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Interstate 75
Total length: 1,785 miles (2,873 km)
Southern terminus: Hialeah, FL, at JCT SR 826
Northern terminus: Sault Ste. Marie, MI, at International Bridge/Canadian border
States traversed & length in each:
- Florida — 470 miles (757 km)
- Georgia — 355 miles (571 km)
- Tennessee — 161 miles (259 km)
- Kentucky — 192 miles (309 km)
- Ohio — 212 miles (341 km)
- Michigan — 395 miles (636 km)
Major cities along route:
- Tampa, FL
- Ocala, FL
- Gainesville, FL
- Valdosta, GA
- Macon, GA
- Atlanta, GA
- Chattanooga, TN
- Knoxville, TN
- Lexington, KY
- Cincinnati, OH
- Dayton, OH
- Lima, OH
- Findlay, OH
- Toledo, OH
- Detroit, MI
- Flint, MI
- Saginaw, MI
Junctions with non-related Interstates:
- Interstate 595: Exit 19 in Weston, FL
- Interstate 4: Exit 260 near Brandon, FL
- Interstate 10: Exit 435 near Lake City, FL
- Interstate 16: Exit 165 in Macon, GA
- Interstate 285: Exit 238 in Atlanta, GA
- Interstate 85: Multiplex from Exit 242 to Exit 251 in Atlanta, GA
- Interstate 20: Exit 247 in Atlanta, GA
- Interstate 285: Exit 259 in Smyrna, GA
- Interstate 24: Exit 2 in East Ridge, TN
- Interstate 40: Multiplex from Exit 84 (Pine Top, TN) to MP 101 (West Knoxville, TN)
- Interstate 640: Multiplex from MP 101 to Exit 105 in West Knoxville, TN
- Interstate 64: Multiplex from Exit 111 to Exit 118 near Lexington, KY
- Interstate 71: Multiplex from Exit 173 (Walton, KY) to MP 0.4 (Cincinnati, OH)
- Western Interstate 74: Exit 4 in Cincinnati, OH
- Interstate 70: Exit 61 in Vandalia, OH
- Interstate 80: Exit 195 in Perrysburg, OH
- Interstate 90: Exit 195 in Perrysburg, OH
- Interstate 280: Exit 208 in Toledo, OH
- Interstate 96: Exit 48 in Detroit, MI
- Interstate 94: Exit 53 in Detroit, MI
- Interstate 696: Exit 61 in Hazel Park, MI
- Interstate 69: Exit 117 in Flint, MI
Related loops and spurs:
- Interstate 275 — 59 miles long; 180° loop, west of I-75, through St. Petersburg, FL and Tampa, FL; termini at I-75 Exits 228 & 275
- Interstate 175 — 1.4 miles long; spur from I-275 into downtown St. Petersburg, FL; does not connect to I-75
- Interstate 375 — 1.3 miles long; spur from I-275 into downtown St. Petersburg, FL; does not connect to I-75
- Interstate 475 — 16 miles long; 180° loop, west of I-75, around Macon, GA; signed for I-75 thru traffic; termini at I-75 Exits 156 & 177
- Interstate 675 — 11 miles long; spur to Interstate 285 southeast of Atlanta, GA; I-75 Exit 227
- Interstate 575 — 29 miles long; spur toward Canton, GA; I-75 Exit 268
- Interstate 275 — 3 miles long; spur from I-75/I-640 junction north of Knoxville, TN into downtown; I-75 Exit 105
- Interstate 275 — 84 miles long; 360° loop around Cincinnati, OH; only tri-state loop/spur-type Interstate (OH/KY/IN); crosses I-75 at KY Exit 185 and OH Exit 16
- Interstate 675 — 26 miles long; spur to Interstate 70 at Medway, OH, east of I-75; I-75 Exit 44
- Interstate 475 — 20 miles long; 180° loop, west of I-75, around Toledo, OH; termini at I-75 Exits 192 & 204
- Interstate 275 — 35 miles long; planned as 180° loop around Detroit, MI, west of I-75, but only completed as a spur to Interstate 696; northernmost six miles uselessly multiplexed with Interstate 96; I-75 Exit 20
- Interstate 375 — 1.1 miles long; spur into downtown Detroit, MI; I-75 Exit 51
- Interstate 475 — 16 miles long; 180° loop, east of I-75, through Flint, MI; termini at I-75 Exits 111 & 125
- Interstate 675 — 7 miles long; 180° loop, west of I-75, through Saginaw, MI; termini at I-75 Exits 150 & 155
Length I’ve traveled: From FL Exit 19 (I-595) to northern terminus
Time zones:
Eastern — Entire length
Counties traversed:
Florida — Broward, Collier, Lee, Charlotte, De Soto, Sarasota, Manatee, Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernando, Sumter, Marion, Alachua, Columbia, Suwannee, Hamilton
Georgia — Lowndes, Cook, Tift, Turner, Crisp, Dooly, Houston, Peach, Crawford, Bibb, Monroe, Lamar, Butts, Spalding, Henry, Clayton, Fulton, Cobb, Cherokee, Bartow, Gordon, Whitfield, Catoosa
Tennessee — Hamilton, Bradley, McMinn, Monroe, Loudon, Knox, Anderson, Campbell
Kentucky — Whitley, Laurel, Rockcastle, Madison, Fayette, Scott, Grant, Kenton, Boone, (re-enters Kenton)
Ohio — Hamilton, Butler, Warren, Montgomery, Miami, Shelby, Auglaize, Allen, Hancock, Wood, Lucas
Michigan — Monroe, Wayne, Oakland, Genesee, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Ogemaw, Roscommon, Crawford, Otsego, Cheboygan, Emmet, Mackinac, Chippewa
A quick hypertext drive: At 1,785 miles, Interstate 75 ranks second to only Interstate 95 in terms of length among north-south Interstates.
