US Highway 1

This article covers US Hwy 1 along the American east coast; For California Hwy 1, see California State Route 1 .

map
Basic data
Overall length:	2390 mi / 3846 km
Opening:	1926
States:	Florida Georgia South Carolina North Carolina Virginia Maryland Pennsylvania New Jersey New York Connecticut Rhode Island Massachusetts New Hampshire Maine
Starting point:	Key West
End point:	Canadian border in Fort Kent

The US Highway 1 (also US Route 1 or US 1 ) is a Highway , which runs parallel to the US east coast. The total length is 3846 kilometers. In the north, the highway ends in Fort Kent in Maine on the Canadian border. In the south it is Key West on Florida's coast to the Gulf of Mexico . US Route 1 runs parallel to Interstate 95 in many places . In 1926 it was initially only established between the Canadian border and US Highway 94 in Miami.

The major cities that the highway passes are Miami , Columbia , Richmond , Washington, DC , Baltimore , Philadelphia , New York City , Boston, and Portland .

The highway is number one because it is the easternmost and north-south highways are numbered from east to west.

course

Florida

Shield at the beginning of US 1

The highway begins in Key West. It leads through the archipelago of the Florida Keys , from Key Largo the transition to the mainland south of Miami takes place. On this section, the highway uses the bridges of the Florida East Coast Railway's Overseas Railway from Miami to Key West. It leads to downtown Miami ( Downtown Miami ) and follows the coastline north to Jacksonville . From there, the route shifts further inland and crosses the border into Georgia.

In Florida , different colored signs have been used for the various highways since 1956. The US 1 received red. In 1993 it was decided to only produce the commonly used black and white signs. So the colored signs were replaced by the new ones. Today there are only a few red signs left along the highway. US 1 also counts from Key West to Jacksonville as Florida State Road 5 and further to the Georgia border as Florida State Road 15 . The first section of the highway is called the Overseas Highway .

Georgia

The US 1 runs very rural in Georgia and mainly crosses historical plantation areas in the east of the state. In addition to a US Army base , the highway, also known as Georgia State Route 4 in Georgia, passes the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, a nature reserve in southern Georgia.

The route leads from Jacksonville (Florida) coming northwest to Waycross , from there the route runs largely north. In Wrens the route turns to the northeast and leads to Augusta , the second largest city in Georgia. There the crossing to South Carolina takes place with the crossing of the Savannah River .

South carolina

US Highway 1 reaches South Carolina near North Augusta on the state's western border and traverses it completely in a north-south direction. The US route runs in the south largely parallel to Interstate 20 , which it crosses several times. There are also connection points to Interstates 22 and 77 . The highway runs through Columbia , the capital of South Carolina, where it crosses the Gervais Street Bridge and thus crosses the Congaree River . Near the city of Camden to US-1 meets with US Highway 34 , and both tracks have an overlapping course before they divide again and the US one nicknamed Jefferson Davis Highway , named after the leader of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis receives, .

North Carolina

US 1 crosses the border to North Carolina southwest of Rockingham and leads northeast to Raleigh . The route passes through the town and meets at Henderson on Interstate 85 , which is repeatedly crossed. Four miles south of the Roanoke River , the crossing takes place in Virginia.

Virginia

The highway continues along Interstate 85 to Petersburg until it becomes Interstate 95, passing through the city of Richmond . The route heads north and enters the Potomac River valley . After crossing from Alexandria , the highway then leads in the city of Arlington in the Inter-395 . The Potomac River is crossed one more time and the interstate eventually reaches the District of Columbia .

District of Columbia and Maryland

Immediately after the bridge over the Potomac River, Interstate 395 and US 1 separate again. US 1 runs through the center of Washington, DC traversed the route the National Mall and meets the National Museum of American History on the US Highway 50 . Together with this it runs along the National Mall as Constitution Avenue. Past the National Museum of Natural History , the highway splits into two routes, with the southern one passing the Capitol . Both sections lead to Maryland, in Hyattsville they reunite. The route goes through Laurel and arrives at the largest city in the state, Baltimore . It runs through the center of the city and leaves it in a north-easterly direction. After crossing the Susquehanna River , the Highway leaves Maryland and arrives in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania

The highway continues northeast and comes to Philadelphia . It runs northwest of the city center and leaves this state again north of the city and arrives in New Jersey.

