Interstate 89

Interstate 89
I-89 highlighted in red
Route information
Length	191.12 mi(307.58 km)
Existed	1967–present
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
South end	I-93/Everett Turnpike/NH 3AinBow, NH
Major intersections	I-91inWhite River Junction, VT I-189inSouth Burlington, VT
North end	R-133atCanada–United States bordernearHighgate Springs, VT
Location
Country	United States
States	New Hampshire,Vermont
Counties	NH:Merrimack,Sullivan,Grafton VT:Windsor,Orange,Washington,Chittenden,Franklin
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future
New Hampshire Highway System Interstate US State Turnpikes
State highways in Vermont
←NH 88 NH →I-93 ←VT 78 VT →I-91

Interstate 89(I-89) is anInterstate Highwayin theNew Englandregion of theUnited Statestraveling fromBow, New Hampshire,to theCanada–United States borderbetweenHighgate Springs, Vermont,andSaint-Armand, Quebec.As with all odd-numbered primary Interstates, I-89 is signed as a north–south highway. However, it follows a primarily northwest-to-southeast path. The route forms a major part of the main connection between the cities ofMontrealandBoston.InQuebec,the route continues asRoute 133.The eventual completion ofAutoroute 35will lead to a nonstoplimited-access highwayroute between Boston and Montreal, followingI-93south from I-89's terminus. The largest cities directly served by I-89 areConcord,the state capital ofNew Hampshire;Montpelier,the state capital ofVermont;andBurlington, Vermont.I-89 is one of three main Interstate highways whose route is located entirely within New England, along withI-91and I-93 (both of which also have their northernmost pavement in Vermont).

I-89 connects smaller cities and rural areas within New Hampshire and Vermont, and maintains two lanes of traffic in each direction throughout the route. Unlike its neighboring Interstates, it does not intersect any even-numbered Interstates along its route. It does, however, parallel (and intersect multiple times with) portions of three US Routes:US Route 4(US 4) fromEnfield, New Hampshire,toHartford, Vermont;US 2fromMontpeliertoColchester, Vermont;andUS 7fromBurlingtonto the Canadian border. US 7 and US 2 overlap each other between Burlington and Colchester.

InChittenden County, Vermont,I-189begins at exit 13 inSouth Burlington.The Champlain Parkway, which will be one travel lane in each direction and have at-grade crossings, is being constructed between the current terminus of I-189 at US 7 and Burlington's South End as a link toward downtown Burlington.I-189 is the onlyauxiliary routeof I-89.

Route description

Lengths

	mi	km
NH	60.87	97.96
VT	130.25	209.62
Total	191.12	307.58

New Hampshire

New Hampshire exit 15 (Montcalm), looking south

I-89 runs for about 61 miles (98 km) in the state of New Hampshire and is the major freeway corridor through the western part of the state. Despite being signed as a north–south freeway, its first eight miles (13 km) actually run east–west before shifting to the northwest. The two major population centers along I-89's length in New Hampshire areConcord,at its southern terminus, andLebanon,on the Vermont state line. Mileage signs along I-89 in each direction consistently list one of the two cities. Also located along I-89 in New Hampshire are the towns ofGrantham,New London,andWarner.

Starting at an interchange withI-93andNew Hampshire Route 3A(NH 3A) in the town ofBow,just south of theNew Hampshirecapital city of Concord, the highway runs a northwest path through theDartmouth–Lake Sunapee Region.One exit directly serves Concord (exit 2) before the highway enters the neighboring town ofHopkinton.East–westNH 11joins I-89 at exit 11 and runs concurrently with it for about three miles (4.8 km) before departing at exit 12. At exit 13 in Grantham,NH 10enters I-89, and the pair of highways form another concurrency, this one for about 15 miles (24 km).

Southeast of Lebanon, signs for exit 15 display the name "Montcalm", while exit 16 directs travelers to "Purmort". Neither place name existed at the time of construction of the Interstate. Exits 15 and 16 were built to access portions of the town ofEnfieldthat were otherwise cut off by the new highway. The names were chosen by Enfield'sselectpeoplein 1960; the Purmorts were a prominent local family in the early history of Enfield, and Montcalm was a nearby settlement that had once had its own school and post office.While the Purmort exit does allow access to the state road network (specifically toUS 4via Eastman Hill Road), the Montcalm exit provides access to an otherwise isolated community; every public road from the exit is a dead-end, and leaving the Montcalm area by car requires getting back on I-89 at exit 15. However, abicycle pathparallels I-89 between exits 14 and 16 along the path of Old Route 10, allowing foot or bicycle access to the community.

