Interstate 75 is an interstate highway in the midwest and southeastern United States. It goes from Florida State Highway 826 (Palmetto Expressway) at Hialeah, Florida near Miami to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan at the Ontario, Canada border.

History

This limited access highway planned in the 1950s roughly follows the general route of many older at grade highways, including United States Highway 2, United States Highway 27, U.S. Highway 25, United States Highway 41 among others. Some of these older U.S. Highways, several of which exist yet, in turn replaced the eastern route of the old Dixie Highway.

Length

Major cities along the route

• Miami, Florida
• Fort Myers, Florida
• Tampa, Florida
• Macon, Georgia
• Atlanta, Georgia
• Chattanooga, Tennessee
• Knoxville, Tennessee
• Lexington, Kentucky
• Cincinnati, Ohio
• Dayton, Ohio
• Toledo, Ohio
• Detroit, Michigan
• Flint, Michigan
• Saginaw, Michigan

Intersections with other Interstates

• Interstate 4 in Tampa, Florida
• Interstate 10 in Lake City, Florida
• Interstate 16 in Macon, Georgia
• Interstate 85 in Atlanta, Georgia
• Interstate 20 in Atlanta, Georgia
• Interstate 24 in Chattanooga, Tennessee
• Interstate 40 near Dixie Lee Junction, Tennessee. They stay merged until Knoxville, Tennessee.
• Interstate 64 for 6 miles (10 km) in Lexington, Kentucky
• Interstate 71 in Walton, Kentucky. They stay connected until Cincinnati, Ohio.
• Interstate 74 in Cincinnati, Ohio
• Interstate 70 in Dayton, Ohio
• Interstate 80 in Toledo, Ohio
• Interstate 90 in Toledo, Ohio
• Interstate 96 in Detroit, Michigan
• Interstate 94 in Detroit, Michigan
• Interstate 696 north of Detroit, Michigan
• Interstate 69 in Flint, Michigan

Spur routes

• Tampa, Florida/Saint Petersburg, Florida - I-175 (1.294 mi/2.08 km), I-275 (63.387 mi/102.01 km), I-375 (1.220 mi/1.96 km)
• Macon, Georgia - I-475
• Atlanta, Georgia - I-675
• Spur to Nelson, Georgia, I-575
• Knoxville, Tennessee - I-275, I-475
• Cincinnati, Ohio - I-275
• Dayton, Ohio - I-675
• Toledo, Ohio - I-475
• Detroit, Michigan - I-275, I-375
• Flint, Michigan - I-475
• Saginaw, Michigan - I-675

Notes

I-75 connects Canada with the southern tip of Florida. The Alligator Alley section west of Ft. Lauderdale is due east/west.

Originally, I-75 went through Tampa and St. Petersburg, while the current I-75 was called I-75E. But because of Interstate restrictions dealing with suffixes to routes, I-75 was rerouted along I-75E, and the original I-75 was renamed I-275.

I-175 and I-375 are very brief Interstates that go east into downtown St. Petersburg, while I-275 goes into the heart of Tampa, across the Howard Frankland Bridge into St. Petersburg, then south across the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, reconnecting with I-75 in Manatee County, Florida.

In the center of Atlanta, I-75 merges with I-85 for a short time. This strip of highway, called the Downtown Connector, is infamous for its bad traffic.

There were plans for a spur from Cordele into Albany, Georgia, called I-175; it was constructed but was not given limited access and signed as GA Hwy 300 and called the Georgia-Florida Parkway instead.

Florida's Turnpike originates near Wildwood and continues southeasterly towards Miami.

In Detroit, the spur route I-375 is the shortest "signed" freeway in the United States (i.e. it has an actual sign with the road number on its stretch) at 1.06 miles (1.71 km). There are shorter freeways, but none are signed.

At the northern end of I-75, at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, the International Bridge leads into Canada, into a town also called Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. This is the closest Interstate with a direct connection to the Trans-Canada Highway.

See Also

• Detroit-Toledo Expressway
• G. Mennen Williams Freeway
• Fenton-Clio Expressway
• Mackinac Bridge
• US 2 freeway (Michigan)

External links

• Interstate 75 at Michigan Highways

Sources

• 2005 Rand McNally Road Atlas
• FDOT GIS data and pavement management reports