Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main
Interstate Highway
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...
of
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
's
Atlantic Coast. It begins at a partial
interchange with
U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) just south of downtown
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
, and heads north past
Daytona Beach
Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County near the Atlantic coastline, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 census. Daytona Beach is approximately nort ...
, through
Jacksonville, and to the
Georgia state line at the
St. Marys River near
Becker
Becker () is one of the German-language surnames, along with Bäcker and Baecker, that derive from the root, which refers to baking. The surname began as a name for a baker (and thus his family). In northern Germany it can also derive from the ...
. The route also passes through the cities of
Fort Lauderdale
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
,
West Palm Beach, and
Titusville.
Interstate 95 runs for , making Florida's portion the longest of any state the interstate passes through. The southernmost , from Exit 1 to Exit 87B, is known as the Miami Memorial Metropolitan (MMM) Expressway. The other of which are
unsigned
Unsigned can refer to:
* An unsigned artist is a musical artist or group not attached or signed to a record label
** Unsigned Music Awards, ceremony noting achievements of unsigned artists
** Unsigned band web, online community
* Similarly, the c ...
as State Road 9A, and the remainder being the unsigned portion of
State Road 9.
Route description
![Miami traffic aerial I-95 North downtown](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Miami_traffic_aerial_I-95_North_downtown.jpg)
I-95 begins its northward journey at
U.S. Route 1 near 32nd Road and the
Vizcaya Metrorail Station in southern Miami. It quickly
interchanges with the
Rickenbacker Causeway via the short unsigned
SR 913, and then heads north into downtown. The short
SR 970 freeway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
, mostly unsigned, distributes traffic to several downtown streets. On the north side of downtown, at the
Midtown Interchange
The Midtown Interchange, located in the Civic Center and Overtown neighborhoods of Miami, Florida, is the convergence of three major motorways: I-95, I-395 (which connects to the MacArthur Causeway to the east), and the Dolphin Expressway (SR 83 ...
,
Interstate 395 heads east to the
MacArthur Causeway
The General Douglas MacArthur Causeway is a six-lane causeway that connects Downtown Miami to South Beach via Biscayne Bay in Miami-Dade County.
The highway is the singular roadway connecting the mainland and beaches to Watson Island and the ba ...
, and the tolled
SR 836 heads west to
Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically as Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the greater Miami metropolitan area with over 1,000 daily flights to 167 domestic and international destinations, including most co ...
. Throughout
Miami-Dade County
Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...
, I-95 is designated the North–South Expressway according to some maps.
After crossing I-395 and SR 836, I-95 begins to head north roughly along the alignment of Northwest 6th Avenue, lying one block east of Northwest 7th Avenue (
U.S. Highway 441
U.S. Route 441 (US 441) is a auxiliary route of U.S. Route 41. It extends from US 41 in Miami, Florida to U.S. Route 25W, US 25W in Rocky Top, Tennessee. Between its termini, US 441 travels through the states of Florida, ...
/
SR 7). Just north of 36th Street (
U.S. Highway 27
U.S. Route 27 (US 27) is a north–south United States Highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus is at US 1 in Miami, Florida. The northern terminus is at Interstate 69 (I-69) in Fort Wayne, Indiana. F ...
/
SR 25), at what has been called the
36th Street Interchange, I-95 crosses
Interstate 195, which goes east over the
Julia Tuttle Causeway
Julia is usually a feminine given name. It is a Latinate feminine form of the name Julio and Julius. (For further details on etymology, see the Wiktionary entry "Julius".) The given name ''Julia'' had been in use throughout Late Antiquity (e.g. ...
to
Miami Beach
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter of which sep ...
, and
SR 112, a toll road west to the airport. A two-way Express Lanes roadway in the
median
In statistics and probability theory, the median is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as "the middle" value. The basic fe ...
begins at I-195 and SR 112, formed by ramps to and from SR 112. I-95 continues north, crossing and interchanging with many surface roads, most of which are
State Road
A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...
s, before reaching the
Golden Glades Interchange.
The complicated Golden Glades Interchange provides access between I-95 and two other freeways — the original section of
Florida's Turnpike
Florida's Turnpike, designated as unsigned State Road 91 (SR 91), is a toll road in the U.S. state of Florida, maintained by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise (FTE). Spanning approximately along a northwest–southeast axis, the turnpike is in two s ...
(SR 91), since bypassed by the
Homestead Extension (SR 821), and the
Palmetto Expressway (
SR 826). Ramps are also provided to and from several surface streets -
SR 826 east on 167th Street to
Sunny Isles Beach
Sunny Isles Beach (SIB, officially the City of Sunny Isles Beach) is a city located on a barrier island in northeast Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east and the Intracoastal Waterway on ...