The highway continues northwest, passing through Lebanon, in which theDartmouth–Hitchcock Medical Centeris located. A few miles north of this point isDartmouth College.US 4 parallels I-89 through Lebanon. Exits 17 through 20 serve the city of Lebanon and are passed in quick succession. At exit 19, northboundNH 10separates from I-89 and joins westbound US 4 to pass throughWest Lebanon.The final exit in New Hampshire is exit 20, providing access to West Lebanon's large retail district alongNH 12A.Just after this interchange, the highway crosses theConnecticut Riverand entersVermont,where it remains for the rest of its run northwest to the Canadian border.

Vermont

I-89 northbound in Vermont, approaching exit 2 inSharon

I-89 exit 17 inColchester(June 5, 2015), Chittenden County

I-89 is one of Vermont's most important roads, as it is the only Interstate Highway to directly serve both Vermont's capital city (Montpelier) and largest city (Burlington). Other important cities and towns located along I-89 areBarre,Waterbury,andSt. Albans.Williston,which has become Burlington'sbig-boxretail center (and one of the fastest-growing towns in the state) over the past decade, also has an interchange along I-89.

Crossing theConnecticut Riverinto Vermont, I-89 continues the northwesterly direction it carried in New Hampshire. The Interstate intersectsI-91at a previously unnumbered interchange (now exit 1) immediately upon entering Vermont. Shortly afterward, another interchange withUS 4occurs. The highway begins to enter the scenic rolling hills of Vermont, turning almost due northward about 20 miles (32 km) from the New Hampshire state line, and continues through the high country of central Vermont. The Interstate passes through the towns ofSharon,Royalton,Bethel,Randolph,Brookfield,andWilliamstownbefore reaching the "twin cities" of Barre and Montpelier in the middle of Vermont. The Interstate's highest point was said to be in the town of Brookfield, although the sign that made the declaration was taken down in the late 1990s.

Another directional shift, again to the northwest, occurs while passing the interchange for Montpelier. For the next 40 miles (64 km), I-89's path is not so much chosen as it is logical: paralleling theWinooski RiverandUS 2,the highway cuts through the section of theAppalachian Mountainsknown as theGreen Mountains,and is surrounded by peaks of over 4,000 feet (1,200 m):Camel's Humpto the south andMount Mansfieldto the north. US 2 crosses the Interstate frequently, and has several interchanges with it, en route to Burlington.

I-89 was unique due to one instance of its signage. Between (Vermont) exits 9 and 10, a sign showing the distance to the next control cities in each direction was completely in metric. While there are many instances of signs being in both miles and kilometers, this was the only case of solely metric in the entire Interstate System.Both signs were replaced in 2010 and show distances in miles only. (I-19inArizonaused to be the other "only signed in metric" Interstate in the US, but has been changed over in recent years as the last two kilometers (1.2 mi) have been changed.) Speed limit signs have always been posted in miles per hour.

Reverencealong I-89 northbound inSouth Burlington,just west of exit 12

After exit 11 inRichmond,I-89 leaves the Green Mountains to enter theChamplain Valley,and a notable shift in the landscape is visible. Here, just outsideBurlington,the highway turns northward once again. Also, at this turn is where the onlyofficialauxiliary highway starts,I-189.A second highway,I-289,was proposed as a beltway through Burlington's northeastern suburbs in the 1980s; amid controversy, the highway has only been partially completed asVermont Route 289(VT 289), asuper tworoadway. It has yet to directly meet its parent.

