Interstate 83

I-83 seen from the US 40 (Orleans Street) bridge in Baltimore

The Jones Falls Expressway (JFX) is a 10.2-mile-long (16.4 km) freeway that carries I-83 from Downtown Baltimore to the northern suburbs. It is the area's true north–south artery, because I-95 runs mostly east–west through the city. Its southern terminus is at Fayette Street, and its northern terminus is at Maryland Route 25 (MD 25), just north of the Baltimore Beltway (I-695). Inside Baltimore, the road is maintained not by the Maryland State Highway Administration (MDSHA), which controls most freeways in the state, but by the city's Department of Transportation.

The freeway begins at an at-grade four-way intersection between the JFX, Fayette Street, and President Street, located in close proximity to the Phoenix Shot Tower. President Street continues south along the eastern edge of the central business district (CBD) to terminate at a traffic circle in Harbor East. Fayette Street serves as an access route into the downtown area.

Passing beneath the Orleans Street Viaduct (US 40), the JFX runs north, passing near the Washington Monument. Between exits 3 and 4, there is a 90-degree turn that sometimes requires motorists to slow down just before entering it, with an advisory speed posted at 40 mph (64 km/h). The curve is located between the Guilford Avenue and Preston Street overpasses. Within the curve, the southbound JFX interchanges with MD 2, with an exit to St. Paul Street and an entrance from Charles Street.

I-83 southbound on the JFX past Northern Parkway in Baltimore

Having passed this curve, the JFX begins to parallel MD 25, going under the Howard Street Bridge and interchanging with Maryland Avenue and North Avenue (US 1/US 40 Truck) before continuing north past Druid Lake, forming the northeastern boundary of Druid Hill Park. Running northwest out of the city center, the JFX is paralleled by its namesake river, the Jones Falls, on one side, and MTA Maryland's Baltimore Light RailLink line on the other. Closer to downtown, the light rail line peels off in a different direction, while the falls flows directly underneath the elevated freeway.

After interchanging with Cold Spring Lane and Northern Parkway (between which lies the Cylburn Arboretum), the JFX exits Baltimore, entering Baltimore County. Passing close to Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital, Mount Saint Agnes College, and Jones Falls Park, the route skirts the edge of Lake Roland before interchanging with Ruxton Road just south of I-695 (Baltimore Beltway).

At the beltway, I-83 leaves the JFX and joins I-695 for a distance of 1.4 miles (2.3 km), where it separates from the latter route to continue onward into northern Maryland. Meanwhile, the JFX continues for another 0.5 miles (0.80 km) in a four-lane divided format before terminating at an at-grade intersection with MD 25 (Falls Road). I-83 and I-695 split off at the southern terminus of the Baltimore-Harrisburg Expressway, and I-695 continues its eastward trek toward Towson and Parkville.

I-83 northbound at Warren Road in Cockeysville

After separating from the Beltway, I-83 is now known as the Baltimore-Harrisburg Expressway. Running due north away from the Beltway, the route parallels MD 45 (York Road), the former route of US 111. Passing to the west of Timonium and Cockeysville, I-83 leaves the suburban belt around Baltimore and enters rural Baltimore County just north of Hunt Valley at Shawan Road. I-83 and MD 45 continue to parallel one another through the northern portion of the county, with MD 45 crossing over I-83 once, at an interchange. This segment of I-83 has several sections with higher than usual gradients.

The only major settlement encountered by I-83 along this stretch is Monkton, reached via MD 137. To the west of I-83, MD 137 connects with the northern terminus of MD 25, I-83's former companion to the south.

The Interstate eventually crosses the Mason–Dixon line into York County, Pennsylvania, 25 miles (40 km) north of Baltimore, mere feet from a partial interchange with Freeland Road and parallel with MD 45; the latter route becomes the Susquehanna Trail when it reaches Pennsylvania.

Baltimore-Harrisburg Expressway (I-83) dedication plaque

View north along I-83 entering Pennsylvania from Maryland

I-83 northbound approaching the interchange with I-283 and US 322 in Swatara Township

Throughout Pennsylvania, I-83 is named the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States Memorial Highway.[3] I-83 enters Pennsylvania, crossing the Mason–Dixon line and passing to the east of Shrewsbury as it runs due north toward York. The route bypasses the boroughs of Loganville and Jacobus before entering the city of York.

I-83 has a business route through downtown York, known as I-83 Business (I-83 Bus). The business route follows the former path of US 111, while I-83 turns northeast and then north again to bypass the urban area. Near Pennsylvania Route 462 (PA 462), the Lincoln Highway, the Interstate turns west for a short distance, then north again to an interchange with US 30. Beyond US 30, I-83 resumes its straight path, running due north out of York and passing to the west of Emigsville.

North of PA 297, I-83 is known as the Susquehanna Expressway. It maintains this name as it passes to the south and west of Valley Green, continuing north toward Harrisburg. South of Harrisburg, I-83 has an interchange with I-76 (Pennsylvania Turnpike). North of I-76, I-83 continues due north, passing through New Cumberland, before an interchange with the eastern terminus of PA 581 in Lemoyne.

After the interchange with PA 581, I-83 is known as the Capital Beltway. The highway turns due east and crosses the Susquehanna River over the John Harris Bridge, south of Downtown Harrisburg, passing south of Paxtang before encountering I-283 and US 322 at the Eisenhower Interchange. Within the interchange, I-83 exits from itself, with each direction of traffic following a one-lane ramp; facing east, I-83's former lanes become US 322, while, facing north, I-283's lanes become I-83. The interchanges includes ramps to local roads as well. From this point northbound to exit 51, traffic is often congested during daylight hours. I-83 and westbound US 322 continue north toward US 22 and I-81, I-283 goes due south toward the turnpike and PA 283's western terminus, and eastbound US 322 goes due east toward Hershey.