,
U.S. Highway 441
U.S. Route 441 (US 441) is a auxiliary route of U.S. Route 41. It extends from US 41 in Miami, Florida to U.S. Route 25W, US 25W in Rocky Top, Tennessee. Between its termini, US 441 travels through the states of Florida, ...
(
SR 7) south on Northwest 7th Avenue and north on Northwest 2nd Avenue, and
SR 9 southwest on a
limited-access
A limited-access road, known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, dual-carriageway, expressway, limited access freeway, and partial controlled access highway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which ...
roadway to Northwest 27th Avenue. I-95 north to
West Palm Beach, as well as SR 9 southwest to 27th Avenue, runs parallel to the
South Florida Rail Corridor, used by
CSX
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
for cargo and freight,
Tri-Rail
Tri-Rail is a commuter rail line linking Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach in Florida, United States. The ''Tri'' prefix in the name refers to the three counties served by the railroad: Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade. Tri-Rail i ...
for
commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...
, and
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
's
''Silver Star'' and ''
Silver Meteor
The ''Silver Meteor'' is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between New York City and Miami, Florida. Introduced in 1939 as the first diesel-powered streamliner between New York and Florida, it was the flagship train of the Seaboard Air Line ...
'' lines for
intercity rail
Inter-city rail services are express passenger train services that run services that connect cities over longer distances than commuter or regional trains.
There is no precise definition of inter-city rail; its meaning may vary from country ...
. At the Golden Glades Interchange, SR 9 merges with I-95, and I-95 is unsigned as State Road 9 for the remainder of its length.
North of Miami, I-95 continues on to
Ft. Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...
, where it interchanges with
I-595, providing access to
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
and
Port Everglades
Port Everglades is a seaport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, located in Broward County. Port Everglades is one of South Florida's foremost economic engines, as it is the gateway for both international trade and cruise vacations. In 2019, Port Eve ...
to the east, and
Broward County's western suburbs as well as
I-75 northbound (via
Alligator Alley
Interstate 75 (I-75) is a part of the Interstate Highway System and runs from the Hialeah–Miami Lakes border, a few miles northwest of Miami, to Sault Ste. Marie in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I-75 begins its national northward jou ...
) across the peninsula to the
Gulf Coast to the west. In West Palm Beach, I-95 provides direct access to
Palm Beach International Airport
Palm Beach International Airport is a public airport in Palm Beach County, Florida, located just west of the city of West Palm Beach, Florida, United States, which it serves as the primary airport for. It is also the primary airport for most o ...
as well as downtown West Palm Beach and
Palm Beach Island
Palm most commonly refers to:
* Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand
* Palm plants, of family Arecaceae
**List of Arecaceae genera
* Several other plants known as "palm"
Palm or Palms may also refer to:
Music
* Palm (ban ...
via
SR 704 (Okeechobee Blvd.). North of West Palm Beach, I-95 and the Florida's Turnpike literally run right next to each other for between Donald Ross Road in Jupiter and
CR 713 in Palm City. After the interchange with CR 713, I-95 crosses over the Turnpike in an extreme detour through the western reaches of
Martin County before heading north towards
St. Lucie County
St. Lucie County ( es, Condado de Santa Lucía, link=) is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 329,226. The county's seat is Fort Pierce. St. Lucie County is included in the Port St. Lucie, FL Metro ...
. Providing access to the western portions of
Port St. Lucie
Port St. Lucie is a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. It is the most populous municipality in the county with a population of 204,851 at the 2020 census. It is located southeast of Orlando and north of Miami. The Port St. Luc ...
via 5 interchanges, I-95 eventually crosses over the Turnpike a final time just north of the
Midway Road (CR 712) interchange. Both freeways eventually go separate ways north of
Fort Pierce
Fort Pierce is a city in and the county seat of St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Treasure Coast region of Atlantic Coast Florida. It is also known as the Sunrise City, sister to San Francisco, California, the Suns ...
; I-95 continues directly along the coast; Florida's Turnpike turns west toward
Orlando.
![To Interstate 95 on A1A](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/To_Interstate_95_on_A1A.png)
Just before the interchange with
State Road 70 (providing access to the Turnpike), the highway widens from 3 to 5 lanes in each direction; after the interchange with SR 70, I-95 narrows to 4 lanes in each direction. I-95 further narrows to three lanes in each direction after its interchange with
State Road 614. The road soon enters Indian River County and the next major exit is with
State Road 60
The following highways are numbered 60:
International
* Asian Highway 60
* European route E60
Australia
* Bruxner Highway
* Dawson Highway (Rolleston to Gladstone) - Queensland State Route 60
Brazil
* BR-060
Canada
* Alberta Highway 60
* Ma ...
providing access to
Vero Beach. The highway soon enters Brevard County and the Space Coast of Florida, continuing past Melbourne, Viera, and Cocoa. The next major junction is
State Road 528 with access to Cocoa Beach, and Cape Canaveral eastbound and tolled access to Orlando to the west. Continuing north past Titusville, I-95 enters Volusia County and the city of Daytona Beach shortly afterwards, where it meets with the eastern terminus of
Interstate 4
Interstate 4 (I-4) is an Interstate Highway located entirely within the U.S. state of Florida, maintained by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). Spanning along a generally southwest–northeast axis, I-4 is entirely concurrent wi ...
