I-190  Illinois (link)

3.07 miles [1]; from I-90 west into O'Hare. Formerly IL 594; got its current number around the same time the Eisenhower Expressway was renumbered from I-90 to I-290 (~1978).

I-190  Massachusetts (link)

19.26 miles [1]; north from I-290 in Worcester to MA 2 near Leominster. Planned in mid-1970s; opened April 1983. [2]

The highway runs along a high ridge next to a valley with an airport. 'Lord Somnolent' notes: "Yield right of way to aircraft, please." [3]

Alongside the Wachusett Reservoir (drinking water for Boston), Interstate 190 features wide paved shoulders, intended to contain water and snowmelt runoff in its own drains rather than spilling into the reservoir. [9]

I-190  New York (link)

28.34 miles [1]; from I-90 outside Buffalo to Niagara Falls. Trivia buffs: this is the only 3di that takes you to the Canadian border. It's called the "Niagara Thruway" between the starting point at I-90 and the North Grand Island Bridge. From there to the Canadian border, it has no name, but was called the Niagara Expressway by highway planners in the 1960s. [6]

Numbering history

On Aug. 14, 1957, AASHO unveiled a set of tentative interstate highway numbers for New York State, including I-90N for a spur from I-90 to Niagara Falls. On Aug. 22, 1958, the New York Department of Public Works submitted a plan including the same I-90N number for the Niagara Falls spur, and adding I-190 for a Buffalo North loop. At the time, today's I-190 would be called I-90N, and today's I-290 would be called I-190. [10]

On Aug. 29, 1958, AASHO responded with a change: the Buffalo North Loop should have an even starting digit, i.e. 290 instead of 190. On Feb. 24, 1959, AASHO approved changing the I-90N designation to I-190. [10] This was forward thinking in a way; though several letter-suffixed interstates were designated, AASHTO discourages the practice today, and all but two (I-35E/W in Minnesota and Texas) have been renumbered.

Construction

It was built in the mid-1950s, and uses sections of the North and South Grand Island Bridges that were built in the 1930s. Much of the highway through Buffalo was built on the former Erie Canal. There were plans in 1997 to turn I-190 into a surface parkway through downtown Buffalo, but this is said to have a slim chance of happening. [4]

See also:

• Nearby 3di's: I-290 I-990

I-190  South Dakota (link)

1.72 miles [1]; south from I-90 into Rapid City. Dates back to 1962 or earlier.

See also: Interstate 190 - South Dakota (AARoads)

Sources

1. Route Log and Finder List - Interstate Highways, FHWA, Oct. 31, 2002.
2. Boston Globe, "In the Shadow of the Hub No More," April 10, 1983.
3. Lord Somnolent. "Information Contributions:" Personal email, April 25, 1997.
4. Tasman, Dan. "The X90 Interstates." Personal email, April 16, 1997.
6. mshiling (no name given). "3-digit interstates." Personal email, Aug. 12, 1999.
9. Moroney, Mike. "Re: Wide open wasted pavement on Interstates." Online posting, misc.transport.road, Sept. 11, 2003.
10. Summers, Stephen. "New York Interstate Route Numbering." http://www.nwindianahwys.homestead.com/NY.html (1 Aug 2004)