Interstate 84 (Pennsylvania–Massachusetts)

For the Interstate 84 in Oregon, Idaho, and Utah, see Interstate 84 (Oregon–Utah).

Interstate 84
Route information
Length	232.39 mi (374.00 km)
Existed	1971-present
History	Originally planned as I-86

Interstate 84 (I-84) is an Interstate Highway in the northeastern United States that extends from Dunmore, Pennsylvania, (near Scranton) at an interchange with I-81 east to Sturbridge, Massachusetts, at an interchange with the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90). Among the major cities that the road passes through is Hartford, Connecticut. Another highway named I-84 is located in the northwestern United States.

Route Description

Pennsylvania

Interstate 84 starts in Pennsylvania at Interstate 81 in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, a suburb east of Scranton. After two miles (3 km), I-84 interchanges with Interstate 380, with I-380 going southeast through the Poconos and I-84 continuing almost due east into Wayne and Pike counties. Pennsylvania began replacing sequential exit numbers with mile-based numbers in 2001.

This section of Pennsylvania is very lightly populated, and there are no major settlements on or near I-84, although it offers access to popular outdoor recreation areas such as Lake Wallenpaupack and Promised Land State Park. Its right-of-way is very wide, with a large median strip between the two roadways as it passes through densely wooded country, except for the swampy areas in southern Wayne County. The only development along Pennsylvania's section of I-84 is where US 6 and 209 start to parallel closely and form a commercial strip just south of Matamoras, just west of the Delaware River. I-84 reaches its highest elevation in Pennsylvania and in the east just west of exit 8 at 1800 feet.

New York

I-84 enters New York by crossing both the Delaware and Neversink rivers on a long bridge south of Port Jervis, the first large settlement near the highway. South of the road, at the confluence of the Delaware and Neversink rivers, is Tri-State Rock, where New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania converge. The first mile of the road in New York runs along the New Jersey state line, then curves to the north to climb the Shawangunks and cross Orange County, where it forms one leg of a distribution "golden triangle" with NY 17 (future I-86) and the New York State Thruway (I-87). I-84 includes the Newburgh–Beacon Bridge across the Hudson River at Newburgh.

East of the bridge and the city of Beacon, I-84 continues to head east across Dutchess County, beginning to turn south in the mountainous areas east of the Taconic State Parkway and into Putnam County. At Brewster, where Interstate 684 heads south towards New York City, the road resumes its eastern course into Connecticut, closely paralleled by US 6 and US 202. The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) began the process of converting exits in spring 2019 from sequential to mile-based numbering as part of a sign replacement project that now is expected to be completed in 2020.

Connecticut

The interstate's first exit is at the state line, where it enters the city of Danbury. Here it is designated the Yankee Expressway. Two miles to the east, where US 7 comes in from the south near Danbury Fair Mall to join I-84, it turns to the north. At the next exit, routes 6 and 202 join the highway.

The four-way concurrency ends after 3 miles (4.8 km), when 7 and 202 split off north towards New Milford. Route 6 leaves the interstate at the next exit, and I-84 continues east across the countryside. At Exit 11, it turns to the northeast and descends to cross the Housatonic River on the Rochambeau Bridge, into New Haven County. It then climbs onto higher ground to the city of Waterbury, which it passes on an elevated viaduct with the eastbound and westbound lanes on different levels. Here the CT 8 expressway intersects.

The eastern heading continues past Waterbury to Milldale, where Interstate 691 splits off to the east. This section has many left-hand exits and entrances and sharp curves, which were built for a planned network of freeways. I-84 heads northeast towards New Britain and Hartford, the state capital and the largest community along its eastern length. I-84 services the greater student body commuting to the University of Connecticut through Exit 68 located in rural Tolland, CT. After intersecting Interstate 91, the road crosses the Connecticut River on the Bulkeley Bridge, oldest on the Interstate system, then becomes the Wilbur Cross Highway and continues towards the northeast.

The last exit in Connecticut is Exit 74, an exit for Route 171. I-84 crosses the Massachusetts border in the town of Union.

Massachusetts

The Wilbur Cross Highway continues on Interstate 84 after the highway crosses the state line. For a short distance (approximately 90 yards eastbound and 200 yards westbound), the interstate passes through the town of Holland in Hampden County before crossing into Sturbridge in Worcester County for the remainder of its length. I-84 has only three exits in Massachusetts, before ending at Interstate 90, the Massachusetts Turnpike. I-84 ends at Exit 9 of I-90, which is located in Sturbridge, 7.7 miles (12.4 km) into the state, making the Massachusetts section of the highway the shortest distance within any of the four states it traverses.

Interstate Highway System

Major Interstates are written in bold.