on the route, such as poor-quality bridges, broken crankshafts, and engines clogged with desert sand. Dwight Eisenhower , then
4455-778: The United States, including: In addition to cancellations, removals of freeways are planned: The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has defined a set of standards that all new Interstates must meet unless a waiver from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is obtained. One almost absolute standard is the controlled access nature of the roads. With few exceptions , traffic lights (and cross traffic in general) are limited to toll booths and ramp meters (metered flow control for lane merging during rush hour ). Being freeways , Interstate Highways usually have
4554-481: The act was signed, and paving started September 26, 1956. The state marked its portion of I-70 as the first project in the United States completed under the provisions of the new Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. The Pennsylvania Turnpike could also be considered one of the first Interstate Highways, and is nicknamed "Grandfather of the Interstate System". On October 1, 1940, 162 miles (261 km) of
4653-505: The border with Mexico and I-10 turns east towards Downtown El Paso . Prior to the Interstate Highway system, US 85 ran concurrent with US 80 from the New Mexico border until the two diverged in Downtown El Paso. When I-10 was constructed in downtown El Paso, several blocks were demolished, and a sub-grade trench was built for the freeway. A series of overpasses now carry the preexisting north–south surface streets over
4752-684: The cancellation of the Somerset Freeway . This situation was remedied when the construction of the Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 95 Interchange Project started in 2010 and partially opened on September 22, 2018, which was already enough to fill the gap. However, I-70 remains discontinuous in Pennsylvania , because of the lack of a direct interchange with the Pennsylvania Turnpike at
4851-406: The choice of routing destroyed many well-established neighborhoods, often intentionally as part of a program of " urban renewal ". In the two decades following the 1956 Highway Act, the construction of the freeways displaced one million people, and as a result of the many freeway revolts during this era, several planned Interstates were abandoned or re-routed to avoid urban cores. Construction of
4950-664: The city. In some locations, low speed limits are the result of lawsuits and resident demands; after holding up the completion of I-35E in St. Paul, Minnesota , for nearly 30 years in the courts, residents along the stretch of the freeway from the southern city limit to downtown successfully lobbied for a 45 mph (70 km/h) speed limit in addition to a prohibition on any vehicle weighing more than 9,000 pounds (4,100 kg) gross vehicle weight . I-93 in Franconia Notch State Park in northern New Hampshire has
5049-401: The collection of tolls, some Interstate routes are toll roads , either because they were grandfathered into the system or because subsequent legislation has allowed for tolling of Interstates in some cases. As of 2022 , about one quarter of all vehicle miles driven in the country used the Interstate Highway System, which has a total length of 48,890 miles (78,680 km). In 2022 and 2023,
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#17327830059525148-431: The construction and improvement of highways. The nation's revenue needs associated with World War I prevented any significant implementation of this policy, which expired in 1921. In December 1918, E. J. Mehren, a civil engineer and the editor of Engineering News-Record , presented his "A Suggested National Highway Policy and Plan" during a gathering of the State Highway Officials and Highway Industries Association at
5247-407: The contiguous United States, primary Interstates—also called main line Interstates or two-digit Interstates—are assigned numbers less than 100. While numerous exceptions do exist, there is a general scheme for numbering Interstates. Primary Interstates are assigned one- or two-digit numbers, while shorter routes (such as spurs, loops, and short connecting roads) are assigned three-digit numbers where
5346-567: The discontinuity, but they have been blocked by local opposition, fearing a loss of business. The Interstate Highway System has been expanded numerous times. The expansions have both created new designations and extended existing designations. For example, I-49 , added to the system in the 1980s as a freeway in Louisiana , was designated as an expansion corridor, and FHWA approved the expanded route north from Lafayette, Louisiana , to Kansas City, Missouri . The freeway exists today as separate completed segments, with segments under construction or in
5445-448: The dissemination of public information. As a result, the 2005 evacuation of New Orleans, Louisiana, prior to Hurricane Katrina ran much more smoothly. According to urban legend , early regulations required that one out of every five miles of the Interstate Highway System must be built straight and flat, so as to be usable by aircraft during times of war. There is no evidence of this rule being included in any Interstate legislation. It
