Interstate 695 (Pennsylvania)


Interstate 695 was a 1964-proposed auxiliary Interstate Highway that would have connected Interstate 95 in Southwest Philadelphia, at the Philadelphia International Airport, with I-95 near the Delaware River waterfront near the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. Known as the Cobbs Creek Expressway between SW Philadelphia and Interstate 76 and the Crosstown Expressway between I-76 and the waterfront, I-695 was designed to provide connections to the Philadelphia International Airport and become part of a Center City Loop, with the Crosstown Expressway being the southern section of that loop.

Route description

I-695 was to begin at I-95 near the Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia. The freeway would head north to the east of Darby Creek, crossing into Delaware County near 84th Street. The road would cross Cobbs Creek and continue to the west of the creek, passing through Colwyn and Yeadon before passing near Mount Moriah Cemetery. I-695 would cross back into Philadelphia and turn east, running through West Philadelphia. The freeway would cross the Schuylkill River and intersect with the Schuylkill Expressway near Exit 346B. The Cobbs Creek Expressway would end and the Crosstown Expressway would begin, following Grays Avenue up to South Street, where the route would borrow the cut-and-cover design between the South-Bainbridge Street corridor, before ending at an intersection with I-95.

Exit list

Exits were going to be located at these locations:

History

I-695 was first proposed in 1964. The project to build I-695 was cancelled due to residential opposition in both SW Philadelphia, South Philadelphia, and residents of Yeadon, in Delaware County over the proposed Interstate's right-of-way, which would have "cut" their communities in half, and would have spelled an end to Cobbs Creek Park. The money slated for construction of I-695 went to the purchase of buses and trains for SEPTA, and for the construction of the Airport Line connecting Amtrak's Northeast Corridor with the Philadelphia International Airport.