New Jersey

On the Delaware River the transition of the highway to New Jersey takes place and arrives in the city of Trenton . Coming from the southeast, US Highway 9 joins and runs together with US 1 for the next 31 miles. The route runs parallel to Interstate 95 to Newark and opens up to the city's airport. This means that the highway is in the greater New York area . North of Newark, the route meets and joins Interstate 95. The toll road George Washington Bridge leads over the Hudson River to the city and the state of New York.

new York

The Alexander Hamilton Bridge over the Harlem River

Bascule bridge over the Mystic River

Massachusetts street signs

The highway runs through Manhattan and the Bronx . Following the George Washington Bridge, US 9 branches off again. I-95 and US 1 run in a tunnel under u. a. through Broadway, back on the surface the Harlem River is crossed. At Webster Ave, US 1 branches off from I-95 again and heads northeast. It leads to the coast to Port Chester and then to Connecticut.

Connecticut

US 1 runs through the entire state along I-95 and crosses it several times. The course moves along the coastline, at the mouth of the Connecticut River the highway meets I-95 and leads together with this over the river. At Westerly the transfer to Rhode Island takes place.

Rhode Island

In Rhode Island, the route continues to run parallel to the coastline. It leads to the capital of the state, Providence , and traverses it. North of Pawtucket , a city in northern Providence, the highway reaches the border with the state of Massachusetts.

Massachusetts

→ Main article : US Highway 1 (Massachusetts)

The route runs to the northeast, leaves the Atlantic coast and meets the ring road around Boston ( Interstate 93 ), with which it runs as a bypass of the Greater Boston metropolitan area to Quincy . The common route turns north there and leads into the center of Boston. I-93 ends at the intersection with I-90 , while US 1 continues through a tunnel through the center of the city and out of the city to the north. North of Amesbury , the highway finally reaches the New Hampshire border.

New Hampshire

The route through New Hampshire is again a shorter section. Here, too, the route largely runs along the coast. In the northeast of the state, US 1 runs through Portsmouth . The route is interrupted here because the Memorial Bridge was closed to car traffic in 2011 and is to be replaced by a new building from 2013. Therefore, the state of Maine is currently only reached by one detour.

Maine

While in Maine the I-95 runs more inland and is subject to a toll on important sections ( Maine Turnpike ), the US 1 is not only toll-free, but also runs much closer to the tourist-interesting coast and connects the many bays with one another, but without the exact course of the coast to follow along the numerous peninsulas. At Calais , where the US-Canadian border reaches the coast, US 1 turns north and runs along the border with New Brunswick to Fort Kent .

Feeders and bypasses

• US Highway 201 between Brunswick and Sandy Bay Township
• US Highway 301 between Sarasota and Glasgow
• US Highway 401 between Wise and Sumter
• US Highway 501 between Myrtle Beach and Buena Vista
• US Highway 601 between Tarboro and Mount Airy
• US Highway 701 between Georgetown and Four Oaks

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Florida @ AARoads. AARoads.com, archived from the original on December 26, 2005 ; accessed on November 28, 2012 (English, route description with pictures). 
2. ↑ Sign history. US-Highways.com, archived from the original on January 3, 2013 ; accessed on November 28, 2012 (English). 
3. ↑ North Carolina @ AARoads. AARoads.com, accessed on November 28, 2012 (English, route description with pictures). 
4. ↑ Virginia @ AARoads. AARoads.com, accessed on November 28, 2012 (English, route description with pictures). 
5. ↑ District of Columbia @ AARoads. AARoads.com, accessed on November 28, 2012 (English, route description with pictures). 
6. ↑ Maryland @ AARoads. AARoads.com, accessed on November 28, 2012 (English, route description with pictures). 
7. ↑ Pennsylvania @ AARoads. AARoads.com, accessed on November 28, 2012 (English, route description with pictures). 
8. ^ The Port Authority of NY & NJ. Retrieved November 28, 2012 (English, information on tolls in New York and New Jersey). 
9. ↑ New Jersey @ AARoads. AARoads.com, accessed on November 28, 2012 (English, route description with pictures). 
10. ^ Memorial Bridge Closing to Walkers and Cyclists on January 9. New Hampshire Department of Transportation, accessed November 28, 2012 . 
11. ↑ Maine @ AARoads. AARoads.com, accessed on November 28, 2012 (English, route description with pictures). 

Web links

Commons : US Highway 1  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

• Description of the highway in the individual Federal States (English)
• US Highway Ends (English)
• General Highway History: US 1: Fort Kent, Maine to Key West, Florida. Federal Highway Administration(English).