Interstate 676

Interstate 676
I-676 highlighted in red, PennDOT's definition of I-676 to I-95 in blue
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-76 (Ohio–New Jersey)
Maintained by PennDOT, DRPA, and NJDOT
Length	6.90 mi[1] (11.10 km)
Existed	1964[2]–present
History	Completed in 1991[3]
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
West end	I-76 / US 30 in Philadelphia, PA
Major intersections	PA 611 in Philadelphia, PA I-95 in Philadelphia, PA US 30 in Camden, NJ CR 537 in Camden, NJ
South end	I-76 / Route 76C in Gloucester City, NJ
Location
Country	United States
States	Pennsylvania, New Jersey
Counties	PA: Philadelphia NJ: Camden
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future
Pennsylvania State Route System Interstate US State Scenic Legislative
New Jersey State Highway Routes Interstate US State Scenic Byways
← PA 672 PA → PA 680 ← Route 495 NJ → I-695

Interstate 676 (I-676) is an Interstate Highway that serves as a major thoroughfare through Center City Philadelphia, where it is known as the Vine Street Expressway, and Camden, New Jersey, where it is known as the northern segment of the North–South Freeway, as well as the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Highway in honor of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Its western terminus is at I-76 in Philadelphia near the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Fairmount Park. From there, it heads east and is then routed on surface streets near Franklin Square and Independence National Historical Park, home of the Liberty Bell, before crossing the Delaware River on the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. On the New Jersey side of the bridge, the highway heads south to its southern terminus at I-76 in Gloucester City near the Walt Whitman Bridge. Between the western terminus and downtown Camden, I-676 is concurrent with U.S. Route 30 (US 30).

After World War II, freeway approaches were planned for both sides of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, which was completed in 1926 and serves as a part of US 30. In Pennsylvania, the Vine Street Expressway was planned to run along the northern edge of Center City to the Schuylkill River, while, in New Jersey, the North–South Freeway was to head south along the Route 42 corridor. When the Interstate Highway System was created in the 1950s, this stretch of highway was a part of I-80S, with Interstate 680 (I-680) continuing on the Schuylkill Expressway to the Walt Whitman Bridge.

In 1964, the designations became I-76 and I-676, respectively, and, in 1972, the two routes were switched onto their current alignments. I-676 in New Jersey was completed between I-76 and Morgan Boulevard by 1960 and north of there to downtown Camden by the 1980s. The Vine Street Expressway was opened from the Schuylkill Expressway to 18th Street by 1960 and east of there to I-95 on January 10, 1991, despite opposition from the adjacent community and other obstacles to construction. There are grade-level intersections with traffic signals in the connections between the Vine Street Expressway and the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. This intersection does not follow typical rules and regulations of the Interstate Highway System, and is also notorious for having high crash rates and pedestrian fatalities.^[4]