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You should have seen the uproar on misc.transport.road when I-99 was designated from the Pennsylvania Turnpike near Bedford to I-80 just north of State College,
by devilbunny 2y ago
You should have seen the uproar on misc.transport.road when I-99 was designated from the Pennsylvania Turnpike near Bedford to I-80 just north of State College, because 99 was the favorite number of the congressman who sponsored the bill to pay for it.
We just don't have rules that are as deliciously arcane as the UK's for numbering our roads.
- illusive4080 2y agoIt probably also helped that it was a N/S road (odd) and that it was in one of the most eastern parts of the country (high numbered). I guess 99 fits then, so long as they don’t build an interstate that is N/S bound east of I-99?
- vikingerik 2y agoI-95 is north/southbound and existed east of I-99 long before 99 was built. 99 doesn't fit into the numbering scheme at all. The road shouldn't even be a two-digit number; it's not a major trunk route and it's entirely within a single state. It only serves to connect interstates 76 and 80, so it should have been a spur route of one of those.
- illusive4080 2y agoAh sheesh. I’ve been on that road many times (going from Lancaster county up to northern PA/southern NY) but didn’t realize it was entirely contained within PA. Your point about 95 is well taken. That’s messed up.
- devilbunny 2y agoTo its east are I-81, 83, 87, 91, 93, 95, and 97, all of which pre-date it. It’s way out of place.
- illusive4080 2y agoWell that stinks! They shouldn’t name it I-99 :(
- devilbunny 2y agoThat’s a mild way of putting it, but yes. It should have been something like I-776 (which would not only have been more correct numerically, but would have reflected Pennsylvania’s role in American independence). For non-Americans: I-776 ~= 1776, the year the Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.