Passing I-189 at exit 13, I-89 sees the busiest freeway interchange in the entire state, exit 14. A fullcloverleaf interchangeat this exit provides access to downtown Burlington, theUniversity of Vermont,and the retail-heavy Dorset Street, via US 2. Heading north from Burlington, the landscape quickly fades from suburban development into rolling hills more characteristic of northern New England, providing a vista overlookingLake Champlain.I-89 passes throughMilton,Georgia,St. Albans,Swanton,and finally the border town of Highgate Springs. The highway ends at the Canada–United States border at theHighgate Springs–St. Armand/Philipsburg Border CrossinginHighgate Springs.Its final exit, which northbound motorists can use to reverse direction onto I-89 south without crossing the border, is exit 22—the highest exit number along the route.US 7has its northern terminus at this interchange as well.

Although the divided highway continues about five miles (8.0 km) intoPhilipsburg, Quebec,asRoute 133,this changes back to a two-lane road, through toAutoroute 35's current southern terminus inSaint-Sébastien,some 9 miles (14 km) north of the United States border, and continues toSaint-Jean-sur-RichelieuandChamblybefore it meetsAutoroute 10,which goes toMontreal.The I-89 border crossing is the only instance where an Interstate entering Quebec does not become anAutorouteupon entry. There are plans to complete the extension of Autoroute 35 from Saint-Sébastien to the border crossing at I-89's northern terminus by 2025, creating a freeway-to-freeway connection.

History

Construction of the White River Bridge nearWhite River Junction, Vermont(1965)

I-89 looking easterly up the Winooski River valley, crossing U.S. Route 2, approximately 2 3/4 miles west ofWaterbury(1963)

Construction

I-89 was commissioned as part of theFederal-Aid Highway Act of 1956,meant to connectNorwalk, Connecticut,to the Canada–United States border via theUS 7corridor, which is the current northern terminus of I-89. Within three years, however, opposition to the project (particularly fromMassachusetts,which desired a freeway connection from Boston to Montreal) shifted I-89 to its present alignment that connectsBostonwithMontreal.The first section of the highway was opened betweenMontpelierandMiddlesex, Vermont,in November 1960, and between Middlesex andWaterburyin December 1960. The highway was subsequently opened between Waterbury andBoltonin November 1961; betweenSouth BurlingtonandWinooskiin November 1962; between Winooski andColchesterand betweenRichmondand South Burlington in November 1963; between Bolton and Richmond in October 1964; in Colchester in November 1964; and betweenSwantonandHighgatein 1965. The Interstate was opened in most parts of New Hampshire in 1967, and the entirety of the route was opened in 1982.

Original proposal

I-89 was originally supposed to be a directly north–south route fromI-95inNorwalk, Connecticut,to its current northern terminus at the Canada–United States border. The route shifted after opposition came from residents and local lawmakers in interiorNew Englandwho did not want an Interstate running through their countryside and towns. One major problem that was a big part in sinking the project was the fact that the highway would have to go through theGreen Mountain National Forestin Vermont.Parts of the Interstate were built in Connecticut, between Norwalk andWiltonand fromBrookfieldtoDanbury,a short bypass aroundLenox, Massachusetts,and in southern Vermont betweenBenningtonandManchesterand are currently designated asUS 7.The state of Connecticut had plans to extend the Norwalk segment to meet with the Danbury segment but has instead opted to widen portions of the existing road to four lanes.There has always been talk of building the original route of I-89, as it would bring economic development to cities likePittsfield, Massachusetts,andBennington, Vermont,and connect parts of the interior Northeast to New York City, but nothing has ever been formally proposed since the original proposal in the 1950s.

Other routes between Boston and Montreal

The current route of I-89 is the main artery betweenBostonandMontreal,two large metropolitan areas in the US and Canada, respectively. Before I-89 was built, there was no limited-access route between the two cities. The route between the two cities is not complete, however, asAutoroute 35inQuebecstill needs to be extended south of its current terminus to connect to I-89 at the Canada–United States border. In 2019, it was announced that the highway would be complete by 2023,As of July 2022,grading of the right of way between the existing terminus at exit 15 to Chemin Champlain is in progress.

Future

Vermont and New Hampshire are working together to reconstruct the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge over theConnecticut River.As part of construction, the deck and superstructure of the bridge would be replaced, andauxiliary laneswould be added to give more merging room for travelers entering and exiting I-89 at the exits forI-91.Construction will occur between 2020 and 2022.