. The highway passes through Flagler and St. Johns counties before it enters Duval County and the city of Jacksonville.
![I-95 near Miami 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/I-95_near_Miami_2.JPG)
About north of the St. Johns-Duval county border, I-95 intersects the
I-295 beltway at its southern end south of central
Jacksonville, with I-95 continuing north. The Interstate passes through the heart of Jacksonville, crossing the
Fuller Warren Bridge over the
St. Johns River
The St. Johns River ( es, Río San Juan) is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and its most significant one for commercial and recreational use. At long, it flows north and winds through or borders twelve counties. The drop in eleva ...
, which was rebuilt from its original drawbridge incarnation in 2002. About a mile north of the bridge, at exit 351B, it intersects with the national eastern terminus of
I-10
Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...
, with the interchange's redesign completed in September 2010. From here to exit 353B, it is
concurrent
Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to:
Law
* Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea''
* Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...
with
US 17
U.S. Route 17 or U.S. Highway 17 (US 17), also known as the Coastal Highway, is a north–south United States Highway that spans in the southeastern United States. It runs close to the Atlantic Coast for much of its length, with ...
and its unsigned designation SR 15.
The stretch from here in Downtown Jacksonville south past the southern interchange with the Jacksonville Beltway, I-295, can be very congested during morning and evening rush hours, with traffic often grinding to a halt. Well over 100,000 cars use this section per day, with even higher traffic counts in some areas. I-95 intersects I-295 again at exit 362, north of Downtown Jacksonville. Just north of the northern I-295 interchange, I-95 provides access to
Jacksonville International Airport
Jacksonville International Airport is a civil-military public airport 13 miles (21 km) north of Downtown Jacksonville, in Duval County, Florida. It is owned and operated by the Jacksonville Aviation Authority.
History
Construction star ...
. From this point, I-95 continues north towards Nassau County with an exit for
State Road A1A
State Road A1A (SR A1A) is a major north–south Florida State Road that runs along the Atlantic Ocean, from Key West at the southern tip of Florida, to Fernandina Beach, just south of Georgia on Amelia Island. It is the main road through m ...
and then into Georgia, just north of mile marker 380.
Express lanes
![Miami traffic jam, I-95 North rush hour](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Miami_traffic_jam%2C_I-95_North_rush_hour.jpg)
The current HOV lanes in both directions between I-395 in Miami and Broward Blvd. (SR 842) in Northern Miami and Fort Lauderdale are converted to
High Occupancy toll
A high-occupancy toll lane (or HOT lane) is a type of traffic lane or roadway that is available to high-occupancy vehicles and other exempt vehicles without charge; other vehicles are required to pay a variable fee that is adjusted in response t ...
lanes, with two lanes in each direction. Prices vary based on congestion and peak hours and tolls are collected electronically, while registered travelers with 3 or more passengers and hybrid vehicles can drive the toll lanes for free. Both HOT lanes have been completed in both directions from I-395 to the Golden Glades Interchange (including toll gantries).
History
Interstate 95 was initially signed in 1959, and the first section to be opened to traffic was in Jacksonville in 1960. A year later, a short section just north of the current I-195 in Miami opened.
The Miami News
''The Miami News'' was an evening newspaper in Miami, Florida. It was the media market competitor to the morning edition of the ''Miami Herald'' for most of the 20th century. The paper started publishing in May 1896 as a weekly called ''The Miami ...
in 1956 touted the construction of what would become I-95 in Miami as a "...
slum clearance
Slum clearance, slum eviction or slum removal is an urban renewal strategy used to transform low income settlements with poor reputation into another type of development or housing. This has long been a strategy for redeveloping urban communities; ...
program." Most of the construction was focused between Jacksonville and Daytona Beach in the early 1960s. Construction of the
Fuller Warren Bridge cut off the historically black Jacksonville neighborhood called
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
. At the end of the decade, the highway was complete from
U.S. 17
U.S. Route 17 or U.S. Highway 17 (US 17), also known as the Coastal Highway, is a north–south United States Highway that spans in the southeastern United States. It runs close to the Atlantic Coast for much of its length, with ...
