The Longest Interstate In America

[@BeaverGeography]

Sorry guys, I-90 goes south through Rockford instead of through Milwaukee, that’s my bad. Plz don’t comment about it thank you love you

[@mocowan6642]

It’s all right. It happens. Keep up the good work!

[@grandma3dlightshows633]

Haha! yeah I noticed that!

[@brendantschappat1371]

I can see how you might make that mistake since I-90 and I-94 run concurrently through Chicago, so when they split up again you probably just accidentally followed the I-94 alignment through Milwaukee instead of I-90 through Rockford.

[@tims-garage]

I was about to say something! 90 and 94 intersect and share routes quite a bit thru there, but 94 primarily staying north of 90

[@ericneumann8509]

9:21 so the mileage will be wrong too, by going by Milwaukee you increase the mileage.

[@edsanville]

Otherwise known as the "Starbucks to Dunkin Donuts Highway."

[@matthewwurtzel322]

I never heard that before, but I love it.

[@granteeeeast]

Hahaha love this!

[@edwardmiessner6502]

🤣🤣🤣 Love it! 👍

[@pepperonish]

It does end here in Seattle about 4 blocks from the Starbucks Headquarters.

[@LIL-MAN_theOG]

Factually true

[@chrisdorst9387]

The TV show "Cheers" is based in Boston and the start of I-90. Its spinoff show "Fraiser" is based in Seattle and at the end of I-90.

[@courtneypuzzo2502]

@Chris Dorst yeah Cheers is based in Boston though only the exteriors were actually shot here the producers couldn't get permission to shoot interiors in the Bull & Finch pub on which cheers is based native Bostonian here the turnpike can be nightmarish at times so though is the southeast expressway/I93 which I used to take to get to school in elementary a ride that should take around 15 mins from East Boston could take over an hour sometimes

[@chuck8664]

In the '70s we were headed west on I-90 approaching Missoula when we came to the end of the built section. Ahead, in a field which would soon become I-90, a grey-haired farm couple were getting in their last crop using a horse-drawn plow. I'll never forget that poignant sight.

[@Julianna.Domina]

Damn. As someone born in 2000, I wonder what weird anachronistic sights like that I'll end up seeing to pass on later

[@jamesburton1050]

Wow!! Amazing!

[@miked31784]

I-90 had a traffic light in Wallace, Idaho. It was removed in the early 90’s

[@BeaverGeography]

Didn’t know this, thanks Mike!

[@miked31784]

@@BeaverGeography from Wikipedia “One of the last rural sections of I-90 to be built was through Wallace, Idaho, which placed its downtown on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 to prevent its demolition for the freeway. The 1.5-mile (2.4 km) elevated freeway bypassed Wallace to the north and cost $42 million to construct. It opened on September 12, 1991, and the city ceremonially retired the last stoplight on I-90.”

[@floridaman4073]

That was correct

[@miked31784]

@@floridaman4073 do you live in the Orlando area?

[@floridaman4073]

@@miked31784 I do now.

[@jeffreykregel3821]

At least I-90 continues on as a road. It doesn't have the very anti climax ending of I-70 literally terminating at a Park and Ride.

[@silvercoulter]

SO ICONIC

[@GamingBren]

*why is there a parking lot ahead*

[@miked31784]

They should extend I-70 with I-695 and have it become I-97 and get rid of the I-97 number.

[@cridenh2owo257]

and on the other side in Utah it just terminates at a T interchange with i15 in the middle of nowhere

[@Coralalal]

I-70 should pull an I-94 and connect to I-80 on the west side

[@bridgedestroyer2596]

One interesting piece of trivia about interstate 90 is that Boston was one of very few cities whose airport did not have a direct connection to the interstate system until I-90 was completed across Boston Harbor. That section of interstate cost per Mile is most likely only rivaled by I-70 through Glenwood canyon. In fact the tunnel jacking construction method used under the Amtrak northeast corridor and over the MBTA red line was the first time it had been executed in US history.

[@jackamelar1455]

Thanks!

