Discover

'Interstate 94' (abbreviated 'I-94') is the northernmost east-west interstate highway, connecting the Great Lakes and Intermountain regions of the United States. Its western terminus is in Billings, Montana at a junction with Interstate 90; its eastern terminus is the U.S. side of the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, Michigan, at the Sarnia, Ontario, Canada border, where together with Interstate 69 it meets Highway 402.

Contents

Route description

Montana

North Dakota

Minnesota

Wisconsin

Illinois

Indiana

Michigan

History

Intersections with other interstates

Spur routes

Theory of I-94 serial killer

References

External links

Route description

|-
|MT
|249
|401
|-
|ND
|352
|567
|-
|MN
|259
|418
|-
|WI
|348
|560
|-
|IL
|77
|124
|-
|IN
|46
|74
|-
|MI
|275
|443
|-
|Total^[1]
|1604
|2581
|}

Major cities
All cities are control cities for I-94.[2]
★ Billings, Montana ★ Bismarck, North Dakota ★ Fargo, North Dakota ★ Moorhead, Minnesota ★ Minneapolis, Minnesota ★ St. Paul, Minnesota ★ Eau Claire, Wisconsin ★ Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin ★ Madison, Wisconsin ★ Milwaukee, Wisconsin ★ Chicago, Illinois ★ Detroit, Michigan ★ Port Huron, Michigan

Interstate 94 is the only purely east-west interstate to form a direct connection into a foreign country (Canada). No such interstate currently ends at the U.S.-Mexico border, although I-905 in California was once designated as ending at the border. At Port Huron, I-94 crosses the Blue Water Bridge into Sarnia, Ontario and becomes Highway 402, which can be used by motorists going to Toronto. I-94's concurrency at that crossing, I-69, is posted east-west in eastern Michigan, but changes to north-south near Lansing and remains north-south in the remainder of Michigan and throughout its run in Indiana.

Montana

Main articles: Interstate 94 in Montana

I-94 begins at Billings and travels northeastward towards Glendive before exiting the state to the east.

North Dakota

Main articles: Interstate 94 in North Dakota

The route enters at Beach and travels east past Bismarck on the way to Fargo where it leaves the state and crosses into Minnesota.

Minnesota

Main articles: Interstate 94 in Minnesota

I-94 travels in a northwest-southeast trajectory passing Moorhead and St Cloud prior to traveling through the Twin Cities and heading east out of the state. It crosses the Red River, the Mississippi River, and finally the St. Croix River as it crosses into Wisconsin.

Wisconsin

Main articles: Interstate 94 in Wisconsin

Interstate 94 enters Wisconsin East of the Twin Cities at the town of Hudson. It passes Eau Claire before turning southeastward and joining with Interstate 90 in Tomah and Interstate 39 in Portage. I-94 branches off eastward in Madison and travels east to Milwaukee before turning south and heading to Chicago, entering Illinois at Pleasant Prairie.

Illinois

Main articles: Interstate 94 in Illinois

In the state of Illinois, I-94 runs south from Wisconsin to Indiana via downtown Chicago. It is tolled on the Tri-State Tollway to the I-94/I-294 split; it then runs east to the Skokie Highway, where it turns south through the city of Chicago. At Interstate 80, I-94 runs east to Indiana on the Kingery Expressway.

Indiana

Main articles: Interstate 94 in Indiana

In the state of Indiana, I-94 runs east from Illinois concurrent with I-80. It crosses Interstate 90 (Indiana Toll Road), where I-80 joins I-90 east towards Ohio. I-94 continues northeast, paralleling the Lake Michigan shoreline into Michigan.

Michigan

Main articles: Interstate 94 in Michigan

I-94 runs north along Lake Michigan to St. Joseph before heading east on the long road to Detroit. It turns northeast to Port Huron where it meets I-69 and ends at ON Hwy 402 on the Blue Water Bridge.

History

North of Chicago, I-94 is being widened from three to four lanes from Townline Road to just south of the Wisconsin state line at Illinois Route 173.
In 2005, the I-94 bridge over the Crow River near St. Michael, Minnesota, about 35 miles northwest of Minneapolis, is being rebuilt. As well, I-94 in downtown St. Paul between Minnesota State Highway 120 and McKnight Road is being widened, from two to three lanes.
The new Marquette Interchange, in downtown Milwaukee, will be completed in 2008 at a cost of $810 million dollars. As of 2006, it currently holds the record of having the most cranes present for a single construction project in the U.S..
The interchange at 95th Ave. N in Maple Grove, Minnesota is also being rebuilt. A new, wider bridge will replace the two-lane bridge there, which was demolished in July, 2006.
In Detroit, Interstate 94 was routed over the existing Edsel Ford Freeway, and remained signed as such until the late 1980s when Michigan deemphasized proper names on Interstate guide signs. Its interchange with the Lodge Freeway, built in 1953, is significant as the first full freeway-to-freeway interchange built in the United States.^[3]

Intersections with other interstates

★ Interstate 90 in Billings, Montana

★ Interstate 29 in Fargo, North Dakota

★ Interstate 35W in Minneapolis, Minnesota; concurrent for less than one mile

★ Interstate 35E in St. Paul, Minnesota

★ Interstate 90 in Tomah, Wisconsin

★ Interstate 39 at Portage, Wisconsin

★ Interstate 43 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

★ Interstate 90 in Chicago, Illinois

★ Interstate 55 in Chicago, Illinois

★ Interstate 57 in Chicago, Illinois

★ Interstate 80 in Lansing, Illinois

★ Interstate 65 in Gary, Indiana

★ Interstate 90 in Lake Station, Indiana

★ Interstate 196 near Benton Harbor, Michigan

★ Interstate 194 in Battle Creek, Michigan

★ Interstate 69 in Marshall, Michigan

★ Interstate 275 in Romulus, Michigan

★ Interstate 96 in Detroit, Michigan

★ Interstate 75 in Detroit, Michigan

★ Interstate 696 in Roseville, Michigan

★ Interstate 69 in Port Huron, Michigan¹

Spur routes

★ Bismarck, North Dakota - I-194 (unsigned)

★ Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota - I-394, I-494, I-694

★ Milwaukee, Wisconsin - I-794, I-894

★ Chicago, Illinois - I-294 (Tri-State Tollway)

★ Battle Creek, Michigan - I-194

Theory of I-94 serial killer

A Minnesota criminologist has posited the existence of a serial killer murdering college-age men along the highway. His research found an unusual number of drownings of college-age men on nights with particular lunar conditions. Minneapolis Star Tribune article

References

1. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/reports/routefinder/table1.htm
2. Interstate Highway Control Cities
3. Preliminary List of Nationally and Exceptionally Significant Features of the Interstate Highway System

External links

★ Interstate 94 at Michigan Highways

★ Interstate 94 at Wisconsin Highways

★ Illinois Highway Ends: I-94

★ Indiana Highway Ends: I-94