The first 19 miles of I-75 from its southern terminus are in suburban South Florida, from Hialeah to Weston. At Weston, where it meets I-595, I-75 turns to the west to cross the “Alligator Alley” toll road across the Everglades. The next 80 miles are spent crossing this marshy swamp; there are only a couple exits and next to nothing for services. At Naples, I-75 turns back to the north along the Gulf Coast of Florida, steadily gaining traffic up to Sarasota and into the Tampa Bay area. In the immediate Tampa area, just north of I-4, I-75 is only a four-lane freeway and rush-hour backups are commonplace. After I-275, the downtown Tampa connector, merges back in, I-75 traffic calms down a bit up to Wildwood, at the northern terminus of Florida’s Turnpike. From Wildwood to Valdosta, GA, I-75 is at least six lanes — a distance of 159 miles.
Widening of I-75 in South Georgia is ongoing; it returns to six lanes for good near Cordele, and stays that way all the way through Atlanta and up to Chattanooga. North of Atlanta, I-75 starts crossing hillier terrain; this begins to become especially noticeable after Chattanooga. Following a few long climbs and descents, I-75 settles down into the Tennessee River valley until it meets I-40 west of Knoxville. Those two freeways multiplex for 17 miles; I-75 breaks off on to I-640, the Knoxville bypass, for three miles before resuming its own alignment.
Roughly 30 miles north of Knoxville, I-75 begins its longest, steepest climb — a five-mile, 4% grade that takes it up on to the Cumberland Plateau. Fifteen miles later, at Jellico Mountain, I-75 comes back down off the plateau with a 5% downgrade. The Kentucky state line is just beyond the bottom of that hill; the terrain stays hilly for another 70 miles or so, then flattens a bit.
I-75 has a short multiplex with I-64 northeast of Lexington, after which it passes Toyota’s largest North American automaking plant in Georgetown. At Walton, after 40 more miles of rolling hills, I-75 meets I-71, with which it will multiplex into downtown Cincinnati. The 1½-mile, 5% grade immediately before the Ohio River provides a sweeping, scenic vista of the Cincinnati riverfront. I-75 remains six lanes — and heavily traveled — beyond Dayton; near Piqua, it drops back to four. Most of the rest of Ohio, save Lima and Findlay (both of which have sections that aren’t up to Interstate standards), is flat and nondescript; Toledo finally breaks the monotony of northern Ohio.
The section immediately across the state line in Michigan carries as much as 30% truck traffic (as a percentage of all traffic), making it one of the most heavily truck-traveled sections of Interstate. The Rouge River bridge, several miles southwest of downtown Detroit, affords an excellent view of downtown and the Ambassador Bridge to northbound travelers. North of Detroit, I-75 lacks sufficient capacity for the traffic volumes it carries in some areas in the suburbs; this becomes less of a problem approaching Flint. The Zilwaukee Bridge, constructed between 1979 and 1988 to bypass a drawbridge over a then-busy shipping channel, wouldn’t be needed today, as that magnitude of shipping no longer occurs in Saginaw.
The next 35 miles from Saginaw to Standish comprise perhaps the most boring Michigan section of I-75, going through flat farmland. North of Standish, I-75 begins a long, slow climb (about seven miles of which gets as steep as 3%) on to the plateau that takes up much of northern Lower Michigan, coming back down into a flat plain north of Gaylord. The Mackinac Bridge, the only connection between Michigan’s Lower and Upper Peninsulas, was once the world’s longest-span suspension bridge. The final 50 miles to the Canadian border are flat, traveling mostly through a heavily forested area.
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