[@oogami256]

Another fantastic video. You've quickly become one of my favorite KZbinrs! A quick word about I-90 and I-94 around Chicago and NW Indiana, as I recently completed my postdoc at the University of Chicago and have driven these roads extensively. Originally, I-90 and 94 were flipped beginning at the Skyway interchange while heading east from the Loop: I-90 would continue to meet with I-80 while I-94 would comprise the "scary" part including the Chicago Skyway. This made sense given that I-94 would remain north of I-90, and would not require that awkward moment at the interchange where both meet where one would have to exit to continue on whichever of the two interstates one was on previously. This wasn't some proposal that was rejected at the last minute, BTW; They were signed as such until sometime in the mid-1960s. (There was even a video on KZbin featuring a drive through Chicago in the 1960s where one can see the Indiana Toll Road signed as I-94, but sadly it seems to have been removed.) Not sure the motivation behind the change, but I suspect it may have had to do with the already struggling Gary preferring to be located closer to the more major I-90 than the "minor" I-94. BTW, given I was living in Hyde Park last year, I often chose to go to the NW Indiana suburbs to shop because the traffic on I-90 was by far the most pleasant of any interstate highway in the area, though I agree the road exudes a feeling of unease and decay. Also, I was a total dork who couldn't resist taking a random Saturday to check out I-180 ;)

[@oogami256]

Also forgot to mention that what is now I-290 (Eisenhower Expwy) was also I-90 until the late 1970s. The Kennedy Expwy was IL 194 instead (including its terminus that is now signed as I-190). The history of changing route number assignments for expressways in the Chicago area is surprisingly complex!

[@BeaverGeography]

Appreciate the support, and love hearing these random things about geography

[@jamesnotfound]

As someone who grew up in Massachusetts, I-90 holds a special place in my heart. It connects the eastern and western parts of the state, making it an important road to us and it’s also a major interstate in the Boston Metro area. I’ve been on it so many times I can’t even count. It also blows my mind that if I keep following this road west from MA, I’ll end up in Washington.

[@miked31784]

Same here. I grew up in Agawam and is an important road in Massachusetts.

[@dantesinfernopurgatory7826]

Mass Pike

[@edwardmiessner6502]

Actually it's a tollway

[@CrystalClearWith8BE]

In the mid 2000s, the Boston Big Dig was complete and operational and I-90 was extended to the airport as part of the project.

[@_rocrafttm_9925]

I’m from Marblehead so I used to take the Ted Williams each time I went west. I remember always being amazed at how it was the deepest tunnel in North America

[@marsgal42]

I've driven portions of I-90 back east, but as a B.C. resident I'm most familiar with I-90 in Washington. Including the seemingly perpetual road construction through Snoqualmie Pass...

[@stevenwagner983]

Lol never ends!!! I live in Seattle area

[@saywhat8966]

It’s called freeze and thaw.

[@appalachianenthusiast9499]

Discrepancy! I-90 goes south from Madison to Rockford, then east to Chicago. I-94 goes to Milwaukee.

[@BeaverGeography]

DARNIT NOO I MESSED UP I think I’ll probably see a few comments about this lol

[@mabisbabis9480]

Came to say this. As I grew up near rockford. Lol

[@marshalbarb]

i love I-90. it has to be on one of the most scenic and most diverse interstate in the system.

[@kenpatton8761]

I’ve driven this route many times. First time was in spring of 1976. At that time I-90 ended at the WY/SD border….4 lane in SD switching to a 2 lane in WY at a little town called Beulah. Beulah was the closest place you could buy Coors beer, which was illegal in a lot of states at the time (remember the movie ‘Smokie and the Bandit “?).I was stationed at Ellsworth AFB at the time so making the “run” over to Beulah was common. Nowadays I’m trying to find alternative routes so I can slow down and smell the roses as the saying goes. Cheers

[@miked31784]

It is concurrent with I-80 from east of Gary Indiana to west of Cleveland Ohio.

[@cicero_21]

And after it leaves that concurrency it becomes an on-and-off concurrency with State Route 2 through a majority of the West side and part of the east side of the greater Cleveland area, fun fact.

[@CellaDragon]

Funny I been watching you off and on for a while, then recently did a video on the 520 floating bridges that cross this interstate & sure enough this video comes in my recommended. Enjoy your content. The floating bridge actually sank twice but only one of the sinkinkings caused major damage & it was the original bridge built that had the issues not the second one that makes the pair today.

[@nomaderic]

Man, before this was finished imagine living in Seattle and how isolated you felt from the rest of the country. Once that interstate was complete the floodgates opened for everyone to flock there. Living in Seattle and Portland in the 90s and very early 2000s must have been a dream

[@JonathanLedbetter]

The northwest was already connected to the system via I-5 and I-84. And I-90 had been completed across 99% of Washington, including through I-405, by the 1980s. One omission was that IDAHO was the real hold up. The last traffic light on the interstate system was in Wallace, Idaho, which wasn't removed until 1991.

[@saywhat8966]

@Texas Outdoor Fanatic: The north south I-5 was congested almost from its beginning in the 60’s through the Seattle metro area so feeling isolated? No.

