Length 88.3 km | ||
West end: I-81 / I-380 / US 6 in Dunmore East end: I-84 at the New York border in Matamoras Counties Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Wayne County, Pennsylvania, Pike County, Pennsylvania | ||
Interstate 84 (I-84) in Pennsylvania is part of the east segment of a non-contiguous freeway that runs from Dunmore to the New York border.
Contents
Route description
I-84 starts in Pennsylvania at I-81 in Dunmore, a suburb east of Scranton. After two miles (3.2 km), I-84 intersects I-380, as the latter goes southeasterly through the Poconos and I-84 continues almost due east into Wayne and Pike counties. The Pennsylvania section is the only segment of I-84 that uses mile-based exit numbers; sequential numbers were replaced starting in 2001.
This section of Pennsylvania is very lightly populated, and there are no major settlements on or near I-84, although it offers access to popular outdoor recreation areas such as Lake Wallenpaupack and Promised Land State Park. Its right-of-way is very wide, with a large median strip between the two carriageways as it passes through densely wooded country, except for the swampy areas in southern Wayne County. The only development along Pennsylvania's section of I-84 is where U.S. Route 6 (US 6) and US 209 start to parallel closely and form a commercial strip just south of Matamoras, just west of the Delaware River. I-84 reaches its highest elevation in Pennsylvania and in the east just west of exit 8 at 1,800 feet (550 m).
History
I-84 was originally planned to run concurrently with US 6, but in June 1958, due to a realignment of I-80, I-84 was redesignated as an interstate. The plan was first revealed to the public in 1964. The first segment to be completed, in 1961, spanned from the current western terminus to Tigue Street. The second segment to be completed, in 1967, spanned from what was then Spring Road just west of Lords Valley to what was then Sawkill Road. The third segment to be completed, in 1968, expanded the second segment to what was then Beaver Dam Road, east of PA 507.