, just south of the
Georgia state line to
Interstate 4
Interstate 4 (I-4) is an Interstate Highway located entirely within the U.S. state of Florida, maintained by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). Spanning along a generally southwest–northeast axis, I-4 is entirely concurrent wi ...
in
Daytona Beach
Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County near the Atlantic coastline, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 census. Daytona Beach is approximately nort ...
(Georgia had not completed their portion of I-95 at the time of Florida's completion). The segment from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami was complete by 1970. By 1976, most of the highway was complete from the Georgia State Line to Ft. Pierce as well as Palm Beach Gardens to Miami.
![I-95 express lanes exit 7](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/I-95_express_lanes_exit_7.jpg)
In 2002, I-95, along with most of Florida's Interstates, switched over from a sequential exit numbering system to a
mileage based exit numbering system.
Missing Treasure Coast Link
![Florida I-95 from Lantana Road overpass](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Florida_I-95_from_Lantana_Road_overpass.jpg)
The
Bureau of Public Roads approved an Interstate 95 alignment that used of
Florida's Turnpike
Florida's Turnpike, designated as unsigned State Road 91 (SR 91), is a toll road in the U.S. state of Florida, maintained by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise (FTE). Spanning approximately along a northwest–southeast axis, the turnpike is in two s ...
from
PGA Boulevard (SR 786) in
Palm Beach Gardens north to
SR 70 in
Ft. Pierce
Fort Pierce is a city in and the county seat of St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Treasure Coast region of Atlantic Coast Florida. It is also known as the Sunrise City, sister to San Francisco, California, the Suns ...
in the 1950s. In the mid-1960s, the State Road Department authorized traffic counts be conducted to determine if the separation of Interstate 95 from the Turnpike was feasible, with arguments that using a concurrent alignment was costing Florida money for Federal Highway funding, but not without the concern of losing toll revenue. Interstate 95 was given a separate alignment from Florida's Turnpike in 1973.
Over time, the Interstate adopted a separate route closer to
U.S. Route 1, running parallel with the turnpike between Stuart and Palm Beach Gardens, and was originally scheduled to be completed in 1972. However, resistance by
Martin County officials due to environmental and unwanted growth concerns delayed the highway's completion for 15 years, requiring those who wanted to travel through the
Treasure Coast to take either the slower US 1 or the tolled Turnpike. This section opened to traffic on December 19, 1987, with I-95 running uninterrupted from Miami to the state line.
Exit list
Mainline
Express lanes
Express lanes begin in
Downtown Miami
Downtown Miami is the urban city center of Miami, Florida. The city's greater downtown region consists of the Central Business District, Brickell, the Historic District, Government Center, the Arts & Entertainment District, and Park West. It ...
and are planned to extend as far north as
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...
.
Auxiliary routes
*:
Julia Tuttle Causeway
Julia is usually a feminine given name. It is a Latinate feminine form of the name Julio and Julius. (For further details on etymology, see the Wiktionary entry "Julius".) The given name ''Julia'' had been in use throughout Late Antiquity (e.g. ...
, a spur in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
, crossing
Biscayne Bay
*: Beltway around
Jacksonville
*: Spur located north of
Downtown Miami
Downtown Miami is the urban city center of Miami, Florida. The city's greater downtown region consists of the Central Business District, Brickell, the Historic District, Government Center, the Arts & Entertainment District, and Park West. It ...
connecting to the
MacArthur Causeway
The General Douglas MacArthur Causeway is a six-lane causeway that connects Downtown Miami to South Beach via Biscayne Bay in Miami-Dade County.
The highway is the singular roadway connecting the mainland and beaches to Watson Island and the ba ...
*:
Port Everglades Expressway
Interstate 595 (I-595), also known as the Port Everglades Expressway and as the unsigned State Road 862 (SR 862), is a Interstate highway that connects Interstate 75 and Alligator Alley in the west with Florida's Turnpike, Interstate 95, ...
, between
Sunrise and
Fort Lauderdale
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
*: future designation along
State Road 9B in southern Jacksonville
See also
*
*
*
Transportation in Florida
Transportation in Florida includes a variety of options, including Interstate Highways, U.S. Highways, and Florida State Roads; Amtrak and commuter rail services; airports, public transportation, and sea ports, in a number of the state's counties ...
*
Transportation in South Florida
The Greater Miami area, composed of the three counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach, also known collectively as South Florida, is home to a wide variety of public and private transportation systems. These include heavy rail mass tra ...
*
Transportation in Jacksonville, Florida
The Jacksonville transportation network includes ground, air, and sea options for passenger and freight transit. The Jacksonville Port Authority (Jaxport) operates the Port of Jacksonville, which includes container shipping facilities at ''Blount ...
References
External links
Interstate 95 Florida -- SouthEastRoads.com(AARoads)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Interstate 95 In Florida
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1957 establishments in Florida