[@rodneyschmisseur2375]

You followed I-94 from Madison into Chicago - instead you could reference O’Hare airport and the different routes I-90 has taken into the Loop. (I-290/Eisenhower) vs Kennedy and the Chicago Skyway (a major structure/feature in its own right with tolling and traffic issues) From that point you’re back on track. The best time to go through NW Indiana is at night, with a full tank of gas so you can appreciate the industrial lighting and not get all the garish wasteland. You also neglected the Big Dig extension to Logan Airport provided an actual freeway connection to a major airport! Good work otherwise!

[@2004hpr]

I like I-80 and how the terminus on each coast is in the form of a suspension bridge 🌉 (the George Washington Bridge in New York and the Bay bridge in San Francisco) I’d love to see a video 😉

[@SigmaRho2922]

The New York thruway portion of interstate 90 and the Mass Pike are the sections I am most familiar with

[@miked31784]

Same here

[@stevenroshni1228]

I'm surprised you didn't mention the part that goes south enough to be part of I-80 due to the Great Lakes being in the way. My college was a few miles south of I-90 so it was pretty important for us

[@RKelleyCook]

Notre Dame ?

[@stevenroshni1228]

@@RKelleyCook yes, from Lake Station to Elyria Township in Ohio

[@cicero_21]

Funny enough throughout the East and west sides of Cleveland, I-90 runs in a concurrency with State Route 2 twice. Where I-90 meets I-80 a bit outside Cleveland is where it splits off from one concurrency with State Route 2. State Route 2 continues as a freeway past Sandusky Ohio, home of Cedar Point.

[@timothythomas2705]

you don't want to travel through WY or CO in the winter. it will SCARE the hell out of you!!

[@commentor3485]

I live between Eau Claire and LaCrosse, thanks for the shout out for that area!

[@BeaverGeography]

Gotta hook up the Wisconsin homies

[@commentor3485]

@@BeaverGeography where are you from abouts?

[@BeaverGeography]

@@commentor3485 WISCONSIN BABY

[@commentor3485]

@@BeaverGeography what part? All of Wisconsin is beautiful! The coulee region in my view is the best part. (Northwoods are really cool as well)

[@hazevthewolf178]

About a month ago, my brother drove back to his home in Michigan after visiting me here in northern California. I 90 was the long way home. He drove I 5 up into Washington state and via some state highways, connected with I 90 in Montana. Your video, along with texting back and forth with him, has helped me to appreciate why he'd make such a detour. He tends to crave adventure.

[@jakebutler291]

Love this vid and love I-90!! One thing I would have loved mentioned is I-90's long concurrency with I-80 along the Indiana Toll Road and Ohio Turnpike! Also, the Badlands NP is directly accessible from the interstate in South Dakota! And have you been on the Kennedy Expy (90/94) in Chicago?! It's a NIGHTMARE! 😆😆

[@Juwellz18]

I absolutely loathe the Kennedy.

[@samplautz5586]

Growing up south central Wisconsin, 90 and 94 are the two interstates I have travelled the most. To get anywhere in the country and state you always take those 2 interstates. Also thank you for showing the picture at 6:28. Most people don’t realize how beautiful our state is, they just think it’s flat and there’s corn and cheese. The bluffs are stunning and I live in them

[@BeaverGeography]

As a home Wisconsinite, I feel an obligation to show how awesome the state really is

[@rtshogren]

I enjoy your videos about the interstates. If you were unaware, there is a "Golden Stripe," on this transcontinental interstate, like the "Golden Spike" on the transcontinental railroad - it is located at the exit for Blue Earth, MN - and there is a rest area with the historical marker there as well. Thanks for your work.

[@ghayes220]

Your videos are always very informative and I always learn something new. Thanks.

[@miked3723]

Interesting fact, I-90 through Massachusetts took only 18 months to construct. Imagine how long it would take today to create a new interstate through some of the most densely populated areas of the country.

[@RKelleyCook]

Ironically, when you mentioned that crazy intersection in Boston, that was the end ... until the U.S. taxpayers spent $15 Billion dollars for the Big Dig to undo that ungodly horrible double decker "Green Monster" interstate going right through downtown Boston. At that point the MaDOT folks threw on the extra (and actually needed) tunnel to the airport as a rounding error to the plan.

[@jimc.goodfellas]

Love all the interstate content man keep it up

[@EdReypapi23]

I 90 in Boston end close to the airport by south Boston. Plus the ramps get you off 1A highway that lead to revere and lynn. It has lots of traffic during rush hour. Love your highway videos and thank you.