5544-425: The east towards downtown El Paso. I-10 then meets I-110 and US 54 (the "Patriot Freeway", or North–South Freeway) in a complex, three-level interchange referred to by locals as the "Spaghetti Bowl". I-10 and US 180 diverge east of downtown at exit 23B (Paisano Drive) as US 180 heads northeast (joining US 62 and Paisano Drive northbound) and I-10 to the southeast. I-10's frontage-road system
5643-445: The eastern end of the concurrency near Breezewood . Traveling in either direction, I-70 traffic must exit the freeway and use a short stretch of US 30 (which includes a number of roadside services) to rejoin I-70. The interchange was not originally built because of a legacy federal funding rule, since relaxed, which restricted the use of federal funds to improve roads financed with tolls. Solutions have been proposed to eliminate
5742-435: The east–west stretch of I-10 through downtown. I-10 replaced US 80 through El Paso and to the southeast and east to the present day junction of I-10 and I-20 . US 80 along this route has been completely removed from the highway system in favor of I-10. At the junction with I-20, I-10 replaced US 290 eastward to the present day junction of I-10 and US 290 southeast of Junction . This section of US 290
5841-450: The economy. Not just as a public works measure, but for future growth. Clay's committee proposed a 10-year, $ 100 billion program ($ 1.13 trillion in 2023), which would build 40,000 miles (64,000 km) of divided highways linking all American cities with a population of greater than 50,000. Eisenhower initially preferred a system consisting of toll roads , but Clay convinced Eisenhower that toll roads were not feasible outside of
5940-439: The existing, largely non-freeway, United States Numbered Highways system. By the late 1930s, planning had expanded to a system of new superhighways. In 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave Thomas MacDonald , chief at the Bureau of Public Roads, a hand-drawn map of the United States marked with eight superhighway corridors for study. In 1939, Bureau of Public Roads Division of Information chief Herbert S. Fairbank wrote
6039-451: The fastest growing areas of the city. A majority of the region's suburban office space is located along the corridor as are the headquarters for USAA, gasoline refiner and retailer Valero , South Texas Medical Center , the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), Six Flags Fiesta Texas , and the Shops at La Cantera . I-10 intersects I-410 for the first time near Balcones Heights , a suburban city within San Antonio. The construction of
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#17327830059526138-426: The federal government, Interstate Highways are owned by the state in which they were built. With few exceptions , all Interstates must meet specific standards , such as having controlled access, physical barriers or median strips between lanes of oncoming traffic, breakdown lanes , avoiding at-grade intersections , no traffic lights , and complying with federal traffic sign specifications. Interstate Highways use
6237-458: The first freeway in San Antonio in 1949, but was signed as US 87. Expansion and construction continued in the 1950s, but the bulk of the construction occurred in the 1960s after the interstate was commissioned. The $ 11 million project to construct the interchange with I-37 was at the time the largest single contract in the history of the state highway commission. The current alignment was completed by 1968. Rapid growth in San Antonio led to
6336-411: The first three contracts under the new program were signed in Missouri on August 2, 1956. The first contract signed was for upgrading a section of US Route 66 to what is now designated Interstate 44 . On August 13, 1956, work began on US 40 (now I-70) in St. Charles County. Kansas claims that it was the first to start paving after the act was signed. Preliminary construction had taken place before
6435-429: The first time sought to target these funds to the construction of a national road grid of interconnected "primary highways", setting up cooperation among the various state highway planning boards. The Bureau of Public Roads asked the Army to provide a list of roads that it considered necessary for national defense. In 1922, General John J. Pershing , former head of the American Expeditionary Force in Europe during
6534-453: The freeway since it was impossible to upgrade the surface streets in downtown that US 87 and US 90 followed prior to the Interstate Highway System. Southeast of downtown, I-10 curves back to the northeast to connect with the pre-interstate alignment of US 90. Construction of portions of I-10 were well underway and completed prior to the commissioning of the highway in 1959. The section from Culebra Road to Woodlawn Avenue opened as