Beyond this interchange, I-83 and US 322 run due north through the eastern suburbs of Harrisburg, interchanging with US 22 northeast of the CBD in Colonial Park, before I-83 terminates at a three-way semidirectional interchange with I-81. From here, US 322 continues west along I-81 south.[4]

I-83 was one of the first Interstate Highways built in Pennsylvania. Much of its routing through the state follows a freeway bypass of the since decommissioned US 111. The route received the I-83 designation in 1960. The first section built (opened 1954), runs from PA 392 in Newberry Township north to PA 114 in Fairview Township. The entire highway was completed in 1971 with the massive Eisenhower Interchange in Harrisburg.[5]

The interchange with PA 851 near Shrewsbury was reconstructed into a diverging diamond interchange, which opened to traffic on June 28, 2021.[6]

I-83 (JFX) southbound in Baltimore

The first Interstate to be built in Baltimore was the JFX; the Greater Baltimore Committee pushed to enact legislation from the Baltimore City Council in 1955.[7] It was the first to be constructed due to community opposition to the other planned freeways within the city. By the early 1960s, the JFX was completed as far as Guilford Avenue, within the city limits. It was completed as far as Pleasant Street in the downtown area by 1983, but the remaining 4.4 miles (7.1 km) to I-95 were canceled in September 1982. To compensate for the loss of the remainder of the JFX, the portion in situ was extended to Fayette Street by 1987, and the Jones Falls Boulevard project substantially rebuilt 0.75 miles (1.21 km) of President Street, across from the JFX at Fayette Street, to allow the traffic to and from the Interstate to be collected and distributed from the surrounding city streets. By 1990, the project was completed.

Due to community opposition to the other freeway plans being produced by city officials, the JFX was the very first limited-access highway to be completed within the city of Baltimore and remained so for several years. Originally, the JFX was to continue through the Southeast Baltimore neighborhoods of Fell's Point[8] and Canton to a junction with the then-planned I-95, but opposition from residents of those neighborhoods successfully blocked that proposal.[9] As a result, I-83 became the first Maryland road in the Interstate Highway System.[2]

I-83 northbound on the JFX in Towson

As part of the planning for an east–west route through Baltimore, the alignment of the JFX underwent various modifications. Under the original plan for freeways in Baltimore, the 1962 Baltimore 10-D Interstate System, the JFX would have junctioned I-70N (which became I-70 in 1975) and I-95, which were planned to follow an east–west route through the southern edge of the CBD, near the southeastern edge of the CBD. The JFX would end at roughly the same location where it currently does.[10] As a result of community opposition to other portions of the 10-D System, the 1969 Baltimore 3-A Interstate and Boulevard System was adopted by the city. In this plan, the JFX would continue south along its present alignment then turn east and pass through the Fell's Point neighborhood on a six-lane elevated viaduct, before continuing east along Boston Street to junction I-95 (which was also rerouted to its current alignment) north of the Fort McHenry Tunnel. In the mid-1970s, this plan was modified due to fears that the viaduct would result in destruction of the Fell's Point area, which contains many historic properties. Under the modification, I-83 would continue south and descend into a six-lane underwater tunnel beneath the Inner Harbor, then turn east under the harbor, pass to the south of Fell's Point, return to the surface in the Canton area and continue to I-95.[11]

Under this plan, I-83 was expected to act mostly as a northerly spur to and from the CBD and as an easterly spur to and from the CBD; through traffic was expected to be a small proportion of the total amount making use of the route. I-83's terminus at I-95 would have been a full three-way freeway-to-freeway interchange, with a full complement of ramps provided for access to and from Boston Street and O'Donnell Street.[12] When construction began on I-95 through East Baltimore in the mid-1970s, a short six-lane section was built within the vicinity of the planned I-83 interchange. This was done in anticipation of I-83 connecting the CBD to I-95, the rest of which carries at least eight lanes of traffic throughout the city.

Long-distance view of intersection of Fayette Street, President Street, and I-83 in Baltimore

By 1963, the JFX was completed as far south as Guilford Avenue and, by the mid-1970s, was extended to Monument Street. By 1983, the route extended all the way to Pleasant Street, with a dead-end bridge stub indicating plans to continue south along the 3-A alignment to I-95.

However, in September 1982 the segment of the JFX between Pleasant Street and I-95, a distance of 4.4 miles (7.1 km), was officially withdrawn from the Interstate Highway System. Robert Douglas, then the chief of the Interstate Division for Baltimore City (IDBC), stated at the time that the very high financial costs of the I-83 extension (estimated at $609 million in the early 1980s, and likely to reach $1 billion with inflation taken into account) led to the cancelation of the segment. As a result, the JFX was truncated at Fayette Street, ending at an at-grade intersection.[13]

To make up for the loss of the I-83 segment, the Jones Falls Boulevard project substantially rebuilt approximately 0.5 miles (0.80 km) of President Street between I-83 and the downtown area to provide the capacity to absorb traffic to and from the Interstate; the project was completed by 1987. Other roadways in the canceled I-83 corridor also benefited from major reconstruction and rehabilitation.[13] The federal funding planned to be used for the I-83 extension was instead cross-transferred to other highway projects; routes that may have benefited include I-97, I-195, I-370, and the upgrade of a portion of John Hanson Highway to I-595.