[@thatmichiganguy]

Drove through most of it (Chicago to Missoula). I also drove on the highway in Boston. Thank you for sharing

[@cassiemyersconcertvids]

I recently moved to Montana and drove the portion between Spokane to a bit outside of Missoula. It's an absolutely stunning drive, if not a tad bit scary due to the mountain terrain it goes through outside of Coeur d'Alene. Also shoutout to I-84 between Portland and Umatilla and U.S. 395. The entire drive is amazing.

[@JailEnforcement]

Yea, CDA and Spokane is the main city between Missoula.

[@cassiemyersconcertvids]

@@JailEnforcement Yes. I hopped off I-90 afterwards, instead of taking it to Helena, as I moved to Great Falls, instead taking Hwy 200 up that way. Also a great drive.

[@CrystalClearWith8BE]

I-90 parallels: •Former US 10 from Seattle to Lockwood, MT. •US 87 from Billings, MT to Buffalo, WY. •Most of US 14 from Sheridan, WY to Chicago. •Most of US 16 from Buffalo, WY to Rapid City, SD. •Former US 16 from Rapid City, SD to Portage, WI •US 51 from near Portage, WI to Rockford, IL. •US 20 from Rockford, IL to Boston.

[@SlowedByCinnamxn]

I went to Seattle and Boston in 2019 and I felt happy that my Family and I drove both Ends of I-90

[@malikshabazz2065]

great stuff!

[@GeoPro7]

You could do a video about the Northwest Arkansas metro. It is one of the fastest growing metros with many cities approaching 100K Fayetteville, Bentonville, Rogers, and Springdale. Even some smaller cities like Pea Ridge, Farmington, Bella Vista, Siloam Springs, etc. It is expected to have 1 million people by 2050. Even if it is small. It is a very nice metro. Please make a video explaining this metro.

[@tudorjason]

Washington has 4 floating bridges, two of which carry traffic across Lake Washington on I-90. Washington is called the Floating Bridge Capital of the World since it has 4 of the 5 longest in the world. Other kinds of bridges are impractical since the spans needed are too long for some, the water is too deep for others, and the lake floor is too soft for the rest.

[@drscopeify]

Great video and good sense of humor! One part of i90 worth a mention is the Columbia River Gorge in Eastern WA. You decent down to the gorge a few hundred feet decently steep decent, it is much steeper on other roads like state route 97, you cross over the river and maybe get a view of some cargo ships carrying grain and then climb up the gorge on the opposite side . The gorge gets pretty powerful wind some days of the year and can get blown around like a toy car, which is why there are wind turbine farms on the hills, seeing them spin at full speed is pretty cool.

[@manfredmann2766]

Great video!!! Around the Chicago area, and to the east to Ohio, I-90 and I-80 share the same route.

[@MrChilili]

Your already almost at 28k? Wow

[@yeaolon]

5:11 that’s not the correct path I-90 takes through the black hills. It is shown in the video going completely around them while in reality it runs in between two different sections of the mountain range.

[@GabeHandle]

I just took the portion from Ashtabula, OH to Erie, PA the other day and got a London, Ontario Canadian station on the radio the whole time. It was kinda neat.

[@corbenhavener7531]

The entire reason the Chicago Skyway is rolled is because Indiana built it on that route without Illinois or Chicago. In order to prevent interstate traffic from pouring onto neighborhood streets, the skyway was built. The penance is a toll in Chicago that is primarily paid by Indiana commuters.

[@floridaman4073]

Wondered why that was.

[@roadoflifewa]

I love your videos and find them so informative as well as entertaining. Just a little redirect here regarding the Lake Washington Floating Bridge in Seattle. It was actually completed in 1940. In November 1990, the bridge went down in a severe storm and was re-constructed. The video narrative makes it sound like the bridge was completed for the first time in 1990. The I-90 designation was already in place on the floating bridge when the storm took it down.

[@baltousprime7897]

I remember Boston as a whole was a mess for the longest time because of one project. The Big Dig.

[@edwardmiessner6502]

The city was also overrun by RATS.

[@rodneykantorski736]

The Big Dig is cool. Engineering marvel

[@enginalts5276]

this video made my evening

[@maxswagcaster5315]

The word your looking for for the stretch of 90 going through gary is eerie, the lack of any life in an area that was once teeming with life that has now become a desolate shell of what it once was. i drove through that same stretch and seeing the huge multi lane roadways which were empty for miles but still being maintained by a few holdouts was pretty eerie almost like a post apocalyptic society quietly maintaining the area it once called its flourishing home yet there is no life anywhere to be seen

[@patman147]

I have lived on both ends of I90, and have driven the entire route. I find it interesting that the Mariners and Red sox both sit at each end of the road.

