I-676 is a special case. The freeway through Camden deserves its Interstate number, but then it hooks into the existing US 30 freeway at the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. Before I proceed any further, I should explain that PA's I-676 runs between I-76 and I-95 just north of the bridge. Signage takes it down an exit ramp to a traffic light, then around a demi-circle and up onto the bridge, but the actual Interstate has no traffic lights on it. Thus, when you're heading WB across the bridge and come to a series of onerous signals before you can merge into the freeway, you're really only on US 30. Given this, I feel that I-676 on the NJ side should be renumbered to maybe I-776 (to avoid conflicts with PA 3di's) and should terminate at US 30. Then, everything would make sense.

Starting southbound:


Isn't that just a beautiful New Jersey scene? That's what the state's all about... to some people... sigh.


Finishing up the SB run. Note the 2dsr NJ 168 shield; Exit 1A is NJ 76C, the connector between the mentioned routes and the Walt Whitman Bridge.


You know I don't like these. I don't need more comment than that.


There are two types of exit signs on I-676: old and really old. All signs have button copy, but the really old ones (Exit 3 and Exit 4, both directions) are nonreflective. "Really old" is probably from the mid-`70's. What you just witnessed was the NB run of signage, starting with the first shield just as I-676 diverges from I-76.


Taking Exit 5B and crossing the overpass, due to the interchange configuration a ramp heading back the other direction will only take you to US 30 EB. Straight ahead is a nice 2di-width shield leading you down to Exit 5A (or maybe even Exit 4). What signs don't tell you is that by making a few rights you can loop onto I-676 and follow it from there.


The view that you get by making the first of those few rights, downtown Camden courtesy Lou Corsaro. Wow, it almost looks livable in this photo. Two more rights will get you back to the freeway SB.


The green/red lit arch, button-copy number of lanes, and light-up speed limit are repeated on both sides across the entire Ben Franklin Bridge. The lights are now somewhat unnecessary - there's a movable Jersey barrier there. Both the BFB and I-76's Walt Whitman Bridge, structural sisters, lacked any form of center barrier until 2002, relying only on those lane lights in a highly non-Interstate-quality arrangement. Click to reveal three lanes at another day and time.


Finishing the way I started, I-676 SB (with US 30 EB), here coming off of the bridge.



The final photo below is courtesy Lou Corsaro. Click on it for a video drive into Pennsylvania.



Into PA on US 30
Ignore reality, and pretend to go straight into PA on I-676
Exit 2 or straight on to I-76
To I-295
Exit 1A to US 130
Exit 1A to NJ 168
Exit 5A to US 30
Exit 5A onto former NJ 151
I-676 on Steve Anderson's phillyroads.com
Back to NJ Roads
Back to Roads