6633-475: The freeway to 16 lanes with a capacity for 200,000 cars per day. An old railway running along the north side of the freeway was demolished in 2002 in preparation for construction which began in 2004. The interior two lanes in each direction between SH 6 and west I-610, the Katy Freeway Managed Lanes or Katy Tollway, were built as high-occupancy toll lanes and are managed by the Harris County Toll Road Authority . The section just west of SH 6 to
6732-411: The freeway to five lanes in each direction from just outside the I-410 loop all the way into downtown. The I-10/I-410 interchange was reconstructed into a four-level stack interchange that was completed in 2009, and a new stack interchange is being constructed at I-10/Loop 1604, expected to be completed by 2027. When constructed during the 1960s, I-10 between Katy and Houston, known as the Katy Freeway,
6831-429: The highest speed limits in a given area. Speed limits are determined by individual states. From 1975 to 1986, the maximum speed limit on any highway in the United States was 55 miles per hour (90 km/h), in accordance with federal law. Typically, lower limits are established in Northeastern and coastal states, while higher speed limits are established in inland states west of the Mississippi River . For example,
6930-435: The highly populated coastal regions. In February 1955, Eisenhower forwarded Clay's proposal to Congress. The bill quickly won approval in the Senate, but House Democrats objected to the use of public bonds as the means to finance construction. Eisenhower and the House Democrats agreed to instead finance the system through the Highway Trust Fund , which itself would be funded by a gasoline tax. In June 1956, Eisenhower signed
7029-506: The highway now designated I‑70 and I‑76 opened between Irwin and Carlisle . The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania refers to the turnpike as the Granddaddy of the Pikes, a reference to turnpikes . Milestones in the construction of the Interstate Highway System include: The initial cost estimate for the system was $ 25 billion over 12 years; it ended up costing $ 114 billion (equivalent to $ 425 billion in 2006 or $ 618 billion in 2023 ) and took 35 years. The system
7128-476: The highway west of Houston is now also believed to be the widest in the world, at 26 lanes when including feeders . More than a third of I-10's length is located in Texas. El Paso, near the New Mexico state line, is 785 mi (1,263 km) from the western terminus of I-10 in Santa Monica, California , making it closer to Los Angeles than it is to Orange, Texas, 857 mi (1,379 km) away at
7227-459: The inefficiency of evacuating from southern Louisiana prior to Hurricane Georges ' landfall in September 1998, government officials looked towards contraflow to improve evacuation times. In Savannah, Georgia , and Charleston, South Carolina , in 1999, lanes of I-16 and I-26 were used in a contraflow configuration in anticipation of Hurricane Floyd with mixed results. In 2004, contraflow
7326-654: The interchange with I-35. I-10 heads east away from downtown through mainly residential neighborhoods on the east side of San Antonio. I-10's concurrency with US 87 ends just east of downtown where US 87 heads south towards Victoria . Leaving San Antonio, I-10 again passes I-410 and Loop 1604. I-10 is known as the 90th Infantry Division Memorial Highway on this stretch east of San Antonio. I-10 and US 90 continue their concurrency until they diverge in Seguin . They continue from there on to Houston nearly paralleling each other with short stints of overlaps along
7425-431: The last two digits match the parent route (thus, I-294 is a loop that connects at both ends to I-94 , while I-787 is a short spur route attached to I-87 ). In the numbering scheme for the primary routes, east–west highways are assigned even numbers and north–south highways are assigned odd numbers. Odd route numbers increase from west to east, and even-numbered routes increase from south to north (to avoid confusion with
7524-454: The mainline. Some auxiliary highways do not follow these guidelines, however. The Interstate Highway System also extends to Alaska , Hawaii , and Puerto Rico , even though they have no direct land connections to any other states or territories. However, their residents still pay federal fuel and tire taxes. The Interstates in Hawaii, all located on the most populous island of Oahu , carry
7623-753: The maximum speed limit is 75 mph (120 km/h) in northern Maine, varies between 50 and 70 mph (80 and 115 km/h) from southern Maine to New Jersey, and is 50 mph (80 km/h) in New York City and the District of Columbia. Currently, rural speed limits elsewhere generally range from 65 to 80 miles per hour (105 to 130 km/h). Several portions of various highways such as I-10 and I-20 in rural western Texas, I-80 in Nevada between Fernley and Winnemucca (except around Lovelock) and portions of I-15 , I-70 , I-80 , and I-84 in Utah have