[@ethanbrandt7568]

Ouch that hurt. I live at that Minnesota 1-90 area Albert Lea Austin and Alden are some unique places to check out.

[@OKobern]

5:34 To add onto that, I saw signs for the store in Wyoming, over 3 hours away, and on a north-south road that wasn't even close to the way you need to go to get there.

[@UltimaOmega]

Wall Drug is fun if you like cheesy Americana. To be fair, though, the Corn Palace is just a corn themed small arena.

[@JakeHemmingway]

The reason it putters out past Boston is because there's the location of Revere witch is a large town so the extension connects the town to the Greater Boston region. Also after I 90 ends at US route 1A and the massive interchange before the airport is interstate 93 (I95 for some reason was chosen to be the bypass route.)

[@ADBProductions_]

The Rockies are dope but the real must-visit mountain range in the Americas are the Andes. The Andes make the Rockies look like the Appalachians.

[@floridaman4073]

True, they are spectacular and massive.

[@Boss-KingInc.]

One interesting quirk that doesn’t follow interstate standards is I-90 in New York. Between Albany and the PA state line, the exit numbers go up as you go west and down as you go east, which is not the traditional exit numbering pattern. It’s also interesting when I-90 stops being tolled in the Buffalo area and near Albany

[@EpicThe112]

If you are wondered why that is it's because of NY Thruway using I-87 Bronx Border to Albany MP148 then I-90 MP148-496. The way you get around that is you follow interstate 92 where it meets interstate 87 then then take exit 21A I-90 East Massachusetts turnpike Springfield Boston Worcester.

[@history_leisure]

It interesting that Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC), based in Cour d'alne has many of their own projects on route-that would make a cool view (although you have to Deviate to I-94 for one and another project fell through for a water park in Sioux Falls)

[@EpicThe112]

Another name for this is Seattle Seahawks to New England Patriots (I-90 exit 106 old exit 11A Foxborough I-495 South Mansfield) freeway.

[@GTkoopa]

My city lives along I-90, was excited to watch a detailed route video about it only for you to completely bypass it by following I-94 instead.

[@pauldudley8837]

I think it would be interesting to take a look at how things were in the beginning years of the United States. For instance the creation of the national highway under the Jefferson administration so that the soon to be states of the Northwest Territory being Ohio Indiana and Illinois could more easily be populated inland and not necessarily always along rivers. And the fact that most highways, interstates, state routes and roads follow indian trails and the vast amount of trees and other vegetation that needed to be cleared in order to create that.

[@Vincent-ke5zn]

I live in Illinois and back in May, I went to see my daughter in Billings and I really enjoyed the whole trip. I used I-90 after leaving I 355

[@Kevbot6000]

A video on I-80 would be really cool :)

[@falcon8211]

In Massachusetts, I-90 goes north of Springfield, and just south of Worcester. These are the 2 next largest cities in Massachusetts, behind Boston.

[@jeremiahallyn4603]

I have never been on interstate 90, nor any of the areas it passes through. You did a great job explaining it's route, hopefully one day I can see some of these places 👍

[@loganjohnson3589]

As a Retired truck driver I can tell you that if you want to see some of the most beautiful land this country has to offer go there .you will find every type of country the country has to offer .and with a little pre planning you will have an easy and enjoyable trip .

[@saywhat8966]

I’ve enjoyed taking many photos as a passenger while on I-90 of the road and the long haul trucks that use it. It’s awesome and both road and trucks should not be taken for granted. Thankful to God for both, Eisenhower who got the Interstates built and Lady Bird Johnson for the Rest Stops. May God continue to bless this nation, but this nation must repent of it’s godlessness and ingratitude to God who formed this great nation.

[@loganjohnson3589]

@@saywhat8966 Sorry son you have that backward god made the heavens and the earth man and all the wonders on it .Man invented politics and governments and this nation .

[@scotcoon1186]

Have to agree on the corn palace. It's a high school gymnasium decorated with pieces of the entire corn plant. I would have felt robbed if I paid entry. But not Wall. Worth the stop. Restaurant, pharmacy, toy/ trinket stores. Art and paintings. Rocks and minerals. Book store. And some museum type displays. I found several items I wanted to buy, but couldn't find the room some were in again.

[@JonathanLedbetter]

The only real hold-up in Washington was a small segment around the Beacon Hill/Judkins Point area. While it took until the early 1990s to open, city streets were signed as "Temp I-90" so that the route could be "complete", so to speak. Until that time, a direct freeway to freeway connection could be made by taking I-5 to I-405 around Lake Washington to meet I-90 in Bellevue.

[@chrisk5651]

Haven’t visited the Rockies or Cascades but did go to the Swiss Alps this summer! Spectacular!!!