TheVermont Agency of Transportation(VTrans) has released plans to build adiverging diamond interchangealong I-89 at exit 16 (milepost exit 91;US 2/US 7) inColchester,the first interchange of its kind in the state. Construction was expected to start in early 2023 and be completed in late 2025.However, phase I of construction began earlier than originally planned in winter 2022. Phase I work will relocate utilities, replace waterlines, and remove ledges, along with additional work on retaining walls and drainage. Working on the diverging diamond itself is expected to begin in fall 2024 once bidding and a contract let has been made. However, its completion has now been pushed back to mid-2026.

Starting in early 2024, VTrans is improving the interchange at exit 17 (milepost 97; US 2/US 7) at I-89 and the Chimney Corner intersection of US 2 and US 7 in Colchester, with corresponding roadway improvements and the replacement of the existing bridge carrying US 2 over I-89 within the project limits. In order to address safety concerns of traffic backing up onto I-89 northbound, the intersection of the northbound off-ramp and US 2 will be improved by adding a left turn lane onto US 2 eastbound to increase capacity. The southbound off-ramp will also be reconstructed to make way for a new southbound on-ramp to eliminate the left-turn conflict point for vehicles accessing I-89 southbound from US 2 westbound. In addition, the intersection of US 2 and US 7 will be reconfigured along with the widening of the roadways to accommodate additional turning lanes, all of which are key project elements in reducing queuing and delays. Construction will last for three construction seasons and, as of June 2024, is expected to be completed in mid-2026.

Exit list

New Hampshire uses sequential exit numbering, with the interchange with I-93 in Concord being unnumbered. In 2020, Vermont added "milepoint exit" numbers to existing signs, essentially marking each interchange with two exit numbers (except the I-91 interchange, which was previously unnumbered).

