Interstate 695 (Pennsylvania)

Interstate 695 marker

Interstate 695
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-95
Maintained by PennDOT
Length: 10 mi (16 km)
Existed: 1964 – 1977 (never built)[1]
Major junctions
West end: I-95 near Philadelphia International Airport
 

US 1 (Unbuilt Lansdowne Expressway) near Yeadon

US 1 (Unbuilt West Philadelphia Expressway) in West Philadelphia

I-76 in Philadelphia
East end: I-95 in Philadelphia
Location
Counties: Philadelphia, Delaware
Highway system
← PA 692PA 696 →

Interstate 695 was a 1964-proposed auxiliary Interstate Highway that would have connected Interstate 95 in Southeast Philadelphia, at the Philadelphia International Airport, with I-95 near the Delaware River waterfront near the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. Known as the Cobbs Creek Expressway between SW Philadelphia and Interstate 76 and the Crosstown Expressway or the Five Mile Loop between I-76 and the waterfront, I-695 was designed to alleviate traffic from I-76, I-95, and PA 291.

Route description

I-695 was to begin at I-95 near the Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia. The freeway would head north to the east of Darby Creek, crossing into Delaware County near 84th Street. The road would cross Cobbs Creek and continue to the west of the creek, passing through Colwyn and Yeadon before passing near Mount Moriah Cemetery. I-695 would cross back into Philadelphia and turn east, running through West Philadelphia. The freeway would cross the Schuylkill River and intersect with the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76, previously I-676) near the Grays Ferry Avenue interchange with ramps leading to I-76 East and from I-76 West.[2] The Cobbs Creek Expressway would end and the Crosstown Expressway would begin, following Grays Avenue up to South Street, where the route would intersect with a half-mile long spur from I-76 East to I-76 West and possible connections to the Manayunk Expressway. The Crosstown Expressway would then become underground between the South Street-Bainbridge Street corridor. The Expressway and I-695 would end at an intersection with I-95 (near the current Exit 20).[3]

History

I-695 was first proposed in 1964.[4] The project to build I-695 was cancelled due to residential opposition in both SW Philadelphia, South Philadelphia, and residents of Yeadon, in Delaware County over the proposed Interstate's right-of-way, which would have "cut" their communities in half, and would have spelled an end to Cobbs Creek Park. The money slated for construction of I-695 went to the purchase of buses and trains for SEPTA, and for the construction of the Airport Line connecting Amtrak's Northeast Corridor with the Philadelphia International Airport.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Pennsylvania's Dearly Departed Interstates". Pennsylvania Highways. Retrieved December 13, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Cobbs Creek Expressway (I-695, unbuilt)". www.phillyroads.com. Retrieved 2016-08-18.
  3. ↑ "Crosstown Expressway (I-695, unbuilt)". www.phillyroads.com. Retrieved 2016-08-18.
  4. ↑ "Philadelphia City Planning Commission Map (1966)". www.phillyroads.com. Retrieved 2016-08-18.
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