[@johnchristie9904]

4:46 the interstate goes through Butte and has an crossing with I-15

[@rmdodsonbills]

You have I-90 going north of the Bear Lodge in Wyoming but it really goes between the Bear Lodge and the main body of the Black Hills, through Sundance, WY.

[@njdevilku1340]

I-90 from Cleveland to Rochester, NY is the place to be on April 8th, 2024.

[@miked31784]

Why is that?

[@outbackigloo6489]

@@miked31784 - Total solar eclipse. That is a pretty cloudy part of the country though. Another epic “place to be” is in southern Illinois as there is a small area that had totality in 2017 that will have it again in 2024.

[@njdevilku1340]

@@outbackigloo6489 Thats why ill be in Erie, PA the night before and can use I-90 to get me somewhere there will be good weather. Its the closest part of the eclipse to where I live.

[@outbackigloo6489]

@@njdevilku1340 - I plan on being in the Dayton area as I used to live there. But I’ll travel elsewhere if the forecast calls for bad weather.

[@zyoninkiro]

Up until sometime in the 90s, I-90 in the first 20 to 30 miles in western Montana was not divided by any type of median. It was only a double yellow line. Montana has since built a concrete median barrier.

[@DuckOfRubber]

6:46 I25 in New Mexico has a pretty substantial part like that just… north? south? of Santa Fe. And if that isn’t confusing enough I25 is going predominately east-west the entire stretch from Albuquerque to about 60 miles “north” of Santa Fe.

[@TheMrPits]

My favorite stretch of I90 is still the Montana Idaho Boarder area (Lookout Pass) Some of the best driving when you are a fan of shows like Top Gear and Grand Tour. We look for those nice routes with the perfect sweeps and turns, where a road has been built for higher speeds and uses the terrain. Formula 1 style turns and driving. The reason the Montana stretch of I90 stands out above the Cascades section is the quality of the road upkeep and construction, combined with higher speed limits. Washington's speeds on Snoqualmie are 60-65, with the 70 zone only starting dozens of miles from the summit. Idaho's section is always in rough shape, with less attention to upkeep, leaving the road at a variable 75 to 60, with areas that you are stuck at 55 due to rough conditions. Even the state's frequent repaving work still doesn't get it all. Where the speed and quality of the road picks up is at the Montana line. While the speed limit is back to 70, only three years ago it was 80. The condition of I90 through Montana is also significantly better. This was very much due to Senator Max Bacchus, a former Montana Democratic senator, who was in office for decades. Being in office for so long, he was able to see that the federal highway money to Montana went to stretches like I90 between Lookout Pass and Missoula, making this stretch of road just amazing. Autobahn style curves and sweeps that make the petro-heads just drool, positive infrastructure spending!. I still love that stretch and drive it a few times a year. Deal with the 55MPH speed limit in Idaho (funny... idaho pretends it's not a nanny state) then the surge to 70 at the top of the pass, flying under an overpass that feels like the start line to an F1 circuit. Keep up the videos, you are quickly becoming my top teir geo/transit youtuber. I90 has always been nearby and a part of my life, between Indiana, Michigan, Montana and Washington, it's always been the road we take anywhere, and the details mentioned in this video, (including the Gary section) often go overlooked. Thanks for the video.

[@cjg8763]

I was only 5 years old when the old I90 floating bridge sunk, but I definitely remember seeing it on the news when it happened and for a while afterword. The reason it sunk is because someone left a watertight hatch open and then a storm rolled through, which caused lake water to enter and flood the open platoon. When that section got heavy enough to sink it dragged other adjacent sections down with it. Lifelong Seattleite here.

[@brianmitchell5906]

I've driven on I-90 from Seattle to just west of Chicago plus in Cleveland when I was there once. Didn't get to drive on it in Boston when I was there. I'd like to drive the entire route someday.

[@ReallyBadDriving]

Your map of I-90 going through New York is wrong. It follows a more northern path between Rochester and Syracuse. You have it go right over the finger lakes when it goes no where near them. You seem to have the path closer to the downtown areas of Buffalo Rochester and Syracuse when it doesn't even go close to being in those cities. In the Albany area, it goes around the city to the north, you have it follow the path of the Thruway to the south. Also in Massachusetts, you have it go right through Worcester, it bypasses it to the south.

[@xheralt]

Crosscountry coach routes westbound from Wisconsin to the Pacific Northwest typically follow I-94 as much as possible; having done that first, I followed suit the times I drove it myself (Milwaukee->Spokane and back).