7722-741: The northwest side, I-10 is known as the McDermott Freeway, named after Robert F. McDermott , former dean of the United States Air Force Academy as well as CEO of San Antonio-based USAA . The highway enters the city concurrently with US 87 from the north and travels more in a north–south direction into downtown, rather than the east–west designation found on the Interstate Highway signs. The section of I-10 from Ralph Fair Road ( FM 3351 ) to La Cantera Parkway includes HOV lanes for both directions. The northern section from Loop 1604 to downtown serves one of
7821-404: The number of fatalities on the Interstate Highway System amounted to more than 5,000 people annually, with nearly 5,600 fatalities in 2022. The United States government's efforts to construct a national network of highways began on an ad hoc basis with the passage of the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 , which provided $ 75 million over a five-year period for matching funds to the states for
7920-465: The official Interstate Highway standards . On one- or two-digit Interstates, the mile marker numbering almost always begins at the southern or western state line. If an Interstate originates within a state, the numbering begins from the location where the road begins in the south or west. As with all guidelines for Interstate routes, however, numerous exceptions exist. San Antonio metropolitan area Too Many Requests If you report this error to
8019-561: The original Interstate Highway System was proclaimed complete in 1992, despite deviations from the original 1956 plan and several stretches that did not fully conform with federal standards . The construction of the Interstate Highway System cost approximately $ 114 billion (equivalent to $ 618 billion in 2023). The system has continued to expand and grow as additional federal funding has provided for new routes to be added, and many future Interstate Highways are currently either being planned or under construction. Though heavily funded by
8118-449: The original highway quickly becoming inadequate, with the result that it has been in perpetual construction and expansion. In the 1980s, the portion just northwest of downtown was reconstructed to add a double deck feature to expand the freeway to five lanes in each direction. In 1990, the interstate had only two lanes in each direction from Loop 1604 to where the double-deck freeway begins near downtown. Recent construction has expanded
8217-656: The planning phase between them. In 1966, the FHWA designated the entire Interstate Highway System as part of the larger Pan-American Highway System, and at least two proposed Interstate expansions were initiated to help trade with Canada and Mexico spurred by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Long-term plans for I-69 , which currently exists in several separate completed segments (the largest of which are in Indiana and Texas ),
8316-411: The prefix H . There are three one-digit routes in the state ( H-1 , H-2 , and H-3 ) and one auxiliary route ( H-201 ). These Interstates connect several military and naval bases together, as well as the important communities spread across Oahu, and especially within the urban core of Honolulu . Both Alaska and Puerto Rico also have public highways that receive 90 percent of their funding from
8415-537: The route, without regard to the route number. For instance, I-190 in Massachusetts is labeled north–south, while I-195 in New Jersey is labeled east–west. Some looped Interstate routes use inner–outer directions instead of compass directions, when the use of compass directions would create ambiguity. Due to the large number of these routes, auxiliary route numbers may be repeated in different states along
8514-460: The route. From the western suburb of Katy to downtown, I-10 is known as the Katy Freeway in Houston . This section was widened in 2008 to as many as 26 total lanes, counting the six lanes of the access (frontage/feeder) road, which feature traffic signals, and driveway access and are not limited-access and therefore not technically part of the freeway itself but are directly adjacent. Between
8613-419: The same numbers, which is generally disallowed under highway administration guidelines. Several two-digit numbers are shared between unconnected road segments at opposite ends of the country for various reasons. Some such highways are incomplete Interstates (such as I-69 and I-74 ) and some just happen to share route designations (such as I-76 , I-84 , I‑86 , I-87 , and I-88 ). Some of these were due to
8712-503: The same roadway are signed as traveling in opposite directions; one such wrong-way concurrency is found between Wytheville and Fort Chiswell , Virginia, where I‑81 north and I‑77 south are equivalent (with that section of road traveling almost due east), as are I‑81 south and I‑77 north. Auxiliary Interstate Highways are circumferential, radial, or spur highways that principally serve urban areas . These types of Interstate Highways are given three-digit route numbers, which consist of
