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Interstate 676 (abbreviated I-676) is an interstate highway that serves as a major thoroughfare through Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where it is known as the Vine Street Expressway, and Camden, New Jersey, where it is known as the northern segment of the North-South Freeway, as well as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Highway. Its western terminus is at Interstate 76 in Philadelphia near the Philadelphia Museum of Art. From there it heads east towards the Ben Franklin Bridge[4]. On the east (New Jersey) side of the bridge, the highway heads south to its southern terminus at Interstate 76 in Gloucester City, New Jersey near the Walt Whitman Bridge[5].
Originally, the designation for this stretch of highway was Interstate 80S, with Interstate 680 continuing on the Schuylkill Expressway to the Walt Whitman Bridge.[6] But on April 16, 1963, Pennsylvania wanted to renumber its Interstate numbers. Part of this was the renumbering from I-80S into I-76, and all of its auxiliary routes into I-x76. The FHWA approved the request on February 26, 1964[2]. However, the Philadelphia portion of the highway was not open to traffic until January 10, 1991[3].
[edit] Route description
| Major cities |
| Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs |
|
|
[edit] Pennsylvania
I-676 splits from the Vine Street Expressway.
I-676 begins at an interchange with I-76. It immediately crosses the Schuylkill River and enters a depressed road cut. In this road cut, many streets, such as 20th Street/Ben Franklin Parkway, 18th Street, and Broad Street pass over the expressway. I-676 interchanges with a few of these streets (see exit list below). After passing under 10th Street, the last street that I-676 passes under, the highway rises up, and signs direct drivers either to exit the Vine Street Expressway (which diverges from I-676 here) and continue on I-676 across the Ben Franklin Bridge, or to keep left for I-95.
After exiting the Vine Street Expressway, I-676 traffic is directed through a brief at-grade portion along city streets, a rare example of a non–limited access section of Interstate highway. This arrangement was chosen due to concerns that building onramps to the Ben Franklin Bridge would have effectively destroyed Franklin Square, a historically sensitive site. The Vine Street Expressway (without I-676) continues unsigned for a short distance to its terminus at I-95.
[edit] New Jersey
After crossing the bridge, there is an immediate ramp to 6th Street in Camden, which are near the toll booths for westbound traffic. Now, drivers are now directed to take either US 30 or I-676. If continued on I-676, the highway turns south, and rises onto a viaduct through the Camden waterfront. The highway then interchanges with a few streets in Camden, and then ends at I-76.
[edit] Exit list
| County |
Location |
Mile[7][8] |
# |
Destinations |
Notes |
Philadelphia
(Pennsylvania) |
Philadelphia |
0.00 |
|
  I-76 / US 30 west – Valley Forge, Philadelphia International Airport |
Westbound exit and eastbound entrance |
| 0.41 |
|
Ben Franklin Parkway, 23rd Street |
|
| 0.78 |
|
 PA 611 (Broad Street) – Central Philadelphia |
|
| 1.43 |
|
8th Street south – Chinatown |
At-grade intersection westbound; interchange eastbound |
| 1.47 |
|
 I-95 (Delaware Expressway) – Trenton, Chester |
|
|
|
To PA 611 / Vine Street – Pennsylvania Convention Center |
Westbound exit and eastbound entrance |
| 1.86 |
|
6th Street south – Independence Hall |
At-grade intersection |
|
|
5th Street |
Westbound exit and eastbound entrance |
| Benjamin Franklin Bridge over the Delaware River |
Camden
(New Jersey) |
Camden |
| 3.84 |
5B |
6th Street, Broadway – Downtown Camden, Rutgers University |
No exit number southbound |
| 3.50 |
|
  US 30 east to US 130 / NJTP – Cherry Hill, Trenton |
South end of US 30 overlap; northbound exit is via exit 5A |
|
5B |
Market Street – Downtown Camden, Adventure Aquarium |
Southbound exit only |
|
5A |
M.L. King Boulevard, Campbell Place – Waterfront |
No northbound entrance |
| 2.27 |
4 |
Kaighns Avenue, Atlantic Avenue |
|
| 1.14 |
3 |
Morgan Boulevard to Broadway (CR 551) – Port Terminals |
|
| 0.36 |
1 |
Collings Avenue – Gloucester, Collingswood |
Signed as exits 1B (east) and 1C (west) southbound |
|
2 |
I-76 west (Walt Whitman Bridge) – Philadelphia |
Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
|
1A |
 US 130 north / NJ 168 south (via NJ 76C) – Camden, Trenton |
Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
|
|
I-76 east – Atlantic City, Delaware Memorial Bridge |
Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
PA 670
>
NJ 495
>