[@kurtisokc]

The eastern half of I-90 should be called Hall of Fame Row as it passes within 25 miles of the baseball, basketball, boxing, college football and rock and roll halls of fame, and within an hours drive of the pro football hall of fame. Also significant to me is that it passes within 21 miles of my place of birth.

[@katieandkevinsears7724]

I've been on large sections of I-90 as I live about 20 miles south of it in Ohio. You were spot on with your assessment near Gary. It's the worst maintained section of interstate I know of.

[@mw...]

yes! the Beaver-meister General

[@musicforaarre]

You didn't mention the gorgeous view from the escarpment southwest of Erie, PA with a view across Lake Erie. You didn't mention that the drop from Utica down the Mohawk River Valley towards Albany, NY is wonderful. You get nice views across the Mohawk River valley, especially at Amsterdam, NY. Aarre Peltomaa of Mississauga, Ontario

[@spcxplrr]

seattleite here, that floating bridge will soon be the first floating bridge with an operating train. floating bridges are designed to be flexible, so it was really hard to pull off.

[@BalooUriza]

Wall Drug has billboards for it along the entire length of I 90. There's at least one I've spotted *in* Seattle.

[@bwbuske]

You forgot about the golden pavement of I90 in the Blue Earth area, I know because I frequent the I90 rest stop and there is a sign there talking about it.

[@benparrish9547]

That central Washington void has a ton of rare geologic and Geographic features from the effects of flood basalts and the Missoula floods

[@chito2294]

summer of 2008. driving eastbound on hwy 90. going thru s dakota at night in a crazy storm. intense rain, thunder, lightning, the works. it was beautiful. my traveling buddy couldn't take the stress of the storm so he slept while i treaded on. i noticed there were many frogs hopping on the road throughout the state. almost to the border of minnesota, when i smell something very strange in the air. it only gets stronger as i drive on. it smelled kinda familiar but not really. by now the smell is all encompassing and i can't believe my friend isn't waking up yet from the strange odor. all of a sudden, i can't see the road anymore. I'm driving 70-75mph. for a good 10 seconds the road had disappeared and transformed into a sea of frogs! millions upon what must've been millions of frogs, completely covering the road! had i stumbled upon some kind of amphibian orgy? then, no more frogs. as if they were not allowed into minnesota, when i crossed the border, they were gone. so weird. is that normal in that part of the country?

[@normanhairston1411]

Regarding the Gary area, it is one of the most densely interconnected parts of I-90 so unless you are truly gong cross-country, you probably will be using one of the off or on ramps. I-80, the second-longest interstate is about a mile south of 90 as it passes through Gary and a few miles south of that is US 30, the Lincoln Highway, America's original east-west coast-to-coast highway. 80 runs From NYC to San Francisco; 30 runs from Atlantic City to US101 in Oregon. Also in Gary US 20 (Boston to Oregon); US 6 (The Grand Army of the Republic Highway, Boston to Long Beach, CA), Interstate 65 one of 3 Great Lakes to Gulf Coast Interstates and in the region is the Dixie Highway (Chicago to Miami), the East terminus of "Route 66" (Chicago to LA), and US 41 connecting Michigan's Upper Peninsula to Ft. Lauderdale. Many of the exits in the Gary area have multiple truck stops as gas is cheaper in Indiana than Illinois and the US 41/US 30 region are popular shopping destinations for Chicago-land as sales taxes are significantly lower in Indiana. There is a Hard Rock Casino on Interstate 80 in Gary. The Gary airport is very near to Interstate 90 and is the current home to Boeing's fleet of executive jets. The Chicago Air Show is actually run from Gary and when Obama was president, it hosted Air Force One on Obama visits to Chicago. The eastern part of Gary is part of Dunes National Park, one of the top 10 US National Parks in terms of biodiversity, and the area is popular with boaters from the Chicago region due to its excellent beaches and views of Chicago. US 12 used to be the main route from Chicago to Detroit. The building of the interstates and the loss of jobs due to automation in the steel mills has left that area with a great deal of abandoned housing and shopping. However, between even more automation of the steel mills and the completion of the Hard Rock Cafe, the city has had over $1 Billion in new investment in the past 2 years and roughly 75% of US Steels $2 Billion per year in net income originates in Gary.

[@normanhairston1411]

I should also add, unless traffic is unbearable on I 80 (one mile to the south of I90) or you have specific business at the Gary airport or in the industrial section of southeast Chicago, or are making a video about I90, you are probably going to get off heavily tolled I90 for toll-free I80 in the Gary area.

[@stulog]

I knew already I-90 was the longest interstate, but I didn't realize how long it was until I took a look at the map of the interstate you put up. I have been on every mile of I-90 from downtown Seattle to Gillette, Wyoming, all 1049 miles of it (albeit not all on the same trip). When I looked at that map, just from eyeballing it I realized I haven't even been on half of it! I think the that 1049 miles is only in about 1/3 of it.