State	County	Location	mi	km	Old exit	New exit	Destinations	Notes
New Hampshire	Merrimack	Bow	0.000	0.000		–	NH 3A–Bow Junction,Concord,Hooksett,Manchester	At-grade intersection
						–	I-93/Everett TurnpiketoI-393east /US 4–Concord,Portsmouth,Manchester,Boston
			0.223	0.359		1	Logging Hill Road –Bow
		Concord	2.127	3.423		2	NH 13(Clinton Street) –Concord
			3.848	6.193		3	Stickney Hill Road	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		Hopkinton	6.594	10.612		4	US 202/NH 9toNH 103–Hopkinton	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			8.533	13.733		5	US 202/NH 9–Henniker,Keene,Hopkinton	Northbound exit only serves US 202 / NH 9 west
			10.207	16.427		6	NH 127–Contoocook,West Hopkinton
		Warner	14.187	22.832		7	NH 103–Davisville,Contoocook
			16.788	27.018		8	NH 103–Warner	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			19.930	32.074		9	NH 103–Warner,Bradford	Also servesNewportandClaremont
		Sutton	26.871	43.245		10	North Road toNH 114–Sutton
		New London	30.918	49.758		11	NH 11east (King Hill Road) –New London	Southern terminus of NH 11concurrency
			34.593	55.672		12	NH 11west toNH 103A–New London,Sunapee	Northern terminus of NH 11 concurrency
	Sullivan	Sunapee	37.023	59.583		12A	ToNH 114–Georges Mills,Springfield	ToNH 11
		Grantham	43.040	69.266		13	NH 10south –Grantham,Croydon	Southern terminus of NH 10 concurrency
			48.020	77.281		14	North Grantham	Via Old Route 10; southbound exit and northbound entrance
	Grafton	Enfield	50.376	81.072		15	Smith Pond Road / Old Route 10 –Montcalm
			51.799	83.362		16	Methodist Hill Road / Eastman Hill Road –Purmort	ToWhaleback Mountain Road
		Lebanon	54.128	87.111		17	US 4toNH 4A–Enfield,Canaan	Former eastern terminus of I-89 Business Also servesEnfield Shaker MuseumandMascoma Lake
			56.018	90.152		18	NH 120–Lebanon,Hanover	Also servesDartmouth CollegeandDartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
			58.300	93.825		19	US 4/NH 10north –West Lebanon,Hanover	Northern terminus of concurrency with NH 10; Former western terminus of I-89 Business
			60.331	97.093		20	NH 12A–West Lebanon,Claremont	Also servesPlainfieldandLebanon Municipal Airport
Connecticut River			60.864 0.000	97.951 0.000	Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge
Vermont	Windsor	Hartford	0.570	0.917	-	1	I-91–White River Junction,Brattleboro	Signed as exits 1A-1B northbound; exits 10A and 10B (69A-69B) on I-91
		Quechee	3.930	6.325	1	3	US 4–Woodstock,Rutland	Rutland only appears on northbound signage, also servesQuecheeandKillington
		Sharon	13.420	21.597	2	13	VT 132toVT 14–Sharon,South Royalton
		Royalton	22.120	35.599	3	22	VT 107toVT 14/VT 100–Bethel,Royalton	Also servesJoseph Smithbirthplace,Rutland,andVermont Law School
	Orange	Randolph	30.900	49.729	4	30	VT 66toVT 12–Randolph
		Williamstown	42.950	69.121	5	42	VT 64toVT 12/VT 14–Northfield,Williamstown	Also servesBrookfieldandNorwich University
	Washington	Berlin	46.920	75.510	6	47	VT 63east toVT 14–South Barre,Barre	Western terminus of VT 63
			50.290	80.934	7	50	VT 62east toUS 302–Berlin,Barre	Western terminus of VT 62; also servesEdward F. Knapp State Airport
		Montpelier	52.940	85.199	8	52	US 2toVT 12–Montpelier,St. Johnsbury	St. Johnsbury and VT 12 only appear on southbound signage
		Middlesex	58.720	94.501	9	58	US 2toVT 100B–Middlesex,Moretown	Also servesWaitsfield,Warren,andMad River Byway
		Waterbury	63.760	102.612	10	63	VT 100toUS 2–Waterbury,Stowe	Also servesWaitsfieldandWarren
	Chittenden	Richmond	78.410	126.189	11	78	US 2toVT 117–Richmond,Williston,Bolton
		Williston	83.960	135.121	12	83	VT 2AtoUS 2/VT 116–Williston,Essex Junction	Also servesBurlington International Airport,Vermont Technical College,HinesburgandBristol
		South Burlington	87.490	140.802	13	87	I-189west toUS 7–Burlington,Shelburne,Rutland	Eastern terminus of I-189; also servesVergennesandMiddlebury
			88.730	142.797	14	88	US 2–South Burlington,Burlington	Signed as exits 14E (88A) (east) and 14W (88B) (west); servesBurlington International Airport,University of Vermont,andChamplain College
		Winooski	90.480	145.613	15	90	VT 15–Winooski,Essex Junction	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; servesSaint Michael's College,Community College of Vermont
		Colchester	91.490	147.239	16	91	US 2/US 7toVT 15–Winooski,Colchester	Also servesMalletts Bay,Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences,andEssex Junction;VT 15 only appears on southbound signage; interchange currently under construction to becomediverging diamond interchange
			97.870	157.506	17	97	US 2/US 7–Lake Champlain Islands,Milton,Colchester	Also servesNew York Statevia ferry or bridge
	Franklin	Georgia	106.550	171.476	18	106	US 7/VT 104A–Georgia Center,Fairfax,Milton
		Town of St. Albans	113.750	183.063	19	113	St. Albans State Highway toUS 7/VT 36/VT 104–St. Albans	Also servesVT 105toEnosburgandRichford
			117.630	189.307	20	117	US 7/VT 207–St. Albans
		Town of Swanton	123.370	198.545	21	123	VT 78toUS 7–Swanton	Also servesHighgate CenterandNew York State
		Highgate	129.830	208.941	22	129	US 7south –Highgate Springs	Northern terminus of US 7
			130.254	209.623	–	–	R-133north toA-35–Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu,Chambly,Montréal	Continuation intoQuebec,Canada; future connection withA-35
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrencyterminus Incomplete access

Related routes

• I-89 Business (I-89 Bus.) was looped through the city ofLebanon, New Hampshire,along US 4.
• I-189is a connector between US 7 and I-89 inSouth Burlington, Vermont.
• I-289was slated to go around Burlington, but it was never completed. The lone completed section of the highway is signed asVT 289.

See also

• U.S. Roads portal
• New Hampshire portal

External links

Template:Attached KML/Interstate 89

KML is from Wikidata

• Media related toInterstate 89at Wikimedia Commons