8811-799: The state. All of these routes are in the far western Trans-Pecos region. These routes are located along the former routes of US 80 and US 290 and include Bus. I-10-C in Sierra Blanca , Bus. I-10-D in Van Horn , Bus. I-10-F in Balmorhea , and Bus. I-10-G in Fort Stockton . I-10 has three auxiliary routes in Texas: Interstate Highway [REDACTED] The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways , commonly known as
8910-550: The towns of Rose City , Vidor , Pinehurst , and Orange . Business US 90-Y splits off and comes back to I-10 near the Sabine River Bridge over the Sabine River . At the river, I-10 finally leaves Texas and crosses into Louisiana . I-10 replaced and runs concurrently with US 85 from the New Mexico state line up until the two diverge at mile marker 13. The two highways parallel each other for several miles until US 85 continues to head south to
9009-495: The war, complied by submitting a detailed network of 20,000 miles (32,000 km) of interconnected primary highways—the so-called Pershing Map . A boom in road construction followed throughout the decade of the 1920s, with such projects as the New York parkway system constructed as part of a new national highway system. As automobile traffic increased, planners saw a need for such an interconnected national system to supplement
9108-537: The widest section of I-10 in the Houston area and the only one with a significant portion below grade. A project completed in 2014 added one extra auxiliary lane in each direction between Shepherd Drive and Taylor Street. In addition, the eastbound feeder road that ends at Studemont was extended to Taylor Street. As I-10 travels through downtown, it junctions with I-45 and I-69 / US 59 . Both interchanges feature left exits, allowing several lane shifts for through traffic. I-10 provides access to Minute Maid Park , home of
9207-523: The width is 24 lanes at multiple locations and up to 26 lanes east of Gessner Road (12 main lanes, eight lanes of access roads, and six mid-freeway HOT / HOV lanes). From the Fort Bend County line to I-610, there is a minimum of four main lanes in each direction. The maximum number of undivided lanes at any point on the freeway is nine in the eastbound direction approaching Antoine Drive (though this includes one exit-only lane); this
9306-538: Was built with six to eight lanes wide barring side lanes, being modest by Houston standards because existing traffic demand to the farming area of West Houston was relatively low. As the population and economic activity increased in the area, vehicular traffic increased, reaching an annual average daily traffic (AADT) of 238,000 vehicles just west of the West Loop in 2001. In 2000, increased traffic levels and congestion led to plans being approved for widening of
9405-419: Was deleted from the highway system. From this point to near Comfort , I-10 replaced SH 27 . SH 27 still exists along this stretch, mostly paralleling I-10 to the south. From Comfort southeast to San Antonio, I-10 directly replaced US 87 . I-10 generally follows the alignment of US 87 on the northwest side of San Antonio into downtown. A new alignment was built to the south of downtown for
9504-551: Was employed ahead of Hurricane Charley in the Tampa, Florida area and on the Gulf Coast before the landfall of Hurricane Ivan ; however, evacuation times there were no better than previous evacuation operations. Engineers began to apply lessons learned from the analysis of prior contraflow operations, including limiting exits, removing troopers (to keep traffic flowing instead of having drivers stop for directions), and improving
9603-424: Was necessary to design the freeway this way in order to accommodate the amount of traffic heading into downtown and to fit into the narrow corridor that was surrounded by existing infrastructure. I-10 meets I-35 on the northwest side of downtown and it overlaps I-35 south to form the west side of the downtown loop. The I-35 exit numbers are carried through during the concurrency. I-10 and I-35 end their concurrency at
9702-422: Was proclaimed complete in 1992, but two of the original Interstates— I-95 and I-70 —were not continuous: both of these discontinuities were due to local opposition, which blocked efforts to build the necessary connections to fully complete the system. I-95 was made a continuous freeway in 2018, and thus I-70 remains the only original Interstate with a discontinuity. I-95 was discontinuous in New Jersey because of
9801-547: Was serving as Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe during World War II . In 1954, Eisenhower appointed General Lucius D. Clay to head a committee charged with proposing an interstate highway system plan. Summing up motivations for the construction of such a system, Clay stated, It was evident we needed better highways. We needed them for safety, to accommodate more automobiles. We needed them for defense purposes, if that should ever be necessary. And we needed them for
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