[@MaxHorsePowerRBLX]

As far as I know, in 2003 the most recent extension of I-90 was actually in Boston with the Big Dig resulting it being extended to Logan Airport where it ends today. In your most recent video of this interstate sorry if wrong vid.

[@miked31784]

You mentioned Elkhart. The RV/MH Hall of Fame is right off of 90 in Elkhart Indiana.

[@Manetho72]

No mention of the I-90 Golden Spike in Blue Earth, MN and the Green Giant statue that marks it?

[@dock_yard1149]

8:45 -- The mountain range in far western Massachusetts is the BERKSHIRES, not the Appalachians.

[@miked31784]

The Berkshires are a part of the Appalachian Trail

[@matthewwurtzel322]

The Berkshires are part of the northern Appalachian chain as are the Green Mountains in Vermont, which are contiguous to the Berkshires.

[@dock_yard1149]

@@matthewwurtzel322 FINE. Nobody in New York or New England calls them anything but the Berkshire Mountains.

[@granteeeeast]

That’s true, white mountains in New Hampshire, Green mountains in Vermont, adirondacks in NY, Berkshires in Massachusetts, Blue ridge mountains in the southeast, all appalachians but have their own names for their own little portions of them

[@screwthisin]

I remember traveling with my dad driving on I-90 through Idaho and Montana. The mountains were shrouded in mists.

[@spencerallison3196]

I probably would've added Devils Tower or Mount Rushmore to the list of sites to see. I know they aren't directly on the interstate although they aren't too far away.

[@1973Kenny]

Thank you I was wondering about this because I didn't know where exactly they were in relation to the interstate

[@spencerallison3196]

I think Devil's Tower was partially visible from i90 but the drive to the monument is spectacular enough the drive is worth it.

[@CrystalClearWith8BE]

The last part of I-90 aka the Lacey V. Murrow Bridge and Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge across Lake Washington has been upgraded ever since. Back then, there were reversible express HOV lanes and the main bridges have 3 general purpose lanes each. The reversible HOV lanes were then replaced with the transit and the main bridges have 4 total lanes each having 1 HOV lane on their left and the rest are general purpose lanes.

[@ejb7969]

I-95 in Pennsylvania wasn't fully connected up near Bristol until a few years ago, around 2019 or so. So wouldn't that make it the last state to complete its part of the Interstate system?

[@matethiustransport1374]

It's weird learning that 90 didn't finish in Washington until after my family traveled the majority of it transferring from Bremerton WA to Groton CT (summer 1990) That was also the trip we found where the valves started floating after mom left her purse in the hotel room. No idea how fast we were going, but it was about 6100 rpm in a Mercury sable (only had an 85mph speedo)

[@joshymoe6827]

Ah, I-90. I live in Newton around .2 miles away. Love the constant sound of trucks 😍

[@jlpack62]

What's the longest fully non-tolled Interstate?

[@miked31784]

I would say I-10

[@jlpack62]

@@miked31784 do you know that to be true or just guessing?

[@miked31784]

@@jlpack62 guessing. I-10 is the third longest interstate. I-90 and I-80 both have tolls.

[@afayuk]

I-40, I'm gonna guess. Don't think there are any tolls on it. It's a bit longer than I-10.

[@peterwarner358]

I-80 is long too between San Francisco and Tea Neck, NJ. 70, 94, and 30 are the stub-ended routes

[@joyceneville9214]

Hey! You pronounced Albany correctly! I grew up in a little deadfall called Fredonia NY, halfway between Erie and Buffalo. As a result I know I-90 between there and Albany a little too well. A video of the Thruway could be very interesting. Between Syracuse and Albany it follows much of the path of the New York Central railroad’s Water Level route. Which it continues to do as I-87 south of Albany down to NYC. But I-90 east of Albany isn’t exactly the Thruway, because that’s running a little farther south as the “Berkshire section” There’s also a short section of I-95 that was engulfed by the thruway and called “the New England Thruway” The last bit of trivia was that in the early 1990s a bridge over the Schoharie creek just collapsed in the middle of the night due to spring flooding. Several people lost their lives driving into the void.

[@superbluhedgehog1]

Fun fact: NY is the only state in which every auxiliary route (I190, I290,...,I990) appears... I190 and 290 in the Buffalo and Niagara Falls area, 390-590 in and around Rochester, 690 I Syracuse, 790 in Utica, and 890 in and near the Albany region and 990 in... Buffalo?