For thirty-five years, one of America's most vital highways had a massive, glaring gap.

Science · Published 20 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Interstate 95, the primary artery of the U.S. East Coast, was not a continuous route through New Jersey until 2018. A cancelled freeway project left the highway severed, forcing drivers into a disjointed maze. The story of how this gap was finally closed reveals the complex politics of infrastructure.

The missing link in I-95 was the direct result of the 1983 cancellation of the Somerset Freeway. Originally conceived in the 1960s, this proposed route was intended to connect the Trenton area to I-287 in Piscataway, eventually linking to the New Jersey Turnpike. However, the project faced fierce opposition from residents in Hopewell, Princeton, and Montgomery Township, who feared the highway would invite unwanted development into their rural farmland. Even the New Jersey Turnpike Authority opposed the freeway, viewing it as a toll-free rival to their own revenue-generating road.

When the Somerset Freeway was officially abandoned, I-95 was left with a significant discontinuity. For decades, the highway effectively ended at US 1 in Lawrence Township, forcing northbound traffic onto I-295. Meanwhile, the southern segment of I-95 in New Jersey terminated at the Pennsylvania state line. This forced travelers to navigate a convoluted path through local roads and other interstates to bridge the gap between Philadelphia and New York City. The federal government eventually provided New Jersey with $246 million in 1982—equivalent to $675 million today—to compensate for the cancelled project.

The solution finally arrived in 2018 through the Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 95 Interchange Project. By constructing a new interchange in Bristol Township, Pennsylvania, engineers were able to reroute I-95 to use the Pennsylvania Turnpike, connecting it directly to the Pearl Harbor Memorial Turnpike Extension. On September 22, 2018, the final ramps opened, creating a seamless freeway route. To facilitate this, the former I-95 segment around Trenton was redesignated as I-295. This massive engineering effort finally unified the East Coast's most important corridor, ending a three-decade-long logistical headache for millions of drivers.

General information, not professional advice. Spotted an error? Flag the card or see corrections and complaints.

Intellect Plus is a visual educational discovery platform for exploring fascinating facts and ideas. Brain Food, Not Brain Rot. What is Intellect Plus?

Related

• How a century-long plan to bypass New York City finally became a reality
• Why Connecticut's I-95 features an unusually high density of highway exits
• The highway that was supposed to reach Troy but ended in Schenectady
• Interstate 89 was originally planned to follow an entirely different path through New England
• How a highway once dubbed a route to nowhere became a transcontinental icon
• The invisible forces that allow needles to float on water
• Mapping the invisible: How vector fields describe the hidden forces of nature
• The global weight of 207 million workers in a single federation
• The hidden mathematics behind the dams of Wyoming
• Why the United Nations chose the summer solstice for International Day of Yoga
• A Scottish council area defined by its maritime history and tragic industrial accidents
• Why objects have hidden energy stored within their very structure

More in Physics · More in Science · Latest · A–Z · All topics