Interstate 84

Interstate 84 may refer to:

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Interstate 84 (Pennsylvania–Massachusetts)

Interstate 84 (I-84) is an Interstate Highway with two non-contiguous sections. This eastern section extends from Dunmore, Pennsylvania (near Scranton) at an interchange with Interstate 81 east to Sturbridge, Massachusetts, at an interchange with the Massachusetts Turnpike (Interstate 90). I-84 has mile-log junction numbering in Pennsylvania; otherwise, exit numbers are roughly sequential. Another highway named I-84 is located in the northwestern United States.

Route description

Pennsylvania

Interstate 84 starts in Pennsylvania at Interstate 81 in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, a suburb east of Scranton. After two miles (3 km), I-84 interchanges with Interstate 380, with I-380 going southeast through the Poconos and I-84 continuing almost due east into Wayne and Pike counties. The Pennsylvania section is the only segment of I-84 that uses mile-based exit numbers; it began replacing sequential numbers in 2001.

This section of Pennsylvania is very lightly populated, and there are no major settlements on or near I-84, although it offers access to popular outdoor recreation areas such as Lake Wallenpaupack and Promised Land State Park. Its right-of-way is very wide, with a large median strip between the two roadways as it passes through densely wooded country, except for the swampy areas in southern Wayne County. The only development along Pennsylvania's section of I-84 is where US 6 and 209 start to parallel closely and form a commercial strip just south of Matamoras, just west of the Delaware River. I-84 reaches its highest elevation in Pennsylvania and in the east just west of exit 8 at 1800 feet.

Interstate 84 in Massachusetts

Interstate 84 (I-84) in Massachusetts is the eastern-most segment of the eastern I-84 highway originating in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, (near Scranton). Within Massachusetts, I-84 exists in the towns of Holland and Sturbridge. Known as the Wilbur Cross Highway, it has also been signed as Massachusetts Route 15 between 1948 and 1980 as well as Interstate 86 between 1971 and 1984.

History

Origins as Parkway Extension

The highway originated as Route 15, an extension of Connecticut Route 15 (then known as the Wilbur Cross Parkway). The extension started in Holland, and within ¹⁄₄ mile (0.40 km), it entered Sturbridge as Mashapuag Road. It then followed Union Road to Sturbridge Center ending at Route 131.

Upgrade to Interstate Highway

Between 1949 and 1952, the Massachusetts Department of Public Works (MassDPW) initiated construction of the Wilbur Cross Highway extension to US 20 in Sturbridge, with two lanes in each direction separated by a wide median and frequent U-turns.